Thank you, @chrislu44.bsky.social for speaking with our Millstone fellows about public service last week.

On Jan. 7, the U.S. withdrew from 66 international organizations. “Whatever the modest cost-savings that are generated by this U.S. withdrawal from the multilateral system, the loss of long-term influence will be far greater,” write U.N. and White House policy experts Julian Simcock and Chris Lu

Among the #UN organizations that the Trump Admin. is withdrawing from are offices that combat sexual violence and protect children in armed conflict. Inexplicable. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

📢 Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform Chris Lu has been selected to chair the FLA Board of Directors, effective November 1, 2025. More details on our website: www.fairlabor.org/fair-labor-a...

Trump has now elected liberals in Canada, Australia, and the Vatican

Bishop Robert Barren to CBS yesterday:

Number of US gas stations currently selling at $1.98: zero. 🤡 www.gasbuddy.com

How is it that the only person to lose their job this week is the one who wasn’t on the Signal chat?

My latest: Finding my voice as a former federal employee allowed me to remain true to the values that had always compelled me to serve the American public. Using my voice showed me that serving the country does not require a badge or an official title. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

It is a sad day for the legal industry. Paul Weiss, didn't just bend a knee, it set a new standard for shameful capitulation. This is a stain on the firm, every one of its partners, and the entire legal profession.

More than 700 current US foreign policy officers and officials have signed a dissent cable to Marco Rubio urging him to stop the dismantling of USAID. An extraordinary step. www.thebulwark.com/p/hundreds-s...

63% drop in Tesla sales in France 60% drop in Germany 38% drop in Norway One-third of Dutch owners say they have sold or are planning to sell their Teslas www.politico.eu/article/tesl...

This is insane. For those of us in Florida, for example, we rely heavily on the latest hurricane info from @climate.noaa.gov… This Trump Administration wants us to be less informed and more in danger. www.theverge.com/news/622990/...

An important statement from the American Bar Association. www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

Never been more proud of my service as a U.S. ambassador under Pres. Biden than I am today. We stood side-by-side with an ally fighting for its survival. We built a broad coalition that provided military and financial support. And we gave hope to democracies around the world. 🇺🇦

"A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind directives that initiated the mass firing of probationary government workers in several agencies across the government, ruling that the terminations were probably illegal" www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

At a time when China is increasing its diplomatic presence, Trump is taking the State Dept. in the opposite direction. A former senior official says U.S. diplomacy will "return, if not to the 19th century, at least pre-World War II." (from @nahaltoosi.bsky.social ) www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

Great to speak at #TogetherforDemocracy Conference along with @budzinski.house.gov @repdangoldman.bsky.social @hrc.org president & @jenblue190.bsky.social. So inspiring to hear from allies who are committed to the fight ahead. And thanks to @democracyforward.org for helping to lead the way.

Today, the US stood with Russia and North Korea — and against our allies — in voting against a UN resolution to condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Let that sink in. This is a betrayal of the Ukrainian people, our allies, our interests and those who aspire for freedom.

For three years under President Biden, the U.S. led a coalition of 140 countries at the UN in supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, calling out Russia as the aggressor in this unjustified war, and pushing back against Russian disinformation Now, the U.S. votes with Russia and against Ukraine

Dear Europe, Trump completely melts under pushback. So push back.

Notably, even the #UN Secretary-General is willing to call out the aggressor (Russia) and the need to uphold "Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders" Every previous U.S. president for the past 80 years would've similarly agreed.

It is absolutely not good for our national security to have 2 million federal employees email a random address revealing what they did last week, even if it’s not classified. There’s no shortage of sensitive information in these emails that our adversaries would love to see.

Eliminating foreign aid, cutting human rights and democracy promotion, closing cybersecurity programs, firing FBI agents All of these DOGE cuts help one country: China foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/18/c...

NEW: A federal judge blocked Trump’s effort to stop funding grants and contracts that have DEI components, saying it is likely viewpoint discrimination and worded so vaguely that it will chill free speech. www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

"DOGE published an itemized list of canceled government contracts accounting for an alleged $16 billion in spending. Almost half of those savings were attributed to a hefty $8 billion contract...there was just one problem: it was only worth $8 million, not $8 billion" newrepublic.com/post/191707/...

Rep. Jason Crow: “The purge of senior officers at DOD is deeply troubling, but purging JAG officers worries me the most. “JAG officers interpret law for our commanders. They help determine what's lawful and constitutional. “Replacing these military lawyers with Trump loyalists is so dangerous.”

firing for "too much DEI" is plainly firing a woman and a Black man on the presumption only white men can be qualified. this is disgusting biogtry.

Just look at these paragraphs from the AP story. Hegseth called Brown unqualified solely because he's Black. Then they fired him... and replaced him with a white guy so indisputably unqualified that he requires a Presidential waiver. This is what "merit" means to them. apnews.com/article/trum...

Some of the most shameful comments uttered by a president in my lifetime. Trump is siding with the aggressor, blaming the victim. In the Kremlin they must be jumping for joy. I’d like to hope Republicans, who used to believe in resisting tyranny, would disavow the things Trump is saying & doing.

The flying public needs answers. How many FAA personnel were just fired? What positions? And why?

Trump just pulled the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council—again. Michèle Taylor, former U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, warns: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

Book burning begins at OSHA. Documents are disappearing from the agency's website. But this book burning doesn’t just harm readers; it kills workers. jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

​Before I saw Senator Andy Kim's comments from Sunday, I was on the treadmill Sunday morning thinking big thoughts. It turns out, Senator Kim and I were on the same page. 🧵/1

I’m calling for Musk to be subpoenaed and come before the committee. His actions are unconstitutional and he needs to answer for them. www.democracynow.org/2025/2/7/ro_...

List: Examples of Trump’s Actions That Are Defying Legal Limits .. FFS. He is breaking the law. just say it. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

During Biden Admin., we successfully pushed the #UN to adopt major budget and management reforms. And we got more Americans into high-level UN positions. Yes, the U.S. does pay the highest dues. At the UN, money equals influence. So if you want China to pay more, they will also have more influence.

Withdrawing from the #UN Human Rights Council and defunding UNRWA are largely for show. The U.S. isn’t currently a member of the HRC and doesn’t contribute to UNRWA. But the signal of possible U.S. disengagement from the UN creates a void that China, Russia and other adversaries will happily fill.

An excellent resource for federal civil servants. www.civilservicestrong.org

I’m going to put my rich guy hat on and say I hope that Mexico and Canada issue equal, retaliatory tariffs and stick to them for an extended period. I apologize to all the people it will cost money and the businesses it will hurt. But it’s the only way for tariffs to be seen for what they are

If you needed a vivid reminder of why COVID got out of hand in 2020, you saw a president today scapegoating, wildly speculating, and surrounding himself with yes men, instead of hearing from experts. The next four years will show us why ignoring and purging government experts is so dangerous.

Insightful analysis of federal deferred resignation offer: “Federal sector unions and others have advised their members not to take the deal. The reality is that this offer provides little to no benefit for most employees.” From @justsecurity.org

Important piece by @originalsp.in on why birthright citizenship should matter to all Americans: "If our American birthright is to be seen as something that can be struck away with an idle stroke of the executive pen, no right, entitlement or privilege could remain safe."

This deal Musk came up with is not a severance deal at all. You agree to resign and you can continue to work from home until September instead of coming into an office. That’s it.

“Abandoning this assistance hurts the U.S., because it makes no distinction between ally, partner and adversary. And U.S. rival China will be happy to move into areas of Africa to build its influence and business contracts in resource-rich countries.” apnews.com/article/trum...

On this excellent day for football, I share a great piece about how to move forward from Trump by Theda Skocpol, as wise a political scientist as she is a very knowledgeable football fan. “How to Take Heart From What Really Worked in the First Resistance.” newrepublic.com/article/1905...

As well as misspelling the name of Colombia, Donald Trump is going to push our allies into the loving embrace of China. But don’t say we didn’t tell ya. We did

In just his first week, Trump has: - Refused to enforce a bipartisan law on TikTok - Refused to spend money authorized by Congress (IRA, infrastructure) - Fired inspectors general in violation of law - Issued an EO described as "blatantly unconstitutional" - Threatened to withhold disaster aid

DEI in the federal government. At DOJ, I worked on "DEI" because I did a lot of recruiting and hiring. What that *actually* meant was finding ways to speak with diverse POTENTIAL applicants about the work of DOJ to encourage them to APPLY and to have our job openings reach broader communities. /1

ICYMI: After courting votes from Blacks, Hispanics and Asian Americans, Trump just revoked Biden executive orders that benefit - wait for it - Blacks, Hispanics and Asian Americans.