The Week That Was

Scott R. Anderson explained that despite the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the president's foreign affairs powers under Article II, Congress retains authority over foreign assistance due to its power of the purse. Anderson emphasized that the Trump administration’s claim of broad constitutional authority—one not backed by historical or legal precedent—may require the courts to intervene on the political question of foreign affairs.

Suzanne Spaulding argued that the Supreme Court must not allow the Trump administration's threats to disobey court orders to intimidate them into issuing rulings that avoid confrontations with the executive branch about fundamental constitutional questions.

In a live conversation on March 7, Natalie Orpett spoke to Anderson, Anna Bower, and Nick Bednar about the status of the civil litigation against President Donald Trump’s executive actions, including the firing of probationary employees, the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and foreign aid freeze. Find the livestream here.

Bednar analyzed how 31 federal agencies instructed their employees to respond to an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) email asking for a list of five things they accomplished last week. Bednar noted several patterns—such as national security agencies’ resistance to Elon Musk’s orders and other agencies' compliance out of fear or loyalty—and discussed the potential implications this episode has for Musk’s relationship with other members of the Trump administration.

On Lawfare Daily, Quinta Jurecic sat down with Molly E. Reynolds and Eloise Pasachoff to discuss the impoundment crisis brought on by the Trump administration's efforts to withhold federal funds, all while Congress stays relatively silent. They talked about how things have developed since January, how the courts and Congress are responding, and how it might shape congressional negotiations to avoid a government shutdown as soon as March 15.

Bednar explained how Trump’s attacks on agency leadership in conjunction with mass firings reduces the capacity of adjudicatory agencies—such as the Merit Systems Protection Board or Federal Labor Relations Authority—to hold meaningful hearings and respond to claims by federal employees who cannot take their cases to other venues. Bednar also discussed how Trump’s mass restructuring of the federal government and its workforce illustrates the tension between unitary executive theory and procedural due process.

Benjamin Wittes responded to the Trump administration’s recent announcements that it would review government contracts with Perkins Coie LLC—the law firm that represented the Clinton campaign in 2016—and revoke at least $400 million in grants to Columbia University for its alleged failure to adequately combat antisemitism. Wittes explained that these moves are a part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to consolidate power by attacking its perceived opponents and critics. 

Dan Maurer detailed the procedural constraints that limit judge advocates general (JAGs) from counseling against unlawful orders their commanders might receive from higher headquarters. Maurer also warned of the chilling effect the firing of top JAGs will have on the Defense Department’s organizational culture.

On Rational Security, Jurecic and Reynolds joined Anderson to work through the week’s big national security news stories, including Trump’s heated argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and its aftermath, the state of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives after passing a budget last week, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’s mandate for the paper to defend “personal liberties and free markets,” and more.

On Escalation, Lawfare and Goat Rodeo’s new narrative series, co-hosts Tyler McBrien and Anastasiia Lapatina examined the high-stakes deal between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine that disarmed newly independent Ukraine in exchange for national security protection, and whether the U.S. has upheld the its promises.

Wittes defended Neville Chamberlain—who allowed Adolf Hitler to annex the Sudetenland—against comparisons with Trump following his and Zelenskyy’s meeting in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. Wittes emphasized that the two cannot be compared, as Chamberlain acted in good faith and was motivated by peace, while Trump acted with malevolence and has no intent of pursuing peace.

Wittes discussed the stoicism with which Ukrainians in the United States received the news that the Trump administration might revoke their temporary protected status. Wittes likened the move to a hostage situation in the administration’s ongoing attempts to force Ukraine into submission.

Daniel Byman identified key challenges the U.S. must resolve to improve intelligence sharing with allied states, including disparities in cybersecurity standards, antiquated classification policies, and the tension between security and transparency. Byman also emphasized the critical role of trust in intelligence sharing and the need for the U.S. to create stable mechanisms to strengthen partnerships.

Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany detailed recent attempts by the members of Israel’s right-wing government to move forward with controversial reforms to the country’s judicial system. Cohen and Shany explained that while the most recent proposal may appear more moderate than prior ones, the changes will still further politicize the selection of judges and cast doubt on the authority and legitimacy of the Supreme Court president.

On Lawfare Daily, Anderson sat down with Joel Braunold to discuss the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, recent tensions between Israel and the new Syrian regime over threats to Druze communities, how the Trump administration is trying to navigate the situation, and more.

Chile Eboe-Osuji defended the International Criminal Court (ICC) against allegations of anti-Israel bias, asserting that—to the contrary—Israel enjoys favorable treatment, and warned that the allegations will have the unintended consequence of isolating Israel in the global order. Eboe-Osuji also responded to the “false moral equivalency” objection raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the consent objection—which claims that the ICC lacks jurisdiction because Israel is not party to the Rome Statute—that is the basis for the anti-ICC “sanctions” bill in Congress.

On Lawfare Daily, Anderson sat down with Edward Fishman to discuss his new book: "Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare." They discussed Fishman's career at the cutting edge of economic statecraft, the evolving toolkit it has come to present U.S. policymakers, the role he thinks it will play in our new era of major power competition, and what it may all mean for the future of the global order.

In the latest installment of Lawfare’s Foreign Policy Essay series, Sophia Besch and Jeremy Shapiro argued that European leaders must retire their strategy appeasement in favor of a more aggressive response to Trump’s push to acquire Greenland. Besch and Shapiro explained that Europe must recognize that Trump’s imperialist motivations make cooperation on security insufficient to satisfy him, and that there are few, if any, officials who will temper Trump’s demands as they did in the first term.

Lulu Mansour and Omowunmi Odeja shared excerpts from Trump’s recent address to Congress relating to foreign policy and national security, including his comments on the military, the Panama Canal and Greenland, Ukraine, tariffs, and more.

Jeremy Daum argued against the creation of a new criminal offense to prosecute translational repression, a term encompassing the wide variety of tactics states use to quell criticism and activism by communities overseas. Daum asserted that expanding criminal law will have unintended consequences, such as increasing scrutiny of minority communities, criminalizing free expression, and more.

Melanne Verveer and Kristine Baekgaard detailed the negative effects that Meta’s decision to end its fact checking program—eliminating safeguards against the spread of harmful content—will have on violence against women in digital spaces. Verveer and Baekgaard also highlighted how a variety of actors use digital violence not only to undermine female politicians and attack women’s rights, but also to damage democracy.

Kevin Frazier argued that in order for the U.S. to maintain technological dominance, the Trump administration’s upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) action plan must prioritize distributing AI expertise and literacy across America. Frazier recommended a series of short, medium, and long-term initiatives to mitigate the existing geographic disparities and build a thriving AI ecosystem.

Simon Goldstein and Peter N. Salib cautioned against the U.S. intensifying the race for AI dominance against China in response to the release of DeepSeek. Goldstein and Salib argued instead for a collaborative approach to AI development, beginning with the creation of a joint U.S.-China AI lab.

Noam Kolt discussed his recent study of autonomous AI agents, which created the first public database that documents the technical, safety, and policy-relevant features of deployed AI agents. Kolt—based on the results of the study—recommended approaches for governing these agents, including mandating more systematic testing, managing communication and collaboration among agents, integrating technical governance with existing legal frameworks, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Frazier sat down with Tim Fist and Arnab Datta to discuss their report on building America’s AI infrastructure, which studied the gulf between the stated goals of America’s AI leaders and the practical hurdles to realizing those ambitions.

Chinmayi Arun reviewed Ulises A. Mejias and Nick Couldry’s new book “Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back.” Arun praised Mejias and Couldry’s account of how companies commodify social engagement and how the data value chain inherits inequalities from colonialism, but suggested that the authors—who view the law as a tool to combat data colonialism—also consider how the law enables the exploitative business models they criticize.

In the latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren discussed criminal syndicates’ use of Starlink to keep scam compounds in Myanmar online, the potential for Five Eyes countries to limit intelligence sharing with the U.S., the internal logic behind U.S. Cyber Command halting current cyber operations targeting Russia, California’s settlement with data broker Background Alert, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes spoke to Bower, Roger Parloff, and Chris Mirasola about legal challenges to detention of immigrants at Guantanamo Bay, the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development and the foreign aid freeze, the firing of probationary employees across the federal government, and more. This podcast is a recording of a live conversation on Feb. 28.

And Wittes called for increased civic action against the Trump administration and the way Americans have seemingly accepted the assault on democracy and continued on with their daily lives. Wittes outlined what a lawful, non-violent, non-cooperation approach to Trump’s government might look like, including releasing crickets at conferences and staging “die-ins” in strategic locations.

And that was the week that was.