Susan Sullivan Lagon, Ph.D.



Charles B. Cushman Photo

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


The Justices Weigh Democracy

Susan Sullivan Lagon | November 2, 2022

Every even-numbered year in the U.S., some politician or pundit will proclaim that “this is the most important election in our lifetimes!” This news is often met with yawns by the weary public, even among those who bother to vote. But when a respected appellate court judge declares that a case pending before the U.S.

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Does Evil Lurk within the “Shadow Docket”?

Susan Sullivan Lagon | November 2, 2021

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 have become standard operating procedure.

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Leading Expert On Congress