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Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Feb 24

https://twitter.com/marionawfal/status/1893984027092439119

🧵 1. There was a time when the federal government didn’t play such an outsized role in our daily lives

We had a limited-purpose government in place at the national level

That began to change when, on April 12, 1937, the Supreme Court lawlessly “amended” the Constitution

https://twitter.com/marionawfal/status/1893984027092439119

2. On April 12, 1937, the Supreme Court dramatically expanded federal authority under the (previously narrow) Commerce Clause—severely undermining federalism—in response to FDR’s extortionate threat to pack the Supreme Court

3. In NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., the Supreme Court—for the first time in history, and contrary to the text and original understanding of the Constitution—held that Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce encompasses purely local, intrastate, economic activity so long as it has a sufficient *effect* on commerce between the states

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Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Feb 21

🧵 1. The Fourth Turning in 2025: Trump’s Vision as America’s Next Great Shift

In 1997, historians William Strauss and Neil Howe published *The Fourth Turning*, a provocative work arguing that history unfolds in cycles—roughly 80-to-100-year “saecula”—each divided into four generational “turnings”: High, Awakening, Unraveling, and Crisis. These phases repeat in a predictable rhythm, shaped by generational archetypes and societal moods.

The Fourth Turning, the final stage, is a winter of upheaval during which older institutions collapse and a new order rises. In 2025, with Donald Trump newly re-elected and backed by a Republican-controlled Congress, the United States may be entering this transformative phase.

If we trace prior turnings to the American Revolution (1776), the Civil War (1861), and the constitutional culmination point of the New Deal Era (1937), Trump’s agenda—particularly his push to restore federalism and separation of powers—could catalyze the next seismic shift in American history.

2. The Theory of the Fourth Turning

Strauss and Howe liken a saeculum to the seasons: a High is a spring of unity and growth (post-World War II America), an Awakening is a summer of individualism and rebellion (the 1960s counterculture), an Unraveling is an autumn of cynicism and decay (the 1980s–2000s), and a Crisis is a winter of destruction and renewal. America’s past Crises—the Revolution, Civil War, and Depression-to-WWII era—were existential challenges that reshaped the nation over decades. The Revolution birthed a republic, the Civil War redefined it, and the New Deal era forged the modern federal regulatory system.

The last turn-inducing Crisis arguably began with the 1929 stock market crash, deepened through the Great Depression, reached its culmination point in 1937 when the Supreme Court loosened key constitutional restraints to unlock FDR’s New Deal ambitions,and evolved with the onset of World War II, resolving in 1945 with victory and the American Century’s dawn—a new High.

Counting forward, some have argued that the next (current) Crisis began to emerge between 2005 and 2015, a timeline aligning with the 2008 financial collapse, rising polarization, and global instability. Now, in 2025, we’re entrenched in this winter phase, grappling with economic fragility, cultural divides, and a strained world order. Could Trump’s presidency be its fulcrum?

3. Trump’s 2025 Agenda as a Fourth Turning Catalyst

Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 carries a mandate for bold change. His campaign vowed to dismantle the “Deep State” (entrenched bureaucratic power), reassert American sovereignty, and reverse decades of globalization. Policies targeting border security, federal deregulation, and reduced reliance on international alliances signal a break from the post-World War II consensus—the order built during the last turning’s resolution. If Strauss and Howe are correct, a Crisis demands a reckoning with failing institutions, and Trump’s vision fits that mold.

A key pillar of his agenda could (and ideally should) directly influence this Fourth Turning: restoring the Constitution’s core “structural” protections, federalism and separation of powers, starting with the passage of the REINS Act. This legislation, long championed by conservatives, would require congressional approval for major federal regulations, curbing unelected agencies’ overreach and rebalancing power between the three branches of the federal government and the states. Such a move would echo the constitutional focus of past turnings, dismantling the centralized bureaucracy that has grown since 1937 and setting the stage for a renewed American framework.

Historical parallels abound. In 1776, the Revolution severed colonial ties to Britain, birthing a nation through war and the Constitution. In 1861, the Civil War erupted over slavery, tearing the country apart before Lincoln’s leadership restored it. By 1929, the Great Depression spurred desperate Americans to accept FDR’s New Deal, vastly expanding federal authority starting in 1937.

Each Crisis destroyed the old order—monarchy, slavery, and strict constitutional limits—and forced a new paradigm. Trump’s 2025 vision, bolstered by measures like the REINS Act, could be this era’s wrecking ball, targeting a sclerotic, elitist order that Americans increasingly resent.

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Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Jan 30

🧵1. Senator Schiff just demanded that Senator Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, should immediately join Democrats in asking for the release of Kash Patel’s grand jury testimony transcripts

2. Chairman Grassley declined, correctly noting that this isn’t something we ordinarily do, and that we’d need to have a good reason to attempt

3. Schiff seemed to think this was such an obvious move that no one should question the wisdom behind it—and that Grassley should immediately agree to it without giving it another thought or conferring with the Committee

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Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Jan 27

🧵 1/ What Are Letters Of Marque And Reprisal And How Could They Be Used To Weaken Drug Cartels? 🚨

2/ Letters of marque and reprisal are government-issued commissions that authorize private citizens (privateers) to perform acts that would otherwise be considered piracy, like attacking enemy ships during wartime

Privateers are rewarded with a cut of the loot they “bring home”

3/ Legal Basis in the U.S.

The U.S. Constitution authorizes these commissions in Article I, Section 8, giving Congress the power to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal”

While Congress hasn’t issued one in over a century, the authority to do so still exists

Read 11 tweets

Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Jan 13

🧵1. The God-given right to bear arms is nearly as ancient as efforts to restrict it are predictable.

2.Efforts to restrict the right to bear arms inevitably grant government—and those whose interests align with the regime in power—a monopoly on the use of guns.

2.Efforts to restrict the right to bear arms inevitably grant government—and those whose interests align with the regime in power—a monopoly on the use of guns.

Read 15 tweets

Mike Lee

@BasedMikeLee

Dec 31, 2024

🧵 🚨 1. The Constitution’s Presentment Clause and the Unconstitutionality of Making Federal Law By Bureaucratic Fiat

2. The Presentment Clause, found in Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution, explains in clear terms how a bill becomes a federal law.

3. Under the Presentment Clause, a bill can become a law only if it’s (a) passed by both houses of Congress, and then (b) presented to the president for approval or veto. It supplements Article I, Section 1, which makes clear that *all legislative power* is vested in Congress.

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