Jack Goldsmith

For background on the astonishing UK turnaround on Diego Garcia, see my chat with Richard Ekins. execfunctions.org/p/richard-ekin… This is a major secondary impact of the Iran war. politico.eu/article/uk-die…

Marty Lederman and I discuss the Presidential Records Act, why the Trump administration wants to avoid it, the OLC opinion that ruled it unconstitutional, and whether Congress could enact a Supreme Court Records Act. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

Yay! Launch piece. Please read and share-and preorder the book-if it sounds interesting harpers.org/archive/2026/0…

Bob Bauer on the 25th Amendment Under Vice Presidential Control: open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

Quietly devastating analysis by Biden OLC head of Trump OLC head's opinion on the Presidential Records Act. justsecurity.org/136242/preside…

Trump’s harsh reactions toward the Supreme Court's tariff decision were a “gift to the Chief Justice,” according to @whignewtons. execfunctions.org/p/the-last-bra… amazon.com/Last-Branch-St…

Kavanaugh v. Gorsuch, according to @whignewtons. execfunctions.org/p/the-last-bra… amazon.com/Last-Branch-St…

My discussion with @whignewtons (Sarah Isgur) about her great new book about the Supreme Court, "The Last Branch Standing." We focus on the Court's relationship with the Trump administration and its stance toward presidential power more generally. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

To ensure he doesn't, there's no substitute for formal checks from coordinate branches of government. Relimiting the presidency will take a large-scale reform effort that seems nearly unthinkable now. Yet as @jacklgoldsmith wrote last year: "the consequential 1970s post-Vietnam, post-Watergate reforms of the presidency were unfathomable just a few years before they occurred. A reckoning after Trump 2.0—or after the retaliation it provokes—could mirror the 1970s moment." nytimes.com/2025/05/05/opi…

Interested in editing me? Executive Functions is hiring a paid full-time executive editor. execfunctions.org/p/executive-fu…

Thanks to Jack for arranging this discussion. He asked astute questions, as always. My view, as made clear here, is that if President Trump tries to withdraw the United States from NATO without obtaining congressional approval, he will be violating a valid federal statute.

Can Trump pull out of NATO? @curtisabradley and I discuss whether the president or Congress controls treaty withdrawal, and whether a suit challenging withdrawal could be brought in federal court. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

Trump says he is "absolutely" considering withdrawing from NATO. A Sen. Rubio-sponsored law bars him from doing so w/o congressional or 2/3 Senate consent. Can Trump pull out anyway? "The law is unclear, but he probably can," I concluded, in Dec 2024 execfunctions.org/p/can-trump-de…

Me and Bob Bauer: One month in, Epic Fury is the second most consequential unauthorized presidential uses of force in all of American history. It’s also a new nadir in the decline of Congress’s check on presidential war. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

Bob Bauer and I discuss Congress’s failed efforts to halt the Iran conflict, a proposal for a constrained AUMF, Trump limited engagement with lawmakers, the importance of appropriations, War Powers Resolution issues, and the relevance of OLC ops. substack.com/profile/298420…

Me on how Trump is diminishing the Inspector General corps, with an assist from Congress, especially the Senate. “The IG story is part of a larger tale of Congress giving up its prerogatives and supporting Trump’s unitary executive despite its abuses.” open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

A conversation with @CassSunstein on his new book, why the executive is the most dangerous branch, unitary executive theory in light of the Trump v. Slaughter oral argument, and MQD after the tariffs decision. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…

Super-interesting: Mapping AI Policy: Where, Why, and How to Intervene, by @curl_justin and @ARozenshtein law-ai.org/mapping-ai-pol…

Bob Bauer on state bars v DOJ. open.substack.com/pub/executivef…