Are There Limits to Presidential Power? A Conversation about the Unitary Executive Theory with John Mikhail.

Then & Now

In this week’s episode of then & now, we are joined by John Mikhail, Carroll Professor of Jurisprudence at Georgetown University Law Center, for a deep dive into the controversial theory of the unitary executive. Rooted in the Constitution’s Vesting Clause, this theory asserts that the president holds centralized control over the executive branch. While the theory has longstanding roots in constitutional debates, the Trump administration has embraced and expanded this interpretation in unprecedented ways. John Mikhail traces the theory’s historical origins, its legal evolution, and its increasingly assertive use under Trump 2.0. He examines how this broad view of executive power threatens the traditional balance among the three branches of government and raises pressing concerns about the future of checks and balances in the American constitutional system.

John Mikhail is the Carroll Professor of Jurisprudence at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught since 2004. He teaches and writes on a variety of topics, including constitutional law, moral psychology, moral and legal theory, cognitive science, legal history, criminal law, torts, international law, and human rights. Professor Mikhail is the author of Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and over fifty articles, chapters, essays, and reviews in peer-edited journals, law reviews, and anthologies.

Further Reading

• The Vesting Clause
• The Unitary Executive Theory (UET), Cornell Law School