Essays
Practice / October 4, 2026
It is one of the most consequential procedures in Congress and one of the least understood. Most Americans could not tell you what suspension of the rules...
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Every so often, the Senate takes up a treaty, and the first words you hear are not about war, peace, sovereignty, or American interests. They are a flat...
There is a document more powerful than most bills and less read than a parking ticket. It is not a law, not a court opinion, not an executive order. It is a...
Every few years the same constitutional farce plays out on television. A committee issues a subpoena. A witness, often a well-compensated lawyer or a...
The Constitution splits the war power in two for a reason. Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to declare war. Article II makes the president...
There is a number that almost never makes the evening news but quietly shapes nearly every federal spending debate. It is called the PAYGO scorecard...
Every few years, a president vetoes a bill, Congress falls a few votes short of an override, and the same tired chorus starts. People insist the minority is...
In a constitutional republic, the consent of the governed is not a slogan. It is a precondition. And you cannot consent to laws you cannot see, read, or...
The most important sentence in the entire House vacancy process has only twenty-two words. It sits quietly in Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 of the...
For years the recess appointment debate has been fought on the wrong ground. The usual argument is about whether the Senate is really in session while its...