For his Major Questions newsletter, Jesse Wegman spoke with Don Ayer, a Brennan Center board member who served in the Justice Department under Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Ayer also clerked for Justice William Rehnquist, giving him a unique perspective on the rise of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority. Ayer reflects on the institution’s “unprincipled” actions in recent years and underlines the structural reforms needed to bolster public trust in the institution and the rule of law.

James Wilson was arguably the most democratic of the founders, as influential in his day as the likes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, but few know his name today. Although he was a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, one of the six original Supreme Court justices, and the author of the immortal words “We the People,” Wilson fell to financial ruin and died while on the run from creditors. Jesse Wegman’s new book, The Lost Founder, seeks to rescue Wilson from obscurity and restore his place in the story of the nation’s founding.

Reforms during the 1980s sought to make the criminal justice system fairer by allowing federal judges to shorten some excessive prison terms if “extraordinary and compelling reasons” require it — a policy that helped secure the release of high-risk people from federal prison during the Covid-19 pandemic. But a Supreme Court ruling last month will make it harder for people to benefit. Congress can and should expand access to federal compassionate release.

The Trump administration recently banned foreigners from using Anthropic’s most advanced AI models due to national security concerns. The unusual decision came soon after the president issued a long-anticipated executive order seeking to address AI risks. A Brennan Center analysis examines the questions and contradictions around the administration’s chaotic AI and cybersecurity policy.

Our current Congress is the third oldest in the nation’s history, with 24 members aged 80 or older. While there are many talented and capable people over a certain age, we shouldn’t have an octogenarian government when the median age of Americans is decades younger. Setting an upper age limit for lawmakers would help create a legislature that is more responsive to the people it serves. This is just one of several proposals the Brennan Center has offered to help strengthen Congress.

Local news outlets are disappearing, and less reliable online sources are filling the void. These expanding news deserts are affecting Americans’ access to information about election issues and leaving them more vulnerable to misinformation. It’s important for voters to remember: Election officials remain the best source of information about voting procedures and election news.