UC Berkeley Law’s Edley Center on Law & Democracy has just released two white papers, the first in a series of accessible explainers about the principles of law and democracy.
The first, “Continuity, Change And Contestation: Executive Power at the Start of the Second Trump Administration,” examines executive authority as asserted during the first months of the Trump administration, situating the assertions in historical legal context and identifying their implications for American democracy. Author Matthew Hamilton is a Ph.D. student in the school’s Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program.
The second, “Commander-In-Thief: President Trump’s Withholding of Federal Funds from Universities Based on Alleged Discrimination Unlawfully Disregards the Procedures and Limits Adopted by Congress in the Civil Rights Statutes,” asserts the administration has “repeatedly exercised an authority it does not have” in its moves to withhold federal funds from educational institutions without any formal process. Written by center Executive Director Catherine E. Lhamon and Senior Fellow Seth M. Galanter, the paper argues the administration’s actions are inconsistent with the statutory requirements in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and explains the genesis of federal authority to withhold funding based on alleged discriminatory practices, the statutory framework to withhold these funds, and the constitutional framework that deprives the president of the legal authority needed to act outside that process.
The center was established in fall 2024 to honor Edley, UC Berkeley Law’s dean from 2004 to 2013 and a lifetime public servant and a fierce advocate for strengthening governmental effectiveness and democratic institutions. Lhamon, a renowned public service lawyer who’s served in a variety of roles from California to Washington, D.C., joined the center earlier this year.
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