As presidents increasingly rely on executive action to advance their agenda, Philip Wallach and Oona Hathaway join Margaret Hoover to discuss why Congress has abdicated its constitutional power and how to fix it in a forum at Hofstra University.

Wallach, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of “Why Congress,” talks about the role the founders envisioned for the legislative branch and how it has changed in recent decades amid rising partisanship and political dysfunction.

Hathaway, a Yale Law School professor who served on a Princeton University panel examining congressional reform, assesses how presidents have claimed war powers that the Constitution assigned to Congress and comments on the role of the Supreme Court in shifting power to the executive branch.

The guests take questions from students, offer ideas for reform, and explain how Gen Z can help fix the system and restore the balance of power in Washington.

Support for Firing Line with Margaret Hoover is provided by Robert Granieri, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, Peter and Mary Kalikow, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Pritzker Military Foundation, Cliff and Laurel Asness, The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, Katharine J. Rayner, Charles R. Schwab, Lindsay and George Billingsley, The Meadowlark Foundation, Jared Stone, Al and Kathy Hubbard, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies.

Former Four Star Marine General Jim Mattis and best selling author and popular podcaster Ryan Holiday join Margaret Hoover to talk about the war in Iran, the Trump administration’s “murky” endgame, and the role of Stoic philosophy in military leadership.

This interview was recorded as part of the Hoover Institution’s “Ideas That Made U.S.” series at Stanford University.

Mattis– who led the Pentagon for two years in President Trump’s first term–discusses what he learned about Iran in his four decades of military service and why he doubts the regime will collapse due to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

Holiday, a communications expert and host of the Daily Stoic podcast, comments on the administration’s efforts to build public support for the war, and he recalls his own 2021 interview with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine–who shares Mattis' interest in Stoicism.

Mattis explains why he believes America’s alliances are vital, questions the Trump administration’s easing of sanctions on Russia, and discusses what an eventual end to the war could look like.

Support for Firing Line with Margaret Hoover is provided by Robert Granieri, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, Peter and Mary Kalikow, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Pritzker Military Foundation, Cliff and Laurel Asness, Katharine J. Rayner, Charles R. Schwab, Lindsay and George Billingsley, The Meadowlark Foundation, Jared Stone, and Al and Kathy Hubbard.

Over the last eight seasons, Margaret Hoover has spoken to many guests about the threat posed by Iran and what the U.S. can do about it. As the war in Iran enters a third week, we look back at how key policymakers and experts have addressed the prospect of military action against the regime.

This episode includes excerpts from interviews with Sen. Tom Cotton, retired Gen. David Petraeus, former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and more. They discuss the challenge of confronting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the risks of pursuing regime change, and the lessons America learned from past conflicts.

Support for Firing Line with Margaret Hoover is provided by Robert Granieri, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, Peter and Mary Kalikow, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Pritzker Military Foundation, Cliff and Laurel Asness, Katharine J. Rayner, Charles R. Schwab, Lindsay and George Billingsley, The Meadowlark Foundation, Jared Stone, and Al and Kathy Hubbard.