SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, leading originalism and executive power scholars Jed Shugerman and Ilan Wurman break down the historical arguments underlying two of the Court’s most consequential cases this term: Trump v. Barbara (the birthright citizenship case) and Trump v. Slaughter (the presidential removal power case). Jeffrey Rosen, senior fellow at FIRE and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Participants
Jed Shugerman is a Professor, Joseph Lipsitt Scholar, and Henry Elwood Warren Scholar at Boston University School of Law. The author of several law review articles about the original public meaning of Article II, he is currently working on two books on the history of executive power and prosecution in America.
Illan Wurman is the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota, where he teaches administrative law and constitutional law. He hosts the podcast rationally BASED, and his new book is The Constitution of 1789: An Introduction.
Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing writer of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
Trump v. Barbara (2026)
Trump v. Slaughter (2026)
Jed Shugerman, Brief Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents [Trump v. Slaughter] (11/14/2025)
Jed Shugerman, Brief of Originalist Scholars Evan D. Bernick and Jed H. Shugerman As Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents, [Trump v. Barbara] (2/26/2026)
Jed Shugerman, “Venality: A Strangely Practical History of Unremovable Offices and Limited Executive Power,” Notre Dame Law Review (12/2/2024)
Jed Shugerman, “The Unitary Theorists’ Appointment Clause Problems,” (1/19/2026)
Jed Shugerman, “Daily Supreme Court Historical Fact-Check #4: Roberts Omitted the Parts of Jefferson’s 1780 Notes that Contradicted His Theory” (7/16/2026)
Ilan Wurman, Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Ilan Wurman in Support of Petitioners [Trump v. Slaughter] (10/16/2025)
Ilan Wurman, Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Ilan Wurman in Support of Petitioners [Trump v. Barbara] (1/27/2026)
Ilan Wurman, The Constitution of 1789 (2026)
Ilan Wurman and Kathryn Johnson, rationally BASED
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