“This seems to be far more directed at ensuring loyalty to DOD [the Department of Defense] and the Trump administration leadership rather than countering any foreign espionage,” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

My thoughts on the Quantico meeting

Thoughts on the shutdown www.slowboring.com/p/seventeen-...

OpenAI employees are very excited about how well their new AI tool can create fake videos of people doing crimes and have definitely thought through all the implications of this

Like clockwork: Democrats worked last year to register more US citizens who live overseas, and now Republicans are mounting various efforts to restrict the right to vote of such US citizens. www.npr.org/2025/10/01/n...

Employers have become more cautious with hiring, despite earlier strong economic growth, economists said.

CNBC: "Very disappointing. It's a weak number. This is private sector jobs for September. The total comes in -32,000. And that was a surprise because economists were looking for an increase of 51,000. Also, the revision was not good. August now showing -3,000 compared to the initial read of 54,000"

US private sector employers shed the most jobs since 2023 on.ft.com/3WnQKYZ

To explain importance of Ed Whelan's analysis: This could invalidate indictment of James Comey. Halligan was only USG attorney to sign the indictment. If her appointment was invalid, so may be that indictment. DOJ could've fixed, but the statute of limitations has now apparently expired.

hiring is tanking www.marketwatch.com/story/adp-sa...

JUST IN: A U.S. citizen from Alabama who has been detained twice by ICE while working at a construction site, has filed a class action suit claiming ICE's broad warrantless arrest powers violate the constitution. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

On Tuesday night, in New York City, they united in a special talk show crossover of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hold on a second. Answer the question. As Speaker, do you believe it's appropriate to use American cities as training grounds for the military, calling those people 'the enemy within'? JOHNSON: I'm not comment on your characterization of what the president said. S: Those are quotes

NEWS: The Browns are making a change at QB. Dillon Gabriel is taking over for Joe Flacco, who will be Cleveland’s backup, per source. Shedeur Sanders will remain third on the depth chart.

First decline in ADP construction payrolls since 2021. (via Kev Gordon)

C’mon, @npr.org — they absolutely violate ethics laws. Do better.

"The Americans were insufficiently violent and that is why they failed to win" - as far as I can tell, & I've been looking - is not an observation from the British, Mexicans, Confederates, Spanish, Germans, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Iraqis, Afghans, or anyone else for that matter.

The Shutdown Will Make Trump's Theory of Government--ICE but No Healthcare--Visible www.emptywheel.net/2025/10/01/a...

The Secretary of Defense was lecturing military leaders about the warrior ethos when he should have been ensuring military pay was exempted from the government shutdown.

So a reason the Rs have acted so stunned that Ds made demands on the CR (stop gap to keep the govt open) is that it forced the Rs to start to deal with something that it's going to be very painful, perhaps impossible - getting a final budget that can get 60 votes in the Senate and pass the House. 3/

The 2026 fiscal year begins today and there is nothing remotely resembling a Republican budget on the horizon. House and Senate Rs are far apart on basic stuff. The White House is bat shit crazy. Not clear there's even a process for the Rs to produce a final budget, make tough calls. 2/

A central reason we're in this mess is that the final GOP budget is going to be full of ugly, deeply unpopular stuff - exploding deficits, destructive tariffs, cuts to health care/clear energy/food, supersizing ICE, tax cuts for billionaires - that Rs simply don't want to take responsibility for. 1/

🙄 "GSA employees are also scrambling to find office space to accommodate a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in cities across the country after DOGE pushed for the firings and termination of a sizable chunk of federal leases." www.npr.org/2025/10/01/n...

When Trump threatens to nix funding to NYC if Zohran Mamdani wins, it only helps Zohran. It inflates the Trump threat, positions Zohran as a fighter for NYC against Trump, and pushes Cuomo into the role of Trump stooge. There's a lesson here for Dems. New from me: newrepublic.com/article/2011...

A top Mamdani adviser tells me internal data shows taking on Trump's authoritarian abuses resonates. It appeals to working class voters across all demographics, countering the frequent claim that this is a "distraction" from issues working people "really" care about. newrepublic.com/article/2011...

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is quietly building up its ability to spy on Americans' phones." In the no-bid contract, the language that might have explained the agency's substantive justification "is redacted, to an almost comical degree." [Matthew Petti, @reason.com]

If you've done in-person research at any of the following presidential libraries in the last 8 months, can you please follow me/contact me—soon—for a story I'm working on (can be off the record)? Hoover FDR Truman Eisenhower JFK LBJ Ford Carter And either way, can you please share this request? 🙏

www.insidehighered.com/news/governa... "Both graduation and retention rates have fallen since the takeover in 2023.... even as New College spends more than 10 times per student what the other 11 members of the State University System... a head count under 900 and a $118.5 million budget"

An extraordinary statement from more than 40 former federal judges & state high court ones appointed by both D's & R's They condemn Trump's abuse of DOJ powers & his prosecution of Comey We @democracydefendersfund.org were proud to support! www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

Reached out to retired Gens. Chiarelli, Milley and McKenzie in regard to Hegseth citing them as the kind of leaders he wants "out" of the Pentagon. Chiarelli responds he is "honored to be put in the same sentence" as the other two. "Two of the finest leaders I have ever served with," he says.

hi, federal judge expert here! this is not funny. conservative, Reagan-appointed district judges only use epistolary framing devices in their opinions when they are in extreme distress.

Consumer Confidence declines as the job market struggles to gain footing. Short-term consumer expectations fell again in Sept as worry about income, business conditions and the job market overtake low inflation. apnews.com/article/cons... #CPI #jobs #economy

Here's the letter.

Since July, I have been very clear: any conversation about my vote needs to start with health care. My statement ahead of the government funding deadline.

47-53, Democrats' short-term funding bill fails (again) in the Senate. It breaks fully along party lines.

“Federal judge rejects racial gerrymandering challenge to NC Senate map” electionlawblog.org?p=152324

The government of the United States, which is controlled by Donald Trump in the presidency, Republicans in the Senate, and Republicans in the House, will shut down in a few hours. It is the first shutdown since the last time Trump was president and he shut down the government.

Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva hasn't been sworn in, so she has to roam Congress with an escort I saw her this morning going through security along visitors — something lawmakers don't need to do when walking into the Capitol More on her limbo status here: www.notus.org/congress/ade...

Good to see Lawson Bader of Donors Trust, an important figure in conservative philanthropy, standing up for the right of Open Society, Ford and other liberal foundations not to be targeted for investigation and harassment when there is no actual evidence of illegality against them.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, & the White House. It's their job to pass a budget that addresses Americans' needs. Instead, they shut the government down. They would rather shut the government down than work with Democrats to protect health care and lower costs.

Adding to overanalyzing of Virginia early vote I have noticed that mail ballot return rate is high for a state election Likely reflects voters more certain about their votes Tracks with more in-person vote too than 2021 Mail ballots tend to be heavily Dem In-person more even

New pod! Recapping both MNF games and talking Giants, Packers, Geno and more with @foxworthshow.bsky.social 🎧: apple.co/4h8SIq5 📺: youtu.be/Jii9dwAOJ3A?...

The English in 1685: ehhh Americans in 1776: absolutely not Katie Miller:

Honestly, this entire opinion is just jaw-dropping. The first postings I saw on Bluesky were about the first page, which is lovely in its own right and exemplifies one of the less-well-explored roles of a judge in a democracy: to explain what is going on legally to non-lawyers. There's way more.

He's telling us what he's doing. Using the military to suppress protest. At some point the opposition needs to listen to him and adjust strategy.

Thank you @cnn.com for having me on to assess the Quantico disgrace

BREAKING: Just hours before the fiscal year ended, a federal judge in R.I. has ordered the Trump administration to preserve $233 million in FEMA funds it attempted to abruptly steer away from 8 blue states. Without that order, the states would've lost the money at midnight.

“.. Not quite a loyalty test, but … on the spectrum of loyalty to ideology,” said a second defense official. “Total waste of money.” @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/09...