The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability with Tom Sullivan and Richard Painter

The SAVE Act and the Future of Voting, Equality, and Work

In this episode of Minnesota Law Now, Professor Jill Hasday, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor of Law, and Professor Charlotte Garden, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law, sit down with Dean William McGeveran to break down the constitutional stakes of the SAVE Act — from voting access and equal protection to its disproportionate impact on women, particularly those navigating name changes. They also explore the law’s broader ripple effects, including potential consequences for labor and employment rights, workplace verification systems, and economic participation.

The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability with Tom Sullivan and Richard Painter

Dean William McGeveran sits down with Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont E. Thomas Sullivan and former White House ethics counsel, Minnesota Law Professor Richard W. Painter, to discuss their book, The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability. The conversation explores how presidential power in the United States has expanded through crises and political change, where constitutional and ethical limits still apply, and what meaningful accountability looks like in a modern presidency. Grounded in history, the book offers a clear framework for understanding the evolving balance between executive authority and the Constitution’s system of checks and balances. Who defines presidential power — and how do responsibility and accountability shape it?

Presidential Power in the Trump Era

As the Trump administration aggressively asserts executive authority, long-standing assumptions about presidential power are being tested in real time. Professors Nick Bednar and Alan Rozenshtein analyze how executive actions, court challenges, and institutional resistance are redefining the presidency—raising urgent questions about constitutional limits, democratic accountability, and the durability of the rule of law. When the president pushes the limits, will the Constitution hold? Featuring: Professors Nicholas Bednar ’16 & Alan Rozenshtein, University of Minnesota Law School, with host Dean William McGeveran, William S. Pattee Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School