Not long ago, the idea of polling judges and asking them to cast votes, but not offer reasons, would have seemed reductive. "That's not what judges do." On the emergency docket today, this is all the Supreme Court does. Red and blue dots are perfect. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool

#freedc #freechicago

I read a couple of pieces this week that show how people are not just protesting but actively resisting Trump-era abuses and putting themselves on the line to protect their neighbors. They're well worth your time.

This is a superlative post. All constitutional law professor and students should read it -- and then, of course, go read Richard's great book, too. I continued to be somewhat amazed/alarmed, however, ... [1] @williambaude.bsky.social @johnmikhail.bsky.social @jackbalkin.bsky.social

Carving out Jews as the special exception to the general anti-DEI rules of the federal government makes Jews into a specially protected buffer class, which both engenders resentment from others and enables the government to make us scapegoats if things go bad. It’s Court Jews all over again.

🏙️ Cities getting it right: Instead of blanket cuts, smart governments are modernizing! New in @nytimes.com by @pahlkadot.bsky.social @robertgo.bsky.social showcase pioneers using AI & digital tools to improve services, including @innovateus.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...

A $1 Trillion Medicaid Cut Is THIS Close to Happening. Here’s What It’d Look Like. www.thebulwark.com/p/medicaid-c... from @citizencohn.bsky.social

Little-known, big-government & anti-work story from the Big Beautiful Bill: Literally looking for work can cost you your health care. More here:

Striking and spot-on from a blue-state governor: “Democrats should not shy away from talking about accountability and outcomes,” Kotek said in an interview. “That’s a winning message.” Similar themes from several other folks, including me.

Millions of working people rely on Medicaid. If they are laid off, spending all day every day looking for a job will not be good enough to meet new work requirements. If they take too long to find a new job--which most people will, when unemployment is high--they'll lose their health care. 1/x

Thanks for posting @donmoyn.bsky.social!

Good vibes and good question in Alexandria today

Here’s a New York Times photo of the Chicago “No Kings” rally. NYT said the march that followed spanned at least 10 blocks.

Got my copy today. The kids are fighting over who gets to read it first. Gonna be me—very excited.

On a bad welfare reform analogy: It's not, "‘Oh, I’m not going to earn cash because I am getting it already.’ Instead, it’s, ‘I’m not going to earn cash because I have health insurance.’ It’s a much weaker theory of the case... and it is wrong,” Gordon said. www.huffpost.com/entry/work-r...

Notable statements from a former Israeli Prime Minister.

Read this deeply reported piece by @citizencohn.bsky.social on the repeated failure of so-called "work requirements" for Medicaid. Thx to @robertgo.bsky.social for explaining your MI experience & Georgia Budget & Policy Center @gbpp.bsky.social for studying results in GA. @clasp.org

Democrats have many reasons to oppose DOGE, but so do Republicans. @jdmatsudaira.bsky.social and I wrote about how House GOP student aid proposals require a Department of Education that DOGE has destroyed.  www.chronicle.com/article/on-s...

“Trump is cagey about whether he might try to stay in office after his current term expires,” writes Richard Primus. If the president’s goals conflict with the law, “he will disregard the project of the law as long as he can get away with it”:

Of all the bad SNAP and Medicaid “reform” proposals I’ve seen in 30 years of working on this stuff, the cost shift is the worst. It’s not reform, it’s a bomb.

The cost shift to states from these SNAP and Medicaid cuts is terrible for the people who depend on them …. And bad news for anyone who depends on state funding for education, or public safety, or transportation. Which is everyone. www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

Read @crampell.bsky.social's excellent column on the GOP plan to cut Medicaid and SNAP (with a quote from yours truly)

DOGE took over clearing HHS grant announcements a month ago. Guess how many new announcements the agency has posted since then? Zero. Ten were supposed to go up between April 11 and today, but none have. 1/4

When I led Michigan's DHHS, the state worked hard to implement work requirements humanely. Even so, more than 100,000 Michiganders were on track to lose their health care. Then, fortunately, the state's law was enjoined. That story here: www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2025/mi... 1/2

Happened upon a Good Friday procession in DC tonight. Prayers in Spanish, signs in five languages. Not my faith, except American.

“Instead of cutting red tape, they are strangling grantees with it,” said Robert Gordon, who served as the HHS assistant secretary of financial resources during the Biden administration. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Updating this thread from a couple weeks ago: Out of 1,447 HHS contracting staff (1102s) prior to the RIF, I am told that 446 remain, a reduction of 1,001.

DOGE is now demanding that health grantees justify routine drawdowns of federal funds. At best, this is a waste of time like the “five things I did last week” emails. At worst, it will kill life-saving services. Disturbing story with more from me. 1/2

Trump Admin. failure to properly follow court orders in Abrego Garcia case is grave threat to civil liberties of US citizens, as well as immigrants. We must stop this slippery slope before go further down it: reason.com/volokh/2025/...

Proud that my synagogue signed onto this excellent amicus brief in support of Rümeysa Öztürk. The intro is especially worth your time. www.templemicah.org/wp-content/u... #NotInOurName

To the list of hero firms, crucial to add the firms who are *representing* the firms that are fighting back: Williams & Connolly, Munger Tolles & Olson, Cooley. Kudos. Law students choosing where to work: which column do you want to be in?

Important story that includes some thoughts from me. DOGE is now a superagency, managing processes deep within agencies but core to their missions. And DOGE can now impound funds by refusing to allow grant postings. Next question: Will DOGE begin to approve individual grant awards?

Axios: In less than a week, many Americans will no longer be able to apply for Social Security on the phone, setting the stage for disruptions & upheaval for millions of seniors. The abrupt change increases the likelihood that eligible people will miss out on benefits www.axios.com/2025/04/08/s...

Check out this smart unpacking of the (not so smart) cancellation of billions of federal education funds last week. As @robertgo.bsky.social explains, Secretary McMahon says she trusts states but this action does not match her words.

Wonky thread on Linda McMahon’s cancellation of reimbursement for billions in K-12 spending. It's bad news for kids. It's also an example of how the Administration talks devolving power to states, but actually turns states into supplicants.

Folks let’s do this today! There are protests everywhere — find yours at handsoff2025.com Spread the word!

Soon I will add to my bio, "an actual expert on how the government works."

Have you noticed how all these settlements look the same? It is ritual humiliation. Trump is saying: Whatever integrity or identity you thought you had, now you belong to me.

This thread from @robertgo.bsky.social is very important - it’s a topic that has so far been under-covered by the media: desire to control the $ and be able to direct it without following legal procedures as a motivation for the cuts. @citizencohn.bsky.social

Smart breakdown of a coming break down in federal contracting (this is about HHS but it holds true for other agencies for sure)

A thread on why HHS cuts could backfire, leading to *more* waste and abuse, by somebody who is an actual expert on how the government works

More useful insights into the bloodbath at HHS, and how it will likely lead to less efficiency and more fraud bsky.app/profile/robe...

Some news about RIFs within HHS's procurement staff. I oversaw HHS procurement policy as an assistant secretary for a year and know folks still there. Heavy sledding alert, but TLDR: Enormous cuts make contract bloat and fraud far likelier. 1/10

"Turned away when badges didn't work." Just gratuitous cruelty to committed civil servants who've already taken so much abuse. The costs of these reckless cuts to all of our health will be vast. But the inhumane treatment of hard-working employees is itself a moral stain.

Highly recommend! Honks never sounded so good.

Proud companion to this happy warrior @teslatakedown.com today in Arlington. Also saw a former boss’s husband, a college friend, and my kid’s old music teacher. Rock on. #teslatakedown

A Skadden attorney resigned today, citing the firm’s decision to strike a deal with Trump amid pressure campaign on law firms. “[I]f my employer cannot stand up for the rule of law, then I cannot ethically continue to work for them,” the former Skadden lawyer, Brenna Trout Frey, wrote on LinkedIn.

Skadden Fellows (I was one) receive funding to do legal services work, polishing the firm's reputation and their own. The fellowship's founder is magical. Skadden has now ransomed the program to a new boss. The fellowship--and more importantly, the firm--are forever tarnished.