Conversation

The tradition begins with legal theorist
#Carl #Schmitt
and can be followed in the work of the political philosopher #Leo #Strauss,
thinkers affiliated with the #Claremont #Institute,
a California-based think tank with close ties to the Trump movement,
and the contemporary writings of the legal scholar #Adrian #Vermeule.

Many on the right have bristled at presidential power’s being constrained over the past century by two waves of administrative reform.

The first dates back to the early 20th century and the rise of the bureaucratic-regulatory state during the Progressive and New Deal eras.

The second wave emerged in the 1970s, as Congress responded to the abuses of power by Richard Nixon.

The presidency has evolved to become an office exercising general (and often passive) oversight of vast departments and agencies,
which are staffed by career civil servants who stay on across administrations.

Presidents are constrained by layers of lawyers and others determining what is allowable based on law and precedent.

This evolution came about in part because the presidency can be the office most susceptible to despotic or tyrannical rule.

That’s where the more radical critique emanating from the hard right focuses its attention.

Schmitt (who died in 1985) developed his most influential ideas during the turbulence and ineffectual governance of Germany’s Weimar Republic.

In his view, liberalism has a fatal weakness.

Its aversion to violent conflict drives it to smother intense debate with ostensibly neutral procedures that conceal the truth about the nature of politics.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/opinion/trump-schmitt-strauss-intellectuals.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare