Executive Functions

A Substack newsletter devoted to analysis of presidential and broader executive power issues, by Bob Bauer and @jacklgoldsmith.

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Watch the full episode at https://t.co/gW2ZmQRmon

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

If Democrats hold back on accountability, does the Trump administration’s worst conduct go unanswered? If they don’t, does the cycle just keep escalating? Bob Bauer and @jacklgoldsmith each make a case.

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Full episode here: https://t.co/gW2ZmQRUdV

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Jack Goldsmith: Sen. Slotkin’s wish to scare young people out of working for Trump borrows Trump’s own philosophy of deterrence by trauma. What does this episode suggest about the road ahead?
https://t.co/y0HHwyvXw4

[Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith]

Francis Fukuyama explaining to Bob Bauer that lawyers care about procedure and voters care about outcomes. Part of a broader interesting conversation. https://t.co/WNWJ1gUkbh

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/6x7KCQc96Y

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Bob Bauer and @FukuyamaFrancis discuss the post-Trump era, with Fukuyama noting how the Trumpian 'earthquake' might clear the way for previously-impossible reforms.

[Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith]

Super interesting opinions re vote safety next month. Most remarkable is bipartisan consensus against negative extremes (eg no expert "very concerned" about vote integrity and all experts "moderately" or "very" confident Sup Ct will be "fair/impartial")

https://t.co/Dil4m9lt3m

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Jack Goldsmith and Catherine Grace Katz discuss Zeppelins, the 1925 U.S. helium ban, and what the Hindenburg disaster might suggest about controlling AI. https://t.co/HRCW5qLKMJ

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Bob Bauer and @StanfordLaw Professor Nate @persily discuss the impacts, both realized and potential, of AI on elections.
https://t.co/bpqOyvNBjP

[NYU Law Democracy Project @NYULawDemProjct]

From Faculty Director Bob Bauer’s new “Elections 2026” essay with @Exec_Functions— “The Politics of AI: A Campaign Finance Reform Proposal”

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Jack Goldsmith writes that even in the unitary executive, "IGs can still facilitate executive branch accountability, as two recent IG reports—from the Trump-appointed, Senate-confirmed Pentagon IG, and the non-confirmed Federal Reserve IG—illustrate." https://t.co/C35jQziqGb

[Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith]

Bob Bauer and I discuss the president's political advertising on the taxpayer's dime. https://t.co/BrpYQMKMEs

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss the legal problems with the three taxpayer-funded ads aggrandizing President Trump, and what might explain an administration with ample party money spending public funds this way. https://t.co/MGRcesBWjf

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

https://t.co/kJViNGZICh

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Bob Bauer argues that the administration’s recent taxpayer-funded ads featuring President Trump violate the federal ban on spending appropriated funds for “propaganda,” but that consequences will likely depend on Congress—which “faces a major legal and policy challenge in giving any teeth to the ban.”

[NYU Law Democracy Project @NYULawDemProjct]

🚨 Elections 2026: New by Faculty Director Bob Bauer — "The Challenges for Legal Commentary in the Last Weeks Before Election Day"

We're publishing daily essays on potential threats to the election process & mechanisms to manage them

Read here: https://t.co/XF6xbs6RYu

[Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith]

San Francisco on Monday sued Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., alleging that its 100k/mo early access feed to Truth Social posts by POTUS violates insider trading laws. I spoke with former SEC GC John Coates about this topic. https://t.co/R6k2s049bb

[Executive Functions @Exec_Functions]

Bob Bauer on President Trump's drive for unimpeded control of the administration's message. https://t.co/JEWzetqXBc