Exploring the Scope of Presidential Power

Leading the conversation on presidential authority and its limits

What is the scope of a president’s powers? And how can one participate in the political process?

UW Law engages not only with students but with members of the public in exploring pressing issues of presidential power. Among UW Law’s efforts is the publication of a new book by professors Kathryn Watts and Lisa Manheim called The Limits of Presidential Power: A Citizen’s Guide to the Law.

Learn more about presidential power and explore UW Law’s resources

The Limits of Presidential Power book cover

This accessible guide provides a crash course in how the law both empowers and limits the presidency.

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Town Hall Event

UW Law joined Town Hall on Feb. 1, 2017 to present Presidential Power in 2017. Watch this panel discussion on the scope, and limits, of presidential power in modern politics.

This smart and indispensable guide begins where old-fashioned civics leaves off, and talks to troubled and puzzled Americans as adults.

— Linda Greenhouse, Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and Pulitzer Prize–winning Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times

UW Law Course

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, UW Law professors developed a class to address students’ questions about presidential power and its limits. Read about the course.