There are two big problems with the “unitary executive theory” that Trump is relying on to expand presidential power: it’s unmoored from history (i.e. completely made up) and so broad that it can’t be consistently implemented. bit.ly/4fcjO0w

Maple syrup is amazing because it’s just a socially acceptable way to drench a full plate of food in sugar water. Outstanding work Canada.

We wrote about how arbitrary, unlawful policy changes threaten American science. Those arguments apply just as forcefully to OMB's proposed rewrite of federal grant rules. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Yesterday—4 days after OMB released its proposal to revamp all federal funding—there were 3500+ comments. Today there are nearly 4,500. Our story on the damage the proposal could inflict on science and the researchers pushing back. Reported w/@marilenharo.bsky.social:

I don't know who needs to hear this, but Claude can split up and merge PDFs now, a function that used to be restricted to scammy websites and pricey subscription products. Use in good health!

New reporting points to another round of suspended and canceled NSF research grants. Arbitrary funding cuts to the sciences threaten the rule of law and America's economic future, as we wrote in a recent analysis. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Not a lot of genuine laugh lines for adults in newer kids shows, but Sofia the First having an evil twin named Sofia the Worst is pretty funny

BREAKING: New proposed OMB regulation, applying to all federal grants, requiring grant reviews by senior political appointees and re-emphasizes that "peer review remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion". #standupforscience public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10817.pdf

President of MIT not mincing words today in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/s...

MIT (endowment: $27B) shuttering three of its four main libraries is one of those news items that just knocks you off balance, auguring, as it does, profound and permanent changes to the entire institutional apparatus of higher education in this country.

Mass, arbitrary federal grant cancelations "inject uncertainty into American business and risk depriving us of billions of dollars in future innovations, medicines, and consumer products," former treasury secretary Bob Rubin told us. This is why. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

These actions, though less dramatic than last year's arbitrary mass funding cuts, continue to undermine the rule of law and Congress's spending power. From the @brennancenter.org: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Great piece from @ariberman.bsky.social on the aftermath of Callais. This is not just about partisan fighting. It's about an end to the civil rights era -- and how racism continues to be an animating force in American political life: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

We have a new article out on looking back at what the past decade of congressional hearings indicates about how Congress thinks about FEMA. A timely article considering the recent release of the FEMA Council Report and the FEMA Reform bill in Congress. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

ICYMI: Federal funding cuts and mass firings will undercut both economic growth and American scientific leadership. A new @brennancenter.org analysis based on conversations with scientists and policy experts around the country.

A colleague received bad news from her NIH program officer today: my colleague’s grant got a great score, but NIH still can’t pay it, and my colleague will have to closer her lab. The call ended with the program officer (not my colleague) crying. Awful on so many levels.

(1) Where are his fountain pens? Justice Souter was reportedly a lifelong vintage Esterbrook fan. An extremely on-brand and respectable choice. (2) Did anyone ask him his thoughts on the Esterbrook reboot before he passed? (3) Those books BELONG. IN. A. MUSEUM!

Over the past year the Trump Administration has frozen, canceled, or slow-walked billions in funding for the sciences. We outline the dire consequences of those decisions — for the rule of law and the American economy. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

I've had my eye on this story since the summer. There are a lot like it. Don't miss @nrdc.org's site tracking environmental and infrastructure grant cuts across the country. www.nrdc.org/resources/st...

A federal judge called NIH's first round of mass grant cuts "neither reasonable, nor reasonably explained," and done in "haste to appease" the president. That legal chaos has real-world consequences. (Note: This grant was terminated as part of a later round.) cases.justia.com/federal/dist...

I am unspeakably angry about this turnout gap figure, and it gives insight into the whole ballgame for gutting the VRA. Alito points out that Black turnout exceeded White turnout twice in 5 elections. The argument is garbage 1/x

Doing good science requires independence from politics and from presidents that change every 4 or 8 years. Fast changes kill science, which requires long-term planning. And Congress is the most democratic branch, not the president/exec branch. Congress sets sci prios in legislation.

Update on NSF grant funding: As of April 27, NSF has spent money on 737 new grants for FY26. Avg. for '21–25 at this point is 3303, so NSF is at about 22%. grant-witness.us/funding_curv...

This is *after* Congress refused to enact deep cuts to NSF and NIH funding *and* a year of litigation over grant terminations

More details on the firing of the National Science Board. The NSF now has no director, deputy director, or board. They have issued almost no new awards in 2026. The plan appears to be to completely destroyed the agency. The details are horrifying and have Russ Vought written all over them.

Come work with me! @brennancenter.org is looking for an attorney to push for smarter policing and sentencing policies, more humane prison conditions, and supportive reentry programs.

DOGE cuts show up ultimately as job losses in the city’s poorest neighborhoods www.slowboring.com/p/where-doge...

Intelligent

Successes like Artemis II are only possible because of decades of stable funding for American research science. That’s now at risk.

BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained. That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social

Congress refused to ratify similarly steep cuts last year, and for good reason.

Happy Passover to everybody celebrating tonight. And may we all find ourselves in freedom next year.

1. SCOTUS is going to have a hard time ruling for Trump on birthright. He did himself no favors today. 2. Our birthright citizenship rule is a universal one, designed to prevent Trump from doing what he's trying to do now -- deciding who's American and who isn't. 3. SCOTUS? Still a major problem.🧵

The headline says it all…

My NIH update Let me start by saying again how glad I am that NIH is now posting these curves on the Reporter front page. It is satisfying that leading by example from outside has led to this change and (I hope) reflects a commitment for NIH_leadership™ to hold itself accountable for this. 1/6

Last week, the Maryland Senate passed the Clean Slate Act, a bill that would make the state’s criminal justice system fairer while streamlining government and strengthening the workforce. Here's why the bill matters and what's next. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Wrote about how Trump policies keep stacking up problems for farmers... -tariffs made machinery more expensive and made China buy fewer soybeans -deportations thinned out the labor force -Iran war raised prices of fuel AND fertilizer www.npr.org/2026/03/24/n...

In toddler culture, it’s considered a high honor to be offered a half-eaten string cheese covered in ranch dressing.

I have an election law joke but I can't recount it.

NIH has long engaged the scientific community in a democratic way. That's a good thing, and it's under attack. Watch out. New post by me, about why NIH's peer review process and advisory panels are pretty unique across gov't, and why they're so important.

Provides some insights into what is happening (or rather what is not happening) with regard to federal science grant making.

NSF Update through March 13, 2026 1/2

Great story on how funding cuts affect the future of science. If you talk to people in the field, the threats to American scientific leadership are if anything *more* dire than shown here.

While we're talking about contested straits, worth remembering that in the final siege of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmet II successfully transported parts of his navy over land, dropping them behind the City's defenses and helping seal its fate.

Somewhere, the shade of Justinian privately fumes

Excellent and important writeup on a very worrying trend.

We should want people to leave prison with the training, job opportunities, and access to housing that they need to successfully reenter their communities, @amescg.bsky.social told the @bostonglobe.com, adding that "federal support is a key part of helping make that happen.”

Parenting brought me back in touch with our local library and it's been an invaluable resource. Daughter discovers a new book series she likes? Great, they're all there for her to flip through and take home, free of charge. One missing? There's somebody on hand to order it through interlibrary loan.

The Trump administration has diverted law enforcement officers from across the government to help ICE, yet arrests have increased only among immigrants with no criminal convictions.