By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret) My fellow Americans, honored veterans, Gold Star families, members of our armed forces, and cherished friends: Today, I speak having recently had the profound privilege of spending a fair amount of time at Arlington National Cemetery, sacred ground not in just place, but in purpose. There, among endless rows of white headstones, one cannot help but feel the weight of freedom’s cost. Arlington silently teaches what words alone can never fully

Consequential Questions Confronting Church and State This week, the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, held a Global Online Public Square Briefing, designed to address pressing cultural, constitutional, moral, and public policy issues through the lens of a biblical and constitutional worldview. The global online briefing focused on consequential questions confronting both church and state today: the morality of war and the constitutional

The recent decision to elevate the Islamic Republic of Iran to a vice-presidential role in a United Nations conference on nuclear non-proliferation exposes, yet again, a troubling disconnect between institutional form and moral substance. Defenders of the appointment are quick to note its procedural nature, one of many rotating positions. But such assurances miss the point. Leadership, even symbolic leadership, conveys legitimacy. And legitimacy untethered from truth invites

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 - Constitutional Design, Reoccurring Conflict, and the Present Iran Operations Abstract The Constitution divides the nation’s war powers between Congress and the President, requiring both legislative deliberation and executive resolve when the United States engages in armed conflict. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 sought to restore this balance, yet Presidents of both parties have challenged its constitutionality while complying with its p

The Islamic Republic of Iran presents a sustained and multifaceted national security threat to the United States. That threat is not confined to a single weapon system or a single battlefield. It includes Iran’s nuclear ambitions and missile capabilities, its support for proxy forces across the Middle East, its direct and indirect threats to U.S. personnel and installations, and its willingness to engage in regional escalation to achieve strategic ends. Recent reports of coor

The President's Executive Order Confronting the Cuban Threat The President of the United States recently issued an Executive Order Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba . This Executive Order declares that the policies and actions of the Cuban government constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy and, accordingly, declares a national emergency to confront that threat. It authorizes the establish

Separation of Powers, Sovereignty, and National Security Abstract At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a growing movement in American legal thought urged courts to align constitutional interpretation with evolving international norms. Foreign judicial decisions, international declarations, and global “consensus” were increasingly cited in domestic adjudication. Some federal courts expanded the use of customary international law as a source of enforceable federal cl

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University is pleased to invite friends and supporters to a special luncheon program in Scottsdale, Arizona , on Monday, March 16, 2026 , at the beautiful Olive & Ivy restaurant. This gathering will bring together members of the Spring Arbor University community for an afternoon of fellowship, encouragement, and thoughtful reflection on the vital intersection of faith, family, freedom, and Christian higher education . Feature

The auditorium at Michigan State University was filled with the rare kind of attention reserved for questions that sit at the intersection of law, power, and national survival. At the center of the stage, the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.)—Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Ben Franklin Fellow, and Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at SAU—spoke with the measured calm of a jurist. The debate concerned the President’s recent Venezuela operation, described by administration

By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret) The reported impending execution of a 19-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, allegedly for participation in peaceful anti-government protests, is more than a tragic human rights crisis. It is also a window into the growing convergence of international human rights law, U.S. statutory sanctions policy, and an increasingly tense national security posture toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. State Department’s public demand that Iran h