100 Questions About Presidential Power is grouped into seven thematic parts that trace the constitutional architecture of the presidency.

Rather than examining presidential power as a collection of isolated controversies, the book begins with the constitutional principles from which all presidential authority flows and then gradually builds toward the modern questions that dominate today’s public discourse.

Part I explores the constitutional foundations of the presidency. It asks why the Framers created a single president, why they rejected monarchy, why they distrusted concentrated power, and how separation of powers, the rule of law, and the presidential oath continue to shape the office today. These chapters provide the constitutional vocabulary for everything that follows.

Part II examines the relationship between the president and Congress. It considers the sharing of constitutional powers, the legislative checks placed upon executive authority, the role of Congress during war, and the constitutional consequences when those checks function effectively—or fail to do so.

Part III turns to the judiciary and the rule of law. These essays explain why judicial independence matters, how courts define constitutional limits, what happens when presidents and courts disagree, and why no president stands above the Constitution. They also address broader questions concerning the role of the federal judiciary, including judicial independence, the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” and proposals for judicial term limits. While these subjects extend beyond presidential power in the narrowest sense, they are indispensable to understanding the constitutional system within which presidential power operates.

Part IV considers emergency powers, war, and national security—subjects that have long tested the outer boundaries of executive authority. These chapters explore some of the most difficult constitutional questions confronting any president: from military force and martial law to surveillance, foreign affairs, and the use of armed force.

Part V examines the modern exercise of executive power. It addresses executive orders, the president’s constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws, immigration, citizenship, artificial intelligence, social media, the federal bureaucracy, and many other questions that frequently arise in contemporary public debate. These chapters illustrate how enduring constitutional principles continue to govern issues that the Framers themselves could scarcely have imagined.

Part VI focuses upon presidential accountability. It considers impeachment, pardons, presidential succession, disability, resignation, peaceful transfers of power, and the constitutional mechanisms designed to ensure that even the Nation’s highest office remains accountable under law.

Part VII steps back to examine the presidency within the larger framework of American democracy and constitutional self-government. It explores elections, the Electoral College, democratic stability, civic character, George Washington’s example, and the continuing responsibility of each generation to preserve the constitutional republic entrusted to it. The final chapters deliberately broaden the discussion beyond the presidency itself, reminding us that the office cannot be understood apart from the constitutional system—and the citizenry—it serves.