Project 2029

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The Role of the Judiciary: Restoring Rules-Based Legitimacy

The success of this agenda requires a judiciary that operates with maximum public trust. To achieve this, Project 2029 prioritizes Rules-Based, Prospective, and Transparent reforms that apply to all federal judges—including Supreme Court Justices—regardless of which administration appointed them.

By establishing clear, universal guardrails before substantive policy shifts, we ensure that judicial rulings are seen as products of the law rather than partisan affiliation.

The framework’s position on the judiciary is simple: We don’t tell courts what to decide. We require them to explain their decisions, follow ethical standards, and operate transparently. The same accountability demanded of every other institution in this framework applies to the judiciary — no more, no less.

Priority #1: The Judicial Ethics and Accountability Act (Year 1)

The federal judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, currently operates under the weakest ethical enforcement of any branch of government. To restore legitimacy, Congress must immediately establish binding standards that are prospective (applying to all future conduct) and universal (binding on all current and future appointees).

Legislative Proposal: Binding Ethics Standards for All Federal Judges

Goal: Establish enforceable, binding ethics standards for all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, to restore public trust and ensure judicial independence from financial conflicts of interest.

Key Provisions:

Financial Integrity Requirements:

Stock trading prohibition: Federal judges at all levels prohibited from trading individual stocks, stock options, or other individual securities while serving on the bench
Mandatory blind trusts: All federal judges must place existing investments in qualified blind trusts managed by independent trustees with no communication about holdings or transactions
Automatic recusal: Judges must recuse from cases involving financial conflicts of interest, with violations subject to appellate review and potential reversal
Gift ban: Prohibition on accepting gifts, travel, hospitality, or other benefits from parties with business before the courts, their attorneys, or interested parties (exceptions for family relationships and nominal gifts under $50)
Financial disclosure expansion: Annual public disclosure of all income sources, financial relationships, speaking fees, book royalties, and potential conflicts of interest

Institutional Oversight and Enforcement:

Binding Code of Ethics for Supreme Court: Extend the Code of Conduct for United States Judges (currently binding on all federal judges except Supreme Court) to Supreme Court justices through legislation
Judicial Conduct Council: Establish independent oversight body with authority to investigate ethics complaints against all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices
Transparency requirements: Public disclosure of all meetings with litigants, attorneys, and interested parties; publication of recusal decisions with written explanations
Enforcement mechanisms:
- Judicial Conduct Council empowered to issue public reprimands, recommend censure, or refer violations to House Judiciary Committee for impeachment consideration
- Automatic referral to Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of willful ethics violations
- Appellate review of recusal decisions in cases where financial conflicts alleged

Enhanced Vetting for Judicial Appointments:

Psychological screening: Rigorous evaluation for ethical integrity, temperament, and susceptibility to external influence for all judicial nominees
Financial background investigation: Thorough review of financial relationships, investments, and potential conflicts before confirmation
Extended confirmation process: Minimum 60-day review period for Supreme Court nominees with detailed ethics questioning and financial disclosure review
Public hearings: Mandatory public testimony on ethics standards and commitment to recusal requirements

Constitutional Authority:

Article III, Section 1: Congress has authority to regulate judiciary except core judicial functions (salary protection, tenure)
Article I, Section 8: Necessary and Proper Clause authorizes Congress to establish rules for judicial conduct
Existing precedent: Congress already sets binding ethics rules for all federal judges except Supreme Court (Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980)
Does not interfere with judicial independence: Ethics rules govern financial conduct, not judicial decision-making

Rationale:

The Supreme Court currently has the lowest ethical enforcement of any branch of government. Recent revelations of undisclosed luxury travel, gifts from billionaires with business before the Court, and financial relationships with interested parties have eroded public trust in the judiciary to historic lows.

Unlike members of Congress (subject to STOCK Act) and executive branch officials (subject to extensive ethics regulations), Supreme Court justices operate under voluntary guidelines with no enforcement mechanism. This creates a two-tier system where the most powerful judges face the weakest accountability.

Key problems addressed:

Financial conflicts: Justices have accepted luxury travel, gifts, and hospitality from parties with cases before the Court
Stock trading: Justices can trade stocks in companies with litigation before the Court, creating appearance of impropriety
Lack of recusal standards: No binding rules for when justices must recuse, leading to inconsistent application
No enforcement: Current Code of Conduct for Supreme Court (adopted 2023) is aspirational with no enforcement mechanism
Public trust crisis: Gallup polling shows Supreme Court approval at historic lows (40% in 2023, down from 62% in 2000)

This legislation does not interfere with judicial independence—it ensures judges are independent from financial interests, not accountable to them. Judges are public servants who must be held to the highest ethical standards, with real consequences for violations.

Implementation Timeline:

Year 1, Q1: Pass legislation establishing binding ethics code and Judicial Conduct Council
Year 1, Q2: Judicial Conduct Council operational with confirmed members and investigative authority
Year 1, Q3: All federal judges file expanded financial disclosures and establish blind trusts
Year 1, Q4: Enhanced vetting procedures implemented for all new judicial nominees
Ongoing: Annual ethics audits, public reporting, and enforcement of violations

Fiscal Impact: Minimal. Judicial Conduct Council operations estimated at $5-10 million annually (staff, investigations, reporting). Offset by reduced litigation costs from clearer recusal standards and improved public confidence in judicial system.

Priority #2: Judicial Transparency — The Shadow Docket Problem (Year 1)

The Supreme Court has increasingly used its emergency orders docket — the so-called “shadow docket” — to make substantive legal rulings without written opinions, without oral argument, and sometimes without even recorded votes. This practice allows the Court to reshape law while bypassing the transparency and deliberation that give judicial decisions legitimacy.

The problem:

Traditionally, the Court’s emergency docket was reserved for genuinely procedural matters — routine stays, scheduling, administrative orders. Major legal questions went through the “merits docket”: full briefing by both sides, oral argument, and signed opinions with detailed legal reasoning that lower courts, Congress, and the public could read, understand, and evaluate.

Over the past decade, the shadow docket has expanded dramatically. Substantive legal rulings — effectively deciding whether major laws take effect or are blocked — are now issued through unsigned, unexplained orders. The Court makes the decision, but provides no reasoning. Lower courts receive no guidance. The public receives no explanation. Dissenting justices are sometimes the only source of information about what the majority decided and why.

Examples of the distortion:

Laws with sweeping impact on millions of people have been allowed to take effect or blocked through one-paragraph unsigned orders
Emergency stay orders have decided the fate of major federal policies — immigration enforcement, public health measures, environmental regulations — with no written reasoning
Justices have publicly criticized their own Court’s shadow docket practices. Justice Kagan wrote that the Court was making “significant changes in the law” through “unreasoned orders.” Justice Barrett acknowledged that the Court’s emergency orders were “not the best vehicle for announcing new law”
The expansion correlates with the increasing politicization of the Court — shadow docket orders allow the majority to exercise power without the accountability of explaining its reasoning

Why this matters for the framework:

A court that can change the law without explaining why operates without accountability. This is the same institutional integrity problem the framework identifies in every other context: when powerful institutions act without transparency, public trust erodes and institutional capture becomes possible. An unexplained ruling is immune to meaningful public scrutiny — no one can evaluate reasoning that was never provided.

Legislative Proposal: The Judicial Transparency Act

Goal: Require the Supreme Court and all federal appellate courts to provide written reasoning for all orders that have substantive legal effect, and to record all votes on such orders.

Key Provisions:

Mandatory written reasoning for substantive orders. Any order that stays, enjoins, vacates, or otherwise affects the enforcement of a federal or state law, regulation, or executive action must include written reasoning explaining the legal basis for the decision. The reasoning need not be as extensive as a full merits opinion — but the legal standard applied, the facts considered, and the basis for the outcome must be stated.
Recorded votes on all substantive orders. Every justice’s vote on every order with substantive legal effect must be publicly recorded. No more anonymous rulings on matters that affect millions of people. The public has a right to know which justices decided what.
Response time requirements. When the Court issues a substantive emergency order, written reasoning must be provided within 14 days if not issued simultaneously. Emergency action may still occur immediately — but the explanation must follow promptly.
Lower court guidance. Written reasoning in emergency orders must be sufficient for lower courts to understand and apply the legal standard. Unexplained orders create confusion and inconsistency in lower courts, increasing litigation and undermining the rule of law.
Public accessibility. All orders, reasoning, and recorded votes are published immediately on the Court’s website and through the Government Publishing Office in the same manner as merits decisions.

Constitutional Authority:

Article III, Section 1, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause, gives Congress authority to regulate Court procedures short of core judicial decision-making
Requiring explanation of decisions does not tell the Court what to decide — it requires the Court to explain what it decided. This is a procedural transparency requirement, not an interference with judicial substance.
Congress already regulates Court procedures through statute: the Judiciary Act, Rules Enabling Act, and various procedural requirements are well-established precedent
The requirement parallels existing administrative law: federal agencies must explain their reasoning under the Administrative Procedure Act. Courts that demand reasoned explanations from every other institution should meet the same standard themselves.

Potential Legal Challenges:

The Court could argue that Congress lacks authority to regulate its internal procedures. Mitigation: Frame as a transparency and public access requirement under the Necessary and Proper Clause, not a regulation of deliberation or decision-making. Congress already sets rules for Court procedure (28 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.).
The Court could simply ignore the requirement. Mitigation: This is a genuine risk — the Court is the final interpreter of its own authority. However, public pressure, combined with the ethics and accountability reforms in Priority #1, creates political costs for defiance. A Court that refuses to explain its decisions while the public is already questioning its legitimacy faces accelerating loss of institutional authority.

Rationale:

The principle is simple: every institution in a democracy must explain the exercise of its power. Executives must justify their orders. Legislatures must debate and vote on the record. Agencies must provide reasoned explanations subject to judicial review. The judiciary — the branch that demands transparency from everyone else — cannot exempt itself.

Written reasoning is not a burden on the Court. It is the purpose of the Court. Courts exist to apply law to facts and explain why. An unexplained order is not jurisprudence — it is an exercise of raw power. The American judicial system’s legitimacy rests on reasoned decision-making, not on authority alone.

Priority #3: Judicial Appointment Philosophy (Year 1-4)

Once universal ethics guardrails and transparency requirements are established, the administration will prioritize judicial nominees based on principled, transparent criteria — not partisan litmus tests or ideological loyalty.

The current distortion:

Judicial appointments have been captured by the same partisan dynamics the framework opposes. Both parties increasingly treat judicial seats as political prizes to be filled with ideological allies. The result is a judiciary perceived as an extension of the political process rather than an independent check on it. When the public believes judges are politicians in robes, judicial legitimacy erodes regardless of the quality of individual decisions.

Appointment criteria:

The framework applies the same principle here that it applies to every other institution: professional qualifications, institutional integrity, and transparency over partisan loyalty.

Professional qualification as the baseline. All nominees must receive an ABA rating of “Qualified” or “Well Qualified.” Nominees rated “Not Qualified” by the ABA are not nominated. This is not ideological — it is a professional competency floor, the same standard Project 2029 applies to law enforcement (psychological screening), financial regulators (professional qualification), and every other institution.
Demonstrate commitment to Article I primacy. Nominees must respect the constitutional role of Congress in setting economic and social policy. The judiciary’s role is to evaluate whether legislation meets constitutional standards — not to substitute its own policy preferences for those of elected representatives. This is a structural principle, not an ideological one: courts that overrule democratic decisions bear the burden of explaining why the Constitution requires that outcome.
Diversity of professional background. The federal bench is disproportionately drawn from corporate law firms and prosecutorial backgrounds. Nominees should include public defenders, legal aid attorneys, civil rights litigators, labor lawyers, academics, and state court judges. A judiciary that only understands the legal system from one perspective cannot evaluate it fairly — this is the same argument the framework makes for diverse perspectives in every institution.
Protect the rights of workers and consumers. Nominees must possess a record that reflects understanding of power imbalances in the modern economy. This does not mean pre-judging cases — it means recognizing that the law operates in a context where concentrated economic power can distort outcomes, the same recognition that underlies the entire framework.
Adhere to universal ethics. All nominations conditioned on a signed commitment to the Judicial Ethics and Accountability Act, regardless of current statutory status.

What this is NOT:

Not a litmus test on specific cases or outcomes — the framework does not tell judges how to rule
Not “court packing by appointment” — all appointments fill existing vacancies through the normal constitutional process
Not ideological screening — professional qualification, institutional commitment, and ethical integrity are the criteria

Priority #4: Legal Vulnerability Assessment — Honest Self-Audit

Project 2029 proposes ambitious legislation. Every major proposal will face constitutional challenges. A credible framework does not pretend courts don’t exist — it honestly assesses which proposals are legally strongest, which face genuine challenges, and what happens if specific provisions are struck down.

This is the “stand on your stated principles” commitment applied to legal strategy. If a proposal cannot survive judicial scrutiny, the answer is to fix the proposal or develop an alternative — not to undermine the institution of judicial review.

Tier 1: Constitutionally Strong (Settled Authority)

These proposals rest on well-established constitutional foundations. Legal challenges are expected but unlikely to succeed:

Proposal	Constitutional Basis	Risk Level
Healthcare Public Option	Commerce Clause + Spending Clause; NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) upheld ACA’s core structure	Low — voluntary public option is less constitutionally aggressive than the individual mandate
Federal Job Guarantee	Commerce Clause + Spending Clause; direct federal employment programs have never been struck down	Low — federal government already employs millions directly
$25/hr Wage Floor	Commerce Clause; West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937) and FLSA upheld for nearly 90 years	Low — “rational basis” for wage regulation is firmly settled
Judicial Ethics Act	Article I § 8 (Necessary and Proper); Congress already regulates lower court ethics	Low — regulates conduct, not decisions
Judicial Transparency Act	Article I § 8; procedural regulation of courts	Low-Medium — novel, but regulates process not substance
Antitrust Enforcement	Sherman Act, Clayton Act, FTC Act — existing statutory authority requiring enforcement priority, not new law	Low — requires budget and leadership, not new constitutional authority
Immigration Reform	Plenary Power Doctrine; Article I § 8 (Naturalization Clause)	Low — federal immigration authority is essentially unchallenged
Criminal Justice Reform	Spending Clause (state incentives); direct federal authority over federal system	Low — First Step Act provides recent bipartisan precedent
Government Transparency	Spending Clause; FOIA expansion builds on existing law	Low

Tier 2: Constitutionally Defensible (Contested but Winnable)

These proposals face more serious legal challenges but have strong arguments and precedent on their side:

Proposal	Constitutional Basis	Key Challenge	Risk Level
Zoning Reform (Federal Incentives)	Spending Clause; South Dakota v. Dole (1987)	Coercion argument under NFIB v. Sebelius if conditions too aggressive	Medium — must condition modest portion of funding, not all-or-nothing
Stock Buyback Restrictions	Commerce Clause; SEC regulatory authority	Industry will argue First Amendment (corporate speech) and economic liberty	Medium — strong Commerce Clause basis; buybacks were prohibited pre-1982 with no constitutional issue
Private Prison Abolition (Federal)	Direct federal authority over federal contracts	Contract clause challenges from existing operators	Medium-Low — phase-out period and termination-for-convenience clauses mitigate
Drug Decriminalization	Congressional authority to amend Controlled Substances Act	Political challenge, not constitutional — Congress clearly has this power	Low legally, High politically
Electoral Reform (RCV)	Article I § 4 (Elections Clause) gives Congress power over federal election procedures	States’ rights arguments; implementation challenges	Medium — strong textual authority but politically contentious
Campaign Finance Reform	Buckley v. Valeo framework; disclosure requirements consistently upheld	Any provision that limits spending faces Citizens United barrier	Medium-High for spending limits; Low for disclosure requirements

Tier 3: Constitutionally Aggressive (Highest Legal Risk)

These proposals face significant constitutional uncertainty. They require the strongest legal preparation and must have fallback positions:

Proposal	Constitutional Basis	Key Challenge	Risk Level
Wealth Tax ($50M+ threshold)	Framed as Excise Tax on privilege of holding extreme wealth (avoids Direct Tax apportionment); Moore v. United States (2024) did not fully resolve	Direct Tax Clause — if classified as a direct tax, must be apportioned among states by population (functionally impossible)	High — Moore left the core question partially unresolved; current Court composition is unfavorable
DC/Puerto Rico Statehood	Article IV § 3 (Admissions Clause) — Congress has clear power	Political, not constitutional — requires simple majority in both chambers	Low legally, Very High politically
Constitutional Amendments	Article V process — supermajority requirements	Requires 2/3 of both chambers + 3/4 of state legislatures	N/A — constitutional by definition if process followed; the challenge is political feasibility

Priority #5: Legal Sequencing Strategy

The order in which proposals are enacted matters. A framework that leads with its most legally vulnerable provisions hands opponents an early court victory that demoralizes supporters and emboldens challenges to everything else. A framework that leads with legally bulletproof provisions builds momentum, establishes precedent, and forces opponents to challenge increasingly popular programs.

Sequencing principle: Pass the strongest proposals first. Build the foundation. Make each subsequent proposal harder to challenge in isolation.

Phase 1 (Year 1): Unassailable Foundation

Judicial Ethics and Accountability Act — establishes the legitimacy of the judiciary itself
Judicial Transparency Act — ends shadow docket; ensures all subsequent challenges receive reasoned decisions
Government Transparency Act — open data, FOIA expansion
Emergency Stabilization executive actions — enforce existing laws (antitrust, tax compliance, healthcare enrollment)
Antitrust enforcement using existing statutory authority — no new legislation required

Phase 2 (Years 1-2): Strong Constitutional Ground

Healthcare Public Option — Spending Clause authority; builds on ACA precedent
Federal Job Guarantee — direct federal employment; settled authority
$25/hr Wage Floor — FLSA authority; settled since 1937
Immigration Reform — Plenary Power Doctrine; federal authority unchallenged
Criminal Justice Reform — Spending Clause incentives; First Step Act precedent
Law Enforcement Accountability — federal standards with state incentive model

Phase 3 (Years 2-3): Contested but Defensible

Electoral Reform (RCV, campaign finance disclosure) — Elections Clause authority
Housing Market Integrity (zoning incentives, anti-speculation) — Spending Clause with careful calibration
Stock Buyback Restrictions — Commerce Clause; SEC authority
Education Investment (universal Pre-K, free college) — Spending Clause

Phase 4 (Years 3-4): Legally Aggressive / Constitutional Amendments

Wealth Tax — framed as Excise Tax; strongest possible legal preparation (see Fallback Positions below)
DC/Puerto Rico Statehood — simple majority legislation
Constitutional Amendments — Article V process initiated

Why this order works:

By the time legally aggressive proposals reach the courts, the framework has already delivered visible results (healthcare, jobs, wages, transparency) that make it politically costly to strike down the broader agenda
Judicial Ethics and Transparency reforms are in place before major challenges arrive, ensuring that court decisions are transparent and explained
Each phase builds public support and institutional credibility that strengthens the next phase
If any Phase 4 item is struck down, Phases 1-3 are already operational and delivering results

Priority #6: Fallback Positions — Plan B for Every Vulnerability

A credible framework has contingencies. If a specific provision is struck down, the framework must have an alternative that achieves the same goal through different constitutional authority. This is not defeatism — it is intellectual honesty and institutional resilience.

Wealth Tax → Mark-to-Market Taxation

If the wealth tax is struck down as a “direct tax” requiring apportionment:

Fallback: Mark-to-market taxation of unrealized capital gains for taxpayers above a defined asset threshold. This taxes income (gains), not wealth (assets), placing it squarely under the Sixteenth Amendment’s authorization of income taxation “from whatever source derived.”
Precedent: Mark-to-market is already applied to certain financial instruments and expatriation (IRC § 877A exit tax). Extending it to ultra-high-net-worth taxpayers is a policy choice, not a constitutional innovation.
Revenue estimate: Comparable to the wealth tax — roughly $200-400B annually depending on threshold and rate.

Zoning Reform Incentives → Direct Federal Housing Investment

If federal zoning incentive conditions are struck down as coercive under NFIB v. Sebelius:

Fallback: Direct federal investment in housing construction on federal land, military base redevelopment, and federal facility adjacent development — bypassing local zoning entirely on federal property. Combined with expanded Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and direct appropriations for housing infrastructure that do not require state zoning changes.
Reduced impact but still meaningful: Federal land exists in every state; LIHTC expansion operates through tax code, not conditional grants.

Stock Buyback Restrictions → Enhanced Disclosure + Tax Penalty

If direct buyback restrictions face unexpected legal challenge:

Fallback: Require real-time public disclosure of all buyback authorizations and executions (transparency approach), combined with a steep excise tax on buybacks above a defined threshold (currently 1% under IRA 2022 — increase to 10-20%). This does not “restrict” buybacks — it makes them transparent and expensive, achieving the same policy outcome through taxing authority rather than regulatory authority.

Campaign Finance Spending Limits → Full Transparency + Public Financing

If spending limits are struck down under Citizens United precedent (likely):

Fallback: The framework already prioritizes what can be done: mandatory real-time disclosure of all political spending (consistently upheld by courts, including in Citizens United itself), small-dollar public financing matching (6:1 or higher match for contributions under $200), and shareholder approval requirements for corporate political spending.
Long-term: Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United remains in Phase 4, but the framework does not depend on it. Transparency and public financing shift the incentive structure even if spending limits are unavailable.

Private Prison Abolition (State Incentives) → Federal Procurement Standards

If state funding conditions face coercion challenges:

Fallback: Federal procurement standards that prohibit any entity operating private detention facilities from receiving any federal contract across all agencies — not just criminal justice grants. This uses the federal government’s purchasing power rather than conditional grants. Companies choose: operate private prisons, or do business with the federal government. Not both.

What This Section Does NOT Propose

Consistent with the framework’s principles of institutional integrity:

No court packing. Expanding the Supreme Court to override unfavorable decisions is institutional capture by another name. If the framework opposes regulatory capture by private interests, it must oppose institutional capture by political interests. The answer to a Court that rules wrongly is to make better arguments, appoint better judges through the normal process, and if necessary amend the Constitution — not to dilute the institution.
No retroactive term limits. Imposing term limits on sitting justices changes the rules after the game started. Prospective term limits for future appointees are a legitimate policy debate, but the framework does not propose them because they require a constitutional amendment with uncertain prospects. Resources are better spent on ethics, transparency, and appointment quality within existing constitutional authority.
No jurisdiction stripping. Removing categories of cases from federal court jurisdiction to prevent judicial review of the framework’s proposals would be the same executive/legislative overreach the framework opposes from any president of any party. The framework should survive judicial scrutiny on its merits, not evade it.
No litmus tests. Requiring nominees to pre-commit to specific case outcomes corrupts judicial independence. The appointment criteria above assess professional qualification, institutional commitment, and ethical integrity — not how a nominee would rule on any particular case.
No retaliation against unfavorable rulings. If the Court strikes down a provision, the response is a fallback position (see Priority #6), not an attack on the judiciary. Institutional legitimacy is a long-term asset that cannot be sacrificed for short-term political advantage.

Political Considerations

These reforms will face opposition from those who benefit from the current system’s lack of accountability. Key arguments and responses:

Opposition argument: “This interferes with judicial independence” Response: Ethics rules govern financial conduct, not judicial decisions. Transparency requirements govern explanation of decisions, not their content. Judges must be independent from financial interests, not exempt from accountability. Congress already sets binding ethics rules for all other federal judges—this simply extends them to Supreme Court.

Opposition argument: “The Supreme Court can regulate itself” Response: 230+ years of history prove otherwise. Voluntary guidelines have failed. The Court adopted a Code of Conduct in 2023 with no enforcement mechanism — and shadow docket usage has continued to expand. Every other branch has external oversight — the judiciary should not be the exception.

Opposition argument: “This is unconstitutional” Response: Article III protects salary and tenure, not financial self-dealing or unexplained rulings. Congress has clear authority under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Existing ethics rules for lower courts have withstood constitutional challenge. Requiring explanation of decisions is a procedural standard, not a substantive one.

Opposition argument: “The legal vulnerability assessment shows this agenda can’t work” Response: The vulnerability assessment shows this framework is honest about what it faces — unlike agendas that pretend courts don’t exist. Most proposals rest on settled constitutional authority. The few with genuine legal risk have fully developed fallback positions. The framework is designed to deliver results regardless of how any single court challenge is resolved.

Political strategy:

Frame as “equal accountability” — same rules for all judges, same transparency expected from all institutions
Emphasize bipartisan support for ethics reform (polling shows 70%+ support across parties)
Highlight specific examples of ethics violations and unexplained rulings to build public pressure
Lead with legally strongest proposals to build momentum and make subsequent challenges harder
Use reconciliation process if necessary (ethics rules affect federal spending through enforcement mechanisms)

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