Today, @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social argues that legislative primacy offers an attractive long-term vision for democracy. To reach that goal, however, we need to use every tool available to address the underlying configurations of economic and political power that enabled the current crisis.

Who counts as a revolving door lobbyist? In my new paper in Interest Groups & Advocacy @igajournal.bsky.social I use sequence analysis to detail the many different career trajectories that fall under the label. Excited to share this project that has been many years in the making! rdcu.be/ffYTx

A little peek behind the curtain: I started working on this project back in 2020 when I was stuck in my apartment! I had been planning on writing an ethnographic dissertation but quickly pivoted; this paper became my first dissertation chapter.

Who counts as a revolving door lobbyist? In my new paper in Interest Groups & Advocacy @igajournal.bsky.social I use sequence analysis to detail the many different career trajectories that fall under the label. Excited to share this project that has been many years in the making! rdcu.be/ffYTx

"Our students are not wilting flowers. They can handle controversy. They do not need sentimental, cloying nostalgia. They need encouragement to face a flawed and unjust world head on, using the tools we've given them: critical reasoning, careful research, sympathy for the oppressed."

The Callais ruling is the latest evidence that the real problem with #SCOTUS is that it can do whatever it wants without any fear of pushback from Congress. The way to fix that is by making the Court *accountable* again, something that expanding it or imposing term limits won't actually accomplish:

Kagan's dissent underlines the need for an imperial Congress as articulated in www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/o...

just sent back proofs for a forthcoming paper 😎

Trump upended health care. Lobbyists are raking it in.

A rare case when the distinction between lobbying vs consulting/public affairs actually gets enforced. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

It's not official! It's a budget request. Congress will decide. Lots of opportunity restore the funding yet. We can't concede the logic of this budget request - it's one of last sources of power an unpopular president has and we can erode it. SBE funds incredible work - let's tell that story.

The NSF 2027 budget has noted that they will close out the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science Program (SBE). This is not a good thing. nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/FY-202...

Political parties are essential to democracy—but in the U.S., they’re struggling to do their most basic jobs. Our NEW REPORT explores what’s gone wrong, and how a diverse set of experts think we can fix it. www.newamerica.org/insights/a-b...

Most political science still treats authoritarianism and racial politics as separate subjects. That's a problem. The 2026 JHU Racial Politics Summer Institute is dedicated entirely to the study of race and authoritarianism. Grad students and faculty — apply by April 11. forms.gle/RYALxK89d5dz...

Restoring legislative supremacy is not just a nerdy legal thing. Saving US science and innovation depends on it. The core change killing NIH, NSF, and cancer research and cures this year is the president taking control of these agencies. @nataliebaviles.bsky.social and I wrote abt this: 1/

New, from me: The federal government is required to track job satisfaction among its employees. The Trump admin stopped collecting the data, so a nonprofit stepped in. The results show that a collapse in morale and zero trust in Trump agency leaders. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/federal-em...

I have been waiting for this story (because it's the story of my region and the wealth inequality therein) and I'm so happy that Hammer and Hope did it. Not just as news, but as a broader story of why they sicced DOGE on the feds.

Great read. I agree with the conclusion that we need to reform and re-empower Congress, not necessarily for any specific substantive policy objective (although I have many of those) but because that is what will actually advance democracy and accountability in the state

This is tomorrow! Last chance to register and join us!

NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED! Join us for the Peopling Politics Symposium on March 5 in DC, featuring Rep. Greg Casar, former USTR Katherine Tai, and former Asst. AG Kristen Clarke, plus brilliant panelists across academia, government, and civil society! RSVP Here: www.eventbrite.com/e/bringing-t...

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NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED! Join us for the Peopling Politics Symposium on March 5 in DC, featuring Rep. Greg Casar, former USTR Katherine Tai, and former Asst. AG Kristen Clarke, plus brilliant panelists across academia, government, and civil society! RSVP Here: www.eventbrite.com/e/bringing-t...

The Supreme Court:

Supreme Court strikes down Trump's tariffs. A stitched together majority, as expected. Read along thread here.👇 www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

So if IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs, and the tariffs were used to negotiate the trade deals ... what exactly is the statutory authorization for these trade deals? Does the administration think IEEPA authorizes negotiating the deals separately from the tariffs? What will SCOTUS think of that?

The University of Texas System’s Board of Regents unanimously approved a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying “unnecessary controversial subjects,” despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world.

Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it. Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

Learn more about the Political Disconnect - the gap between what politics is meant to do, and how everyday people experience it. Join me and Dr. James Jones of the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America for a webinar on Monday, Feb 23, at 3p Eastern. bit.ly/PoliticalDisconnect

Two weeks until we convene in DC for the first-ever Peopling Politics Symposium! Spots are filling up so RSVP now! go.rutgers.edu/peoplingpoli...

Very cool - excited to use this in my research & teaching!

Over at Lawfare, I examine the peculiar constitutional theory undergirding OPM's final rule on Schedule Policy/Career

I am so excited to share that registration for the first-ever PEOPLING POLITICS SYMPOSIUM is now open! Please join us on March 5 at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington DC for an amazing lineup of speakers and discussions. RSVP at go.rutgers.edu/peoplingpoli...

The rule of law can’t survive this

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

The Economy These Days capital: AI labor: caring for the elderly h/t @maiamindel.bsky.social

The thrill and frustration of knowing you're so close to finishing something but the only things left to do are the difficult parts you've been putting off...

It's The Onion, and yet: "In every industry, companies are drastically increasing the amount of work that needs to be completed, as well as tacking on thousands of assignments previously performed by departed employees." theonion.com/report-emplo...

Join us on March 5th in Washington, DC, for the Peopling Politics symposium!

Curling has completely dominated my household's attention this past week. Love the mix of physics, logic, and physical technique that the sport requires. This is so cool!

God bless América

Vital reading for all scholars, regardless of discipline, institution, region.

The Trump Admin just put out a rule that would reclassify federal workers as "Schedule Policy/Career" (previously Schedule F) if they work in policy-relevant roles. Potentially huge swaths of the civil service could become at-will employees. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf

I am so excited to share that registration for the first-ever PEOPLING POLITICS SYMPOSIUM is now open! Please join us on March 5 at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington DC for an amazing lineup of speakers and discussions. RSVP at go.rutgers.edu/peoplingpoli...

Wise words from WEB DuBois to gird us today: "It would be shame and cowardice to surrender this glorious land and its opportunities for civilization and humanity to the thugs and lynchers, the mobs and profiteers, the monopolists & gamblers who today choke its soul and steal its resources."

“Most Americans don’t agree with Mr. Trump’s trying to buy Greenland, and many more oppose the idea of taking it by force. Fantasies deflate quickly once real costs become obvious, but it is impossible for Europe to impose costs without incurring risks itself.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/o...

🧵 Trump administration AI policy is widely described as deregulatory. This description is misleading. What's happening is not the absence of governance but its rearrangement--intensive state intervention operating through mechanisms we don't typically call regulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Greetings check this out: Amplifying voices is a new Cambridge grant to help under-represented scholars publish. Apply!!! www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...

The constant rejection that we deal with in academia can be very psychologically damaging. Sometimes I direct that hurt inward and blame myself for the jobs I don't get; often I focus on the things I can't control: funding, idiosyncratic tastes, internal dynamics, luck...

Planning a two week trip to Japan, mostly based out of Tokyo and Osaka. First time in the country. Please share food & drink recs, travel tips, other suggestions! We eat everything & will do some history/sightseeing, but prioritizing wandering and experiencing local cultures.