Political Polarization and the Administrative State

Government Institutions in Turbulent Political Times

Friday, March 29, 2019

How is polarization testing the limits of our constitutional order? What are the effects of political polarization on institutions like Congress and the administrative state?

These questions were the focus of a public conference on March 29 in Washington, DC, co-hosted by the Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, and Claremont McKenna College’s Dreier Roundtable and Salvatori Center.

The conference arose from a new book, Parchment Barriers: Political Polarization and the Limits of Constitutional Order, featuring essays by Claremont McKenna College’s Zachary Courser, Kenneth Miller, and George Thomas; and Scalia Law’s Michael Greve, among others.

At the conference, these authors were joined by other significant scholars in two panel discussions: on “Polarization and the Madisonian System,” and on “Polarization and the Administrative State.”

The event was held at the Historic Decatur House, near the White House, followed by a public reception.

Agenda

12:15 – 12:45 pm – Registration & Luncheon

12:45 – 12:50 pm – Welcome

Adam White, Assistant Professor of Law and Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

12:50 – 1:00 pm – Opening Remarks

Zachary Courser, Co-Director, Claremont McKenna Policy Lab, Research Director, Dreier Roundtable, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College

1:00 – 2:30 pm – Panel 1: Polarization and the Madisonian System – Click here to watch the video of the full panel!

Zachary Courser, Co-Director, Claremont McKenna Policy Lab, Research Director, Dreier Roundtable, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College
Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow, Political Reform Program at New America
Frances E. Lee, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland
George Thomas, Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions, Claremont McKenna College

Moderator: Yuval Levin, Editor, National Affairs, and Hertog Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

2:30 – 2:45 pm – Break

2:45 – 4:15 pm – Panel 2: Polarization and the Administrative State – Click here to watch the video of the full panel!

William A. Galston, Ezra K. Zilkha Chair and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program
Michael S. Greve, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Sally Katzen, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, NYU School of Law
Kenneth P. Miller, Associate Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College

Moderator: Adam White, Assistant Professor of Law and Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University 

4:15 – 5:15 pm – Evening Reception 

5:15 pm – Adjourn