Articles by Charlotte Greene

FISA 702 and Warrants for Americans’ Data

Every few years, Congress faces the same uncomfortable question: how much surveillance power should the federal government have in the name of foreign intelligence, and what protections do Americans get when their messages get caught in the net? That question is back because Section 702 of the...

When Schools Punish Off-Campus Snapchat Speech

Public schools have real responsibilities: keeping students safe, maintaining order, and protecting learning time. But the First Amendment still matters, especially when a student’s speech happens off campus, in a private message, or otherwise outside school programs. A recent federal case out of...

Can the President Ignore Presidential Records Rules?

Most of us only notice federal recordkeeping when something has gone wrong. A missing email. A deleted text. A phone call no one seems able to document. But records are not a minor administrative detail. They are the evidence that oversight and later review depend on. Without them, subpoenas,...

When “Unhinged” Becomes a Constitutional Argument

On Easter morning, President Donald Trump posted a message that ricocheted across social media: profane, belligerent, and aimed at Iran. At the time of writing, a familiar constitutional phrase is trending in the public conversation: the 25th Amendment . Some commentators and lawmakers did not...

USPS Weighs Letting Americans Mail Handguns

The U.S. Postal Service is preparing to make a major change to its firearm mailing standards: a proposed rule that would let “lawful handguns to be mailed” under terms similar to those that already apply to rifles and shotguns. If finalized, it would mark a significant shift in how a federally...

Trump Removes Attorney General Pam Bondi, Names Todd Blanche Acting AG

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi is leaving the Justice Department, a sudden shakeup that places Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in the role of acting attorney general. Trump framed the change as a transition, writing that Bondi would be moving to “a...

Trump Officials Born to Immigrant Parents

When people debate birthright citizenship , the conversation can feel abstract, like a courtroom exercise about commas and clauses. But the Constitution’s promise of citizenship at birth has always had a very practical side: it determines who is recognized as an American from day one, including...

Judge Halts White House Ballroom Until Congress Authorizes Funding

A federal judge has ordered construction on the proposed White House ballroom to pause unless and until Congress authorizes the project, turning a high-profile renovation fight into a civics lesson about who controls federal building decisions and, more importantly, federal dollars. The order...

Hegseth Lifts Suspension of Army Pilots After Kid Rock Flyover

A brief military spectacle outside a celebrity’s home turned into a small but revealing lesson in how the armed forces balance discipline, judgment, and public perception. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Army pilots who carried out a helicopter fly-by near musician Kid Rock’s...

When ‘Welfare Checks’ Skip Due Process

A federal jury in Texas has approved damages for a family who says two school district police officers took their 14-year-old daughter from her home after deciding, wrongly, that she had been “abandoned.” The case is not just about a bad call in a tense moment. Jurors concluded the officers...

ICE at Airports After TSA Pay Returns: A Civil Liberties Question

Airport security lines have been the most visible sign of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding breakdown. But a quieter change may outlast the paycheck crisis: federal immigration agents were brought into airports to help cover staffing gaps, and the administration is now signaling...

‘No Kings’ Protesters Add ‘Thy Immigrant’ Verse to ‘America the Beautiful’

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C. as part of the “No Kings” protest movement, rewriting a familiar American hymn to include a striking addition: a verse that inserted the words “thy immigrant.” The rally came as tensions over immigration enforcement and a prolonged...

Homan: ICE Could Stay at Airports Even After TSA Pay Resumes

As the Department of Homeland Security funding lapse drags on, the federal government is leaning on an unusual stopgap at the nation’s airports: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents filling in for short-staffed Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. On Sunday, White House...

De Niro and Springsteen Join ‘No Kings’ Protests

Actor Robert De Niro and musician Bruce Springsteen appeared at separate “No Kings” rallies and spoke to crowds, as shown in circulating video. Their appearances added celebrity attention to a protest slogan that different participants and viewers can interpret in different ways. What is...

The Turbulent History of U.S.-Cuban Relations

The United States and Cuba sit less than 100 miles apart, but their political relationship has often felt like an ocean wide. Across two centuries, the story repeats in different forms: American leaders see Cuba as strategically essential, Cuban leaders resist outside control, and everyday people...

Medicare Drug Price Suits Move Through Lower Courts

The Biden administration is defending the Medicare drug price negotiation program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, but the fight is playing out where many major federal programs are tested first: in the lower courts. Drugmakers and industry groups have filed multiple lawsuits in federal...

Pima County Deputy Accused of Kidnapping Woman in Custody

A former Pima County Sheriff’s deputy in Arizona is facing a felony kidnapping charge after authorities say he abused his position while transporting a woman who was already in custody. The deputy, identified by police as 22-year-old Travis Reynolds, has been arrested, booked, and fired from the...

Biden-Era Social Media ‘Jawboning’ Curbed in 10-Year Settlement

A decade-long consent decree is reshaping how several federal agencies may interact with social media companies, and it is being celebrated by two Republican-led states as a major First Amendment win. The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought by Missouri and Louisiana, alongside individual...

Democrats Say They Support Voter ID, Then Block a Vote to Require It

Voter ID is one of those election issues that sounds simple until you look closely at what lawmakers are actually voting on. This week in the Senate, that gap between the slogan and the substance became the story: several prominent Democrats reiterated that they are not opposed to photo...

HUD Opens Probe Into Washington’s Race-Linked Mortgage Aid Program

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened a federal civil rights investigation into a Washington state homeownership initiative that the agency believes may sort applicants by race and ancestry. The question at the center of the probe is a constitutional one with everyday...