The Josh Hammer Report

Josh Hammer

Newsweek Senior Editor-at-Large And Host,
"The Josh Hammer Show"

I've missed the past two weeks here, and I apologize for that! I was off two weeks ago for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and then last week everyone was off here at Newsweek for the Juneteenth holiday. But fear not—I'm back in the saddle. And here is everything you need to know.

If you are a political junkie like me, then you are probably excited for tomorrow night's first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. There are many looming questions. Will the hosting CNN moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, be at least reasonably even-handed, or will they be hopelessly biased (as they have been in the past) against President Donald Trump? How will CNN's rule that mutes one candidate's microphone while the other candidate is answering a moderator's question play out? Will President Joe Biden very obviously be on some sort of energy-boosting stimulant, as he was during his ultra-partisan State of the Union address in March? How will the issue of sprawling, multi-state Democratic Party lawfare against Trump play out on the debate stage? I know that I can't wait to find out all these answers for myself. Enjoy the debate, everyone!

Meanwhile, President Biden is still acting—with "a pen and a phone," to quote the infamous line from his former boss, President Barack Obama. Joe Biden's latest illegal unilateral gambit is a massive amnesty, affecting roughly half a million illegal aliens, that would confer green cards and an eventual pathway to citizenship for those illegal aliens who have married U.S. citizens and have lived in the U.S. for a decade or more. This move is flagrantly and offensively unconstitutional, just like Obama's own two executive amnesties (DACA in 2012, and DAPA in 2014) were. The Framers of our Constitution were clear: The president cannot "make denizens of aliens," to quote Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist No. 69, because he is not a king. For details, read my most recent column and check out the most recent episode of "The Josh Hammer Show," which were both on this topic. (I have had many new episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show" since our last newsletter, including some great interviews, so go ahead and check them all out!)

Since I've missed the past two weeks, I've done too much media to possibly bombard you with here. But I continue to make the rounds across the world of TV, radio, podcasts, and beyond. But to keep up with everything I'm doing, make sure to follow me on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook. I'm also delighted to be speaking at the upcoming National Conservatism Conference ("NatCon 4") in Washington, D.C., which is now imminently approaching in less than two weeks! Check out the NatCon 4 home page here to purchase your tickets. I will also be speaking in Washington, D.C. next month at Young America's Foundation's (YAF) National Conservative Student Conference, as well as YAF's separate National High School Leadership Conference. All three of these conferences are excellent opportunities for me to help shape the next generation of conservative leaders. If you're in the nation's capital during any of these conferences, come stop by and say hi.

As a reminder, you can listen to all episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show" at the Newsweek website or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. (We are also on the radio in some markets!) As a reminder, I also now have a second (legal-themed) show, "America on Trial with Josh Hammer," with The First; you can subscribe and listen to daily (Monday-Friday) episodes of the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to both shows and leave your reviews! Make sure to also check out my new Subtext chat, which you can read all about and sign up for here. It's only $2.99/month to subscribe to this private chat.

Our highlighted Newsweek op-eds from the past week includes selections from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebr.), Kevin Sabet, Benjamin Watson, and Eric Kaufmann.

We'll see you next week!

Spotlight

KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

Joe Biden's Executive Amnesty Is Illegal, Unjust, and Self-Defeating

During the Constitution ratification debates between the Federalists (who supported ratification) and the Anti-Federalists (who opposed it), one of the most strident areas of disagreement was the extent to which the proposed position of president of the United States was actually an ersatz king. Leading Anti-Federalists thought the new president would be a thinly veiled monarch. In response, leading Federalists—including those who would eventually hold radically different views of presidential powers—joined forces to assuage Anti-Federalist concerns.

Multiple essays of The Federalist Papers, the Federalists' eponymous effort to publicly promote the ratification of the Constitution, were dedicated to explaining the nature of the office of the presidency. In Federalist No. 69, Alexander Hamilton—who would in subsequent years take a much stronger view of Article II presidential power than his contemporary and Federalist Papers coauthor James Madison—dedicated an entire essay to arguing that the president is not nearly as powerful as the British king. In making his case, Hamilton noted that the president "can confer no privileges whatever," whereas the king "can make denizens of aliens" and "noblemen of commoners."

This must be emphasized: During the fledgling nation's constitutional ratification debates, which assumed existential importance after the failure of the Articles of Confederation, Federalists felt compelled to distinguish the presidency from the Crown on the grounds that the king "can make denizens of aliens" but the president has no such power. Indeed, the Framers cared so much about this that they explicitly accorded to Congress, in Article I, Sec. 8 of the Constitution, the power to "establish a uniform rule of naturalization." The message was clear: The president is not a king.

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