Toward a more responsible and effective presidency

Event Details

On September 24–25, 2025, UVA’s nonpartisan Miller Center of Public Affairs convenes presidential experts—dozens of leading Democrats and Republicans, scholars from across the country, and top journalists—for the second biennial Conference on the American Presidency, a series of constructive conversations about the modern presidency.

In these discussions we pick up where our 2023 conference left off.

On the one hand, recent presidents from both parties have expanded the scope of presidential authority, often to address pressing challenges. Increasingly, they have used these powers to deliver for the core elements of the political party that helped elect them.

On the other hand, these same presidents have struggled to sustain majority approval ratings. Large majorities of Americans across party lines and across time express concern about how presidents use their authority.

In conversations over two days, panels of leading experts will discuss the causes and implications of these trends, what we might expect in the rest of the current administration, what might come in future administrations of either party, and what the country might do to promote a more responsible and effective presidency.

September 24 – Day One: Democracy and Bureaucracy

9:00–10:30 a.m. Session 1: The presidency and the Office of Budget and Management (OMB)

10:30–10:45 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Session 2: A strong executive and agency independence

September 25 – Day Two: Sharing Powers

9:00–10:00 a.m. Session 1: Congress and the president

10:00–10:15 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Session 2: Presidents and emergency powers

ROSTER OF PARTICIPANTS