The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham has left South Carolina facing an unusually compressed and consequential decision. Gov. Henry McMaster must appoint a temporary replacement, while candidates prepare for a special Republican primary scheduled for August 11, a possible runoff on August 25, and the general election on November 3. Filing begins July 21,…
Trump’s Election Commission Shake-Up
President Trump’s decision to remove the remaining leadership of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has opened yet another front in the seemingly endless battle over how American elections should be administered and who should be trusted to administer them. Trump fired Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick resigned after…
A Housing Bill, an Election Bill, and a Missing Signature
President Trump has declined to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act because the Senate failed to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility—or SAVE America—Act. Trump is allowing the housing legislation to become law without his signature. Under the Constitution, a bill automatically becomes law when the president neither signs nor vetoes it within…
The Venezuela Aid Dilemma
Venezuela’s earthquake crisis has created the kind of moment that tests more than buildings, roads, and emergency systems. It tests judgment. It tests compassion. And, in Washington’s case, it tests whether America can walk and chew gum at the same time: help suffering people without accidentally handing a political gift basket to a government figure…
Birthright Citizenship Survives, and the Justices Bring the Receipts
The Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling is one of those cases where constitutional text, history, immigration policy, presidential power, and judicial philosophy all collide in one very crowded legal hallway. The Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment against President Trump’s executive order, which sought to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to…
Truth, Libel, and the Media’s Very Expensive Hall Pass
Few Supreme Court precedents have shaped American political speech more than New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 decision that made it much harder for public officials, and later public figures, to win defamation lawsuits. Supporters say that high bar protects free debate, especially criticism of powerful people. Critics say it’s become a legal bunker…
Ballot Security or Federal Overreach?
The controversy over Postmaster General David Steiner’s statement about mail ballots is one of those political stories where everyone immediately runs to their assigned battle stations. Supporters hear “election integrity” and reach for the applause button. Opponents hear ‘federal voter data portal’ and see less of a postal reform and more of a constitutional boundary…
The “Anti-Weaponization” Fund: Good Principle, Terrible Packaging
The Justice Department’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund is one of those ideas that sounds righteous in theory but politically combustible in practice. The basic claim behind it isn’t hard to understand: if federal agencies used government power to punish people for their politics, beliefs, speech, associations, or religious convictions, those people deserve more than a polite…
Jay Clayton for DNI: Competence, Caution, and the Pulte Problem
President Trump’s nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence is one of those Washington moves that manages to be both calming and concerning at the same time. On one hand, Clayton is a serious person with a serious résumé. He’s not some cable-news goblin pulled from the fever swamp and handed…
Investigating E. Jean Carroll: Equal Justice or Political Payback?
The Justice Department has reportedly opened a perjury investigation into E. Jean Carroll, focusing on whether she lied during civil litigation against President Trump when she said no one else was paying her legal fees. AP reports that the probe is being led by federal prosecutors in Chicago, while acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is…
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