Maxwell School News and Commentary

On presidential candidate John Delaney's suggestion that if elected, he would debate Congress four times a year, Professor Grant Reeher opines: "I can see that this is an effort to change the political culture by requiring direct engagement, but the participants have to agree to take the exercise at face value, in front of TV cameras, and the political disincentives against doing that right now are strong."

 "When you put out things that people can get behind, you also put out things that people can criticize," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, about Senator Warren's campaign strategy to release detailed policy positions early on in the primary cycle.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, describes Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's confirmation as “a normal accomplishment; and I think he [President Trump] needs a couple of those at this point, given everything else.” 

Professor Emeritus William Banks was interviewed on Bloomberg Radio's program "Bloomberg Law" about the Senate investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

"President Donald J. Trump has made many statements about foreign policy and already has taken numerous foreign policy actions," says Louis Kriesberg, professor emeritus of sociology. "These statements and actions have often been contradictory and counterproductive. There are reasons for that and better alternatives are available."

"People are going to see harm in their own lives and to the government, and they're going to blame the people who are in charge now, which is the Republican majority," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

Dean David Van Slyke says organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood "run the risk of new donors becoming just one-time donors."

"The release of two pages from President Trump’s 2005 tax returns didn’t show much. But they did show just how much Trump—and other super-rich Americans—would benefit from his proposed tax plan," says Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science.