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Jack speaks with Richard Ekins, professor of law and constitutional government at Oxford University, about the United Kingdom’s plan to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back the Diego Garcia naval base for continued U.S.–U.K. military use—an issue that has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks after President Trump publicly criticized the proposed agreement. They discuss the historical background of the Chagos Islands dispute, the role of international courts, treaty obligations between the United States and the United Kingdom, and the strategic importance of Diego Garcia. They also examine the legal and security risks of the proposed transfer, including constraints on the use of force, nuclear nonproliferation obligations, and the question of why the United States might consent to the agreement. Since this chat was recorded, President Trump today signaled support for the Chagos sovereignty transfer, or at least a rollback of his criticism.  He also said: “If the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia.” Mentioned: “Britain’s Chagos Deal Can’t Go Forward Without U.S. Consent” by Richard Ekin (National Review, Jan. 30, 2026.) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

Bob and Jack talk about grievances from President Trump’s first term that continue to shape his second-term conduct. They examine the federal search warrant recently executed at a Fulton County election facility seeking 2020 ballots, including the structure and purpose of the investigation and the president’s asserted authority to use federal law enforcement in election matters. They also discuss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the disclosure of his tax information, unpacking the basis of the claims and the institutional questions raised by a sitting president suing the executive branch he oversees. Mentioned: “Is the Administration Prepared to Deploy ICE to Police This Fall’s Elections?” by Bob Bauer (Executive Functions, Jan. 27, 2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

Jack speaks with University of Virginia School of Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash about his new book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History. They discuss the origins of the pardon power, the framers’ anxieties about its breadth, controversies about its early use, how modern presidents have increasingly used clemency to advance ideological, political, and personal goals, and the challenges of reform. Mentioned: Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History (2026) “Trump’s Circumvention of the Justice Department Clemency Process” by Jack Goldsmith and Matt Gluck (Lawfare, Dec. 29, 2020) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

Jack and Bob examine President Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to ICE-related unrest in Minneapolis. They discuss the Act’s broad language, the uncertain scope of presidential discretion, the many unresolved constitutional questions that the Supreme Court might consider, and the political and legal risks of deploying troops domestically—particularly against the backdrop of upcoming elections. Further reading: “Trump Threatens to Invoke the Insurrection Act” by Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions, Jan. 15, 2026) “Thoughts on the Interim Order in Trump v. Illinois” by Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions, Dec. 24, 2025) “Trolling About Habeas Corpus” by Jack Goldsmith (Executive Functions, May 12, 2025) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

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

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

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

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

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

Bob and Jack discuss the Trump administration’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, the lawfulness of the Lindsey Halligan appointment as interim U.S. Attorney, the implications of Trump’s full takeover and weaponization of DOJ, and how to think about reform in this context. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe

Keith Whittington, David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School and author of The Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy, joins Jack Goldsmith for a conversation about reconstructive presidents (Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, and FDR), and whether Donald Trump fits that mold. They discuss Trump’s constitutional ambitions, judicial supremacy versus departmentalism, and whether Trump will defy the Court. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe