Matt Grossmann

East Lansing

Contributor at 538

Michigan State political scientist & @ippsr Director; @hookedlansing Co-owner; Pod: @niskanencenter Science of Politics; New book: Polarized by Degrees

Articles

The backstory for presidential power grabs

1 week ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

President Trump is claiming power over independent agencies and trying to redirect the administrative state, saying he is its unitary executive. But this is not the first time presidents have invoked broad authority. John Dearborn finds that President Reagan sought to gain power over civil rights agencies, saying they had gone too far in promoting affirmative action, restricting their activity and disciplining their leadership.
Can liberals stop Trump in the courts?

3 weeks ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

Donald Trump’s expansive executive action has been met with a flurry of court action, as Democratic officials and liberal interest groups challenge each action—with a lot of early success. Can liberals succeed in limiting Trump through the courts or are American courts an inevitably conservative institution? Paul Nolette finds that Democratic Attorneys General have banded together to fight Trump, building on successful action last time.
How the 1st term trade war hurt Trump

1 month ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

Donald Trump has now unilaterally imposed huge global tariffs, upending the world economy. But we did get a preview of Trump’s trade approach in his first term, allowing researchers to analyze the political consequences. Thiemo Fetzer finds that China, the EU, Canada, and Mexico reacted to the first term tariffs strategically, trying to hurt Trump’s constituents.
Is Trump redirecting or deconstructing the administrative state?

1 month ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

The 2nd Trump administration has begun tearing down the administrative state, firing thousands, cancelling contracts, and shuttering agencies. But they have also used the power of the state to ramp up summary deportations, crack down on universities, and threaten prosecutions of their political opponents. So is this the culmination of Republican efforts to scale back government or a sign that they just want to redirect its goals?
Are the parties too focused on policy programs?

2 months ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

We have the parties that we said we wanted: they compete over extensive policy programs, with voters making decisions among clear issue position alternatives. But how did they get here and have they now gone too far? Katherine Krimmel finds that the American parties became extensively programmatic as they lost vestiges of clientelism and became national parties after federal growth and civil rights. But Trump may be changing the nature of the party system.
How policymakers and experts failed the COVID test

2 months ago | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

Five years after the COVID lockdowns, the performance of government and policy experts is not looking great in retrospect. Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee find that policymakers dispensed with years of pre-pandemic planning that suggested the tools used to fight COVID would not work. Experts did not sufficiently consider the costs of their preferred approaches and spoke publicly of consensus while privately admitting limited evidence.
The Diploma Divide – George Hawley

2 months ago | lawliberty.org | Matt Grossmann |David Hopkins |George Hawley |Asheesh Agarwal

The modern conservative movement’s antipathy toward academia was present at the moment of its birth. William F. Buckley became a national figure thanks to his 1951 book, God and Man at Yale, which attacked his alma mater for abandoning its Christian heritage and embracing left-wing economics. In the late 1980s, Allan Bloom became an important public intellectual because of The Closing of the American Mind, which argued that universities had abandoned the quest for truth.
Can judicial review stop a lawless executive?

Mar 5, 2025 | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

Courts are pausing dozens of Trump administration actions—from mass firings to agency shutdowns. But does the judiciary have a real enforcement mechanism? Will public faith in the courts mean Trump faces consequences in elections and public esteem or will that faith wilt as the judiciary is just seen as another partisan institution?
Why some Latinos support the Trump immigration agenda

Feb 19, 2025 | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

While promising mass deportation and an immigration crackdown, Donald Trump gained Latino support in 2024, just as he had in 2020. Why do some Latinos support anti-immigration policies and candidates? Loren Collingwood finds that many Latinos separate themselves from recent immigrants as atypical of their group. But does that explain recent Democratic politician moves? He also finds that legislators respond to local interest groups, not only district opinion.
Counterproductive interest group polarization

Feb 5, 2025 | niskanencenter.org | Matt Grossmann

American interest groups are increasingly lining up behind the Democratic or Republican Party and trying to build coalitions within those parties rather than across them. But historically, that has not been the most effective method to bring policy change. Jesse Crosson finds that interest groups are increasingly taking positions on issues outside their areas of expertise in an effort to unite their partisan coalitions.