The Week That Was

Nick Bednar analyzed how federal courts are addressing challenges to the Trump administration’s reductions in force (RIFs). Bednar found that district courts have been receptive to RIF-related claim proceedings, but the Supreme Court has largely cleared the way for President Trump’s RIFs to continue. 

Chris Mirasola explained how congressional appropriations and Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” grant the Department of Defense the ability to exercise greater discretion over migrant detention and immigration enforcement.

On July 18 at 4 pm ET, Benjamin Wittes sat down with Anna Bower, Roger Parloff , and Bednar to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing the Trump administration to fire Department of Education personnel, litigation over the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency’s actions, and more.

Sarah Harrison explained how the Trump administration has used existing loopholes in various legal statutes to justify President Donald Trump’s payment to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in exchange for the prolonged arbitrary detention of hundreds of men at CECOT. 

On Lawfare Daily, David Noll joined Alan Rozenshtein to discuss his latest Lawfare research report, “Civil Contempt Against a Defiant Executive,” non-custodial sanctions, the arrest power of U.S. Marshals, and more.

Eric Columbus responded to concerns over a key enforcement priority identified in a July 11 memorandum—issued by head of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice Brett Shumate—which prioritized denaturalization. Columbus argued that while the actual application of the policy remains unclear,  it  will scare already naturalized U.S. citizens and discourage others from naturalizing to begin with.

Patrick Hulme and Andrew Kenealy analyzed legislative messaging to gauge how congressional opinion about American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities evolved between June 10 and June 27, finding that legislator sentiment—which was overall mildly supportive of the strikes—closely mirrored actual vote shares on the matter.

Wittes examined the case of Erez Reuveni, the whistleblower who levied allegations against appellate judge nominee Emil Bove, and asked if checks and balances matter if those with the power to use them fail to hold officials accused of misconduct accountable to the law.

On Rational Security, Wittes and Eric Ciaramella joined Scott Anderson to take stock of President Trump’s U-turn on aid to Ukraine, personnel cuts at the State Department, heated debate over the success of the Trump administration’s June strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and more.

Wittes argued against the release of the  Epstein files, explaining that doing so is legally dubious, and would do little to quell conspiracy theories.

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes sat down with Bower, Parloff, and Anderson to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. AFGE, the latest updates in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, and more.  

J.B. Branch discussed the sale of 23andMe’s DNA database to TTAM Research Institute, arguing that it degrades public trust and sets the harmful legal precedent of treating personal biological information as a corporate asset.

Jim Dempsey argued that while President Trump’s June executive order on cybersecurity bears a striking resemblance to President Biden’s cybersecurity policy, both plans fail to address the need for greater accountability and improved critical infrastructure within the cybersecurity space.

On Tuesday’s episode of Scaling Laws, Kevin Frazier sat down with Cass Madison and Zach Boyd to discuss how state governments are responding to artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, Boyd’s experience leading one of the most innovative state AI offices, and more.

On Thursday’s episode of Scaling Laws, Eugene Volokh joined Frazier to examine libel in the age of artificial intelligence, the implications for platforms under Section 230, and more.

Jason Healey and Tarang Jain used data from ongoing public policy research at Columbia University to define what it means to “win” in cyberspace and analyzed existing metrics of successful cyber defense and vulnerabilities within the software ecosystem.

In the latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren discussed reports that the Spanish government has given Huawei access to the nation’s lawful intercept system, the caveats associated with the arrests of four members of the hacking group Scattered Spider, and more.

In the latest Lawfare research report, Sezaneh Seymour and Brandon Wales examined the risks and opportunities of increased private sector involvement in offensive cyber operations, proposing a framework to guide policy discourse.

Faiza Patel reviewed Ashley Deeks’s new book “The Double Black Box: National Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Struggle for Democratic Accountability,” arguing that Deeks provides valuable insight into the challenge of evaluating the use of AI in national security contexts. According to Patel, Deeks suggests that the intersection of AI and national security exacerbates issues of transparency, making it doubly challenging to hold government officials accountable.

Michael Raff and Mark Lattimer examined the international legal framework for war reparations, Russia’s track record of reparatory provisions in past peace agreements, and the use of frozen Russian assets as a potential leverage point—arguing that reparations for conflict-related harm could be a viable provision in a future Ukraine-Russia peace deal.

On Lawfare Daily, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Executive Director of the Register of Damage for Ukraine at the Council of Europe, and Patrick Pearsall, Partner at Gibson Dunn, joined Mykhailo Soldatenko and Anderson to discuss Ukraine’s reparations strategy, the proposed reparations mechanism, frozen Russian assets, and more.

On Thursday’s episode of Lawfare Daily, Anna Hickey sat down with Nicholas Kristof to discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Kristoff’s reporting trips in western and central Africa, the national security implications of cuts to U.S. foreign assistance, and more.

And Emily Hoge discussed the historical context surrounding Russia’s decision to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan—including the defeat of the Soviets by the mujahideen more than 30 years ago—and explained how the Kremlin and its supporters have rewritten the history of the Soviet-Afghan War.

And that was the week that was.