This is a perfect explanation of why the issue of independent agencies matters: Because it’s about something much bigger—how we understand and implement democratic legitimacy, the idea that we the American people control our government.

It is not just that these employees are risking being put on leave or even fired for standing up for science (see EPA/FEMA officials), they are standing in front of a workplace that was the subject of a terrorist attack a couple of weeks ago, by a man who believes what their boss believes.

The winners of the first two Tour de France Femmes stages are 38 and 41. 🙌🏽

MARIANNE VOS WINS STAGE 1 OF 🇫🇷 #TDFF2025 Wow what an ending! Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had looked like taking the win but tires in the last metres leading to Marianne Vos taking her 250th win of her career, and the yellow jersey!

I was so in awe of the people I worked for when I interned at State. It’s what made me want to be a lawyer, made me know I wanted to do environmental work, made me determined to be a public servant. It felt so special to walk into that beautiful building every day. This is just so sad.

❗HIRING ❗ Join me at UGA School of Law! We're hiring 4-5 tenure-track or tenured positions. Priorities include torts, Ks, bankruptcy, environmental law, property, *international law* & secured transactions. Send letters of interest & cv/resume @ [email protected]. Feel free to reach out w/ ??s.

* cries in just returned from Denver three days ago *

A good govt. nonprofit has an annual awards for federal employees that it still managed to put on despite everything I interviewed an honoree who helped get low-income people w/ HIV on lifesaving medicine + a NASA employee who might've discovered evidence for aliens www.govexec.com/workforce/20...

If we had a functioning Congress it would be enacting a law providing a §1983-style remedy for anyone whose rights are violated by someone acting under color of federal law.

DC FOLKS - reminder that TOMORROW I'll be at Politics & Prose @politicsprose.bsky.social (Connecticut Ave.) at 7 PM. Rep. Jamie Raskin is moderating a conversation about .... LAWLESS! Event: politics-prose.com/leah-litman?... Preorder a SIGNED copy of LAWLESS! politics-prose.com/preorderlawl...

Someone gave me a hug for alerting them to good BBQ, and it's probably the most accomplished I've felt all year.

I try not to say nice things about @samsankar.bsky.social because it goes to his head, but it is, in fact, a treat working for him. We're hiring an Executive Assistant to work with him and two other equally lovely folks here. Salary range for DC: $91,700 - $101,900. Apply by May 12th.

I try not to say nice things about @samsankar.bsky.social because it goes to his head, but it is, in fact, a treat working for him. We're hiring an Executive Assistant to work with him and two other equally lovely folks here. Salary range for DC: $91,700 - $101,900. Apply by May 12th.

I have to end this thread with a major shoutout to @sshebaya.bsky.social and @nipnlg.bsky.social, who litigated this case since the family was first arrested in Washington DC. The family have been put through the ringer and NIPNLG deserves support for the incredibly victory they just won for them.

Abbie is a real one. “Are you sleeping well? No.”

"We yet cling to the hope that it is not naïve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos." - the 4th Circuit, yesterday

Don't bleat, don't bleat, don't bleat.

They're against everything that made this kid-of-immigrants see July 4th as the best day of the year. Yet to borrow from Douglass, "I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation which must inevitably work the downfall of" those who now desecrate the principles on which it stands.

Morning started pretty dark, but these women are incredible and brought some light.

So many of these EOs have a real “could have been an email” vibe.

Here’s a picture for @bridgetdooling.bsky.social via my dad’s continued post-retirement jaunts to some of our most beautiful public lands, national parks, and monuments.

Everything about this is loathsome except for the people at ACLU of Virginia, the Center for Constitutional Rights, HMA Law, and the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic at CUNY School of Law who are devoting themselves to fighting these wrongs.

Blocking out the world because this edition of RVV is a hell of a bike race.

This is the list of firms that signed onto the amicus brief in the Perkins Coie case. I’m thankful for the ones who joined and really appalled at all the ones who didn’t.

Reupping this posting w/ an updated salary range: $105,000–$115,000 for an attorney (3+ yrs experience), or $124,000–$161,000 for a senior attorney (6+). Was already a great opportunity to do good work with kind people, now even more attractive.

Yeah.

The legal profession is actually chock full of public-interest-minded people who have made career choices that helped others but harmed their own career prospects. I hope lawyers weighing their own next steps will look around and see that.

In re: absolutely nothing going on in the world: The SLA team at Earthjustice is looking for an early-career attorney to join us as an Associate Counsel. DC preferred. 1-5 years of experience including any clerkships. Salary is based on experience; range is $106,400-$125,300 in DC.

This is some thin-skinned bullshit. Just embarrassing. “This measure was apparently taken … because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy.”

In response to the federal spending bill that could cut more than $1 billion from D.C.'s budget, hundreds of residents began lobbying senators, urging them to amend the bill. What did they hear? To contact the reps in their home state. 😵‍💫

This week’s hour o’ protest will be dedicated to…

In re: the dissent, among other things, "One might expect more care from a federal court before it so blithely" impugns the good faith, time-pressured work of a fellow judge who this Administration has already targeted for online (at a minimum) threats and bigoted attacks.

I visited Glasgow and was chatting to a woman in a park who, when she heard I lived in DC, was genuinely baffled as to why we aren't in the streets daily protesting the lack of congressional representation. Then rattled of a list of comparatively minor things there'd been protests about that week.

Article idea: "Low and slow: the smoked brisket method of editing briefs"

"[T]he role of Congress is making D.C. safer is questionable. The Senate is responsible for confirming judges to D.C.’s courts, which handle more than 51,000 criminal and civil cases every year. How is that going? There’s a vacancy crisis leading to court backlogs – and it’s not the first time..."

I knew I’d open this and see Sarah’s name on the blocks. Good for Covington, at a time when others firms are not covering themselves in glory.

The Trump Administration's actions are hurting our national parks, and our ability to enjoy these shared places that make America what it is. 1/x

“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”

"Donald Trump and Elon Musk can just call their lawyers," Hickman said. "But regular people don't just have a lawyer they can call, and these agencies are intended to fill that gap and to keep people safe. … For me, this was, you know, a calling.

Yes, read this.

The unlawful attempted deletion … is an effort to demoralize federal workers and the public, to intimidate them into getting used to life without a dedicated consumer protection agency. … even Vought understands [it] is needed, and so should we. That’s what will sustain the fight for its survival.

This is a thread about action. "Remember who we are. Remember that underneath what we're furious about is what we care about, that our deepest feeling in this moment isn't necessarily anger, but protectiveness for what we love that may feel like fury. And that love is very, very powerful." 1/n 🧵

Today, @lookheron.bsky.social argues that, if we are lucky, a left-liberal coalition may soon have the chance to build new and better institutions out of the wreckage. However, unless policy scholars work on developing relatively detailed proposals now, we will squander this opportunity.

I hope to be surrounded by other aging millennials outside of the CFPB after work today. Surely we haven’t forgotten the Great Recession.

I was on @npr.org’s Marketplace with @kairyssdal.bsky.social today to talk about the systemic constitutional violations going on in the executive branch under Trump and Musk. www.marketplace.org/2025/02/05/i...

At all times, but especially times like this, the indignity of not being represented in Congress hits hard. I call my childhood reps, but it’s clear that they don’t count me as one of their constituents.

A reminder that Russ Vought’s nomination is still pending in the Senate.

My team at Earthjustice is looking for a Paralegal/Practice Admin. If you know someone who has strong feelings about commas and wants to dive into cutting edge administrative law issues, please send the posting their way. Position is in DC, $75,300-$83,700.

As a Houstonian, this one had me super amused the whole way through. “Wide open, windy, 18 wheelers and lifted dualies blasting by at 80. It’s the Houston version of a Flanders cobbled berg.”