Maxwell School News and Commentary

"Certainly, he [President Trump] won't be shy about using executive powers—that will be the same—but Obama also used his remaining time, especially in his second term, to exercise the rhetorical presidency," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"There's a Justice Department regulation that says that the independent council special prosecutor can only be dismissed for cause for misfeasance in office. Certainly, Mueller can't be reasonably accused of that," says William C. Banks, professor of public administration and international affairs.

"China wants to use industrial policies and state support to shape its economy," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "The Trump administration wants to use American market power to force our trading partners to adopt policies that help us shape our economy."

"McSally has voted in favor of funding border fencing and wall construction," Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor of political science, says. "Cautious support may in fact ultimately be quite important to the realization of effective border security given that there are many types of border fences and walls that are ineffective or dangerous."

"Such subject-specific areas as crank science, conspiracist politics, and occultism are not isolated from one another," but rather they are interconnected, according to Michael Barkun,  professor emeritus of political science. "The consequence of such mingling is that an individual who enters the communications system pursuing one interest soon becomes aware of stigmatized material on a broad range of subjects."

"There are two types of Democrats that we’ve seen emerge in the wake of Trump," says Danielle Thomsen, assistant professor of political science. "The bulk of those are coming from the liberal Democratic end, but there are pockets of more conservative leaning Democrats that have the potential to anchor the party at the center and shape the party’s ideological course in the years to come."

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, says it’s impossible to protect American consumers and put maximum pressure on China at the same time.

Citizenship for oneself or a spouse is a motivator for immigrants, says Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology. But so is the chance to move up in the world. "The higher your socioeconomic status, the less likely you are to join the military."