Executive Functions Chat

30:01

The Last Branch Standing

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/04/14

Jack chats with Sarah Isgur about her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court. They unpack her theory of the Court’s decisional dynamics and explore the Court’s approach to executive power in the Trump era, which can be seen as both empowering and constraining the presidency on different dimensions.Mentioned:- Sarah Isgur, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court

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31:10

Can Trump Pull Out of NATO?

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/04/03

In light of President Trump’s recent threats to withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, Jack chats with Professor Curtis Bradley of the University of Chicago Law School about whether Trump has the authority to do so. They discuss the constitutional foundations of treaty termination and the validity of Congress’s 2023 statute that restricts withdrawal absent congressional or senatorial consent. They also examine whether a suit to challenge presidential withdrawal from the treaty

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27:17

It's the President's War

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/03/27

Bob and Jack chat about the war with Iran and Congress’s response. They discuss Congress’s failed efforts to halt the conflict, an emerging proposal for a constrained authorization of force, and the Trump administration’s limited engagement with lawmakers. They examine the politics of the conflict, the role of funding and appropriations, the status of the War Powers Resolution, and contemporary legal debates over military operations without congressional authorization, including the scope of Office

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41:56

The Most Dangerous Branch

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/03/20

Jack speaks with Cass Sunstein, the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School, about his new book, Separation of Powers: How to Preserve Liberty in Troubled Times. They discuss why the executive is the most dangerous branch of government, the importance of responsible executive branch lawyers, and contemporary debates over the administrative state, including unitary executive theory in light of the Trump v. Slaughter oral argument and the major questions doctrine after the tariffs

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28:27

Homeland Security in a Time of War with Iran

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/03/03

In light of the U.S. attacks on Iran over the weekend, Jack speaks with Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former White House Homeland Security Advisor, about how the U.S. government would normally prepare for domestic threats during periods of heightened risk. They discuss how the federal homeland security enterprise activates in response to elevated threat levels, including coordination across the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the intelligence community, and state and local law enforcement

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29:23

The Tariff Refund Problem

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/02/24

Jack speaks with Matthew Seligman, a fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center, about the remedial consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. They walk through how tariff collection works, why repayment is not automatic, and the procedural hurdles importers face in trying to recover what they paid, including major barriers to class-wide or aggregate relief. They also examine the practical and political

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24:37

Prosecuting Members of Congress

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/02/13

Bob and Jack chat about a federal court’s preliminary injunction blocking the Defense Department’s attempt to reduce Senator Mark Kelly’s military retirement benefits, along with a grand jury’s refusal to indict six Democratic members of Congress, including Kelly, who in a video reminded service members of their duty to refuse unlawful orders. They discuss how Trump administration weaponization can be effective even with court losses, and debate possible reforms to limit politically motivated

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22:39

Richard Ekins on Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands...

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/02/05

Jack speaks with Richard Ekins, professor of law and constitutional government at Oxford University, about the United Kingdom’s plan to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back the Diego Garcia naval base for continued U.S.–U.K. military use—an issue that has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks after President Trump publicly criticized the proposed agreement. They discuss the historical background of the Chagos Islands dispute, the role of international

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29:53

Donald Trump is Settling Old Scores—and Making New...

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/01/30

Bob and Jack talk about grievances from President Trump’s first term that continue to shape his second-term conduct. They examine the federal search warrant recently executed at a Fulton County election facility seeking 2020 ballots, including the structure and purpose of the investigation and the president’s asserted authority to use federal law enforcement in election matters. They also discuss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the disclosure of his tax

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36:13

Sai Prakash on the Pardon Power from the Founding to...

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/01/20

Jack speaks with University of Virginia School of Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash about his new book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History. They discuss the origins of the pardon power, the framers’ anxieties about its breadth, controversies about its early use, how modern presidents have increasingly used clemency to advance ideological, political, and personal goals, and the challenges of reform.Mentioned:Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash, The Presidential Pardon:

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34:30

What Happens if Trump Invokes the Insurrection Act?

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/01/16

Jack and Bob examine President Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to ICE-related unrest in Minneapolis. They discuss the Act’s broad language, the uncertain scope of presidential discretion, the many unresolved constitutional questions that the Supreme Court might consider, and the political and legal risks of deploying troops domestically—particularly against the backdrop of upcoming elections.Further reading:“Trump Threatens to Invoke the Insurrection Act” by Bob Bauer and

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23:21

The Criminal Investigation of the Fed Chair

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/01/12

Jack and Bob discuss the subpoena targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the legal limits on presidential control of the Fed, Senate resistance, and the potential consequences for markets and the administration heading into the midterms. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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25:56

Law and the Venezuela Invasion

Executive Functions Chat ·

2026/01/05

Bob and Jack discuss the legality of the U.S. invasion of Venezuela leading to the capture President Nicolás Maduro, how law matters to presidential uses of force, and what legal issues to expect at Maduro’s trial.Mentioned:“On the Legality of the Venezuela Invasion” by Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions, Jan. 3, 2026)Curtis A. Bradley, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (2024) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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31:31

The President's Protective Power

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/12/29

Jack spoke with Chris Mirasola of the University of Houston Law Center about the President’s “protective power” to use the regular armed forces or the National Guard (if properly federalized) in the domestic sphere for the protection of federal property and functions. They discussed the origins and scope of the protective power, its relationship to the Posse Comitatus Act, why it was relevant in Trump v. Illinois, and the president’s prominent options for domestic deployment of the military

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20:26

Catching Up, Keeping Track

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/12/12

Bob and Jack discuss the latest developments across three ongoing issues in Trump’s second term: use of the pardon power, unresolved transparency disputes, and the administration’s campaign against major law firms. They examine the political dynamics at play behind a recent series of pardons, promised disclosures related to the Epstein files and the Sept. 2 boat strikes, and how executive orders targeting major law firms, though repeatedly struck down, continue to create uncertainty and pressure

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32:28

Executive Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/12/09

Jack talks with University of Minnesota Law School professor Alan Z. Rozenshtein about how artificial intelligence could reshape the modern presidency by easing bureaucratic limits that have traditionally constrained presidential control. Building on Rozenshtein’s lecture, The Unitary Artificial Executive, they discuss how automated decision systems might function as a presidential “oracle” across the administrative state. The conversation examines how, and to what extent, AI could centralize power

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32:24

A President Who Advocated for Limits on Executive...

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/11/19

Bob talks with historian Walter Stahr about William Howard Taft’s model of the presidency. The conversation covers Taft’s remarkably varied career across the executive and judicial branches, his differences with Theodore Roosevelt over the scope of executive power, his stance on war powers, and the significance of his post-presidential writing on executive authority and responsibility. Mentioned:Walter Stahr, Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary (2017)William Howard Taft, Our Chief Magistrate and Its

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31:34

What Are We Living Through?

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/11/11

Jack talks with Columbia Law professor David Pozen about Pozen's recent Boston Review essay with Jedediah Britton-Purdy, “What Are We Living Through?” They discuss three competing ways of understanding the Trump administration—authoritarian rupture, continuity with long-running dysfunction, and a transition to a new constitutional regime. The conversation explores whether all three can be true, what kind of damage may be irreversible, and what rebuilding might look like after Trump.Mentioned:“What

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21:34

Decision-making Disarray at the DOJ

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/10/14

Bob and Jack discuss recent reports of internal rifts at the Department of Justice, the loyalty pressures shaping the Trump administration, and whether constitutional reform is needed to curb the spiral of politicized prosecutions. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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27:42

The Oregon National Guard Ruling

Executive Functions Chat ·

2025/10/07

Bob and Jack discuss (and disagree about) the Oregon National Guard ruling, the deference owed to the president, the relevance of the president’s Truth Social comments, and the ultimate limits on the president’s power to use the military in the domestic sphere. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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