Constitutional Topics

Article II Unbound: Is Trump Redefining the Presidency Through Force?

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...

Trump “Jokes” About Canceling the 2026 Midterms

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 12 Most Insane Constitutional Crises of 2025

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...

Does Christmas As a Federal Holiday Violate The Constitutional Separation Of Church And State?

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...

Did the Supreme Court Invent a New Gun Right?

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...

Five Rights You Think Are in the Constitution

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...

Presidents Have Been Stealing From the Treasury For 200 Years. Nobody Stops Them.

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...

The 7 Constitutional Amendments That Almost Happened: What American’s Failed Changes Reveal About Power

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...

Poverty as Probable Cause? Proposed Drug Testing for SNAP Recipients Faces Significant Constitutional Obstacles

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...

The Constitutional Rundown About Medals of Freedom And Controversial Recipients

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...

From Generals to Ideologues

Donald Trump has appointed six people to lead the Department of Defense across his two non-consecutive presidencies. The progression from his first term to his second reveals a dramatic shift in priorities – from prioritizing military experience and institutional credibility to selecting...

Government Shutdowns Explained: A Historical Guide to Their Causes and Consequences

When the clock strikes midnight on September 30, the United States government may, once again, shut down. The word “shutdown” has become a familiar part of our political vocabulary, a recurring threat in our bitterly divided politics. But what does it actually mean? How did we get to a place...

On its 238th Anniversary, a Look at the Constitution’s Creation: Trump’s Vision vs. the Founders’ Reality

This week, America marks the 238th anniversary of the signing of its most sacred civic document. In a new presidential proclamation, the U.S. Constitution is hailed as a “legendary charter” that codified “eternal truths.” But the story of the Constitution’s birth in the hot, stuffy summer...

The State Of Free Speech In America

It feels like the rules are changing. A protest that was once legal is now a crime. A bad joke that was once edgy is now a fireable offense. A political group you disagree with is suddenly labeled “extremist.” From college campuses in America to the halls of government in Europe and the streets...

From Abolitionists to Activists: A History of Violent Attacks on the First Amendment

The shocking attack on Charlie Kirk on a university campus feels like a uniquely modern horror, a symptom of our bitterly divided times. But the act of using violence to silence a political voice is, tragically, not new. It is part of a long and bloody thread that runs through the American story....

The American presidency is an office of immense power, but it is not a throne. The Constitution, through its brilliant and deliberate system of checks and balances, places firm limits on the executive. Yet throughout our history, some presidents have strained against those limits, testing the very...

You Can Thank a Supreme Court Showdown for Your Labor Day Weekend

As you fire up the grill this Labor Day and enjoy the last long weekend of summer, here’s a thought to go with your burger: where did your weekend actually come from? It wasn’t a gift from a generous boss or a natural feature of the calendar. The American weekend, and the 40-hour workweek that...

Who Decides ‘Presidential Fitness’? What Happens When a President is Unable to Serve

It is the most delicate and terrifying question in American governance: What happens if the President, the most powerful person in the world, is no longer mentally or physically capable of leading? Recent public concerns over the health of both former President Joe Biden and, more quietly, the...

3 Times the Supreme Court Admitted It Was Wrong

The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of American law. Its decisions are etched into the stone of legal precedent, shaping the nation for generations. But what happens when the guardian of our Constitution admits that it got the Constitution profoundly wrong? While rare, these moments of...

Federalism for Beginners: A Guide to the Tug-of-War Between the States and Washington

A president threatens to federalize a city’s police force. States legalize marijuana while federal law forbids it. Governors sue the administration over an environmental rule. Every day, the headlines are filled with stories that reveal a fundamental, deliberate, and often-fierce conflict at the...