Newsroom
No, the President Can’t Tax Americans by Calling Tariffs “Emergency Policy”
By Liam ChildersThe Trump Administration is trying to sell the latest tariff battle as a response to trade imbalances and foreign economic pressure, but the actual issue is largely domestic. Indeed, the most recent ruling in Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. Trump demonstrates that the question at hand is whether the president can levy taxes on Americans by rebranding his perceived economic grievances as a statutory emergency. After its […]
The Dangerous Normalization of Emergency Powers
Recent Presidential administrations of both parties have demonstrated just how dangerous unchecked emergency powers can be. Unless Congress acts now, the next president will inherit, and almost certainly expand, a set of extraordinary authorities that were never intended to address long-standing policy problems and continue to use them as an “end-run around Congress.” The National […]
Unlawful Actions for Good
By Kevin Schmidt and Thomas KimbrellWhat if instead of unlawfully abusing emergency powers for bad things, presidents unlawfully abused them for “good” things? That’s the argument Berkeley Law Professors Elena Chachko and Katerina Linos make in their paper “Emergency Powers for Good,” published in the William & Mary Law Review. They reiterate that emergency powers […]
Rep. Obernolte Questions Secretary Raimondo on Abuse of the DPA
This week, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) grilled Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about the Department’s invocation of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to create new reporting requirements to regulate AI in a Commerce budget hearing. Instead of defending the use of the DPA, Sec. Raimondo instead provided other examples of DPA use, like semiconductors, as to […]
AFP Foundation letter to Senate committee: the president’s emergency powers should be for emergencies only
By Thomas Kimbrell and Kevin Schmidt May 23, 2024 | The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) held a hearing yesterday titled “Restoring Congressional Oversight Over Emergency Powers; Exploring Options to Reform the National Emergencies Act.” AFP Foundation sent a letter to the Committee describing the problematic implications of the president’s effectively unlimited executive powers […]
Sen. Ted Cruz and Phil Gramm on DPA Misuse in the AI Executive Order
March 26, 2024 | Yesterday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Senator Phil Gramm published an article in the Wall Street Journal decrying the Biden Administration’s overreach in the AI Executive Order: Particularly painful is Mr. Biden’s use of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to force companies to share proprietary data regarding AI models […]
House Oversight Subcommittee Slams DPA Abuse in AI Executive Order
March 21, 2024 | Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation held a hearing entitled “White House Overreach on AI.” Led by Chairwoman Nancy Mace, the hearing covered how White House Executive Order on AI abuses the Defense Production Act of 1950 (“DPA”) and improperly bypasses the legislative role of Congress, creating […]
Kevin Schmidt Discusses White House Overreach on AI with KXEL’s Jeff Stein
Today, AFP Foundation’s Kevin Schmidt spoke with 1540 KXEL’s Jeff Stein about emergency powers and White House overreach in the AI Executive Order. Listen here: News/Talk 1540 KXEL · Kevin Schmidt of Americans For Prosperity Foundation — Wed. Mar. 20, 2024
Americans for Prosperity Foundation Submits Letter for the Record on Defense Production Act Reauthorization
March 12, 2024 | Today, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled “Mission Critical: Restoring National Security as the Focus of the Defense Production Act Reauthorization.” The hearing was the House’s first on the Defense Production Act (DPA) in over a decade. The DPA will lapse in 2025 unless reauthorized. Committee Chairman Blaine […]
ICYMI: AG Reyes Leads 20-State Letter Asking AI to be Regulated by the People, Not Politics
February 8, 2024 | Last month, Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to compel the Department of Commerce to produce records relating the administration’s planned artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. This week, attorneys general from 20 states, led by Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, penned a letter to Commerce […]
ICYMI: Fabricating an artificial emergency isn’t intelligent | The Hill
November 28, 2023 Last week, The Hill published a piece by Thomas Kimbrell, an analyst for Americans for Prosperity Foundation, and James Czerniawski, an analyst for Americans for Prosperity. The article calls out the Biden administration’s abuse of emergency powers to regulate artificial intelligence. President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence abuses a […]
Unchecked Power: The Misuse of Emergency Powers Unveiled
October 6, 2023 Join host Jeff Crank as he engages in a deep-dive conversation with Kevin Schmidt of Americans for Prosperity Foundation about the government’s controversial use of emergency powers. Together, they explore historical misuses, the potential pitfalls of unchecked executive power, and the need for legislative oversight. As they unravel the layers of this […]
AFP Foundation Launches Major New Project to End Rampant Abuse of Emergency Powers
July 26, 2023 Arlington, VA – Today, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) launched a major new project focused on reforming government abuse of emergency powers. Too often, emergency powers provide a false justification for bypassing Congress to implement policies that would never otherwise pass into law. AFPF’s Emergency Powers Reform Project will leverage the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to bring much needed […]