Interesting research on the House Appropriations Committee’s Surveys & Investigations Staff, who were quietly abolished in 2024. matthewdull.substack.com/p/oversight-...

My new shirt. IYKYK.

Alan Greenspan wooed his future wife, Andrea Mitchell, by taking her to his apartment to examine an essay he wrote on monopolies and antitrust. RIP: kevinrkosar.substack.com/p/rip-alan-g...

"I do not write this lightly, but it seems to me that I have never in my lifetime seen a public man work so assiduously to prepare for himself a place in Hell." thedispatch.com/article/vanc...

A $352 million apportionment of funds for Secret Service training/etc. to White House security measures (the ballroom?). Whoa. www.notus.org/congress/whi...

If you feel the need to tell people you are smart it might be due to you realizing you are known for being a knucklehead.

“I have undergraduate and graduate degrees from what’s considered the Harvard of Australia. I’ve always been academically gifted, as you could probably work out just from talking to me” -Nick Adams www.thefp.com/p/two-drinks...

GOP senators use the power of the purse against Sec. Hegseth. The First Branch is not dead yet. thehill.com/policy/defen...

The journalistic adage “we don’t report planes that land safely” means that what is deemed newsworthy often involves dysfunction and folly. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

A document denouncing abuses by an imperious executive who has "sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people"--yeah, that's totally not relevant to America today. 😂

The platonic ideal of I never thought the leopards would eat my face.

This sounds strikingly similar to complaints aired at the “No Kings” protests of the past year.

the Declaration condemns an imperious executive for ruling lawlessly and for “obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners…. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people.”

I'm starting to think that maybe Donald Trump does not have the command over the course of events that he has publicly portrayed himself as having

Pro basketball player Brianna Turner criticized the WNBA’s decision to put an “America 250” patch on its all-star game uniforms. Are she and other critics right? Should we not celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence? My thoughts: kevinrkosar.substack.com/p/should-we-...

My latest piece for the Examiner: "Congressional Republicans Are Losing Patience with Trump." www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/4589...

"Democrats need that kind of vision. They need, in particular, a commitment to a constitutional order centered on the power and prerogatives of Congress." - @jamellebouie.net www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/o...

📣 Applications are OPEN for @congressfellows.bsky.social's 2027 Congressional Innovation Fellowship! Technologists: bring your technical expertise to the policymaking process in Congress. U.S. citizens & DACA recipients eligible. Apply by June 25 ➡️ techcongress.io/apply

The Congressional Baseball Game is on Wednesday, June 10. Is it a waste of time or does the game foster collaboration in Congress? Prof. SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor explains: www.understandingcongress.org/podcast/does...

We could try a system that gave us more than 2 choices w/o the spoiler problem, like approval voting or Final Four voting. But here we are....

Watching folks online contort themselves to explain why they nonetheless will vote for a loathsome candidate. It boils down to: "There are two choices and I can't let the other party win." SAD!

Congress Is Swamped With Communications Yet Struggles to Hear the People Can Congress re-engineer itself to better hear voters' wishes? kevinrkosar.substack.com/p/congress-i...

"in what would be the first appearance of a living person on U.S. currency in more than 150 years" Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait" www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

"He pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police and was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison. But now he wants up to $10 million from the Justice Department’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund" www.thefp.com/p/jan6-riote...

"The winning plan to rebuild Penn Station features a presidential seal with President Trump's name etched into the wall by an entrance." gothamist.com/news/exclusi...

So far, about 20 districts have been redrawn to produce a partisan advantage. Only one of the sitting members of Congress in these districts has NOT chosen to run for reelection. www.understandingcongress.org/how-have-red...

An easy, inexpensive dish to prepare. Recipe: beveragesbooksandmore.substack.com/p/recipe-cia...

"Serpico is a case study in organizational behavior. It reminds us there can be a large gap between an organization’s rules and ostensible goals and its actual operations. It also shows that organizational culture can perpetuate bad behaviors." beveragesbooksandmore.substack.com/p/review-ser...

$13 a bottle and well worth it. My short review is at beveragesbooksandmore.substack.com

"Which one is going to be more accountable to the average voter—the administrative state, or those silly people on Capitol Hill? You may say it’s a Hobson’s choice, but I think you’d better put your chips on Capitol Hill. There you have a real voice." www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-bloated-...

The electoral system isn't the only thing broken about Congress. They've also been starving themselves of institutional capacity in their own workforce. I sat down with @kevinrkosar.bsky.social, formerly of the Congressional Research Service, to discuss the dire problems with staffing on the Hill.

Trump. Does. Not. Care. "I don’t understand. He is an ethically challenged individual," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said of Paxton, who was charged with defrauding investors in a Dallas-area tech startup before he completed a pretrial diversion program." thehill.com/homenews/sen...

Oh, my. A mere $871k in revenue? Trump Media Q1 Sales $871,000 With $405.9 Million Net Loss share.google/C2Tu7NAWEocx...

If Mr. Trump’s order withstands legal challenges, “the Postal Service is going to be put into a challenging administrative role,” said Kevin R. Kosar, a Postal Service analyst at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/u...

Well, that was a fun novel. My short review is at beveragesbooksandmore.substack.com

There is a pattern here. Remember the wall?

Yes they did! And this is on the thank you postcards I send.

Surreal to go to arts day at my kids' school (Field School) and to see kid-made campaign prints for @erinpetrey.bsky.social !

There is so much purple prose in this piece. I found it impossible to finish. I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America - The Atlantic share.google/BEylBBPoldON...

"When expertise, accrued knowledge, and circumspection become suspect, I’m not sure what about today’s 'conservatism' is all that conservative anymore." thedispatch.com/article/cons...

Good morning. Here's my story on the House of Representatives Modernization Subcommittee, which is trying to upgrade Congress for the 21st century. www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/4554...

The Purge of '38: Prez Franklin D. Roosevelt faced blowback from Congress when he involved himself in House & Senate elections to remove conservative Dems. Now we have a president that involves himself in elections to remove state legislators who disobey. indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/05/t...

My chat with Stephanie Bice, who chairs CHA's Modernization Subcommittee. "We’re not often covered in national news publications. We’re sort of flying under the radar. But what I would tell you is that we’re making a difference for the House." www.understandingcongress.org/podcast/what...

I wrote this in 2022. Sadly, it is becoming all the more true. Elections, Federalism, and the Peril of a Partisan Race to the Bottom www.aei.org/research-pro...

A marvelous biography of an incredible man. Here is my short review: open.substack.com/pub/beverage...

"Kennedy said that his department had made mistakes, such as when it implemented sweeping cuts to grants at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only to walk them back a day later." www.govexec.com/management/2...

What's on the syllabus for undergrad Intro to Congress and Intro to American Gov courses? We did a little survey. One thing we learned is that Mayhew's still popular. For more results, follow me here or at substack.com/@kevinrkosar #MPSA #MPSA2026

"About two-thirds of the text that becomes law is injected into bills after they are introduced, according to the most recent analysis by political scientists Andreu Casas (Royal Holloway University of London) and John D. Wilkerson (University of Washington)."

Still, Dr. Kosar says a new class of members could make things better, by refusing to treat having a majority as a “winner-takes-all” situation. www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics...