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Executive Functions Chat

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency.

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30 episodes
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English

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April 14 · 30 min
The Last Branch Standing
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 (2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
April 3 · 31 min
Can Trump Pull Out of NATO?
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 could be brought in federal court. Mentioned: Curtis A. Bradley, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (2024) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
March 27 · 27 min
It's the President's War
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 of Legal Counsel opinions and the broader shift toward a one-man-decides model of war powers. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
March 20 · 41 min
The Most Dangerous Branch
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 case, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
March 3 · 28 min
Homeland Security in a Time of War with Iran
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. They also explore concerns about federal capacity, including a DHS funding lapse, resource diversion away from counterterrorism and toward immigration enforcement, and leadership turnover across key agencies. Thumbnail: FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force photo. (U.S. Government Work.) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
February 24 · 29 min
The Tariff Refund Problem
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 constraints shaping the process, including institutional capacity, litigation costs, and why many smaller importers may never recover their losses. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
February 13 · 24 min
Prosecuting Members of Congress
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 prosecutions of members of Congress, including Bob’s proposal for a court-appointed special counsel and an alternative that focuses on revising the substance of criminal statutes. Mentioned: “The Bad News in the D.C. Grand Jury’s Refusal to Indict Six Members of Congress” by Bob Bauer (Executive Functions, Feb. 12, 2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
February 5 · 22 min
Richard Ekins on Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands Dispute
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 courts, treaty obligations between the United States and the United Kingdom, and the strategic importance of Diego Garcia. They also examine the legal and security risks of the proposed transfer, including constraints on the use of force, nuclear nonproliferation obligations, and the question of why the United States might consent to the agreement. Since this chat was recorded, President Trump today signaled support for the Chagos sovereignty transfer, or at least a rollback of his criticism. He also said: “If the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia.” Mentioned: “Britain’s Chagos Deal Can’t Go Forward Without U.S. Consent” by Richard Ekin (National Review, Jan. 30, 2026.) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
January 30 · 29 min
Donald Trump is Settling Old Scores—and Making New Plans?
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 information, unpacking the basis of the claims and the institutional questions raised by a sitting president suing the executive branch he oversees. Mentioned: “Is the Administration Prepared to Deploy ICE to Police This Fall’s Elections?” by Bob Bauer (Executive Functions, Jan. 27, 2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
January 20 · 36 min
Sai Prakash on the Pardon Power from the Founding to Trump
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: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History (2026) “Trump’s Circumvention of the Justice Department Clemency Process” by Jack Goldsmith and Matt Gluck (Lawfare, Dec. 29, 2020) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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