Experts in the News | Miller Center

How Powerful is the President?

President Trump’s far-reaching executive actions have given rise to a debate about whether the president is acting within the tradition of presidential power—or whether recent events represent a departure from the constitutional order and precedent. Melody Barnes of the University of Virginia Karsh Institute for Democracy, Charles Cooke of National Review, Joanne Freeman of Yale University, and Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the American tradition of presidential power and evaluate analogues to our constitutional moment from across U.S. history.

Melody Barnes

The Evolution of Presidential Power

What can and can't the president do — and how do we know? The framers of the U.S. Constitution left the powers of the executive branch deliberately vague, and in doing so opened the door for every president to decide how much power they could claim. Over time, that's become quite a lot.

Andrew Rudalevige

President Trump's foreign policy promises

As the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, Miller Center faculty and senior fellows discuss President Trump’s foreign policy and national security promises, with a particular focus on Ukraine, China, and the Middle East.

Allan C. Stam, Stephen D. Mull, Brantly Womack, Dale Copeland, Jeffrey W. Legro, John M. Owen IV, Mara Rudman, Scott Miller, and William J. Antholis

What the Fragility of Democracy Means for Corporations – a Meeting of Minds

The 2025 Meeting of Minds assembled a group of leading thinkers to better understand the problem of democratic fragility, identify its root causes and implications, and outline how businesses can navigate and support fragile democracies.

Michael Lenox, Scott Miller

Executive Authority: Constitutional Leadership in the Modern Presidency

What defines constitutional leadership in today's complex political landscape? Dr. Barbara Perry, co-director of the presidential oral history program at the Miller Center, examines how modern presidents navigate their constitutional authority while facing unprecedented challenges.

Barbara Perry

U.S. Russia meeting to talk Ukraine

Mara Rudman discusses Ukraine not being involved in talks between the United States and Russia as the two countries spoke about negotiations to create peace in the region. Rudman shares her thoughts on President Trump's role in these negotiation talks, what it means that Ukraine was not involved, and how European countries are affected.

Mara Rudman