The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability with Tom Sullivan and Richard Painter

Dean William McGeveran sits down with Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont E. Thomas Sullivan and former White House ethics counsel, Minnesota Law Professor Richard W. Painter, to discuss their book, The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability. The conversation explores how presidential power in the United States has expanded through crises and political change, where constitutional and ethical limits still apply, and what meaningful accountability looks like in a modern presidency. Grounded in history, the book offers a clear framework for understanding the evolving balance between executive authority and the Constitution’s system of checks and balances. Who defines presidential power — and how do responsibility and accountability shape it?