Today, the GoodFellows speak with author Sarah Isgur about the dynamics of the Supreme Court, and whether it’s time for radical reform. Matt Pottinger, Liza Tobin, and H.R. McMaster write about how the Trump administration should handle its trip to China. And Hoover convenes a room full of scholars tracking the ways the executive branch is evolving and how it interacts with the other branches of government.
Is it time to rethink the configuration of the US Supreme Court—not nine justices divided along lockstep ideological lines, but three groups of three justices, each clique with a different approach to jurisprudence? So argues court watcher and legal analyst Sarah Isgur, who discusses her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court, and explains where the justices stand on a series of contentious issues (birthright citizenship, the administrative state, abortion, the court’s relationship with an antagonistic president on matters like tariffs and executive authority, plus maintaining a semblance of impartiality in a polarized Washington). After that: the three fellows discuss what’s next in Iran with peace negotiations seemingly at an impasse, what to expect from this week’s US-China summit in Beijing, plus what challenges lie ahead for Hoover fellow Kevin Warsh as he takes over as the Federal Reserve’s new chair.
Hear more about Sarah Isgur’s unique view of today’s Supreme Court.
President Trump will enter his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping with several key advantages, principally the US lead in artificial intelligence and the strength of the US consumer economy. Xi, for his part, is likely to tempt the American president with several “gifts”: a proposal to increase Chinese investment in the United States, a bid to free AI chips of export restrictions, and a “peace” gesture concerning Taiwan. Trump should reject these overtures, write Distinguished Visiting Fellow Matt Pottinger and Liza Tobin, because they aim to lower US defenses to several of Beijing’s long-term offensives. The United States would be harmed by increasing its reliance on China for energy infrastructure, for instance. America also should resist any inducements to undercut its support for Taiwan, ground zero for technological growth and a key ally, they write. And most of all, the president must refuse any “gifts” that would erode America’s clear but fragile lead in AI.
Learn what overtures Trump might face in his summit with Chinese leader Xi.
At his Substack, Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster reflects on his time as US national security adviser when President Trump traveled to China in 2017. On that trip, he says, their hosts tried very hard to whitewash their own history, using many of the events of the trip as another way to announce China’s arrival on the world stage. Since then, he says, China has behaved in a sinister manner abroad, supporting all of America’s adversaries in one way or another, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to Iranian targeters seeking satellite intelligence and rocket propellant. But the economic picture in China is slowing, and he says Trump and his delegation should stand their ground in the visit. “Those who witness the [Chinese Communist Party’s] efforts to use the visit to appear strong should be deeply skeptical. And the United States and its allies should realize that they have a tremendous opportunity before them to prevail against the axis of aggressors.”
Hear McMaster’s full recount of the pageantry of the 2017 visit to China here.
Scholars gathered at Hoover Institution for the Presidency and Executive Politics Conference (PEPCON 2026) on April 16-17, 2026, to examine the evolving balance of power between the presidency and other branches of government, spotlighting new research on executive authority, bureaucracy, and media dynamics. The goal was to highlight innovative research in executive politics and promote dialogue within political science. The conference also offered opportunities for mentorship and scholarly collaboration at all career stages. Visiting fellows Andrew Reeves and Sharece Thrower took the lead in organizing the conference, with supporting roles by the other PEPCON organizers. “It’s so heartening to think about where the field was in the 1990s when I was in graduate school and then to think of where it is now, and see the growth in the interest in [studying] the US presidency,” said Brandice Canes-Wrone, director of Hoover’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI).
See how scholars are working to find new ways to study and track the dynamics of the executive branch.
At the Volokh Conspiracy, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh writes about a decision where a judge in Manhattan ruled that repeatedly misgendering a person, in this case calling someone “him” who had asked to be called “them,” does not mean the misgender-er is liable for damages. The misgendered party asked the judge to order the misgender-er to use the preferred pronoun and sought damages for each “instance of deliberate misgendering that has occurred and continued to occur.” The judge disagreed. “There is . . . no showing of any actual ‘misgendering’ or any legally cognizable injury arising from it,” Judge Gerald Lebovits wrote. “New York recognizes no tort of ‘misgendering.’”
News media have undergone massive change in recent decades. A variety of new information platforms have emerged, while traditional news outlets have at times struggled to make the transition into a digital-native era. These developments have been particularly acute at the local level, where many Americans now live in “news deserts.” On May 14 in Hoover’s Hauck Auditorium, Neil Chase of CalMatters, Elizabeth Green of Civic News Company, Vicki Liviakis of KRON4 News, and Stanford communications professor Janine Zacharia will discuss how these developments have fundamentally altered American politics, including regional disparities in representation, the accountability of government officials, and electoral campaigns.
Register to attend this discussion about the future of local journalism.
China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.
