It was not a quiet summer in Washington. The three branches of the federal government took actions that will have profound implications on every American life. President Trump raised, then lowered, then raised scores of tariffs across the world. Congress passed a tax cut bill with social program lacerations and without addressing social security or Medicare shortfalls that help drive a yawning massive federal deficit. The Supreme Court used rulings on "emergency" applications to allow for the large-scale reductions of the federal workforce, the dismissal of transgender troops, the firing without cause of numerous senior agency heads; immigration enforcement raids; and other related actions, all shifting power from Congress to the president with remarkably little explanation and over increasingly sharp dissents. A refresher course, with a look ahead at what it will all mean.

Featuring Stephen Vladeck, Professor of Law at Georgetown University and expert on the Supreme Court shadow docket; Ana Swanson, trade and international economics reporter for the New York Times; Jessica Riedl, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and Vince Warren, IOP Pritzker Fellow and Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Moderated by IOP senior director Jennifer Steinhauer.

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact iopevents@uchicago.edu.

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

5:30 p.m. CT

Ida Noyes Hall, Cloister Club