Executive Functions Chat

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith
  • 4.4 (7)
  • GOVERNMENT
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency. www.execfunctions.org

  1. Law and the Venezuela Invasion

    2D AGO

    Law and the Venezuela Invasion

    Bob and Jack discuss the legality of the U.S. invasion of Venezuela leading to the capture President Nicolás Maduro, how law matters to presidential uses of force, and what legal issues to expect at Maduro’s trial. Mentioned: “On the Legality of the Venezuela Invasion” by Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions, Jan. 3, 2026) Curtis A. Bradley, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (2024) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

    26 min
  2. The President's Protective Power

    12/29/2025

    The President's Protective Power

    Jack spoke with Chris Mirasola of the University of Houston Law Center about the President’s “protective power” to use the regular armed forces or the National Guard (if properly federalized) in the domestic sphere for the protection of federal property and functions. They discussed the origins and scope of the protective power, its relationship to the Posse Comitatus Act, why it was relevant in Trump v. Illinois, and the president’s prominent options for domestic deployment of the military (including using regular armed forces for a protective function) after Trump v. Illinois. Further reading: Chris Mirasola, Sovereignty, Article II, and the Military During Domestic Unrest, 15 Harv. Nat’l Sec. J. 199 (2023) Jack Goldsmith, Thoughts on the Interim Order in Trump v. Illinois, Executive Functions (December 24, 2025) Chris Mirasola, Unpacking the Protective Power, Lawfare (June 12, 2025) Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

    32 min
  3. Catching Up, Keeping Track

    12/12/2025

    Catching Up, Keeping Track

    Bob and Jack discuss the latest developments across three ongoing issues in Trump’s second term: use of the pardon power, unresolved transparency disputes, and the administration’s campaign against major law firms. They examine the political dynamics at play behind a recent series of pardons, promised disclosures related to the Epstein files and the Sept. 2 boat strikes, and how executive orders targeting major law firms, though repeatedly struck down, continue to create uncertainty and pressure within the legal profession. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

    20 min
  4. Executive Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

    12/09/2025

    Executive Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

    Jack talks with University of Minnesota Law School professor Alan Z. Rozenshtein about how artificial intelligence could reshape the modern presidency by easing bureaucratic limits that have traditionally constrained presidential control. Building on Rozenshtein’s lecture, The Unitary Artificial Executive, they discuss how automated decision systems might function as a presidential “oracle” across the administrative state. The conversation examines how, and to what extent, AI could centralize power throughout agencies, reduce the role of human deliberation, and alter traditional principal–agent relationships inside government. Mentioned: “The Unitary Artificial Executive” by Alan Z. Rozenshtein (Lawfare, Oct. 30, 2025) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

    32 min
  5. A President Who Advocated for Limits on Executive Authority

    11/19/2025

    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

    32 min
  6. What Are We Living Through?

    11/11/2025

    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

    32 min
  7. Decision-making Disarray at the DOJ

    10/14/2025

    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

    22 min
  8. The Oregon National Guard Ruling

    10/07/2025

    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

    28 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.4
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency. www.execfunctions.org

Information

  • Creator
    Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith
  • Show Website
    Executive Functions Chat

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