The Imperial Presidency

Welcome to the age of the imperial presidency, dear listener.After President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, he flexed a newfound authority unlike his predecessors as he spent the first few weeks legislating through executive orders.Whether you think Trump is above the law in practice or theory, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last July in Trump v. United States feels particularly poignant as his administration faces over 100 lawsuits under 100 days into his second term.How does the court’s finding impact how Trump legislates from the executive branch? Does he really have the power to fire federal employees and the heads of nonpartisan bureaus? With the help of our D.C. reporters Ryan Knappenberger and Benjamin S. Weiss, we break this down and more in our fourth episode this season.Special guests:Ben Olinsky, senior vice president for structural reform at the Center for American ProgressMichael Sozan, senior fellow at the Center for American ProgressJed Shugerman, law professor at Boston University School of LawSharece Thrower, political science professor at Vanderbilt UniversityThis episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens. Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.