New Paper: Presidential Control of the Civil Service. Conventional wisdom holds that the civil service sits safely beyond the president's reach. Does it? (1) Not nearly as much as legal scholars think. (2) That's a problem for the execution of the law. 1/12 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I don't have time to do a full read and write up but, in short, Judge finds that the EO violates the APA, the Separations of Powers, and the Take Care Clause 2/2

Important case regarding Trump's efforts to reduce federal government. Judge McConnell enjoins dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, etc. 1/2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Important - bi-partisan group of lawmakers working to challenge Trump's sell out of Ukraine. www.politico.com/live-updates...

Just in time, etc. www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...

NEW: Democrats spent a year insisting the 2026 playbook was only kitchen-table issues. Then the Epstein vote blew up the map. Lauren Egan reports on the growing rift inside the party: Stop limiting the message. Throw everything at Trump and see what sticks.

The Indiana State Senate rejected President Donald Trump’s call for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. The move preserves Indiana’s current map and represents yet another rebuke of Trump’s national gerrymander push.

Today we won a big victory in Texas but the fight for democracy is not over. We all need to steel ourselves for the battles ahead. We won't win them all, but we can never lose sight of what we need to do to prepare fee and fair elections.

It is late and I have a lot of work to do. But the excitement of today's big victory in Texas has me writing instead about how we got here and what is next. Become a Democracy Docket member to receive all my writings and to support the 21 person team. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0

Somebody tell this asshole that Americans have been "insubordinate" from the days of Thomas Paine and Paul Revere right on through Rosa Parks and MLK and on up to the "No Kings" protests. And by god's grace we always shall be. We bow to no one.

Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats kicked Thune's ass today. Now the Epstein bill is onto Trump;s desk for signing. www.politico.com/live-updates...

You know what... I'm just going to pre-write it.

I look forward to writing the inevitable: "No. The Civil Service Is Not Unconstitutional." Who knew that I could build a tenure file on the back of just regurgitating black-letter law.

ALSO the notion that the CSRA imposed a bunch of constraints on the president and was an "overcorrection" is bananas. The legislative history is replete with Congress acknowledging they were expanding the president's powers. Stay tuned until next week-ish if you want 80 pages on that...

News that surprised me this morning federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2025/...

Literal “mass deportation now” signs at the RNC but OK, Benny

🚨 The Senate has now voted to release the Epstein files. The bill is now headed to Trump's desk after months of public pressure. We are now closer to achieving justice for victims of these horrific crimes.

The acting head of FEMA resigns. abcnews.go.com/Politics/actin...

Every time we talk about someone other than Trump running in 2028 we make Trump just a little more of an irrelevant lame duck (ILD). Please proceed.

Key lawmakers say support is building in the House toward passage of a measure that would require the government to release all of the information the Justice Department has related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Frogs — in biblical times regarded as a plague — are actually guardians against disease. As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, malaria cases have climbed.

The RIFs language is actually great. Not only does it rehire the people RIFed during the shutdown, it makes it an unequivocal Antideficiency Act violation to do ANY MORE RIFs through the duration of the CR (Jan 30) Completely stops Trump/Vought Phase 2 for now Would love to see this standardized

This is an important case. IMO it's clear that this question violates the civil service law (and raises a constitutional issue under Rutan). “Identify one or two relevant executive orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.” 1/2

Similar questions were asked by some Department of Justice officials during the Bush Administration. The Inspector General ultimately found that those questions violated the civil service laws. I don't think the fact that its "optional" changes the calculus. 2/2

Tulsi Gabbard is trying to take control over counterintelligence from the FBI. It's not going great. A scoop with @shaneharris.bsky.social

With David Frum, I have had a conversation about antisemitism: antisemitism left and right (and all mixed up). David talks both intellectually and personally. Our subject is dead-serious, of course -- but there are streaks of humor. A rich conversation. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/antisemiti...

LISA McCLAIN: Voter turnout from Republicans was not high. But I think part of that reason is because Republicans for the most part are happy with what's happening TAPPER: Using that argument, your voters could be so happy that Democrats retake the House next year

I really don't know what it means for a RIF to be "Democrat-oriented." Either they are targeting RIFs in Democrat house districts or they are targeting perceived Democrat employees. Regardless, sounds like an impermissible reason coupled with a First Amendment issue under Rutan v. Republican Party.

It’s not just a First Amendment issue. The Civil Service Reform Act specifically prohibits personnel actions based on partisan political affiliation. Even a probationer can appeal that termination to the MSPB.

Every federal department has a RIF plan. And back in February, they were all ordered to update them. RIFs can be legal, if they follow the plan. But based on the President’s comments yesterday, there is good reason to believe that (a) they aren’t, or (b) the plan itself is illegal. My bet is (a).

Remember when I said there was no way they managed to perform a RIF with procedural precision during a shutdown? "The administration itself acknowledge(s) that some CDC workers had been mistakenly terminated due to coding errors, as reported earlier by ABC News."

“Originalist ‘Bombshell’ Complicates Case on Trump’s Power to Fire Officials” excellent @adamliptak.bsky.social piece on new developments in the executive power debates www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...

BREAKING: Judge Illston says she is expanding her TRO blocking shutdown RIFs as to any AFSCME and AFL-CIO members or bargaining units to include NFFE, SEIU, and NAGE union members or bargaining units AND any members/units removed under EO 14251 whose removal is subject to legal dispute.

A brief summary of everything I have written on RIFs to date. RIFs are insanely complex and procedurally difficult to implement. Most RIFs are challenged on procedural grounds. 1/7 www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-pr...

TO ALL FEDERAL WORKERS: if you were illegally fired today and have information of wrongdoing or abuse of power by the Trump Administration, our whistleblower tip line is open. We want to hear from you. All whistleblowers are federally protected.

Nick Bednar's bottom line on the shutdown RIFs:

Both illegal and (one more) backdoor impoundment. “Non-essential” does not mean that money was not appropriated for this work. If this logic holds, any President who wants to downsize government would simply engineer a shutdown

In a series of social media posts, President Trump demanded AG Pam Bondi swiftly prosecute political opponents, one of his most direct attempts to influence the justice system after months of calling for charges against his critics.

VA "leaders will not conduct their annual employee surveys this year, stating that they are confident that the majority of the workforce is happy with the direction of the department." Great but your confidence doesn't satisfy VA's legal obligations. www.federaltimes.com/veterans/202...

ICYMI: A group of admin law scholars sent a letter to the House & Senate Appropriations Committees arguing why "pocket rescissions"—the idea that the president can propose rescissions of budget authority late in a fiscal year and then allow funds to expire while the proposal is pending—are illegal.

JUST IN: The DC Circuit has restored Shira Perlmutter as Register of Copyrights while she fights Trump’s effort to remove her from the legislative branch role in the Library of Congress. 2-1 ruling in her favor after a string of defeats in district court.

LAWSUIT INCOMING: FBI leaders fired by Director Kash Patel — including Brian Driscoll and Steve Jensen — have filed some kind of action against the Patel and the bureau. Details TK

This case will be somewhat different from other cases. FBI employees cannot appeal to the MSPB unless they are preference eligible (e.g., veterans). The FBI has its own internal review process. We will need to see the complaint to understand the exact claims but worth flagging the differences here.

Sometimes administrative capacity means your agency has adequate equipment to incinerate drugs without causing a health crisis...

Civil service laws requiring that employees can only be removed for cause have not been repealed. This is a good demonstration as to why they exist. No evidence that she was anything other than a stellar performer, being removed at the behest of Laura Loomer b/c she is James Comey's daughert.

Update on probationary employee RIF cases: Sorry for the delay on this one (conference traveling). J. Alsup permanently enjoins removal of the probies. Will analyze a bit later today after reading. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Arbitrary and capricious.

Very interesting that the Administration's application to the Supreme Court makes clear it is not challenging the constitutionality of the Fed's for cause removal protections. This won't be a chance to directly overrule Humphrey's.

Exclusive: Trump administration to formally axe Elon Musk's 'five things' email reut.rs/40TNE1M