Master Plan

This week, the Iran War will reach its official 60-day mark. That’s a critical deadline under the War Powers Resolution, a Nixon-era law created to limit presidential war-making.

Under that law, President Donald Trump can claim a one-time, 30-day extension, so the Iran War will likely continue. But the War Powers Resolution also gives Congress a secret weapon to end this unpopular war — or any war — whenever it wants. So why has Congress never used it? 

In this special episode, David Sirota tells the wild story of how a Kenyan-born immigrant and a Ralph Nader-aligned lawyer unwittingly expanded the powers of the president — and left Congress believing that it’s powerless to stop unauthorized wars. 

Note: This bonus episode marks the start of our midseason intermission for Master Plan: The Kingmakers. We’ll be back this summer with the remaining four episodes. Until then, please become a paid subscriber to keep receiving bonus episodes, updates, and more.

Visit levernews.com/upgrade
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rather than retreat from Iran-Contra and other scandals, conservative operatives inside the White House — led by Attorney General Edwin Meese — went on the offensive. Drawing on newly uncovered documents and exclusive interviews, we trace how Meese helped turn a fringe idea into doctrine: that all executive power belongs to the president alone. This is the origin story of the unitary executive theory.

TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus archival documents related to the episode.

Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit levernews.com/upgrade

To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emboldened by a landslide election, the president’s men began to see themselves as 1980s action-movie heroes, willing to break the law to get what they want. The result was the Iran-Contra affair, a secret arms deal that ignited a constitutional crisis. Would Congress roll over and play dead — or actually do something?

TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus archival documents related to the episode.

Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit levernews.com/upgrade.

To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Project 2025 take control of the White House? It all began decades ago, when a beer-baron-backed think tank handed President Ronald Reagan an 1,100-page instruction manual for expanding presidential power.

The next episode is available now for premium subscribers. Click here.

TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus historical documents related to the episode.

Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit levernews.com/upgrade .

To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Trump, there was Nixon. His attempts to seize the power of the purse and secretly expand the Vietnam War forged a constitutional crisis, a backlash, and a template for an imperial presidency.

TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus historical documents related to the episode.

Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com.

To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices