NEW: The Trump administration's federal layoffs left our region teetering on the edge of a recession, altering the trajectories of thousands of our neighbors’ lives. The 51st spoke to seven former federal workers about what they've been up to in the year since — and where they hope to go next.

I went to the doctor today just to be told (gently, carefully, and with empathy) to do the things he told me to do last time (but which I didn’t really do). Sigh.

Oh look Kansas is making headlines again. TL/DR: There’s a years long history behind that letter re: drivers licenses being revoked for trans folks. Including litigation (that the attorney general LOST). Which was why he urged the legislature to intro SB 244 and rush it thru in a gut and go.

My abuelo went to NYC from Cuba during WWII and he worked as a snow shoveler for years before saving enough money to go back to Cuba so he could really start his life. Till his very last day - and I am not kidding - he carried his NYC snow shoveler ID in his wallet with pride. Respect is long due.

No for sure the fact that the kings of Wessex thought something was a royal prerogative is pretty strong evidence, why am I being a baby?

Incredible opinion. It holds that the common ICE tactic of jumping out of an unidentified rental vehicle and seizing suspected noncitizens while masked violates the Fourth Amendment because the *manner* of the seizure is incompatible with a free society governed by the rule of law.

I'm delighted to share that this article will be published in the @yalelawjournal.bsky.social. As promised, I've posted the draft @ssrn.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

What he means is non-delegation doctrine, as I note. That’s pro-Congress legislating details even when it doesn’t want to. It’s not pro-Congress in any real sense. It’s like saying a rule requiring scribes to write in their own blood rather than in ink is “pro-scribe.”

Here's a short 🧵on the self-contradictory nature of the Gorsuch concurrence in the tariffs case. In response to Kagan's claim (in WV v EPA) that the major questions doctrine (MQD) is "anti-administrative state," Gorsuch says no, it's "pro-Congress." /1

local Mercedes dealer taking a total halfcourt shot into my email and I’m kinda like, hmmm

For my dear civil servants doing their best to serve the public: I see you, I appreciate you. You are carrying a heavy burden. ❤️

Before law school I was a paralegal at the DOJ Antitrust Division and I took a photo at Main Justice (this bldg). That building is a monument to the best of our American spirit. This is grotesque.

👀

Last call, health law profs! Abstracts for the Health Law Professors Conference are due this Friday, Feb. 20. Georgia State Law is excited to host and welcome you to ATL for the best conference of the year! June 3-5, 2026 More info and submission portal available here: healthlawprofconf.org

Amid outcry, VA abruptly stops enforcing new disability rating rule www.stripes.com/veterans/202...

This program is sooooo special, you guys. And tickets to our games are around $10-15. SURE, football is fine (jk I love it) but have you seen our women's hockey team? 🤌🤌🤌

Joy Dunne, Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka help the United States win gold as eight current and former Ohio State women’s hockey players win Olympic medals.

THAT'S RIGHT! 🥇

Bridget offers a useful corrective to the buzzwordification of how we talk about government—and, if we're not careful, how we actually govern. "We can likely make great progress in regulatory policy by letting algorithms into our loop, not the other way around."

Immaculate vibes: Not everybody leaves well enough alone, stays outta business that ain't their own but all my favorite ppl do I don't know about them but I know about us it is what it is & we love who we love Not everybody gets what we're going thru but all my favorite ppl do youtu.be/qX90IhQZQhA

@helenredmond.bsky.social wrote a book about methadone! Self-recommending! I just pre-ordered and you should too!

This is a truly horrifying memo. It says that the policy of the US government will now be to proactively seek out and arrest likely tens of thousands of refugees who entered legally under Biden and subject them to detention, where they will be interrogated about their status.

Longer 🧵 on my essay. 👇 A slew of terms -- like use case and human in the loop -- have migrated into the law/policy as we try to make sense of our new AI world. In one sense, this vocabulary helps us keep up with exhilarating changes. But sometimes it is used as a sleight of hand.

Longer 🧵 on my essay. 👇 A slew of terms -- like use case and human in the loop -- have migrated into the law/policy as we try to make sense of our new AI world. In one sense, this vocabulary helps us keep up with exhilarating changes. But sometimes it is used as a sleight of hand.

JUST IN: Judge Provinzino in Minnesota has held a Justice Department attorney in civil contempt for violations of her order requiring the return of a released ICE detainee’s ID documents. He must pay $500 a day until the documents are returned.

On this day in 1820, Susan B. Anthony was born. She became a tireless organizer for woman's rights. Anthony recognized the symbolic importance of the US centennial and disrupted the official, male-only ceremony with a “Centennial Screech for freedom,” a “Woman’s Centennial growl.” #WeTheMen

Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Many people are saying!! (Like me! I am saying.) Ghostwriting the Government (forthcoming): papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Based on my initial skin, the endangerment finding repeal faces many of the challenges I identified in this column: www.civitasinstitute.org/research/the... EPA's strategy is aggressive and legally risky.

There’s a lot going on here, but the idea that the court appointment was an “extraordinary end-run on the Trump administration” is giving me a furrowed brow.

Dentist: Have you been flossing? Me: *deflects by consulting my burn book of dentist insults* Big talk from a guy who looks at tongues all day

When you haven’t seen your bestie in HOURS!

My article, "The Unitary Executive and Politics," is officially published in the Ohio Northern University Law Review. I thank the editors at ONU for their assistance and hard work! Read it and cite it! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Hot off the presses, Dave Pozen’s and my new piece in @HarvLRev on what is broken in how we regulate marijuana, kratom, opioids, and other drugs—and how to fix it. Admin law meets public health meets LPE meets drug law meets harm reduction. Check it out! harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...

POV: your dog thinks you are being so boring and you should stop working so you can come play.

One of every thousand American residents has been taken into custody by ICE in the last year.

Uhoh those the were load-bearing witches.

Call for papers! www.law.uchicago.edu/form/uchicag...

Whale evolution makes me uncomfortable

Jobs at The Bulwark, based in D.C.: deputy social media editor, director of finance, and events and communications associate. thebulwark.pinpointhq.com

1/x Really delighted to say that my coauthored piece with @jedshug.bsky.social, “Quasi-Judicial: A History and Tradition” just landed with the Columbia Law Review. We really appreciate the editors’ hard work! This is a piece that retells the story of American admin law and Humphrey’s Executor.

“If I’m here at Super Bowl LX, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself. You should never stop believing in yourself either. It’s worth more than you think.” —Bad Bunny

I know the basics but who should I follow for in-depth Bad Bunny analysis?

In forecasting the future of AI, it's easy to miss the main point. Whether AI largely substitutes or complements human capabilities isn't merely a technological matter. It's a societal choice.

Scholar who studies executive orders 👇

I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what

As the presumption of regularity crumbles before our very (tired) eyes, do we fall back to a posture of neutrality about the government's statements? Or does it become a presumption of irregularity?