Before we rebuild, we need to diagnose. You could do a lot worse than this (as depressing as it is).

1/x Really delighted to say that my coauthored piece with @jedshug.bsky.social, “Quasi-Judicial: A History and Tradition” just landed with the Columbia Law Review. We really appreciate the editors’ hard work! This is a piece that retells the story of American admin law and Humphrey’s Executor.

Early 2025: Trump admin tries to illegally shut down the CFPB, the newest member of the Federal Reserve system. Jay Powell says nothing. Summer 2025: Trump admin tries to illegally fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Powell says nothing. 2026: Trump admin comes for Powell. He finally finds his voice.

i think powell's response here is a demonstration of the folly of the idea that democratic accountability requires presidential control. what if the president is not acting in the public interest? you want independent agencies to be able to push back and pursue their *congressional mandate*

Today, @raulcarrillo.bsky.social explains why existing legal frameworks are inadequate to address the emerging dystopian world of monetary fiefdoms—a world in which private infrastructure governs without the name of government.

Digging up roads is 75–90% of the cost of deploying broadband, yet we keep excavating again & again. A smarter approach: install conduit when roads are open. @bendinovelli.bsky.social and my new paper explains why most Dig Once policies fall short & how to fix them cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-co...

22/ Kavanaugh suggests two exceptions: a) The Fed b) Non-Article III judicial officers like Marbury? Kavanaugh has his history wrong, as amicus briefs have explained. The Banks of the US are no precedent of the Fed. Marbury was an executive officer with quasi-judicial powers.

Kav: Why is the Fed different? Sauer: Because you said so.

10/ Kavanaugh asks if Sauer can distinguish the Fed from the FTC… A huge question that Lawson & I address in our essay (and also in my amicus brief) Sauer relies on a paragraph in the Wilcox order…

Worth noting that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is not a “congressionally chartered bank[]”, but an independent agency (like the FTC, MSPB, and NLRB)…

New essay in Politico today w/ @aratip.bsky.social on how Trump's “Genesis Mission” is one small step forward after giant leaps backward. The Trump AI doctrine really just boils down to boosting friendly tech companies. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

2/ Here’s my amicus brief in Slaughter that summarizes our argument: The Necessary & Proper Clause is a stronger originalist basis to replace Humphrey's Executor, to limit congressional power, & to confirm narrow traditional exceptions for the FTC & the Fed: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...

📢Current scholarship! In "The Myth of Credit Card Competition" @bendinovelli.bsky.social argues that mainstream reform proposals to curb the high cost of credit card payments by increasing competition are misplaced, and that public utility law may hold the key for more promising alternatives. 👇

A new paper from Gary Lawson & me: "Presidential Removal as Article I, Not Article II" Limits on congressional power to create independent agencies like the Fed & FTC don't come from Art II "Executive Power" absolutism. See the Necessary and Proper Clause instead: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

A few trillion-dollar companies now comprise an AI oligopoly. Nvidia's announcement to invest $100B in OpenAI makes things worse. As I say in TIME, vertical integration is about money, control, and power. Policymakers should reject such combinations. time.com/7322418/chat...

It just cannot be emphasized enough, as the differential treatment of Slaughter and Cook illustrate yet again, the Roberts Court’s vision of separation of powers is not the Founders’, nor the Constitution’s, but just their own. This isn’t necessarily bad; it’s just disingenuous. (1/2)

Excited to share that my job talk paper, The Myth of Credit Card Competition, is forthcoming in Vanderbilt Law Review! I explore the limits of competition (through antitrust, consumer law, or regulation) as a solution to high and regressive swipe fees in the credit card payments market. 1/8

Some were sanguine that the Fed’s structure meant the Fed system could remain independent even if Trump gained control of the Board. But this excellent piece shows how far Trump and his allies could go. These scenarios would have been unthinkable a few months ago. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/b...

📢More scholarship! @bendinovelli.bsky.social's timely paper revisits the Federal Reserve's ostensibly unique status among administrative agencies. It examines SCOTUS' attempt to except the Fed from case law limiting agency independence, with implications for Fed Governors' legal removal protections.

1/2 Trump should absolutely not be able to fire Lisa Cook. But this is because he should not be able to fire anyone with statutory tenure protections.

I wrote about the Supreme Court's recent attempt to protect the Federal Reserve's independence from the Trump Administration. 1/8 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

🚨 Very excited to share that my note, Municipalities and the Banking Franchise, is officially out in the @stanlrev.bsky.social! The piece explores the role local governments can play in building a more democratic financial system. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 1/10

The final version of my job market paper—about the strategies that have facilitated localized corporate domination at different points in our history—is now out. I'm so grateful to the SLR team and everyone else whose feedback has shaped this along the way! www.stanfordlawreview.org/print/articl...

But I thought the Fed was “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States”...?

Thank you for reading / highly recommending my piece, @lsolum.bsky.social!

The failure to deploy rural broadband has become synonymous with excessive bureaucracy, Asad Ramzanali and Benjamin Dinovelli write. The real story is more complicated:

In @theatlantic.com, Asad Ramzanali and I argue why an “abundance agenda” approach hasn’t solved and won’t solve a long-held policy goal of providing affordable, high-speed internet to everyone in the United States. 1/7

In new drafts on SSRN, both Lev Menand and Benjamin Dinovelli criticize the Supreme Court’s carveout for the Federal Reserve in Trump v. Wilcox. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The week in review: Sandeep Vaheesan and @brettchristophers.bsky.social kick off a symposium on *Democracy in Power,* while the Blog’s editorial staff share some of their favorite housing posts from over the years. Plus, as always, the best of LPE from around the web in the thread 👇

Thinking about SCOTUS' Fed Carveout in Wilcox? Here are the two best things I've read so. far: 1- The Federal Reserve Exception, by @bendinovelli.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 2- The Supreme Court's Fed Carveout: An Initial Assessment - by Lev Menand: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

That this claim of principle was a sham has long been obvious to people in the weeds on this stuff. But this is the Supreme Court admitting it!! The radical activism of these cases doesn’t rest on principle. It never did. It rests on policy preference. That’s really, really bad.

I wrote about the Supreme Court's recent attempt to protect the Federal Reserve's independence from the Trump Administration. 1/8 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Turning a promising program for bridging the digital divide into an Elon Musk giveaway. Infuriating.

New JustMoney Online Workshop coming your way! Join us on June 12 at 11:00 am EST for a discussion on Professor @morganricks1.bsky.social's upcoming book chapter on "Financial Market Infrastructure." Professor Ricks will discuss his current draft followed by a group discussion. RSVP here! 👇

📢Current Scholarship! Is the Fed's legal mandate being misinterpreted? Challenging the conventional wisdom, @bendinovelli.bsky.social argues that the Fed's sole mandate is to regulate excessive credit. This reading of the FRA has important implications for the Fed's toolkit and policy framework. ➕👇

In the Harvard Law Review, @bendinovelli.bsky.social has a hot new note: The Federal Reserve’s Forgotten Credit Mandate.

is the Fed’s business properly to regulate credit, with maximum employment, stable prices, moderate long term rates guidance about the goals of credit regulation, without asserting that credit regulation or the Fed can or should on their own deliver or be responsible for those goods?

Excited to share that my new paper, The Federal Reserve’s Forgotten Credit Mandate, was just published in Harvard Law Review! 🚨It argues that we are misinterpreting the Fed’s statutory mandate. 1/22