Manchin is a “no” on gutting the filibuster
Senate Democrats are forging ahead with other legislative matters in the wake of the massive Build Back Better bill’s collapse last month. Among the items on the agenda: a proposal…
Democrats’ problems are their ideas, not process
Senate Democratic leaders are going to try one more time to vote on the nearly-inert remnants of the Build Back Better bill, while also trying to scrap the filibuster in…
The big difference between being pro-market and pro-business
There’s a rhetorical rift building between conservatives and classical liberals over what, if anything, to do about big business. While this debate requires setting aside the populism that’s replaced old-line…
H.R. 1 poses a threat to both free speech and federalism
Standing on principle is rarely popular and can often have big political consequences. But standing on principle is also essential to ensure partisan politics doesn’t override basic constitutional ideas. Such…
Supreme Court blocks business vaccine mandate, upholds requirement for health care workers
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling blocking the Biden administration from mandating businesses with more than 100 employees to require workers to get COVID shots or submit to weekly…
Congress wants to make it even harder to hold judges accountable
Two things can occur at the same time when Congress is involved: trying to do the right thing, but making another right thing nearly impossible to do. Congress is considering…
Judges pushing back against congressionally-mandated ethics rules
One of the oldest controversies in official Washington is just how far – if at all – Congress can go in enacting ethics legislation for federal judges. It’s a question…
Elizabeth Warren embraces court packing
While the president’s commission on Supreme Court reform warned that there were strong disagreements over so-called “court packing” – under which Congress would expand the number of justices from its…
Pennsylvania Fourth Amendment case takes on warrantless searches of private property
Government snooping is as old as the republic – and, absent a court-approved warrant – illegal. But that t prevent law enforcement from ignoring constitutional niceties when it thinks someone…
Gavin Newsom justifies outsourcing state law enforcement to vigilantes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom took to the national press to explain/bolster/rationalize his proposal to follow Texas’ lead and outsource the enforcement of state laws on hot button issues to private…