Analysis
Data-driven analysis and expert commentary on the forces shaping American governance and global strategy.
Dozens of Federal Programs Already Fund Religious Schools. Texas Defends Its One Exclusion in Court Tomorrow.
Federal aid reaches religious schools through Title I, IDEA, E-Rate, and more than a dozen other programs. Texas's voucher rule is the outlier — one the Supreme Court has been narrowing for a decade.
The Commission Will Publish. Then the Lawsuit Will Argue Whether It Should Have.
A federal advisory commission is scheduled to release its final report around May 1. A preliminary-injunction hearing to stop it is scheduled for May 28 — 27 days later. The procedural calendar guarantees publication before any court can enjoin it. Here is what that means.
The Commission Will Publish. Then the Lawsuit Will Argue Whether It Should Have.
The Religious Liberty Commission is on track to publish its final report ~May 1. The FACA preliminary-injunction hearing in Interfaith Alliance v. Trump is set for May 28. The procedural calendar guarantees publication first and litigation after. Here is what that sequence actually means.
T-Minus Two. The Amicus Filings That Just Landed Tell You Who Is Watching Bennett's Courtroom.
Forty-eight hours before the permanent-injunction hearing, the amicus docket has filled in. Twenty-three briefs. Eight new since Sunday. The filing pattern is its own data point — and it tells you who the institutional stakeholders are, what arguments they want the court to hear, and which way the wind is blowing.
T-Minus Three. What Hancock Has to Prove Friday — and Why the Legal Standard Has Shifted.
A permanent injunction is not a preliminary one. The standard is tougher, the record is fixed, and the plaintiff is now self-represented. Three questions will decide whether the court grants the relief, denies it, or splits the difference.
Texas AG Opens Civil Probe of Religious Mediation Group. The Precedent Reaches Every Faith Tradition.
Jewish beit din, Christian biblical mediation, Catholic canon law tribunals — Americans have used faith-based dispute resolution for two centuries. A new Texas civil investigative demand treats one religion's version as an enforcement target. The precedent reaches every tradition.
Texas Voucher Case: From SB 2 to Thursday's Injunction Hearing — The Dated Record
Eleven months of legislation, rulemaking, and litigation — the dated record of how Texas got from SB 2 to Thursday's federal hearing.
Chip Roy Wants to Label a Nonprofit a Terrorist Organization — Without a Trial
The bill would freeze assets and criminalize donors — using the same government power conservatives once condemned against Tea Party groups.
Florida's HB 1471 Lets the Governor Declare Domestic Terrorists — Without a Trial
The new law lets Florida's governor designate organizations, dissolve them, and prosecute anyone who aids them — no trial, no jury, no statutory standard beyond executive discretion.
Congress Wants to Label a Nonprofit a Terrorist Entity. The IRS Did This Before.
A new bill would freeze nonprofit assets and criminalize donors — the same power the IRS abused against Tea Party groups in 2013.
A Federal Court Could Block the Religious Liberty Commission's Report With Twelve Days Left
Interfaith Alliance v. Trump argues the Commission flouted the Federal Advisory Committee Act. A ruling could force withdrawal before the report publishes.
7,413 Warrantless Searches. Zero Reforms. Section 702 Expires Monday.
The FBI searched Americans' communications without warrants thousands of times last year. Here's what Section 702 does and what Congress is about to decide.