Thomas Jipping is a senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
View all authorsSocietyCommentary
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution begins: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Commitment to this freedom, once universally… Read More
LawCommentary
The New York Times on Oct. 4 reported that a second intelligence official “alarmed by President [Donald] Trump’s dealings with Ukraine” is considering whether to… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
The impeachment drive by House Democrats appears to be focused on the July 25 telephone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Does an impeachment inquiry require a vote of the full House of Representatives? President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., maintain that it does…. Read More
LawCommentary
The Senate will soon return from its August recess. What kind of judicial-confirmation progress should we expect during the rest of the 116th Congress? Senate Democrats… Read More
SocietyCommentary
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in a case arising from Minnesota strikes the right balance between First Amendment rights and the… Read More
LawCommentary
Left-wing opponents of an impartial and independent judiciary have picked another target: appeals court nominee Steven Menashi. It’s one thing to be honest about a… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
On three separate occasions, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, has introduced a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump. Each time, the House of Representatives has voted… Read More
LawCommentary
The Senate adjourned for the August recess last week, but not before confirming another 13 judges to the U.S. District Court. Now is a good… Read More
LawCommentary
Efforts to turn judges from impartial umpires into political operatives confirm the axiom that those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it…. Read More
PoliticsCommentary
On March 13, 2012, then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., spoke on the Senate floor about the judicial confirmation process. He accused Republicans of applying… Read More
LawCommentary
The Supreme Court decided 7-2 Thursday that a 40-foot cross erected on government land in Bladensburg, Maryland, as a memorial to those from that community… Read More
LawCommentary
Senate Republicans used the so-called nuclear option April 3 to eliminate one of the Democrats’ tactics for slowing down the process for considering President Donald… Read More
LawCommentary
Last week, the Senate confirmed the 100th federal judge nominated by President Donald Trump. That’s a nice, round number, and it might sound like a… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
In the April 8 edition of The Hill, commentator Juan Williams made a series of claims and accusations against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Most people agree that our system of government depends on an informed, participating citizenry. It can be hard enough to understand what Congress is doing,… Read More
LawCommentary
The Senate has confirmed Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She’s exactly the kind of impartial judge that we… Read More
EconomyCommentary
The Internal Revenue Service has a rule allowing ministers to exclude the amount of a housing allowance from their taxable income. In December, I wrote… Read More
LawCommentary
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will hold its fourth judicial confirmation hearing of the 116th Congress, this one featuring two nominees to the U.S…. Read More
LawCommentary
Liberals have been trying to politicize the judiciary for decades. Since they believe judges use their personal views rather than the law to decide cases,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
In a November 1789 letter to French scientist Jean-Baptiste Leroy, Benjamin Franklin expressed hope that the new U.S. Constitution would endure, but acknowledged that “nothing… Read More
LawCommentary
Big things sometimes come in small packages. A federal court in Chicago is examining the seemingly benign issue of how pastors should handle church-provided housing… Read More
LawAnalysis
Words like “crisis” are in the eye of the political beholder. But it’s hard to pick a better one to describe the current state of… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Orrin Hatch has been the senior senator from Utah for 26 of his 42 years in the Senate. He is retiring from that extraordinary period… Read More
LawAnalysis
The 115th Congress is wrapping up its legislative business. What will the 116th bring? One likelihood is a bill to expand the federal judiciary. Here’s how… Read More
LawCommentary
The 115th Congress is almost finished, with the Senate expected to adjourn by Dec. 14. What does that mean for the process of filling positions… Read More
LawCommentary
Rumors swirl that the Senate, originally set to adjourn on Dec. 14, may pack it up a week earlier. Since Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,… Read More
LawCommentary
Addressing a convention of labor commissioners in 1889, prominent government statistician Carroll D. Wright reminded his audience that “figures will not lie,” but warned that… Read More
LawCommentary
The 2018 election results are encouraging, if for no other reason than that more progress can be made in filling judicial vacancies. First, a snapshot… Read More
LawCommentary
Even with just two months left in this Congress, the Senate Judiciary Committee is still holding hearings for judicial nominations. A hearing Wednesday will include… Read More
