Gary Schmitt
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Articles by Gary Schmitt
The Arc de Trump
What’s wrong with Trump’s proposed triumphal arch? First is the aesthetic pomposity of the planned arch. It appears classical in design, echoing Rome’s Arch of Titus and Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. But in scale, ornamentation, and symmetry it is anything but. Like the president’s ballroom, it is a cartoonish, gilded version of what the form is meant to convey—the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth with the Declaration of Independence.
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Commentary Washington Examiner Export Subsidies? In This Economy?
2026 Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture: Steven B. Smith on Statesmanship
In the 15th annual Walter Berns Constitution Day Address, Yale Professor Steven B. Smith will examine the neglected concept of the statesman—a leader far different than either a demagogue or technocrat. Statesmen are educators who exercise their authority through the power of example and language, shaping a nation’s civic understanding and taking people where they need to go while hardly seeming to lead them at all.
Lebron James Archives
Press Fox News Discussing LeBron James: Thiessen on Fox News’ ‘Big Weekend Show’ Post AEIdeas LeBron James ‘passes the Ball’ When It Comes to Hong Kong Post LeBron, Taco Tuesdays, and Trademarks Journal Publication Taking My Talents to South Beach (and Back): Evidence from a Superstar Athlete Press Discussing LeBron’s Effect on Cleveland’s Economy: Veuger on News 5 Press Discussing Lebron James’ Economic Impact on Cleveland: Veuger on 528 Media Group’s ‘#SuitUp Podcast’
“Upon More Mature Reflection”: Hamilton’s About-Face on Removal in 1789
During the First Congress’s debate in which James Madison and others defended the idea that the president had the constitutional power to remove department heads “at pleasure,” one of Madison’s opponents noted that, in Federalist #77, Alexander Hamilton had written that the Senate’s consent would be necessary not only for an official’s appointment but also “to displace” them.
“Upon More Mature Reflection”: Hamilton’s About-Face on Removal in 1789
During the First Congress’s debate in which James Madison and others defended the idea that the president had the constitutional power to remove department heads “at pleasure,” one of Madison’s opponents noted that, in Federalist #77, Alexander Hamilton had written that the Senate’s consent would be necessary not only for an official’s appointment but also “to displace” them.
Selected Writings and Speeches of Alexander Hamilton
Published By: AEI Press ISBN #: 9780844735511 Price: $12.99 Available June 30, 2026 Alexander Hamilton was truly a rare combination: active influential politician and powerful original thinker. He played a critical role in the formation of the United States as delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787; coauthor, with James Madison and John Jay, of the Federalist Papers; and the first secretary of the treasury.
A Day That Should Live in Infamy
Five years ago today, 43 Senate Republicans voted to acquit Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 riot in his second impeachment trial, leaving the Senate short of the two-thirds required to convict.
A Day That Should Live in Infamy
Five years ago today, 43 Senate Republicans voted to acquit Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 riot in his second impeachment trial, leaving the Senate short of the two-thirds required to convict.
American Statecraft in the Founding Generation
Published By: AEI Press Price: Editor’s Note: The following is Gary J. Schmitt’s chapter found in the edited volume, The American Revolution and America’s Role in the World (edited by Yuval Levin, John Yoo, and Adam J. White, American Enterprise Institute, 2025).
Steve Bannon Archives
Post AEIdeas China and US Capital Markets: For Once, ‘leveling the Playing Field’ Is Not a Protectionist Cover Post AEIdeas KORUS Update: A Trump ‘victory’ We Can Live With Post AEIdeas Bannon, Executive Privilege, and Contempt for Congress Post AEIdeas Much Ado About Nothing: Bannon and the NSC
Understanding the Presidential Pardon: A Book Event with Saikrishna Prakash
Article II of the Constitution gives the president a robust power to grant pardons. Though initially designed to be used sparingly and out of mercy, the pardon power has morphed increasingly into a blunt political tool. In his new book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History, the University of Virginia’s Saikrishna Prakash offers new insights into this historical transformation and considers its impact on the rule of law.
Tag Archive: Harry Truman
Testimony Public Funds, Private Politics: Examining Bias in the Truman Scholarship Program Op-Ed The Truman Foundation Must Embrace Civic Seriousness Op-Ed “The World That Wasn’t” Review: When FDR Dumped Wallace Op-Ed Do Oppenheimer’s Warnings About Nuclear Weapons Apply to AI?
American Enterprise Institute - AEI
Op-Ed There Is a Path to Sell F-35 Stealth Fighters to Saudi Arabia Op-Ed Scoop: Turkey to Declare S-400 ‘Inoperable’ to Gain F-35 Stealth Fighter Deal Op-Ed Turkey Tries to Skirt F-35 Fighter Jet Ban Multimedia Discussing why an F-35 deal with Turkey would be a mistake: Rubin on The Greek Current podcast Op-Ed FARA Farce: What the Army Didn’t Learn from the F-35 Op-Ed The Path to Sophie’s Choice Article The F-35 for Germany Article The F-35: How Taiwan Could Really Push Back Against China...
Tag Archive: Hong Kong
Multimedia Tell Me About Henry George | Interview: Mike Bird Op-Ed Hong Kong Hero Event The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic Post Finland Identifies Pipeline Sabotage Ship Op-Ed All Democracies Have a Stake in Taiwan’s Freedom Article Do Rising Consumer Boycotts Threaten Corporate Geopolitical Neutrality?
Opinion - The Supreme Court could force Congress’s hand on executive discretion
Opinion - The Supreme Court could force Congress’s hand on executive discretion On Sunday, President Trump once again raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy American troops in U.S. cities. Previously, in response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) had denied that the president had such authority, arguing, “the Insurrection Act is called the Insurrection Act for a reason. … There has to be a rebellion.
The Supreme Court Could Force Congress’s Hand on Executive Discretion
On Sunday, President Trump once again raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy American troops in U.S. cities. Previously, in response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) had denied that the president had such authority, arguing, “the Insurrection Act is called the Insurrection Act for a reason. … There has to be a rebellion.
The Supreme Court could force Congress’s hand on executive discretion
On Sunday, President Trump once again raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy American troops in U.S. cities. Previously, in response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) had denied that the president had such authority, arguing, “the Insurrection Act is called the Insurrection Act for a reason. … There has to be a rebellion.
Opinion - The Supreme Court could force Congress’s hand on executive discretion
On Sunday, President Trump once again raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy American troops in U.S. cities. Previously, in response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) had denied that the president had such authority, arguing, “the Insurrection Act is called the Insurrection Act for a reason. … There has to be a rebellion.
Trump, Qatar, and the Senate’s Treaty Power
On October 1, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order giving Qatar a security guarantee—something the Constitution reserves for the treaty-making process set out in the Constitution.
Faithful Free Speech: From Campus to the Hill
It is no longer true that what happens on campus, stays on campus. The aversion to free speech and expression once limited to universities has spread to council chambers and corporate boardrooms across America. One bulwark against this trend is the First Amendment, which ensures important protections of speech, press, and religion. While these are often seen as separate freedoms, what if they were actually mutually supportive? What if our free speech was actually grounded in our faith?
Tag Archive: rule of law
Post Federal Court Affirms Freedom of Speech and the Rule of Law–but Challenges Remain Post China “Trumps” the Rule of Law (2) Op-Ed Lincoln’s Habeas Corpus Precedent Op-Ed The New Transparency Rules and the El Salvador Detention Agreement Op-Ed The Rule of Law Has Seen Better Days Op-Ed Don’t Fall for Merchan’s Trap Op-Ed The Fani Willis Trump Fiasco Is Far from Over.
Defense Production Act Archives
Op-Ed The US Military’s Missile Gap Isn’t Going Away Op-Ed Winning Wars Requires Weapons-Grade Funding Post The Use and Abuse of the Defense Production Act Op-Ed The Defense Production Act Is Helping Rebuild the US Industrial Base. Let’s Keep It That Way.
The Rise of the Strongman Presidency: A Book Event with William G. Howell
In Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency (2025), Johns Hopkins University’s William G. Howell and Stanford University’s Terry M. Moe document the historical rise of presidential power, arguing that it undermines American democracy in favor of strongman rule. In particular, they tie this transformation to the pursuit among recent Republican presidents of expansive unilateral executive authority.
Opinion - Trump’s massive ballroom plan takes the home out of the White House
Opinion - Trump’s massive ballroom plan takes the home out of the White House A football field, including the end zones, measures over 57,000 square feet. President Trump’s proposed state ballroom would be 90,000 square feet. Is there any conceivable justification for having a room more than a third larger than the size of a football field to host state dinners? That the president would want such a grand structure is no surprise.
Trump’s Massive Ballroom Plan Takes the Home out of the White House
A football field, including the end zones, measures over 57,000 square feet. President Trump’s proposed state ballroom would be 90,000 square feet. Is there any conceivable justification for having a room more than a third larger than the size of a football field to host state dinners? That the president would want such a grand structure is no surprise. Trump’s personal and real estate aesthetic has always leaned toward the bigger and the flashier. Continue reading at The Hill.
Trump’s massive ballroom plan takes the home out of the White House
A football field, including the end zones, measures over 57,000 square feet. President Trump’s proposed state ballroom would be 90,000 square feet. Is there any conceivable justification for having a room more than a third larger than the size of a football field to host state dinners? That the president would want such a grand structure is no surprise. Trump’s personal and real estate aesthetic has always leaned toward the bigger and the flashier.
Opinion - Trump’s massive ballroom plan takes the home out of the White House
A football field, including the end zones, measures over 57,000 square feet. President Trump’s proposed state ballroom would be 90,000 square feet. Is there any conceivable justification for having a room more than a third larger than the size of a football field to host state dinners? That the president would want such a grand structure is no surprise. Trump’s personal and real estate aesthetic has always leaned toward the bigger and the flashier.
Thomas Jefferson Archives
Speech The Founding in Perspective — Thomas Jefferson Report American Enterprise Institute What the White House Says About the American Constitutional Order Report American Enterprise Institute How Congress Lost, Part III: Hamiltonian Energy and the Washington Administration Working Paper John Adams: Executive Power and His Presidency Event America at 250: Democracy and the American Revolution Op-Ed Bottled-Up Rage Press Lynne Cheney on ‘History with David Rubenstein’ Op-Ed The Contradictions...
The Walter Berns Constitution Day Lectures: 2011-2024
Published By: AEI Press $18.00 Available from: Available September 2, 2025 The first 13 of the AEI Walter Berns Constitution Day Lectures are now collected in one volume. Given by distinguished scholars, judges, and political figures—and edited by AEI Senior Fellow Gary J. Schmitt—the lectures cover a host of topics providing a deeper understanding of the US constitutional order and its underlying principles. The volume also reissues a 2011 panel discussion by Christopher DeMuth, Leon R.
Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture Series Archives
In honor of the 225th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, AEI’s Program on American Citizenship launched a series of Constitution Day lectures named for AEI’s distinguished scholar, Walter Berns. The Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture series began in 2012 and has featured more than a decade’s worth of legal, constitutional, and civic scholarship.
Constitution Day Archives
Book The Walter Berns Constitution Day Lectures: 2011-2024 Report American Enterprise Institute How to Take the Constitution Seriously Multimedia The Michael Medved Show Ian Rowe on Constitution Day Op-Ed My Students Recite the Constitution’s Preamble Daily to Help Preserve Its Promise Speech Sustaining American Political Order in History and Practice Event How to Take the Constitution Seriously Report American Enterprise Institute Pluralism and the American Constitution Op-Ed What Is the...
Tag Archive: Walter Berns
Book The Walter Berns Constitution Day Lectures: 2011-2024 Event How to Take the Constitution Seriously Report American Enterprise Institute Pluralism and the American Constitution Report American Enterprise Institute Our Constitutional Moment: The Danger to the Rule of Law Speech American Enterprise Institute Opening Remarks: 2022 Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture Post AEIdeas From the Archives: 50 Years of Debate over the Electoral College Post AEIdeas From the Archives: The Importance...
Does Congress’s Power to Declare War Mean Anything? (With Gary Schmitt)
The topic of this episode is, “Does Congress’s power to declare war mean anything?” In June of 2025, President Donald J. Trump directed US aircraft to drop 30,000 pound bombs on nuclear facilities in Iran. Some legislators in Congress and some media complained that this was a violation of the US Constitution.
Character and the American Presidency: A View from the Founding
A year after the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had constructed a powerful and independent national executive, former delegate Pierce Butler reflected that the new president’s powers were “so great” because his colleagues had “cast their eyes towards General Washington [the Convention’s presiding officer] as President; and shaped their Ideas of the Powers to be given to a President, by their opinions of his Virtue.” Washington’s extraordinary virtues— personal integrity, selfless devotion...
major league baseball Archives
Op-Ed My Son Was Scowled At for Singing “God Bless America” Op-Ed Pete Rose Is Dead.
Senate Intelligence Committee Archives
Press Discussing Tulsi Gabbard’s intelligence claims: Yoo on Fox News Live Podcast Can Congress Access Classified Information?
George Washington Archives
Multimedia Washington: The First Man of the Republic Multimedia Statesmanship and the American Presidency Report American Enterprise Institute What the White House Says About the American Constitutional Order Report American Enterprise Institute How Congress Lost, Part III: Hamiltonian Energy and the Washington Administration Post From the AEI Archives: Presidents Day Op-Ed Bottled-Up Rage Op-Ed What Is the Constitution For?
Tag Archive: John Adams
Podcast Russell Kirk and the American Revolution Event John Adams, the Constitution, and the Constitution of Human Nature Event POSTPONED: John Adams, the Constitution, and the Constitution of Human Nature Event Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic Working Paper John Adams: Executive Power and His Presidency Op-Ed House Manager Article Political Attacks, Circa 1800 Article The Transformative Power of Rick Santelli’s Rant Article Religion and the...
Trump, Iran, and the Constitution
As a constitutional matter, was President Trump required to have congressional authorization before he militarily struck Iran’s nuclear facilities? The answer is, “no.” The Congress’s authority “to declare war”—found in Article I, sec.
Social Security’s Outlook: A Discussion of the 2025 Trustees’ Report
Social Security is the largest federal program, the largest tax most workers pay, and the largest source of income for many retirees. And Americans know the program must be changed but are uncertain how. Join AEI as the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary, Karen P. Glenn, discusses the newly released 2025 Social Security’s Trustees Report and what the report can tell us about Social Security’s future. AEI’s Mark J.
Political philosophy Archives
Multimedia Leon Kass on the Wisdom of Rousseau Post The Fallacy of Futility: Is Ukraine Justified in Fighting a War It Cannot Win? Event John Adams, the Constitution, and the Constitution of Human Nature Event POSTPONED: John Adams, the Constitution, and the Constitution of Human Nature Post Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un Sitting in a Juche Tree… Multimedia Truth Matters: A Conversation with Robert P.
‘The Period is Not Far Off’: American Statecraft in the Founding Generation
If the Declaration of Independence was, as Thomas Jefferson claimed, an “expression of the American mind” at the time of the country’s founding, what does it imply about the American approach to statecraft? What follows is an analysis of the Declaration as a national security document: its principles and their application.
John Quincy Adams Archives
Report ‘The Period Is Not Far Off’: American Statecraft in the Founding Generation Op-Ed John Quincy Adams Isn’t Who You Think He Is Post AEIdeas Links and Quotes for July 21, 2016: Foodie Localism, John Quincy Adams, and More Article Contra Kissinger Article Foul Mouths in Congress? Big [Expletive] Deal Article A Short History of American Populism Article
Declaration of Independence Archives
Report ‘The Period Is Not Far Off’: American Statecraft in the Founding Generation Multimedia The Founding Fathers of the Constitution Speech The Declaration: Continuity and Commerce Podcast The American Founding Has Gone Missing from High-School History Classes Post Justice Thomas’s Original Intentions Multimedia Happy Birthday, America Multimedia Burke, Natural Right, and Free Speech By | Steve Hayward | "Lucretia" Op-Ed ‘JOIN, or DIE’ Op-Ed Should Supreme Court Justices Believe in Natural...
Lincoln’s Habeas Corpus Precedent
Frustrated by federal courts intervening to stop the deportations of allegedly illegal migrants, President Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on May 9 that the White House was “actively looking at” suspending the writ of habeas corpus—a court order that mandates law enforcement produce for the court both the person detained and the justification for the individual’s detention.
Lincoln's Habeas Corpus Precedent – Gary Schmitt
May 19, 2025 Ultimately, only a civic culture alert to and upset by abuses of power can safeguard sound republican government.
founding fathers Archives
Multimedia Constitutional Meaning in the Shadow of the Articles of Confederation Multimedia The Essential Senate Post American Linguistic Exceptionalism Report American Enterprise Institute How Congress Lost, Part IV: Washington, Foreign Policy, and the Emergence of Presidential Governance Report American Enterprise Institute What the White House Says About the American Constitutional Order Working Paper Wielding the Executive Power, 1775–1789 Multimedia Is President Trump Immune From...
America at 250: The American Revolution and the Constitution
The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, offering an opportunity to celebrate our country and reflect on its character and history. In the seventh symposium of AEI’s “We Hold These Truths: America at 250” initiative, scholars of American history, law, and politics discuss how the American Revolution unleashed the forces of constitution-making in the United States.
Will Trump Be Able to Fire the Fed Chair?
Post Will Trump Be Able to Fire the Fed Chair? Post The Danger of Toying With Tariffs Post We’re not Getting Anywhere on the Iran Problem Post On Iran: Now We Have Run Out of Time Post Only Iran Can Save Itself Now Post Turnabout for Trump in Ukraine Post Trump’s Pardon of the January 6 Criminals Is a Stain on the GOP Post Trump Can Make Himself Credible Post Why Are Business Organizations Withdrawing from DEI?
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