A President Who Advocated for Limits on Executive Authority
Bob talks with historian Walter Stahr about William Howard Taft’s model of the presidency. The conversation covers Taft’s remarkably varied career across the executive and judicial branches, his differences with Theodore Roosevelt over the scope of executive power, his stance on war powers, and the significance of his post-presidential writing on executive authority and responsibility. Mentioned:Walter Stahr, Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary (2017)William Howard Taft, Our Chief Magistrate and Its Powers (1916)Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (1913) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
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32:24
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32:24
What Are We Living Through?
Jack talks with Columbia Law professor David Pozen about Pozen's recent Boston Review essay with Jedediah Britton-Purdy, “What Are We Living Through?” They discuss three competing ways of understanding the Trump administration—authoritarian rupture, continuity with long-running dysfunction, and a transition to a new constitutional regime. The conversation explores whether all three can be true, what kind of damage may be irreversible, and what rebuilding might look like after Trump.Mentioned:“What Are We Living Through?” by David Pozen & Jedediah Britton-Purdy (Boston Review, Oct. 15, 2025)“Hardball and/as Anti-Hardball” by David Pozen (Lawfare, Oct. 11, 2018) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
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31:34
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31:34
Decision-making Disarray at the DOJ
Bob and Jack discuss recent reports of internal rifts at the Department of Justice, the loyalty pressures shaping the Trump administration, and whether constitutional reform is needed to curb the spiral of politicized prosecutions. Mentioned:The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr“Part Enabler, Part Bluffer: The Bind of the Justice Department’s No. 2” by Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer (NYT)“How Should a DOJ Political Appointee Think About a Trump-Weaponized DOJ?” by Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
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21:34
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21:34
The Oregon National Guard Ruling
Bob and Jack discuss (and disagree about) the Oregon National Guard ruling, the deference owed to the president, the relevance of the president’s Truth Social comments, and the ultimate limits on the president’s power to use the military in the domestic sphere. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
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27:42
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27:42
The Comey Indictment
Bob and Jack discuss the Trump administration’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, the lawfulness of the Lindsey Halligan appointment as interim U.S. Attorney, the implications of Trump’s full takeover and weaponization of DOJ, and how to think about reform in this context. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
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