The Constitutionality of the Civil Service
The Office of Personnel Management’s latest rule calls into question the constitutionality of tenure protections for federal employees.
The Sovereignty Gap in U.S. AI Statecraft
Washington is offering partners AI sovereignty on its terms, even as many countries work to reduce dependence on the United States.
Cities Church Arraignment Signals Early Battles Over FACE Act and § 241
What Will It Take to Rebuild the Government in Post-Maduro Venezuela?
Understanding Trump’s Coercive Foreign Policy
Trump’s attempts to dominate allies come with many costs and few benefits.
Highlights
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Reinvigorating Proportionality to Protect Hospitals During War
Elevating the legal duty of proportionality can reduce the severity of attacks on hospitals in war or avoid them altogether. -
Installing Updates to ECPA: A Lawfare Convening at Georgetown Law
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The Constitutionality of the Civil Service
The Office of Personnel Management’s latest rule calls into question the constitutionality of tenure protections for federal employees. -
The Sovereignty Gap in U.S. AI Statecraft
Washington is offering partners AI sovereignty on its terms, even as many countries work to reduce dependence on the United States. -
Cities Church Arraignment Signals Early Battles Over FACE Act and § 241
The hearing for Don Lemon and codefendants foreshadowed disputes over complex-case designation, grand jury disclosure, and the government’s handling of digital evidence. -
What Will It Take to Rebuild the Government in Post-Maduro Venezuela?
Any new government will have to address the country’s broken military, fragmented politics, and an oil sector vulnerable to corruption. -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Understanding Trump’s Coercive Foreign Policy
Trump’s attempts to dominate allies come with many costs and few benefits. -
The Situation: “Horsefeathers!”
A federal judge with a unique style in punctuation. -
Microsoft Forgoes Its Secure Future
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
The Promptware Kill Chain
Prompt injection attacks against AI models are not simple attacks; they are the first step of a kill chain. Understanding this gives defenders a set of countermeasures. -
The Visual Performance of Precision Lethality on Social Media
How precision strikes became visual performances—and why that matters for law, legitimacy, and civilian harm. -
To Read This, Please Upload Photo ID
A primer on digital age assurance methods and a survey of the laws—both enacted and proposed—requiring them. -
ICE’s Unconstitutional Double Standard for Protesters
DHS’s threats to create a database of anti-ICE protesters raise troubling First Amendment concerns. -
AI Won’t Automatically Make Legal Services Cheaper
Three bottlenecks between AI capability and access to justice.
Featured Podcast
Live Coverage
For real-time updates of Lawfare’s coverage of the Trump administration’s legal challenges, follow on Bluesky or below:
What's Old Is New Again
With every new administration comes new promises and new actions on national security. But what’s “new” has often been proposed or even tried before—which means there’s a good chance Lawfare has already analyzed some of the legal and policy implications they present. So we’re making that past content readily accessible as it becomes newly relevant.
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Using Force Against Mexican Drug Cartels: Domestic and International Law Issues
Executive branch lawyers could argue that using force against cartels would be consistent with past presidential uses of force, but it would be very difficult to defend under international law. -
My Lloyd Cutler Rule of Law Lecture: "Law and the Use of Force: Challenges for the Next President"
Read John Bellinger's Lloyd Cutler Lecture on Rule of Law at the Supreme Court. -
Lawfare Daily: DOGE’s Attack on the Treasury Department
Why is it so alarming to have political appointees accessing BFS systems?
Documents
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Fulton Co. Election Office Search Warrant Affidavits Made Public
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Trump Administration Releases 2026 National Defense Strategy
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Trump Administration Releases Legal Opinion on Maduro Capture, Attacks on Venezuela
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Sen. Kelly Sues Department of Defense Over Disciplinary Actions
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Trump Orders U.S. Withdrawal from International Organizations and Treaties
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Justice Department Unseals Superseding Indictment in Maduro Case
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House Judiciary Committee Releases Jack Smith Deposition Transcript
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Executive Order Designates Fentanyl as Weapon of Mass Destruction
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Lawfare Daily: Ukraine After Year One of Trump’s Second Term, with Eric Ciaramella and Francis Farrell
Discussing the the latest in the Russian-Ukraine War. -
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, Feb. 13
Listen to the Feb. 13 podcast as a livestream. -
Lawfare Daily: Lessons for Civilian Harm Mitigation in Urban Warfare, from Gaza and Beyond
Listen to a panel discussion at a conference on Precision Lethality and Civilian Harm Mitigation.
Other Lawfare Podcasts 
Other Podcasts 
Videos & Webinars
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, Feb. 13
Explore
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Reinvigorating Proportionality to Protect Hospitals During War
-
Lawfare Daily: Ukraine After Year One of Trump’s Second Term, with Eric Ciaramella and Francis Farrell
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Lawfare Daily: Lessons for Civilian Harm Mitigation in Urban Warfare, from Gaza and Beyond
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Rational Security: The “Midnight Train to Ukraine” Edition
The Lawfare Institute:
Hard National Security Choices
Lawfare is a non-profit multimedia publication dedicated to “Hard National Security Choices.” We provide non-partisan, timely analysis of thorny legal and policy issues through our written, audio, and other content—all of which you can find here.


