When we say the president is *politically* rather than legally constrained in warmaking, what exactly does that mean? Don't overthink it. blog.mattglassman.net/notes-on-the...

Question for those knowledgeable about such things (I'm totally ignorant about this stuff): was the closing of Hormuz an expected Iranian maneuver in this spot, or was the conventional assessment that threats to do so were bluffs?

Once upon a time, today was important. On the old congressional calendar, lame ducks, and the fallibility of the Founders. open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...

More on the talking filibuster: let's talk about its role in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and analogizing the CRA to the current debate over the SAVE Act. blog.mattglassman.net/more-on-the-...

My initial thoughts on Iran, with lots of links to people more knowledgeable than me. blog.mattglassman.net/iran/

Using all of my strength to resist my CRS instinct to reply *War Powers RESOLUTION* to like 60,000 posts.

really liked this @mattglassman312.bsky.social on the tariff case and the legislative veto (also shoutout to @joshchafetz.bsky.social) blog.mattglassman.net/the-court-th...

My take on Learning Resources v. Trump: the elephant in the room in Chadha and the legislative veto. fivepoints.mattglassman.net/p/the-court-...

Everyone—everyone!—is worried that no one is hanging out anymore. There’s a simple solution: get over yourself and start inviting people over to your home. It’s so easy you’ll feel stupid after you start. blog.mattglassman.net/you-should-i...

I am going to write this up in excruciating detail on my Substack on Friday, but here's my working outline of the argument for now. SCOTUS, tariffs, IEEPA, and the legislative veto: we're all looking for the guy who did this... blog.mattglassman.net/the-court-th...

I have now finished reading the SCOTUS decision in the tariff case, and all I can say is that this entire 170 page mess of opinions is silently screaming for the return of the legislative veto, which conveniently was taken away by---you guessed it---the Court.

I was going to write something about the State of the Union address today, but Jonathan Bernstein did a way better job of nailing it:

I'm sure I'll have a lot to say bout the tariff decision, but my rule of thumb is that the quality of what you say about a SCOTUS decision is strongly correlated with actually having read the decision, so I'm going to start there.

Part II of my guided tour through two normal procedural days in the House. open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...

I would add: when you come across something new, unusual or perplexing, get your shovel and dig, dig, dig until you can make sense of it. Googling your question with ‘CRS’ at the end is a good place to start. This kind of process helps to answer questions you would never even think to ask.

If you want to learn how the House floor works, the best thing to do is walk through the congressional record a few times. Here's part I of my guided tour:

My usual rant about Presidents' Day, plus some quick notes on Washington and his world. blog.mattglassman.net/washingtons-...

Debates about the filibuster are mostly anchored by two models of parliamentary procedure---the modern majoritarian House and the modern 60-vote Senate. But there's a third model worth considering, and it's used all over the country: Robert's Rules. blog.mattglassman.net/roberts-rule...

I am once again calling for a constitutional amendment to require the scoreboards in the House to be shown on C-SPAN.

If they’re going to take the rule down, this seemed like an *obvious* spot to defeat the PQ—amending out the tariff vote blocker and letting the rest of the rule go seems *less* rebellious than bringing down the rule—but the norm against defeating PQ remains solid if irrational.

A privileged resolution from the rules committee that would block the ability to bring other privileged legislation to the floor is scheduled to be considered in the House today. It's a good time to get straightened out on "privilege" in the House! blog.mattglassman.net/straightenin...

Notes on how to read public political negotiating letters. blog.mattglassman.net/anatomy-of-l...

I tried my hand at a video explainer of the talking filibuster. open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...

There are any number of potential schemes possible to weaken but still retain the filibuster, but the evidence is that few if any Senators actually want that. But I do think that of the possible schemes, the stupidest ones involve tests of physical endurance and stamina.

Excellent. Key point summary: We don't have talking filibusters is because under current procedures and practices they are good for the minority party, not the majority party. Thune can force the Dems to hold the floor against any particular bill, but it would be good for the Dems. I'll add...

On the “talking filibuster.” blog.mattglassman.net/the-talking-...

I didn’t walk through a foot of snow uphill both ways to get to school growing up, but I definitely waited for a bus with the snowbanks piled up way above my head. Come on, FCPS. blog.mattglassman.net/snow-days-in...

My initial reaction to Moltbook. Feels like a canary in the coal mine: things are going to get weird really fast. blog.mattglassman.net/moltbook/

Some quick musings on czars and White House control of agency policy. blog.mattglassman.net/czars-and-wh...

Some thoughts on immigration policy adjustment in the executive branch and the legislature. blog.mattglassman.net/minnesota-po...

relevant (genuine, because budget execution is not my area) Q I've been mulling: how likely is it that DHS has actually segregated the OBBBA $ from the discretionary $ such that they can accurately claim facts consistent with the rider not applying (if, indeed, that's the correct legal argument)?

Parliamentary nerd note: limitation provisions in approps bills need to be properly scoped; DHS has (more or less correctly on the law, though not in spirit) argued the congressional oversight of facilities demanded in the annual act does not apply to ICE funds in OBBBA. 1/

A lot of people get tripped up about where policy is made in the government. And one reality is that a huge proportion of it isn't made by law, and consequently you don't need new laws to change policy. In fact, that's generally not how it works. blog.mattglassman.net/most-policy-...

Implementation *is* policy, and the administration’s current immigration policy is failing miserably. blog.mattglassman.net/implementati...

Reading the new Claude Constitution feels like an important moment. blog.mattglassman.net/immediate-br...

My thoughts on Greenland. blog.mattglassman.net/greenland/

Good sentences about Trump to ponder, from @juliaazari.bsky.social and @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social : blog.mattglassman.net/julia-azari-...

Things I didn’t know until yesterday: the Soviets didn’t pull their goalie in 1980 in the waning minutes of the Miracle. blog.mattglassman.net/a-famous-but...

Theory: hockey fans develop a better sense of expected value and are less results-oriented, because of the nature of the game. blog.mattglassman.net/process-vs-o...

Too old to be presidenting. blog.mattglassman.net/too-old-to-b...

On matchpoints and imps, in bridge and politics. blog.mattglassman.net/matchpoints-...

Notes on Sheep, the brilliantly fun game you should be playing. blog.mattglassman.net/notes-on-she...

Six months ago, I started walking regularly. Highly recommended. blog.mattglassman.net/walking/

Some quick thoughts on the gaps between legal, wise, and moral policy. Whatever else you think of ICE, it seems to me to be a huge failure of executive governance right now. blog.mattglassman.net/legal-wise-a...

You can just do things. A new book by Cate hall and (unrelated, but not actually) the most powerful feature of Trump’s politics. blog.mattglassman.net/you-can-just...

The poker chattering class, like the bridge chattering class, has lost the plot. blog.mattglassman.net/selling-poke...

Predictions for 2026. blog.mattglassman.net/predictions-...

Some thoughts. fivepoints.mattglassman.net/p/thoughts-a...

I went longform on Talking Rule Spoons, the world's greatest dumb party game. fivepoints.mattglassman.net/p/talking-ru...

I’m doing some old school daily blogging again—for things that don’t quite fit here or in a substack newsletter, either for length, topic, or serious-ness reasons. Come check me out: mattsonepoint.bearblog.dev/young-people...