Susan Sullivan Lagon, Ph.D.
After 21 years as a Senior Fellow with the Government Affairs Institute (GAI), Susan Sullivan Lagon took the position of Nonresident Senior Fellow with GAI in August, 2015. Before coming to GAI, she taught American Politics and Constitutional Law in the Government Department at Georgetown, and continues to teach Constitutional Law there as an adjunct. Her prior experience includes a stint as a book editor at Congressional Quarterly, where she was a frequent speaker on CQ’s “Understanding Congress” seminars. She has spoken to numerous groups including the Fulbright Scholars Program, the World Bank, various embassies, and more than 500 international visitors groups sponsored by the State Department.
Susan grew up “inside the Beltway” and holds a B.A. and M.A. in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Her Ph.D. is from Georgetown University.
Expertise:
- Congressional Procedure
- State of Partisanship
- Congressional Hearings
- House and Senate Differences
- Constitutional Law
Recent Media In The Media Center
Susan Sullivan Lagon | July 24, 2024 It seems the Founders are out of fashion. Alexander Hamilton’s language could use some updating—but not in the rhythmic style of the eponymous musical. Rather, a core principle of governance, his views of the judiciary as a branch showing “neither force nor will, merely judgement”, are out of step. It is now impossible to see Susan Sullivan Lagon | September 7, 2023 In Federalist 78, published in the spring of 1788, Alexander Hamilton famously referred to the judiciary as “the least dangerous” branch of the federal government. A fair question 235 years later is whether it has become the least accountable branch, at least at the top level. Unlike lower-court judges and employees in the executive andEroding Checks and Balances: The Immunity Decision
Does the Highest Court Have the Lowest Standards?
Leading Expert On Congress