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by Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith
Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency. www.execfunctions.org
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- 5 days ago30 min
Jeh Johnson on Presidential War Powers and Congressional Retreat
Jack Goldsmith interviews former Homeland Security Secretary and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson about the article he co-authored in the Journal of National Security Law and Policy, "Presidential War Powers, Executive Expansion, and Congressional Retreat." They discuss how Congress's power over war has eroded, the constitutional and practical obstacles to reasserting it, and the war in Iran as a live example.Mentioned:* Jeh Johnson and Ethan Klaris, Presidential War Powers: Executive Expansion and Congressional Retreat (2026)* Cyrus Vance, Striking the Balance: Congress and the President Under the War Powers Resolution (1984) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- 2 weeks ago32 min
Trump and the Midterms
As the 2026 midterms approach, Jack and Bob give a big-picture overview of the Trump administration’s efforts to use federal law enforcement and executive power to influence the congressional elections. They discuss the constitutional limits on presidential authority over election rules, the administration’s novel tactics and mounting losses in court thus far, and the potential deployment of the military or ICE to the polls. They also examine the effects of the administration’s agenda on voter turnout, public confidence in the electoral process, and the risk of contested results. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- 4 weeks ago44 min
Sai Prakash on Slaughter and Cook
Jack speaks with University of Virginia School of Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash about the implications of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook. They discussed the breadth of the holding in Slaughter; its implications for the president’s control over inferior officers, civil servants, and non-Article III courts; and its broader import for the non-delegation doctrine, the major questions doctrine, and other mechanisms that could constrain the now-more-broadly-empowered unitary executive. They also discussed the validity of the carve-out in both cases for the Federal Reserve.Relevant reading:- “The Executive Power of Removal” by Aditya Bamzai and Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash (Harvard Law Review, 2023)- “New Light on the Decision of 1789” by Saikrishna Prakash (Cornell Law Review, 2006) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- Jun 19, 20261h 0m
The God Test
Jack chats with Robert Wright about his forthcoming book, The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning. They discuss why Wright views AI through an evolutionary lens, the promises and perils of increasingly capable AI systems, and the prospects for international cooperation—particularly between the U.S. and China—in managing AI-related risks. They also examine Wright’s argument that successfully governing AI may require a modest moral upgrade across society, including individual efforts to preserve cognitive sovereignty and mitigate the biases and tribal instincts that can hinder global cooperation.Mentioned:- Robert Wright, The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning (2026)- “When AI Builds Itself” (Anthropic, June 4, 2026)- “US National Security Agency using Anthropic’s Mythos for cyber attacks,” by Cristina Criddle and Demetri Sevastopulo (Financial Times, June 4, 2026)- “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security,” (The White House, June 2, 2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- Jun 12, 202616 min
Attorney General Todd Blanche?
Bob and Jack discuss President Trump’s nomination of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the current acting attorney general, to become Attorney General. They review Blanche’s record at DOJ, including his role in political weaponization, ethics concerns, and the fallout from the proposed Anti-Weaponization Fund. They also examine why Trump is forcing a confirmation fight when Blanche could plausibly lead the Justice Department for the rest of Trump’s term without Senate confirmation. What’s at stake, they discuss, is whether the Senate will endorse, and thus take responsibility for, Trump’s DOJ weaponization campaign.Mentioned:* “The High Stakes of the Blanche Nomination” by Bob Bauer (Executive Functions, June 9, 2026) Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- Jun 2, 202623 min
What Exactly is Bill Pulte’s New Job as Acting Director of National Intelligence?
Following President Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, Bob Bauer asks Avril Haines, who held the position during the Biden administration, to explain the history behind the establishment of the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the role of the director as leader of the intelligence community. They also discuss why the law requires nominees for the director to have “extensive national security experience” when there is no such requirement for the director of the CIA; the significance of ODNI appointments for U.S. cooperation with allies on intelligence intelligence gathering and collaboration; and the importance of the position in congressional oversight of the intelligence community. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- May 22, 202617 min
The Anti-Weaponization Fund and Tax Immunity Gambits
Bob and Jack discuss the Justice Department and IRS “settlement” with President Trump and his family, which created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for Trump allies and immunized Trump and others from IRS scrutiny and penalties for past conduct. They discuss how the episode combines two hallmarks of the Trump presidency: abuse of government power and self-enrichment. They also consider possible judicial remedies and the causes and possible consequences of the sharp congressional reaction, including from many Republicans. Get full access to Executive Functions at www.execfunctions.org/subscribe
- May 1, 202638 min
The Many Challenges of AI Safety
Jack chats with Sebastian Mallaby, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about his new book The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence. They discuss current challenges in AI safety, the U.S.-China race and prospects for cooperation, and the emerging risks posed by powerful new models like Anthropic’s Mythos. They also talk about tensions between frontier labs and the U.S. government, and the trajectory toward greater government control.Mentioned:* Sebastian Mallaby, The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence (2026)Thumbnail: President Trump delivers remarks at the White House AI Summit in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to Executive Functions.This is an edited transcript of an episode of “Executive Functions Chat.” You can listen to the full conversation by following or subscribing to the show on Substack, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Jack Goldsmith: Today I’m chatting with Sebastian Mallaby, who’s a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and an acclaimed biographer and writer. And we’re going to be talking about his newest book, which is called The Infinity Machine. Sebastian, thanks for talking with me.Sebastian Mallaby: Thank you, Jack. Nice to be with you. So tell us what the book is about. Who is Demis Hassabis, and why did you write a book about him?So the book is about artificial intelligence, and it’s centered on this character, Demis Hassabis, who is, in a way, the OG sort of AI lab leader, right? He starts DeepMind, this startup in London, back in 2010, before AI could even recognize the photograph of a cat—like nothing worked. It was full AI winter.So this is five years before Sam Altman and Elon Musk start OpenAI. It’s fully 11 years before Anthropic gets started. So he was extremely early.So if you wanted to tell the story of the making of modern AI through a personality, you know, Demis’s career and intellectual development maps perfectly onto that story.So the thing that’s most interesting to me about him is that, as you emphasize in the book, his real interest in this, I think it’s fair to say, is scientific and not profit-making. And he, at least at the outset, and I think even today, has a rather idealistic—to me anyway, idealistic or optimistic—conception of the technology and how it can be used.But the story I also see is someone who—and I don’t mean this uncharitably—but who has basically engaged in a series of compromises or fudges with regard to those values as he’s gotten deeper and deeper into the AI competition.So is that fair? And can you talk about that arc?Yes. I mean, he started DeepMind in 2010 with an absolute focus on AI safety. In fact, he met his scientific co-founder, Shane Legg, at a safety lecture in which Shane projected that by 2030 or so, AIs would be sophisticated enough—cleverer than humans—have their own sort of objective functions, and would maybe start to threaten humans.And this was the lecture over which they bonded. And then in 2014, Demis Hassabis sells his company DeepMind to Google. And part of the sale condition was that AI would not be used for military purposes, that it would be safeguarded by a sort of ethics oversight committee that would be separate from the corporate leadership of Google.So he took it very seriously. And then this continues
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Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency. www.execfunctions.org
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