Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

Does the Supreme Court Need to Rein in Presidential Power? w/ Peter Cohen | Politics with Paul #68

E69 • Nov 25, 2025 • 83 mins

The power of the US presidency has expanded considerably over 235 years. But has it gone too far and broken our system of separation of powers? If so, how do we (and especially the US Supreme Court) rein it back in? Retired attorney Peter Cohen looks at these questions in his new book, "In the Supreme Court's Own Words: First Principles for Checking Presidential Power and Preserving the Republic." Our conversation includes discussion about how to make legal rulings more understandable, constitutional restraints that presidents of both parties have tested, whether the "activist judge" argument has caused problems in our political discourse, and how we change our opinion on expanded presidential power based on whether we support the president.

Key Points

The power of the presidency has expanded significantly over the course of US history, raising questions about whether it has gone too far and how to rein it in.
Issues of executive power, including war powers and executive orders, have been a source of controversy and have led to landmark Supreme Court decisions challenging presidents from both parties.
Citizens should prioritize defending the Constitution over partisan loyalty, read Supreme Court decisions to form their own informed opinions, and vote with the principles of checks and balances in mind to hold presidents accountable.

Peter's links:

Buy his book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQXVZX2N
Website: https://www.coninsightpress.com/

My links:

Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]

Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 30%

Peter Cohen

Guest • 70%

Chapters

0:00	Intro: Peter Cohen, Presidential Power vs. Supreme Court
2:09	Peter's Experience With Legal Cases About Presidential Power
6:40	Why Peter Wrote "In the Supreme Court's Own Words"
14:16	How to Make Legal Discussions Accessible, Understandable to the Public
20:21	Constitutional Restraints that Presidents of Both Parties Have Overstepped?
28:19	Have Congress, SCOTUS Willingly Ceded Too Much Power to the Presidency?
35:25	Should Government Be More Efficient or More Deliberative?
44:02	Has SCOTUS' "Political Questions" Doctrine Let Presidents Accumulate Power?
50:08	On the "Activist Judge" Argument, Whether it Has Empowered Presidents
58:54	Do We Support Expanded Presidential Power Simply if We Like the President?
1:08:51	Practical Ways We Can Hold Presidents Accountable for Overstepping Boundaries
1:14:06	Random Question: Ridiculous Legal Cases You Have Seen/Tried
1:22:23	Closing, Peter's Links, My Links

Transcript

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