The Week That Was

Nick Bednar discussed the Trump administration's proposed reinstatement of Schedule F—now known as Schedule Policy/Career—which would reclassify many federal positions to strip them of removal protections. Bednar warned that Schedule Policy/Career will further politicize the civil service and thereby diminish the capacity and effectiveness of federal agencies.

On May 22 at 4 p.m. ET, Benjamin Wittes sat down with Quinta Jurecic, Roger Parloff, and James Pearce to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Donald Trump’s executive actions, including the dismantling of federal agencies and freezing of federal funds.

Christy Lopez broke down Executive Order 14288, which outlines Trump’s plans to militarize and politicize law enforcement, and make holding police accountable even more difficult. Lopez highlighted how practices such as targeting local jurisdictions that do not comply with directives and deprioritizing accountability signal a departure from an approach to policing grounded in democratic norms and civil rights.

Wittes and Alan Rozenshtein explained why even if former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s post of seashells spelling out “8647” was a call to assassinate the president, his speech is constitutionally protected.

Jordan Allen discussed the importance of impartial military justice via the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the risks posed by executive overreach. Allen highlighted how the Trump administration's attempts to exercise unlawful command influence—such as supporting acquittal of service members implicated in war crimes—threaten the integrity and accountability of military justice.

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes sat down with Anna Bower, Jurecic, Parloff, and Pearce to discuss legal challenges against Trump’s executive actions, including the Friday hearing in the Abrego Garcia litigation, the Supreme Court’s ruling in an Alien Enemies Act case, oral arguments at the Court over the birthright citizenship executive order, and more.

Kimberly Wehle reviewed Jeffrey Toobin’s “The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy,” in which Toobin examines President Gerald Ford’s decision to pardon President Richard Nixon for his role in Watergate. Wehle highlighted the book’s poignant contrast of how past conceptions of political integrity and accountability in public office compare to the contemporary landscape of presidential misconduct and the pardon power.

On Rational Security, Scott R. Anderson spoke to Parloff, Wittes, and Dana Stuster about the week’s biggest national security news, including Trump’s historic trip to the Persian Gulf, the Supreme Court’s ruling that a putative class of Alien Enemies Act detainees received inadequate notice of removal, former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey’s controversial “8647” post, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Jurecic sat down with Noah Bullock to discuss El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s role in the Trump administration’s scheme to deport migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, his efforts to consolidate power, the recent arrest of Noah’s colleague Ruth López, and more.

Also on Lawfare Daily, Anastasiia Lapatina sat down with Francis Farrell to discuss recent developments on the front line of Russia’s war in Ukraine, why the war is deadlier than ever before, and more.

Tyson Barker and Mustafa Nayyem discussed the future of the agreement granting the United States preferential access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and establishing a fund to facilitate Ukraine's recovery. Barker and Nayyem outlined how the U.S. can maximize its investment, such as involving the private sector via the Development Finance Corporation, increasing collaboration between the U.S. and Ukrainian defense industrial bases, and more.

Daniel P. Regan argued that the Trump administration’s cuts to federal programs related to biosecurity and biological weapons—unless soon restored—will embolden Russia to deploy large-scale biological attacks in Ukraine and beyond.

Andrew Yeo discussed major American tech companies’ concerns that South Korea’s Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA) discriminates against them. Yeo highlighted the need for the U.S. to be flexible on tariffs in the ongoing bilateral negotiations between the two countries given the potential use of the MRFTA as retaliation.

In the latest installment of Lawfare’s Foreign Policy Essay series, Philip Luck and Richard Gray discussed China’s efforts to formalize its export controls regime in domestic and international law. Luck and Gray emphasized that in contrast to China’s growing influence, the U.S. is weakening its own international standing and ability to win an economic war by shuttering foreign aid programs, antagonizing allies, and more.

William Byrd argued that although Afghanistan possesses considerable mineral resources, the U.S. should seek alternative investment opportunities due to challenges such as poor infrastructure, reputational costs for companies, Taliban control of the region, and more.

Nicolás de la Cerda, Isabel Laterzo-Tingley, and Ayelén Vanegas examined public opinion of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, following his indictment for his involvement in the Jan. 8 Capital Riot in Brasília. They noted that while the charges resulted in minimal backlash among his supporters, non-supporters showed increased support for democracy, potentially offering valuable lessons for global democratic contexts facing similar challenges.

Wittes expressed his sympathies to the French people following the successful confirmation of Charles Kushner—who in 2004 pled guilty to charges including illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, witness tampering—as U.S. ambassador to France.

On Lawfare Daily, Page Hedley and Gad Weiss joined Kevin Frazier and Rozenshtein to talk about the news of changes to OpenAI’s corporate governance structure, the rationale for the proposed modifications, the significance of corporate governance in shaping artificial intelligence development, and more.

Justin Curl, Peter Henderson, Kart Kandula, and Faiz Surani argued that because of the risks inherent in large language models (LLMs)—such as intentional manipulation by parent companies or peculiarities in the training data—judges should not rely on LLMs as neutral arbiters of a text’s ordinary meaning.

In the latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren discussed Telegram’s closure of two online black markets and increased compliance with law enforcement, Meta’s role in the internet fraud economy, new European Union sanctions targeting Russia’s disinformation networks, and more.

Aubra Anthony argued that countries in the global south pursuing artificial intelligence (AI) sovereignty—geopolitical independence and autonomy over a nation’s AI stack—should instead focus on regional collaboration among nations and using AI to fulfill their unique political and economic needs.

State Sen. Katie Fry Hester and Gary Marcus shared an open letter criticizing a preemption provision in a federal budget bill that would place a 10 year moratorium on state AI regulations. Marcus and Hester highlighted Congress’s own inaction on AI, arguing that states are one of the few actors working to mitigate AI’s harms.

And on Lawfare Daily, Justin Sherman sat down with Philip R. Reitinger and Komal Bazaz Smith to discuss critical cybersecurity issues facing core internet infrastructure, how better data could help inform internet security efforts, the future of internet security, and more.

And that was the week that was.