Experts in the News | Miller Center

Blame both Democrats and Republicans if we go broke

The president has his debt ceiling increase and there is talk that he may endorse a permanent repeal of the debt ceiling. That sets the stage for a grand bargain in which the president and Republicans can get their tax cuts and the Democrats can secure a boost in domestic spending. Leaders of the left and right have been all too ready to ignore the fiscal future when it suits their purposes, but the American people can no longer afford such beggar-thy-future schemes.

Saikrishna Prakash

CHS students learning from veterans of Vietnam, other conflicts

Last week, Deegan and other CHS humanities teachers brought their students to the school's Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center for a panel discussion featuring Jones; Thompson; Robert Hodierne, a Vietnam War veteran and war reporter; and Marc Selverstone, associate professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Marc Selverstone

The melting post: Americans and assimilation

This week, Brian, Joanne, and Nathan wrestle with a long-running tension in our country’s history: what it means to assimilate and “become American.” We’ll explore the 19th-century notions of who could become an American and the ways they were expected to change. Plus, we’ll discuss how much room there was for a hyphenated American identity in the past and if there is room today.

Brian Balogh

Deconstructing the deep state

Chris Lu, President Obama’s deputy Labor secretary, rejects the notion that some entrenched deep state is undermining Trump’s political appointees. “The politicals set the direction of the agency, but they can only do it effectively if they tap into the expertise of the federal civil service,” he said. Lu, now a senior fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs, says it’s important to remember why the civil service was created under the 1883 Pendleton Act.

Chris Lu

The honeymooners

Louise Linton, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's wife, asked a commenter on her Instagram post that went viral, 'Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?' Maybe not - but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Chris Lu

How Presidents Use Distractions To Get Things Done

The same night Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, President Trump signed a directive banning transgender people from serving in the military. Historians Brian Balogh (@historyfellow) and Nathan Connolly (@ndbconnolly) tell Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson that presidents have often made controversial moves while public attention is focused elsewhere.

Brian Balogh