The Trump-Musk ransacking of the federal government must stop. The courts offer one important way to apply the brake, says an administrative law scholar.
Peter M. Shane
Peter M. Shane is the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at Ohio State University and a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the New York University School of Law. He is the author of Democracy’s Chief Executive: Interpreting the Constitution and Defining the Future of the Presidency(2022) and the host of "Democracy's Chief Executive: The Podcast." Follow Peter on Bluesky at @petermshane.bsky.social.
Posted inPolitics
Trump’s Fusillade of Tyrannical Orders
A radical dictum from the Office of Management and Budget is rescinded, but the chaos and lawlessness are still flagrant.
Posted inMagazine
Reconstruct the Administrative State
This article is from a cover package of essays entitled Ten New Ideas for the Democratic Party to Help the Working Class, and Itself. Find the full series here. The impending return of aggressive right-wing presidentialism under Donald Trump is likely to take on a dangerous double character. On one side, those parts of the administrative state […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Musk and Ramaswamy’s DOGE Project to Eviscerate the Federal Government is a Legal Train Wreck
The half-truths and lies in their “Department of Government Efficiency” blueprint for kneecapping the administrative state begin to expose the plan’s vulnerabilities.
Posted inLaw and Justice
The Ted Olson I Knew
The acclaimed conservative attorney who championed same-sex marriage and who died last week at 84 demonstrated the humane qualities we need now.
Posted inLaw and Justice
As GOP Senators Choose Their Leader, Trump Demands They Bend the Knee
The president-elect wants the Senate to abdicate its role in reviewing presidential appointments. It shouldn’t give in.
Posted inLaw and Justice
The Roberts Court’s Chevron Ruling and Darkening Clouds Over the Administrative State
Conservatives cheered the Court overturning the 40-year-old reasonable standard of deference to agencies. But other rulings may do more to hamstring both elected branches of government while aggrandizing the role of judges.
Posted inPolitics
With Abortion Drug, Alito Seems to Abandon His Usual Hard Line on Who Can Sue
In the mifepristone case, the usually stalwart monitor of who can sue in federal court seemed awfully eager to relax the rules over “standing” on behalf of anti-abortion plaintiffs.
Posted inLaw and Justice
This Will Be a Big Year for The Roberts Court’s Major Questions Doctrine
As administrations do in their final years, the Biden administration will produce a flurry of new rules and regulations in 2024. Enter the shapeshifting, ill-defined legal principle businesses and conservatives will use to hinder agency discretion.
Posted inFeatured
Why the Supreme Court Should Promptly Reject Trump’s Immunity Claim
Unlike the Colorado ballot case, where the Roberts Court needs a ruling that doesn’t create chaos, the former president’s insistence that he’s above the law is an easier call.
