Executive Branch

Forget originalism; some conservatives back ‘common-good constitutionalism,’ its embrace of strong rule

Adrian Vermeule, a professor at Harvard Law School, is an “ideological lodestar” among conservatives who are impatient with originalism—the idea that the Constitution’s meaning can be determined by its text and the founders’ intent, according to a story by the New York Times.

Feb 19, 2025 11:37 AM CST

20 immigration judges fired, despite backlogs; one labels dismissal ‘political pink slip’

Immigration judges have not been spared from firings in the Trump administration, despite a backlog of 3.7 million cases in their courts at the end of last year.

Feb 18, 2025 1:56 PM CST

Senior DOJ officials resign after order to drop case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

The top federal prosecutor in New York and a team of Justice Department officials in Washington resigned Thursday after a demand by the Trump administration to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Feb 13, 2025 3:48 PM CST

Missouri AG sues Starbucks, says workforce is ‘more female and less white’

Missouri’s attorney general has sued Starbucks, accusing it of engaging in discrimination with its diversity, equity and inclusion policies and alleging that such initiatives have made the coffee giant’s workforce “more female and less white.”

Feb 13, 2025 3:38 PM CST

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees ordered to ‘stand down’

Employees at an agency established to protect consumers against wrongdoing by financial institutions have been ordered to “stand down” and stop activities, leading to the resignations of top officials.

Feb 13, 2025 9:46 AM CST

Justice Sotomayor says she expects leaders will follow court rulings

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a talk Tuesday in Florida that she has faith the nation’s leaders will ultimately abide by decisions of the courts—a key question at a moment when President Donald Trump’s initiatives are being challenged, and some of his top advisers are complaining of judicial overreach.

Feb 13, 2025 9:45 AM CST

Trump pauses enforcement of foreign bribery law, cites harm to ‘American economic competitiveness’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that that generally pauses enforcement of a law that bars companies operating in the United States from bribing foreign officials.

Feb 11, 2025 3:24 PM CST

Trump partly defied court order on frozen funds, federal judge says; is there an Article II exception?

Updated: The Trump administration failed to comply with a “clear and unambiguous" temporary restraining order lifting a freeze on federal funds, a federal judge said Monday.

Feb 11, 2025 2:29 PM CST

On first day as AG, Bondi demands ‘zealous advocacy’ of Trump’s agenda

Pam Bondi was sworn in as the nation’s 87th attorney general Wednesday, inheriting a Justice Department roiled by Attorney General Pam Bondi spent her first day on the job Wednesday redirecting the Justice Department’s significant law enforcement authority toward addressing President Donald Trump’s grievances with the agency, making her allegiance to his agenda clear in a series of strongly worded directives.

Feb 5, 2025 4:00 PM CST

This ‘reinvigorated’ doctrine could be used to challenge Trump’s tariffs

Importers and others who want to challenge tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could argue that he doesn’t have that power—but the argument isn’t a slam dunk, legal experts say.

Feb 5, 2025 11:59 AM CST

Interim US attorney for DC backs Elon Musk, warns against resisting DOGE

The interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on Monday pledged his office’s support to billionaire Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency,” vowing to “pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people.”

Feb 3, 2025 3:37 PM CST

FBI firings are feared as DOJ asks agents to divulge involvement with Jan. 6 investigations

FBI officials sent out a questionnaire over the weekend to determine the involvement of thousands of FBI personnel in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple people who reviewed the document and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Feb 3, 2025 1:10 PM CST

Government attorneys are scrambling to leave the federal workforce

Before the official administration change, federal government lawyers had already been scrambling to get out. Legal recruiters say that for months they have been getting an unprecedented number of calls, texts and emails from federal government lawyers looking for jobs in private practice.

Jan 31, 2025 1:31 PM CST

Trump’s firing of NLRB member could lead to reconsideration of 1935 Supreme Court precedent

A challenge to a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court precedent could be brewing, after President Donald Trump fired a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Jan 30, 2025 12:09 PM CST

Trump White House rescinds memo on freezing federal grants, reversing course

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded a memo ordering the freezing of federal grants after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash.

Jan 29, 2025 4:40 PM CST