This is some absurd thinking from @senangusking.bsky.social. You just gave Trump unfettered power to continue to do awful things like starve Americans. He just showed he is perfectly willing to do it.

This is correct on backpay: the backpay requirement was already black-letter federal law. If we have to pass laws twice to stop Russell Vought, we are going to get run over by him.

BREAKING: 1st Circuit denies Trump administration request to stay judge's order forcing full payment of SNAP for November. Opinion by Rikelman (Biden), Joined by Barron (Obama), Gelpi (Biden). Order remains on hold for 48 hours per Justice Jackson. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Yes @vanhollen.senate.gov! Thank you. Please remind your colleagues this “deal” achieves almost nothing of value for Feds, capitulates on healthcare, and allows a Trump admin that has shown they are willing to STARVE people to get what they want to retain total control with no meaningful checks.

You got nothing, man. Less than nothing.

The reasoning provided by the Democratic Senators who folded is woefully inadequate: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/u... 🧵 1/5

These names represent the Democratic Party of the past.

Basically Dems got us: - Reversal of (some) RIFs ALREADY known as illegal - No new RIFs for a whopping 2 months - Guaranteed back pay that was already in statute. Nothing on healthcare. Nothing on impoundments. Nothing on the rest of the illegal firings. This was a capitulation.

Do. Not. Cave. @shaheen.senate.gov @fetterman.senate.gov @baldwin.senate.gov @ossoff.senate.gov @peters.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov @hassan.senate.gov

The Senate exists for the same reason that the ACA doesn't have a public option: it was negotiated to placate the necessary votes. Slave states were nervous about being beholden to public will so we massively over-elevated state representation. www.law.cornell.edu/constitution...

I don't know what the Senate is going to do. But if they do in fact fold in exchange for nothing, they will be living up to past performance. To expect the Senate to carry out the will of the American people is to misunderstand why it was created in the first place.

TELL YOUR DEMOCRATIC SENATORS TO KEEP HOLDING THE LINE IN THE FUNDING FIGHT act.indivisible.org/sign/funding...

Dems are considering caving and getting nothing. The “deal” they keep talking about gives the Rs exactly what they want: continued lawlessness from the executive, millions of Americans costed out of healthcare, and all they are giving is a “promise” to hold a vote. Their promises are nothing.

Finally, people that understand how to make government work for the people.

Mike Johnson is abusing the House of Representatives to protect pedophiles. He is doing this because he believes his job is to serve Trump and others in the oligarchy. Let’s remind him his job is to serve the people.

Rs have tried to justify trampling the constitution by calling it the will of the people. Their claimed mandate was always imagined. They won the election with <50% of the popular vote. When Trump’s approval dropped below 40%, the claim became laughable. They have no ground left to stand on.

Could not agree more: We the people have the power. Trump knows that. That is why he tries to silence and control us. To make us afraid and demoralized. But the moment we give up our voice out of fear or apathy or hopelessness is the moment he wins. Do not give him your voice in advance.

Great article from @radiofreetom.bsky.social at the @theatlantic.com describing how deep resentment in Americans is fueling the democracy’s collapse: apple.news/AiDE-5b3sTNS... The article ignores that this resentment isn’t totally unfounded. Our democracy has long been teetering just above broken.

I am reading a book on John Roberts and his Supreme Court’s decisions (😡), by @thelisagraves.bsky.social. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through it without venting. So, taking an idea from @davekarpf.bsky.social, here is a live thread. 1/

"We have bowed at altar of caution and we have paid a mighty price." Zohran Mamdani

It's not the royal family who needs sympathy; it's the victims of Epstein's abuse. Above all, they need answers. But Speaker Johnson sent the House on a 6 week paid vacation because he refuses to return & vote on releasing the Epstein files & reopening the government. Shameful.

Great article from @virginiagewin.bsky.social showing that across the Federal science ecosystem, research that benefits the American public is being delayed or completely halted, and remaining programs are being consolidated under close partisan political control. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Grijalva: I do think that Speaker Johnson misplayed his hand. There are people all over this nation who were out there with signs that said, “Swear her in.” They wouldn’t have even known about me otherwise. Thank you for highlighting how corrupt the system you’re protecting really is.

Millions of Americans shopping for ACA plans right now are finding their premiums have gone through the roof. Unaffordable.  Trump gave a giant tax cut to his billionaire friends and left everyone else with skyrocketing health care costs. One betrayal after another.

Every person in science I talked to yesterday brought up the filibuster. (!!) So I recorded a video explainer on it. Should we be worried about getting rid of the filibuster? In short, no. Though there are a few wrinkles.

3. We civil servants never pause to serve our country in any capacity. Our commitment to helping others is what makes American great. I hope he reached out to us and joins us in a day of unofficial #NIH service. #NIHStrong #FEDStrong

Donald Trump tells Senate Republicans to nuke the legislative filibuster.

Trump is destroying the country. People are starting to see and feel that.

Well reported story on the PBS News Hour about science cuts and the ongoing and potential brain drain. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO... Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out. Watch and share! 1/7

NIH Alzheimer’s Research Funding Is Back — for 49% Fewer Projects beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r... by @spichaksimon.bsky.social @beingpatient.bsky.social #Alzheimers #dementia #NIH #science #neuroscience #NeuroSkyence

Check this out: After the shutdown, Trump’s approval fell. The shutdown was and is bad in many ways. But this shows some important upsides. This seems to validate the “pick big fights” theory of fighting authoritarianism.

🧵1/7. More blows to science. Dr. Rachel Riley, a 33 year-old DOGE staffer and former McKinsey consultant, replaced a Rear Admiral as the head of the Office of Naval Research. The ONR, with a budget over $2B, oversees Navy and Marine Corps research programs in science and technology.

@savehealthresearch.bsky.social writes, "99% of recent treatments are #NIH supported. Erica wants everyone to have the same opportunity she had to benefit from this new medicine. What treatments are we about to discover that could be lost, and who may have been given years more of life?"

Someone asked me the other day*: How do we replace all the science that’s being lost across the US as NIH, NSF etc are being lawlessly destroyed? The answer is: we cannot. It is impossible. The task now is to defend #NIH and public funding for medical research. 1/ 🧪 #neuroscience

Hundreds of other AFGE members agree with us. Keep spreading this where you can and keep collecting signatures. We need Congress to hold the line. Solidarity for all, not just some. actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

Uhm no. Do not abandon Americans who need affordable health care. The GOP can stop this on their own in the senate. @alt-va-comrades.altgov.info @altssa.altgov.info thoughts?

I could not agree more with this article by @gregggonsalves.bsky.social: the partisan Roberts Court is abusing the law to hand the Trump administration political wins at the expense of the American people. www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Hi all, this headline does not give the right impression of what is going on with these notices. (HHS employee here speaking in my personal capacity about matters of public concern that have been publicly reported—I am not sharing details from inside the agency.) 🧵 1/

Another great piece from @aniloza.bsky.social on how cutting words harms science and erases human beings. Every day I am heartened by the community of NIH people who are pushing back. @nihvigils.bsky.social @27unihted.bsky.social @savehealthresearch.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/10/29/n...

This is one of the many things the Continuing Resolution needs to place guardrails on.

42 Million Americans are at risk of going hungry without SNAP benefits as soon as 11/1. Federal unionists & partner community organizations including @27unihted.bsky.social are supporting a food drive & awareness campaign to make sure people get fed. give.capitalareafoodbank.org/team/782155

I enjoyed this conversation with @matthew.flux.community & @markhisted.org. But I will quibble with the subhead. Science isn’t under attack because it left people behind. It is under attack because those attacks serve people in power.

New HHS performance evaluation criterion: “Faithful Support of Administration of the Law and the President’s Policies” This is very tricky because so many of the president’s policies are straight up unlawful You literally can’t do both at the same time! 🤷‍♀️ www.huffpost.com/entry/hhs-em...

This is some short term thinking from AFGE. A clean CR means more feds losing paychecks in the long run. We do need a continuing resolution, but it MUST have protections that stop the Trump and Vought from tearing the government apart and putting Feds in trauma. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/u...

Spoke on ABC today about being furloughed and what we need to really get Feds back to work: a continuing resolution that prevents the Trump administration from clawing back appropriated funds, firing critical staff, and slowing the gears at federal agencies. abcnews.go.com/US/video/fur...

Rebellions are built on hope. There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. But even the smallest act of resistance pushes our lines forward. Remember this: Try. #WeHaveFriendsEverywhere

USDA is again spreading infectious information on the official site. STOP THE LIES! This is a disgusting display of yet another HATCH ACT VIOLATION. USDA PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS COMPLICIT! We must HOLD CONGRESS and this REGIME ACCOUNTABLE! #usda #snap #misinformation #lies #hatchact #failure

Resistance artists standing by!!!

In this video, ProPublica reporter Andy Kroll tells the story of Vought’s rise from a young staffer for Texas Sen. Phil Gramm to his role as the driving force behind Trump’s plan to dismantle the so-called “administrative state.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1Lu...

Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.