Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts
All presidents must deposit transcriptions of their public statements with the National Archives. But in the case of Donald Trump, there’s something missing.
All eyes are now on Donald Trump’s White House records.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Diaries, visitor logs, handwritten notes and speech drafts are among the records Donald Trump has tried to keep from a Congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot of Jan. 6.
An already bitterly divided public has reacted badly to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Biden’s handling of the COVID crisis.
U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, chair and vice chair of the committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, after voting to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald Trump asked his former presidential aides not to testify before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection – testing the limits of congressional oversight.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, standing at center and facing left just above the eagle, takes the presidential oath of office for the third time in 1941.
FDR Presidential Library and Museum via Flickr
While democracy requires accountability from presidents, presidents may lose stature, not gain it, by holding a press conference.
The three branches of U.S. government often find themselves in tension.
White House, Eric Kiser; Capitol, John Xavier; Supreme Court, Architect of the Capitol
For decades, presidents routinely replaced large swaths of the government workforce, often requiring them to pay fees to political parties in exchange for their jobs.
Joe and Jill Biden attend Mass at St. Matthew the Apostle before the inauguration.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
St. Matthew is the patron saint of civil servants – making the Washington, D.C., church bearing his name a fitting venue for presidents, both past and present.
Joe Biden delivering his inaugural address on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Declaring an issue is a national emergency lets presidents act quickly and with few constraints. But once they get this kind of power, it’s hard to take it back – and it can produce bad policies.