Politics, Moderate

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Politics

Trump Is Explicitly Targeting Legal Residents Based on Opinions They Express: The Rationale for Deporting Mahmoud Khalil Is Chillingly Vague and Broad

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Although Mahmoud Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the United States, the Trump administration says, he is "subject to removal" because Secretary of State Marco Rubio "has determined" that his "presence or activities" would "have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences." That vague rationale, which alludes to Khalil's ...Read more

Republicans May Regret Undermining Judicial Independence: Threats to Impeach Federal Judges Who Rule Against the Government Are a Naked Attack on Their Constitutionally Crucial Function

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Under the U.S. Constitution, federal judges "hold their Offices during good Behaviour" and receive salaries that "shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." Like other "civil Officers of the United States," they can be removed from office by Congress only if they are impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of "...Read more

Mexico Aims to Reshape the US Firearm Industry by Suing Gun Makers: The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether That Threat to the Second Amendment Is Legally Viable

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

President Donald Trump, who imposed punitive tariffs on Mexico this week, complains that our southern neighbor is not doing enough to stop illegal drugs from crossing the border. Mexico has a similar complaint about the United States and guns, as reflected in a case that the Supreme Court heard on the same day the tariffs took effect.

...Read more

The FTC Has No Business Trying to Make Sure Social Media Are 'Fair': Chairman Andrew Ferguson's Assault on 'Big Tech Censorship' Aims to Override Constitutionally Protected Decisions

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Many Americans, including me, have had frustrating experiences with content moderation on social media platforms. Andrew Ferguson, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, wants us to know that such experiences are not just annoying or perplexing; they are "un-American" and "potentially illegal."

Ferguson, who began ...Read more

Trump Has Good Reason to Complain About Limits on His Ability to Fire Executive Officers: His Position Is Grounded in Concerns About the Separation of Powers That Presidents of Both Parties Have Raised for Many Years

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

President Donald Trump likes to fire people, and he resents congressional constraints on that presidential prerogative. While Trump's opponents may view that attitude as one more manifestation of his autocratic instincts, his complaint is grounded in legitimate concerns about the separation of powers that presidents of both parties have raised...Read more

The DOGE Bait and Switch: The Pretend Department's Downgraded Mission Reflects the Gap Between Trump's Promise of 'Smaller Government' and the Reality of What Can Be Achieved Without New Legislation

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Donald Trump's much-ballyhooed Department of Government Efficiency does not actually exist. The program's official status is more significant than it might seem, because it reflects the yawning gap between the president's promises of fiscal restraint and the reality of what can be accomplished without new legislation.

Billionaire entrepreneur...Read more

Trump's Tariff Threats Can't Win the Unwinnable War on Drugs: After Promising to Stop the Flow of Drugs During His First Term, the President Blames Foreign Officials for His Failure

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

"I'm gonna create borders," Donald Trump promised during his 2016 campaign. "No drugs are coming in. We're gonna build a wall. You know what I'm talking about. You have confidence in me. Believe me, I will solve the problem."

Trump did not, in fact, solve the problem: The annual number of drug-related deaths in the United States rose by 44% ...Read more

Trump's Citizenship Decree Signals His Willingness to Flout the Constitution: The Executive Order Contradicts the 14th Amendment and 127 Years of Judicial Precedent

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

In practical terms, Donald Trump's attempt to nullify birthright citizenship by executive decree, which ran into immediate legal trouble last week, is probably the least significant element of his immigration crackdown. But it is telling as an indication of the president's willingness to disregard the law in pursuit of his agenda.

Under the ...Read more

Biden and Trump Show Presidents How to Abuse Clemency: Biden's Preemptive Pardons and Trump's Blanket Relief for Capitol Rioters Both Set Dangerous Precedents

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Monday was a big day for presidential clemency, but that does not mean it was a good day. Both outgoing President Joe Biden and incoming President Donald Trump used that power in self-interested, shortsighted ways, sacrificing the public interest to benefit political allies and, in Biden's case, family members.

Biden granted preemptive ...Read more

The Law That Disarmed Trump Is Unfair, Illogical and Constitutionally Dubious: The President-Elect Lost His Second Amendment Rights Thanks to a Nonsensical Gun Ban

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

President-elect Donald Trump's sentence of "unconditional release" for violating a New York law that prohibits falsification of business records entails neither jail nor probation. But unless Trump successfully challenges his 34 felony convictions on appeal, he will suffer a lifelong penalty that should trouble civil libertarians across the ...Read more

Why We Are Still Arguing About the Health Effects of Moderate Drinking: The Evidence Is Vast but Open to Interpretation Because Observational Studies Are Inherently Ambiguous

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Even moderate drinking could give you cancer, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned last week. But according to a congressionally commissioned report published last month, moderate drinking is associated with reduced overall mortality.

Although those findings are not as contradictory as they might seem, the dueling glosses reflect the ...Read more

SCOTUS Can Protect Property Owners From Eminent Domain Abuse: A Utica, New York, Land Grab Offers an Opportunity to Revisit a Widely Criticized Precedent

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Bryan Bowers and his business partner, Mike Licata, planned to build medical office space across from a new hospital in downtown Utica, New York. The Oneida County Industrial Development Agency nixed that plan by agreeing to take the property so a competing business next door could use it for a parking lot -- a land grab that a state appeals ...Read more

Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim: How Cops, Politicians and Bureaucrats Tried to Dodge Responsibility in 2024

Politics, Moderate / Jacob Sullum /

Last February, explaining why he thought President Joe Biden could not be successfully prosecuted for mishandling classified documents, Special Counsel Robert Hur suggested that jurors would be apt to view the president as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and "diminished faculties." That amply supported ...Read more

 

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