petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social

@petermshane

Constitutional and admin law prof. Author, Democracy's Chief Executive (U. Cal. 2022). Podcast host @DemChiefExecPod. @Monthly contributor. Corgi-obsessed.

Brooklyn Heights, NY

Joined September 2008

2KFollowing

3KFollowers

Pinned

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Nov 9

I had hoped that the info shared in our @demchiefexecpod series on Project 2025 would help make the series irrelevant after the election. Alas, they may now help in seeing what’s coming. Our earliest episodes on law and the presidency also urgent. open.spotify.com/show/59gIdLq8e…

1.0K

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Jul 21

“Trump’s use of executive power is not a distortion of the Roberts Court’s theory of the presidency; it is the Court’s theory of the presidency, brought to life.” My take in the Atlantic. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

petermshane's tweet card. The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible.

888

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Jul 3

"In 2025, however, no one in authority takes war powers originalism seriously. The remaining institutional constraint—politics—is, for now, not even a speed bump slowing a belligerent president." My take on what bombing Iran reveals about war powers. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/07/03/tru…

petermshane's tweet card. Trump’s Iran bombing shows how presidents have sidelined Congress on war, and are no longer constrained by constitutional limits.

225

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Jun 23

In a crossover episode of @demchiefexecpod, I go from host to guest. @LindsayLangholz, @acslaw Sr. Dir. of Policy & Program and host of the ACS podcast, Broken Law, asked about Trump’s independent agency firings and the shaky future of checks and balances. open.spotify.com/episode/0juJYH…

158

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Jun 4

The Supreme Court’s combination of glib history and hubris continues to fuel an executive-indulgent constitutional jurisprudence at odds with both text and political reality.

WWashington Monthly@monthly · Jun 4

Read @petermshane's explainer: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/04/ano…

567

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · May 18

Pleased to be quoted in this story on Trump's efforts to "deregulate" by ignoring the law. As usual, the novelty is in the scope of Trump's lawlessness. Anything others did occasionally, he will do systematically. "Obama jaywalked? Let's do armed robbery!" wapo.st/4dqIrDN

petermshane's tweet card. Critics say the administration is breaking the law and sidestepping the rulemaking process that presidents of both parties have long followed.

332

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Apr 18

Attached is the letter signed by Ohio State Moritz College of Law faculty, in their individual capacities, in light of current threats to constitutional democracy and the rule of law in the U.S.

petermshane's tweet image. Attached is the letter signed by Ohio State Moritz College of Law faculty, in their individual capacities, in light of current threats to constitutional democracy and the rule of law in the U.S.

197

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Mar 14

On 3/12 I debated Aditya Bamzai of UVA on, “Does the Law Provide for a Unitary Executive?” at Harvard. From 20:27 to 29:22, I argue originalism is unsound, text and history favor checks and balances, and a modest UET was bound to metastasize à la Trump. youtu.be/3NEpMm-wGWw?si…

354

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Mar 12

If you’re wondering what unitary executive theory is, how an extreme version is enabling Trump, why constitutional text doesn’t align with it, and where we might be headed, here’s the link to my 3/10 conversation with Tom Gerety about the issues. youtu.be/ynEclhsYXbs?si…

240

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 26

Proud to be among 950+ law professors signing a letter organized by BC law prof @Kentgreenfield1 for @acslaw challenging the rampant illegality of the Trump Administration. A post at acslaw.org/press_release/… contains a link to the letter and its signatories.

petermshane's tweet card. More than 1,000 Law Scholars Sound Alarm on Constitutional Crisis | ACS

213

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 14

If your copy of the Constitution is missing Article I, Section 8, cl. 18, a copy is available here: law.cornell.edu/constitution/a…

WWelcome to Newscum's Commiefornia@sailing1103 · Feb 13

Congress funds and oversees the executive branch much like a Board of Directors. it does not dictate how the government operates.

307

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 12

The title of my essay published in The Atlantic is pretty much what I'd have thought to be a unanimous understanding of the Constitution: “Presidents May Not Unilaterally Dismantle Government Agencies.” Yet Trump's assault on checks and balances continues. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

petermshane's tweet card. That’s not how separation of powers works under the U.S. Constitution.

490

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 11

I had the privilege yesterday of being interviewed by Mitch Jeserich for the Letters & Politics program on Pacifica's KPFA radio. We discussed the history of executive power as interpreted by the Supreme Court and how we got to the present moment. kpfa.org/program/letter…

petermshane's tweet card. Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today's major global and national news stories.

129

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 10

Jordan Ascher of Governing for Impact and I explain in today's @monthly what's wrong with Trump's Schedule F scheme. As the subhead says: "It violates statutes, undoes a century of civil service reform, and would derail government services." washingtonmonthly.com/2025/02/10/tru…

petermshane's tweet card. Trump's plan violates statutes, undoes a century of civil service reform, and would derail government services.

424

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 4

I urge in @monthly that progressives opposed to the Trump-Musk regime's abuses now turn to courts with the same energy and creativity that Red States brought to bear against Biden. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/02/04/to-…. Many have started. Just Security has a tracker: justsecurity.org/107087/tracker…

petermshane's tweet card. A public resource tracking the legal challenges to the Trump administration's executive orders and actions.

301

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Feb 3

I actually give them points for candor.

AAdrian Vermeule@Vermeullarmine · Feb 3

Putting aside the normative issues, speaking merely as a student of politics, the American right could really use a dash of rhetorical subtlety. You’re not “abolishing the administrative state,” you’re protecting it from those who would corrupt it. You’re not “purging” DOJ,…

306

petermshane a/k/a petermshane.bksy.social@petermshane · Jan 30

Trump’s early moves aim to bring under his control the levers of power that the Constitution gives Congress to support its role as a co-equal branch of government. Madison had a word for the system Trump would erect: tyranny. My latest in @monthly washingtonmonthly.com/2025/01/30/tru…

petermshane's tweet card. Donald Trump’s embrace of the unitary executive theory inches closer to the “very definition of tyranny” that James Madison warned against.

5.0K