Category: Constitutional Topics

From the fortified streets of Caracas to the protest-choked avenues of Minneapolis, the American presidency is undergoing a radical stress test. In a matter of weeks, President Donald Trump has asserted a sweeping interpretation of Article II powers that challenges a century of legal norms, leaving both the Supreme Court and international observers scrambling to…

The setting was the Kennedy Center. The audience was House Republicans at their annual retreat. The date was January 6, 2026 – five years exactly since the Capitol attack. And the president mused aloud about canceling the 2026 midterm elections. Then he caught himself. “I won’t say, ‘Cancel the election, they should cancel the election,’…

Twelve months. Twelve constitutional explosions. Some made headlines for a week. Others are still burning through the courts. This isn’t your civics teacher’s review of separation of powers. This is the year the Constitution stopped being a dusty document and became the most fought-over rulebook in America—with judges, presidents, states, and Congress all claiming they…

Every year on December 25th, the federal government closes. Post offices shut down. Federal employees get paid time off. Courts don’t convene. All to observe Christmas – a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. How does that not violate the First Amendment’s prohibition on establishing religion? The short answer: because the Supreme Court decided…

For 217 years, the Second Amendment didn’t protect your right to own a gun for self-defense in your home. Then in 2008, it suddenly did. The Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller declared for the first time in American history that the Constitution guarantees an individual right to possess firearms unconnected to…

You have a constitutional right to privacy. Everyone knows that. Except the Constitution never mentions privacy. Not once. Not in any amendment, clause, or footnote scribbled in the margins by a Founder having second thoughts. The right exists because nine Supreme Court justices in 1965 decided it was implied by the “penumbras” – the shadows…

The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972 with overwhelming bipartisan support. It needed ratification from 38 states. Within five years, 35 states had ratified. Just three more states and women’s constitutional equality would have been guaranteed. Fifty-three years later, the ERA still isn’t in the Constitution. Three more states did eventually ratify between 2017…

President Trump announced he’d send $2,000 checks to Americans funded by tariff revenue. No Congressional appropriation. No legislative authorization. Just an executive decision to redistribute tax dollars and a prediction that Congress would either approve it or stay silent. The announcement sparked debate about whether the math works and whether the money actually comes from…

Representative David Rouzer introduced H.R. 372 in January requiring states to drug test SNAP food stamp recipients quarterly or lose federal funding. The bill mandates testing for anyone arrested for drug offenses in the past five years, screens others for “risk of substance abuse,” and denies benefits for one year to anyone testing positive. It…

The Presidential Medal of Freedom represents America’s highest civilian honor. Presidents award it to individuals who’ve made exceptional contributions to national security, world peace, cultural endeavors, or public service. And the Constitution doesn’t authorize it at all. The medal exists through executive order, not congressional legislation. It requires no Senate approval. No constitutional provision explicitly…