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In late September, I went on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal to talk about the impending government shutdown. After a discussion with the program host, guests get to answer questions from viewers who call into the program. I expected to be challenged on something, but did not anticipate that on that list
Congressional appropriations are having a year. The second Trump administration kicked things off by engaging in a spree of unconstitutional impoundments of congressionally appropriated funds. The Republican Congress followed that up with a rarity: a full-year Continuing Resolution to finish out the fiscal year: unusual in itself, but in covering
By Professor Julia Azari, Marquette University Presidential power is a bit at odds with democracy. Presidency scholars have noted this for years, suggesting that “greatness” is often uncomfortably close to the kind of norm-busting, authoritarian action that our constitution is supposed to avoid. Presidents also face a dilemma about
Congress provides plenty of examples of procedures that were once rarely deployed but have since become routine: Filibusters instead of debate in the Senate, Continuing Resolutions (CRs) in place of regular annual appropriations, and playing chicken with the debt ceiling are among the most obvious. Fail-safes designed for exigent circumstances
Ten days ago, his state reeling from extreme cold and widespread power outages, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made news in a most unfortunate way. As word spread that he had jetted off to tropical Cancun with his family, Congress-watchers, Texans, and most sentient humans were left aghast that an experienced
(3 to 5 days) The Seminar for Executives on Legislative Operations is offered only as a tailored course, and can be conducted anywhere from three to five days. This course is designed for members of the Senior Executive Service, SES candidates, and GS/GM 14s and 15s (or uniformed service equivalent)
Last Friday Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that he would appoint a select committee to further investigate the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound and the CIA facility in Benghazi, Libya. This decision comes in the midst of a midterm election season and predictably it has
“Tell me how this ends” This is what former CENTCOM Commander and CIA Director David Petraeus had posited to journalist Rick Atkinson back in early 2003 when he was still a commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division and in preparation to invade Iraq. While General Petraeus had made this
A little less than a year ago, President Obama delivered a major national security policy address at the National Defense University. The speech outlined specific proposals for revising important pieces of several thorny national security issues such as the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Prison and a long-overdue review of
Congressman Mike Rogers’s recent announcement that he will not seek reelection this November received a fair amount of news coverage. This is hardly surprising since he is the Chairman of the high-profile House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. While the media reported widely on the “succession race” for the chairman’s
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