Experts in the News | Miller Center

The 41 We Knew

Mary Kate is joined by her old friend, former Bush 41 speechwriter Ed McNally, for some great stories about their time writing for President George H.W. Bush. Listen as they reminisce about their first meeting with the new President and what he had to say about President Reagan’s oratory. The two speechwriters tell behind-the-scenes stories about writing stand-up comedy for him, working with him in his post-presidential years, and receiving handwritten notes from him throughout it all. Plus the time the two of them met Mikhail Gorbachev in a bar.

Mary Kate Cary

The Striking Similarities Between Why Trump’s and Nixon’s Personal Lawyers Were Sent to Prison

For a White House that has frequently drawn parallels to the turmoil of the Watergate era, Cohen’s sentencing adds one more tick to the list. Herbert W. Kalmbach, President Richard Nixon’s personal lawyer, received a prison sentence on June 17, 1974, exactly two years after the Watergate break-in, for funneling hush money to Watergate defendants. “In Watergate, he’s the money, the bagman” says Ken Hughes, an expert on Watergate at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, who spoke to TIME as part of a presidential-history partnership between TIME History and the Miller Center.

Ken Hughes

Where John Kelly’s Departure Fits in the History of Turnover Among Top Presidential Advisers

While the Cabinet has always been a sounding board for the President, it used to be a sounding board that could speak for Congress. Though Lincoln was unusual in picking his own rivals for his Cabinet, it wasn’t uncommon for the group to include people who, while from the same political party, disagreed on details. That meant, says Russell Riley, Professor and Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, that different congressional factions of that party could find allies within the group.

Russell Riley

In Fight With 'Chuck And Nancy,' Trump Says He'd Be 'Proud' To Shut Down Government

"I think there's several positions the president has that frankly line up more traditionally with Democrats," said Marc Short, former director of legislative affairs for the Trump administration. "The question I think that is yet to be determined is whether or not Democrats will give their leadership the flexibility to negotiate with the president."

Marc Short

Help wanted: Trump needs new chief of staff for 'the worst of times'

Chris Lu, who served as Cabinet secretary under President Barack Obama, told NBC News that part of the problem is that Trump hasn't shown much willingness to let his chiefs of staff, Reince Priebus and Kelly, do their jobs. That includes managing the policy process, limiting the number decisions the president has to make, controlling access and telling him "no" when he needs to hear it.

Chris Lu

What Mueller knows

Miller Center Senior Fellow Chris Lu is interviewed on MSNBC about the Mueller investigation

Chris Lu