"Democratic politicians urgently need to adopt the GOP view of public opinion—that it’s movable, and it’s their job to move it." newrepublic.com/article/2058...

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

“When Citizens United was decided in 2010, billionaires had spent $18 million on the 2000 election, $13M 2004 and $16M in 2008. Then came the deluge. In 2012 it was $231M, and nearly doubled again in next three election cycles —to $682M in 2016, $1.2 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2024.” Gift:

I don't think Trump/Johnson losing control of the House in the last 24 hours is getting nearly enough attention.

We are hiring a postdoc for our (Russell Smyth @palesl.bsky.social Tonja Jacobi) grant project "Empirical Study of Agenda Setting in the High Court of Australia." A great opportunity to work on empirical law and courts. Ad below. Reach out with questions: careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...

"Trump has created for himself a world in which he never hears a negative word about himself...he thinks himself answerable only to those who...think he can do no wrong...the rest of the country...doesn’t exist." Great @mjtoma.bsky.social read of the moment: newrepublic.com/article/2063...

My latest, "Free Exercise and the Redistribution of Liberty," is now posted (and forthcoming in @yalelawjournal.bsky.social). It argues that free exercise doctrine uses selective market logic to redistribute both public resources and liberty itself. Comments welcome: papers.ssrn.com/abstract=618...

@padilla.senate.gov (D-Calif.): “Trump wants to control election outcomes because he knows his party can’t win on their failed policies and disastrous track record. We’re not going to let him.” Read more on Trump’s plan to “take over” elections👇

This is a major, huge, humongous deal that will go largely unnoticed because of the broader chaos engulfing our politics. But, suffice it to say that the government is broken when the courts explicitly say they can't trust the administration to tell the truth.

The fact that center left CIA democratic Governor is reading the room better than leadership is somewhat a credit to her, but a stain on congressional leadership who can't even meet that bar no matter how desperately people are trying to drag them kicking and screaming to the realization.

Striking from new Quinnipiac poll: *Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33 *Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)

basically yglesias, jain, jentleson, WelcomePAC donors etc all base their prescriptions for Dems on a statistical model that nobody can replicate, and refuse to acknowledge (a) that uncertainty dwarfs the detectable effect of moderation & (b) that the last year has proved their views wrong!!

We don't have to believe this will work in order to take it seriously. But "the states control elections & he doesn't have enough goons to make it happen & the Constitution says ______" isn't a plan. 1/6/21 & getting away with it to become POTUS again also were illegal. bsky.app/profile/mcop...

“How the Supreme Court Secretly Made Itself Even More Secretive” electionlawblog.org?p=154093

Remarkable: 55% of noncollege whites and even 50% of rural whites say ICE is too aggressive, per new Fox News poll. And 71% of independents disapprove of Trump on immigration. This is digging deep into Trump's base. We detail these numbers on today's pod: newrepublic.com/article/2059...

JUST IN: Democrats flip a red seat in the Texas Senate. Taylor Rehmet wins against Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist who helped lead right-wing efforts to take over TX school boards. With all early vote, and 95% of precincts, in, Dem up 57/43. Trump won this seat by 17% in Tarrant County.

reminder that a small handful of Republicans in the House and Senate could end this madness today

So what can be done about Trump's potential interference with the 2026 midterms? As I write @slate.com:

@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social: "The CR that's been funding much of the government since November ends on Friday. As for the $1.2 trillion funding for the rest of the government, Republicans, for now, are holding it hostage for the ransom of $64 billion for DHS." www.thebulwark.com/p/how-dems-c...

BREAKING: Republican lawmakers unveil the Make Elections Great Again Act — a new bill that would impose the most extreme federal voting restrictions in history. The measure would go beyond the SAVE Act by imposing strict voter ID to vote, mandating voter roll purges, banning mail voting and more.

If you're a journalist listening to Homan BLOVIATE about law and order right now and your immediate question isn't *what gives YOU the authority to speak about crimes and "law and order" when you accepted a $50,000 bribe and keep avoiding any accountability?* then you are ridiculous.

FBI & DOJ won’t investigate murder of two American citizens in Minneapolis by ICE but now seizing ballots in 2020 Georgia election that was audited three times

1/27/2026 - Minneapolis ICE just attempted an illegal entry into the ECUADORIAN CONSULATE to abduct someone They did not have a warrant

There's an election for every Wisconsin sheriff this year -- 72 races. More than a dozen counties are handling some immigration enforcement duties on ICE's behalf, mostly in eastern and central Wisconsin, and in some counties surrounding Milwaukee. Many others share information with ICE.

This. He has to go.

🚨BREAKING: A federal judge in Oregon said Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent letter to Minnesota reinforced unease about how the Justice Department is wielding its authority in its nationwide push for state voter rolls, suggesting the administration’s campaign may be driven by improper motives.

It's not that Congress isn't powerless, Congress is actually supreme on this matter. It could end whatever it wanted to right now.

The whole constitutional structure is that Congress can cut the executive off at the knees/whatever body part you'd like by depriving it of money.

Bill Clinton: “Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.”

This can’t be repeated enough. Not only won’t they investigate, they may never even tell us who did this. Think about the message that sends to the next ones. Nobody is safe.

This morning, I recorded a video on TikTok about why DHS’s arguments for the power to enter homes without judicial warrants in immigration cases are bunk. Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared. Well, here’s a link: georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...

The march is now passing the Chicago city hall / Cook County hall building. The chant goes up, "Minnesota don't you fear, we, the people, are right here"

It appears that this legend owns a little bookstore — and you can order books from him instead of Bezos. Link in next post.

Reporter: "How long will you be out here?" random minneapolitan: "till my balls get cold"

For those unfamiliar with Edina this is the Minneapolis equivalent of a Westchester socialite walking down Fifth Avenue singing "John Brown's Body."

Yes, the GOP controls Congress. That's why it's key to show Congress COULD stop the madness. And it's not just the DHS bill. Congress could repeal the prior multi-year $75b for DHS; set up a special investigative committee (cf. Watergate); amend the Insurrection Act; etc.

The press shouldn't ask GOP leadership to opine on the facts. They're incontrovertible. Instead, they should ask them if they condemn this murder. Any answer other than "yes" should be treated as support for this administration's policy of state-sanctioned summary execution of innocent people.

"Just like the killing of Renée Good, Saturday morning’s shooting once again raises the question of why it is so damned difficult to hold federal officers—and the federal government itself—accountable if and when they violate our rights." Me on the federal accountability gap—and how to close it:

Absolutely reprehensible that AG Bondi is offering ICE stand down in exchange for access to voting rolls. Outrageous and disgusting. It shows ICE is in Minneapolis is not for law enforcement purposes. Instead it’s a way to stir up shit in blue states and extort them.

Beyond helping establish DHS itself in 2003, Mr. Mitnick was a senate-confirmed Trump choice for General Counsel for DHS in his first term. I've talked with him a few times, and he's not a man for hyperbole. So bear that in mind when you see him calling out DHS's "lawlessness, fascism, and cruelty."

🚨 Breaking from the US Senator for Connecticut. 👇 There you have it. ICE has never been about immigration enforcement. It's a weapon used to brutalize Americans and stoke enough fear so that Trump can rig the elections and usher in dictatorship.

Congress has the power to investigate criminal conduct: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/cong.... Congress can define a legislative aim (control ICE) and then investigate the death of two individuals at the hands of the federal government.

Reminder: All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Dems to defund ICE (or 23 to impeach and remove Trump — 3 in House & 20 in Senate). That’s it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this.

Every Democratic governor, attorney general, senator and House member needs to stand up and loudly say in unison: Enough. Trump's war on Americans must end.

The cowardice of so many elites has led us to this moment

This sure seems more like the tyranny the Constitution is supposed to protect against than forgiving student loans.

When will it be enough for you, @schumer.senate.gov and @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social ? When will you be moved? You should be standing in the streets of Minneapolis. You should be shouting from the rooftops. What a pathetic pair of cowards.

Congress could end this today if they had either spine or integrity