The WSJ politics newsletter refers to House Speaker Mike Johnson as “the calm conductor of a runaway train.”

This is my lane. I went through the 194 Trump v Barbara opinion from yesterday section by section, noting what they got right about US migration and citizenship history, and what the dissents get wrong. Please share if you think it is helpful to others.

A photo of my dog Eloise when I was discussing the Court’s ruling in NRSC v. FEC with someone. Not everyone is excited by campaign finance cases, I guess.

The birthright citizenship case should have been 9-0.

With parties no longer limited in making coordinated expenditures, it may be that safe House incumbents will face even more pressure to transfer money to the party congressional campaign committees.

In NRSC v. FEC, I feel like there is a non-zero chance the Court will invalidate not only party coordinated spending limits but also limits on contributions TO the parties. Per McCutcheon, conservatives on the Court see quid pro quo corruption as less of a concern when money flows through parties.

Big if lopsided self-funding in the Dem primary in my MD-06 district. David Trone has loaned his campaign $25 million in the contest, while incumbent April McClain Delaney has loaned her campaign $7.4 million.

Pretty fun that Springsteen managed to organize an America 250 concert line up that people actually want to see.

Long time Knicks fan but love Wemby and like the Spurs. Damn.

File this in “how not to improve public confidence in Congress” news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...

My colleague @mattngreen.bsky.social has made a terrific accounting of various democratic reform proposals floating about. This is a terrific roundabout and a good resource for much needed conversations.

Currently worried Trump will throw Taiwan under the bus if Xi agrees to rename it Trumpwan.

I found a set of SPSS 13.0 CDs in my office. The discs make good coasters!

Wait. The UK has a National Statistician Position?

If the Court invalidates limits on party coordinated expenditures, it won’t alter the party fundraising side. So expect the Hill committees to ratchet up pressure on incumbents for funds, since incumbents can give unlimited sums to the national party committees from their campaign committees.

The first, and necessary step, is absolutely overwhelming, devastating turnout.

I never thought I’d be thankful for Moodle.

SCOTUS in City of Mobile v. Bolden (1980): plaintiffs gotta show discriminatory intent. Congress in the 1982 VRA Reauthorization: discriminatory effects are sufficient. Justice Alito in Louisiana v. Callais: f**k Congress.

A must-read.

My New One at Slate: Justice Alito is a Coward (and Possibly a Liar) slate.com/news-and-pol...

This is so worth reading. We’ve normalized billionaires bankrolling so-called independent spending campaigns, and we wonder why the government isn’t responsive to ordinary people.

This is a @rfunkfordham.bsky.social figure 🔥 Full article here rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Will need to update my class VRA slide to explain how, according to Justice Alito in Louisiana v. Callais, the words “in a manner that results in” must be interpreted as “in a manner intended by the state”

That Brin can spend $57 million trying to block a California billionaire tax makes a good case for the billionaire tax.

Not the main point here, but I do not ever recall a federal agency making significant programmatic and personnel changes as a result of the PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL, which does not change any law or funding allocations. Congress hasn't acted yet. What are we doing here?

Frederick MD.

You can celebrate the destruction of a ruthless group of leaders in Iran that has destroyed the lives of countless Iranians AND still have serious doubts that the Trump administration has a coherent plan to enable the emergence of a more humane government in Iran once the bombs stop falling.

This should have been a 9-0 decision.

Repeat after me: An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law. Also: Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections

Contact your member of Congress and senators. It can matter.

Great piece by @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social democracyproject.org/posts/extrem...

The Senate vote on the Venezuela resolution was not a final passage vote . . . this seems like something the Post should get right?

It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.

@repaprildelaney.bsky.social: make him spend it all.

Did you know? About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5. About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development. The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.

Pleasure talking with @cgrisales.bsky.social for this All Things Considered story: www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...

I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach: Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. … America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Trump's own DOJ website still has a press release up from January pointing out that violent crime in D.C. is at its lowest in more than 30 years.

I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science

@adambonica.bsky.social and I are economists now (economist salary coming soon, I imagine) Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.

My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Just early published in ARPS (open access) @garlicksauce.bsky.social @wmjunk.bsky.social & I survey remarkable recent lobbying research that shows how lobbying matters & whats ahead for studies of influence www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is: 1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization 2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy 3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them 4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process 5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time

Where does the “Abolish ICE” movement go to get its apology? open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

RFK Jr. is seeking to destroy the consensus around vaccines, one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. People will die because of it.