Executive Functions Chat

Jack and Bob discuss the subpoena targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the legal limits on presidential control of the Fed, Senate resistance, and the potential consequences for markets and the administration heading into the midterms. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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

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

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

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