menu_open Columnists
Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy

National Review

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Judge Bars Trustees from Adding Trump’s Name to Kennedy Center

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that President Trump and the board of trustees he installed may not rename the John F. Kennedy Center...

yesterday 3

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

A federal court in Alexandria, Va., has issued an injunction against the Trump administration’s establishment of the so-called Anti-Weaponization...

yesterday 3

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump on Paxton and the Iran ‘Conflict’

At his cabinet meeting today, President Trump had some bracing things to say about the Iran war, which, he noted, he calls a “conflict” — at...

wednesday 8

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Comey Trial Postponed to October

I don’t believe former FBI Director James Comey will ever be tried on the Trump Justice Department’s inane charges that he threatened to kill the...

wednesday 6

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Terrorists Haven’t Just Taken Over Iran — They’ve Run It for 47 Years

I am an ardent admirer of Elliott Abrams, but I find his column today, lamenting that Iran has been taken over by terrorists, as if that just...

18.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Yes, Be Skeptical of Claims That the U.S. Hasn’t Damaged Iran Much

Yesterday afternoon, I posted about my skepticism of claims in a New York Times report, relying on unnamed intelligence sources, to the effect that...

15.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

American Spy Agency Intel on Iran’s Ballistic Missiles

In a column earlier today, I said I’d separately address U.S. intelligence leaks to the New York Times, indicating that “Iran has restored...

14.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Brief Stay (So Far) of Trade Court’s Ruling against Trump’s Section 122 Tariffs

Yesterday, the Federal Circuit issued an administrative stay, suspending last week’s ruling by a divided three-judge panel of United States Court of...

13.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump Admin Appealing Trade Court’s Invalidation of Section 122 Tariffs

On Friday, I posted on the ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the United States Court of International Trade (CIT), holding that the 10 percent...

11.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

The Latest Lethal U.S. Caribbean Strikes Fit a Troubling Pattern

While the Iran War continues — despite the Trump administration’s claims that it is not a war and has terminated even as the antagonists blockade...

10.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Federal Trade Court Invalidates Trump’s Section 122 Tariffs

The United States Court of International Trade (CIT), in a 2–1 ruling, has invalidated the tariffs President Trump imposed in purported reliance on...

08.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Congress Should Authorize Military Force Against Iran

President Trump’s dereliction in failing to prepare the nation for war with Iran, and his inconstancy about the war’s objectives -- and even...

07.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump Tells Congress ‘Hostilities’ with Iran Have ‘Terminated’ Despite Dueling Blockades

My weekend column addresses the implausibility of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim, in Senate testimony, that the so-called cease-fire ordered...

02.05.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Wages of Lawfare: Powell Will Stay on at the Fed

I’ve noted a number of times that President Trump’s lawfare jihad against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was doubly self-destructive....

30.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Leave the United States Out of Trump’s Lawfare ‘Indictments’

Forget the passport. And the dollar. And the Kennedy Center. And the battleships. Forget the national park passes, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the...

29.04.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump DOJ Brings a Second Bogus Comey Indictment

If it’s possible, the Trump Justice Department’s new indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is even more absurd than the previous...

28.04.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump DOJ Bows to Inevitability and Drops the Powell Probe

Today’s announcement that the Justice Department is dropping its investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was inevitable: The...

24.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Let Congress Sue over Abuses of Executive Power

Beginning 2025, the Democracy Project at NYU Law School produced a series of essays by legal analysts and commentators from across the political and...

15.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Florida Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Defamation Claims Against WSJ over Epstein Birthday Card

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, in which he claimed to have been defamed by the...

13.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

No, Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure Are Not Banned Under International Law

President Trump’s deadline for Iranian capitulation regarding the Strait of Hormuz is just over nine hours away, and he is reaffirming vows to...

07.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Rubio Rescinds Green Cards of Two Soleimani Family Members

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that he has rescinded the green cards of two relatives of Qasem Soleimani, the top general of Iran’s...

04.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Bondi Couldn’t Do the Impossible

In a nutshell, President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to execute the impossible mission he had given her. But it’s not as if...

02.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Does Congress Have a Say in Birthright Citizenship?

Interesting: At the ongoing oral argument of the birthright citizenship case, Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Solicitor General John Sauer whether...

01.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Birthright Citizenship Case Comes to the Supreme Court

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the much anticipated oral arguments in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara. I confess...

01.04.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Court Grants Anthropic Injunction Against Trump Admin’s ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Designation

A federal court in San Francisco has issued a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from designating the tech giant Anthropic as a...

29.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

L.A. Jury Finds Social Media Companies Liable for User’s Depression

Like anyone who has kids in this day and age, I am sympathetic to families that must cope with youth depression and anxiety. But the notion that tech...

25.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Assange Coda to the Mueller Probe Story

I am very grateful for the public support I received from a number of people in connection with the Saturday night contretemps to which I responded at...

25.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Robert Mueller, Patriot

Just to be clear, since some of the comments by Trump myrmidons straining to rationalize the president’s disgusting remarks about the death of...

21.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Why Are We Injecting $14 Billion into Iran’s War Effort . . . Against Us?

While we are at war with Iran, while Iran’s leverage in the war is its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, where its de facto blockade has suspended...

21.03.2026 100

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Utah Lacks a U.S. Attorney Because of Presidential Dithering, Not Judicial Usurpation

I’m an enthusiastic admirer of Michael Fragoso’s work, but I’m puzzled by his piece today, “A Judicial Coup in Utah.” He argues that Melissa...

18.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Worth?

Recall that this question was a major bone of contention at the 2023–24 trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud suit...

17.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Anthropic Sues Trump Administration over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Designation

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence giant, has sued the Trump administration over the Defense Department’s designation of the firm as a “supply...

09.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Khamenei the Elder Wasn’t Qualified Either

Jim’s excellent post on Iran’s new “supreme leader,” Mojtaba Khamenei — as Pete Townshend might say, “Meet the new boss, son of the old...

09.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

No, Trump Cannot Unilaterally Reinstitute the Draft

It was maddening, but not surprising, for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to say President Trump was not “removing options off of the...

09.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

No, Unconditional Surrender Is Not a Green Light for Rape

Man, it’s gotten stupid out there. I think the Trump administration’s “unconditional surrender” rhetoric is foolish and counterproductive....

08.03.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

DHS: The Island of Misfit Toys

On Kristi Noem, I don’t have much to add to our editorial and to the observations by Rich and Jim — and Jeff, who was right on this over a month...

08.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

The ‘Imminent Threat’ Canard . . . Again

I’m glad Caroline is pushing back on the ill-conceived narrative that Iran did not pose an “imminent threat” to the United States. In a time...

06.03.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

DOJ Seeks to Reinstate Its Appeal Regarding Trump’s EOs Against Law Firms

Over the weekend, I analogized the administration’s brass-knuckles tactics against the AI giant Anthropic to the president’s extortionate...

03.03.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

The British Government’s Iran Dilemma

Everyone should read Andrew’s insightful post on the British Labour government’s meanderings about “international law” (which, outside the...

03.03.2026 30

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Crews Safe After Three U.S. Planes Shot Down by Friendly Fire over Kuwait

Multiple reports indicate that three American F-15 fighter jets were shot down over Kuwait in a friendly fire incident. Kuwait has been a U.S. defense...

02.03.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

No, the Threat to U.S. Interests Need Not Be ‘Imminent’ for POTUS to Use Force Unilaterally

In “Democrats Question Trump's Urgency to Attack Iran,” New York Times reporter Minho Kim asserts: The lawmakers questioned whether the...

02.03.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Saudi Reminder: Who Can You Trust? Well . . . Nobody

“The Prophet said, ‘War is deception.’” This is among the most famous hadiths — authoritative accounts of the sayings and doings of Mohammed...

02.03.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

War Against Iran

The United States is at war with Iran, as Judd reports. President Trump ordered the invasion overnight, with no attempt to seek congressional...

28.02.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump’s Self-Own on Epstein

The Epstein follies continue to be an astonishing self-inflicted wound for the Trump administration. President Trump had the right instincts in trying...

27.02.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

More on the Opaque State of Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program

Everyone should read Noah’s latest on the inconsistent positions the Trump administration has taken regarding both the casus belli for a potential...

27.02.2026 30

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and the Mar-a-Lago Documents Probe

I have a new piece about FBI Director Kash Patel’s firing of FBI personnel who worked on the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation of Trump conducted...

26.02.2026 10

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

Yes, Congress Should Vote on Iran — Whether or Not the President Asks

I am substantially in agreement with Charlie about congressional war power. And, like him, I’m in disagreement with some scholars we both admire. My...

25.02.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. Mccarthy

After Grand Jury Rejection, Trump DOJ Drops Silly Probe of Democrats’ Video

The “Seditious Six” have prevailed. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the Trump Justice Department’s self-abasing attempt to indict six...

25.02.2026 20

National Review

Andrew C. McCarthy

How Rich for Trump to Impugn the Supreme Court as ‘Swayed by Foreign Interests’

I am in violent agreement with every word of Jim’s post this morning – and I wish to God he could explain judiciary nomenclature to my native New...

23.02.2026 250

National Review

Andrew C. McCarthy

Why Trump’s Section 122 Tariffs Are Illegal

President Trump’s attacks on the Supreme Court are an unmitigated disgrace. The Court tried in good faith—and, for what it’s worth, successfully...

21.02.2026 200

National Review

Andrew C. McCarthy