Mass repudiation of Trump...Trump's much ballyhooed realignment seems fragile...GOP redistricting suddenly very risky...DOGE/Russ Vought shutdown punishments coming back to bite him...shot in the arm for congressional Dems on the shutdown...and more: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/electio...

absolute bloodbath for Republicans. One easy takeaway: maybe don't send Virginia specifically sliding towards a recession if you're hoping to win there

Took .2 seconds for Schumer to be asked if he voted for Mamdani. He would not say that he voted for the Democratic candidate: "I voted and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City" ...

Wow - in new filing Trump admin tells judge it intends to give eligible recipients 50% of the SNAP benefits they'd usually get for the month of November — with the massive caveat that it might take some states "a few weeks to up to several months" to disburse the reduced money

After a 3-day trial, Judge Immergut grants preliminary injunction blocking the National Guard from Portland: "Based on the trial testimony, this Court finds no credible evidence that during the approximately two months before the President’s federalization order, protests grew out of control..."

Hello from Judge Immergut's (virtual) courtroom in the Portland National Guard case. DOJ's Jean Lin started by explaining that some National Guard were briefly deployed while TROs were being circulated. Immergut says she'll later consider whether this was "contempt"

New: Full 9th Circuit votes to vacate a Trumpy panel's decision allowing National Guard to deploy into Portland. It'll rehear the case, following a successful vote requested by one of the judges. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/9th-cir...

Breaking: AZ AG + Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva are suing the House to compel her swearing in. Mike Johnson has delayed it for weeks; Grijalva has promised to be the last member needed to force a vote on the Epstein files

New: 9th Circuit Judge Thomas requests a vote for a full court rehearing of the Portland Nat'l Guard case. Graber wrote in her dissent today: "I urge my colleagues on this court to act swiftly to vacate the majority’s order before the illegal deployment of troops under false pretenses can occur"

As expected, 9th Circuit panel rules for Trump, allowing deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland. Graber, in dissent, asks colleagues on 9th to vacate the order. "I ask those who are watching this case unfold to retain faith in our judicial system for just a little longer," she writes

probably the most critical piece of information in the great Mills-Platner debate www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/16/p...

The unanimous 7th Circuit panel - of Trump, Obama and Bush appointees - made once banal, now profound comments about the legitimacy of political protest, as Republicans regularly call peaceful protesters "terrorists." It's worth a read ⤵️ talkingpointsmemo.com/news/7th-cir...

7th Circuit denies Trump admin request to stay district court's block of the Guard deployment: "The facts do not justify the President’s actions in Illinois under § 12406, even giving substantial deference to his assertions"

Judge Immergut in Portland National Guard case says she intends to extend her order blocking any Guard deployments into the city for another two weeks

In the story the GOP justices told Wed, Louisiana’s cracking and packing of black voters to decrease their electoral power isn't racial discrimination - but remedying that theft is. Against white voters. It's the central grievance of Republican politics. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

Flagging that both Mike Johnson and Tom Emmer have now referred to the No Kings protest scheduled for 10/18 as a "hate America rally." Both singled out the one planned for DC - Johnson said it'll feature "pro-Hamas" people and "antifa," and Emmer said it'll appease the "terrorist wing" of the party

Two Trump judges (Nelson, Bade) on 9th circuit panel really trying to outperform each other in their eagerness to give Trump the ability to deploy the Guard to unwilling states based on events that occurred months earlier. Lotttt of beating up on Oregon's Judge Immergut, who blocked deployments

The political right's greatest project is discrediting experts. Only in a "do your own research" world can their cultural preferences - anti-abortion, anti-gender affirming care - claim equal legitimacy to the left's medically-backed positions on those issues. SCOTUS is a full partner in that effort

1) Trump-appointed judge rules admin cannot deploy Oregon National Guard to Portland 2) Trump admin deploys California Guard there instead, circumventing her ruling 3) CA joins Portland/Oregon in filing for a second temporary restraining order 4) judge schedules emergency hearing (about to start)

Trump DOJ successfully pressed the Obama-appointed judge assigned to the Portland National Guard case to recuse himself, and the case got reassigned to a Trump appointee. But based on some of her questions today, it might not be the advantage the admin hoped for:

was surprised that Kacsmaryk allowed the big mifepristone case out of his clutches, as clearly flawed as the jurisdictional arguments were — but a look at who appointed the active judges at the court he sent it to cleared it up

In unrelated hearing on DC with DC leadership, Rep. Ro Khanna is introducing a motion to subpoena FCC Chair Brendan Carr to come testify before Oversight Committee after the Jimmy Kimmel cancellation

while Republicans howl about DC being a den of iniquity, worth remembering that House GOP still refuses to let the district use $1B of its own taxpayers' money. That plus the economic hobbling from the DOGE layoffs have left the district in a much more damaged state than it was pre-January 20th

Scoop from me & @joshkovensky.bsky.social: After receiving a subpoena and being threatened with criminal/civil investigations by Trump's DOJ, the University of Michigan's statewide hospital system will stop providing gender-affirming care to patients under 19 talkingpointsmemo.com/news/univers...

The state of Texas (+ Florida) now asking to intervene in the case that attempted to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, which scotus turned back b/c the anti-abortion doctors lacked standing. Missouri, Kansas + Idaho tried to pick up the mantle, prompting the defendants to say, in so many words:

couple dozen national guard sauntering up and down the wharf amid gaggles of tourists and $9 miller lites 🫡🫡🫡

Still think it's underrated the degree to which Trump's willingness to just say a scandal out loud instead of in secret makes it seem Less Bad. In this case, he said explicitly that he wants to end mail-in voting because he thinks it'll help Republicans in the midterms

The hellish Sweeney news cycle is a helpful microcosm of how Dems simply can't win culture war fights - even if they see that the 'liberal' take is dumb & opt out. Or as I call it: “The left and the right are clashing over x. The left is an Oberlin sophomore and the right is the governor of Texas.”

Scoop: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will no longer accept federal funding, citing changes in funding laws and regulations under the Trump admin. This will have knock-on effects, including on programs meant to improve maternal health. Statement to TPM:

Worth noting that Gorsuch seems fully cowed after his surprise vote w/ Roberts in Bostock to find that Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation/gender identity. He didn't speak during oral arguments for this trans care case (rare) + didn't write in today's opinion

Roberts wrote that Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care is somehow not discrimination against trans people, and that it doesn't trigger heightened legal scrutiny. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

For all the hemming and hawing about Amy Coney Barrett being a secret lib, she chimes in here to say that trans people can never be a suspect class deserving of heightened protections because...discrimination against them hasn't been enshrined in law enough?

Thomas also cheers the sidelining of medical experts - "elite sentiment" - proudly reminding the readers that the court did the same in Dobbs

Thomas chimes in to add that maybe we should stop applying heightened scrutiny to sex-based discrimination in general since courts have only been doing it since the 70s (a. eek b. Thomas footnotes like this one are a good way to know which way the right-wing legal world winds are blowing)

Sotomayor scoffed at the majority’s attempt to recast Tennessee’s ban in a neutral light by claiming that no minor of any sex can get gender affirming care for gender dysphoria, and that any minor of any sex can receive the treatment for other diagnoses:

Sotomayor: "By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent."

SCOTUS decision upholding the ban of gender affirming care for trans kids (but allowing cis minors to get the exact same treatment) is one of the most poorly reasoned decisions I've ever read. Roberts unbelievably says that trans youth lacks the "maturity" to get this care and may regret it - while

For MAGA influencers (both in and out of office), right-wing violence doesn't exist. When those on the right commit it, they are either secretly liberal (Minnesota shooter), it wasn’t actually violence (Jan. 6 “tourists”) or their victims deserved what they got (the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi).

You may have heard that due to southern migration patterns, Dems are electorally doomed come the 2030 census. I looked under the hood & some key factors — the pandemic, who is moving & the wildcard of immigration — make the future far less predictable. Dive in: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2030-ce...

Dem senators giving a series of floor speeches expressing horror at Padilla's treatment. Many visibly upset, many imploring Republican colleagues to speak up (seems unlikely for all but the Murkowski type exceptions - Graham told reporters Padilla "got what he wanted, he's on TV")

Padilla in a brief press conference: "I was not arrested. I was not detained. I will say this. If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question...

Padilla's office says he is no longer detained, and that he was in LA at the presser: "He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”

We knew the death knell on independent agencies was coming, but watching the Court majoritty take this much time to land on "but the Fed is different!! for (spins wheel) its 'unique structure' and (throws dart) its 'historical tradition'!!!" is really something to behold

With a final Supreme Court ruling all but certainly coming down the pike, Trump has been gifted the ultra-powerful, unbounded presidency of Project 2025’s dreams. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

In granting Trump's request to have NLRB/MSPB members stay fired for now, SCOTUS tips its hand — it mentions in a 2 page ruling that the Federal Reserve is unlike those other agencies, has a "distinct historical tradition." In other words, it can send indy agencies into extinction except for the Fed

Katsas (Trump appointee) brings up the obvious issue with Trump's firing of NLRB/MSPB members — "What's left of Humphrey's?" (the case that protects those members from at-will firing — Trump admin betting that SCOTUS will overturn that case, but lower courts are still supposed to be bound by it)

Today in DC Circuit args on survival of indy agencies- Judge Pan to government: "Your position is we’re not allowed to have independent agencies in this country even if they’re beneficial, like the federal reserve," she says, adding: "Can you explain why that’s a good way to run the government?"

Wow — Trump's SG won't agree with Barrett that the admin will always follow appellate court precedent while in that circuit. She asks: If the 2nd circuit finds the executive order unconditional, will the admin respect that? Sauer only says that "generally" they do

Sotomayor using a conservative-friendly hypothetical: asks if there's really "no way to stop a President" from executing a "clearly, indisputably unconstitutional act" such as taking guns away from every citizen

Kagan: "There are all kinds of abuses of nationwide injunctions but I think the question that this case presents if one thinks it’s quite clear that the EO is illegal, how does one get to the result on what timeframe by your set of rules without a nationwide injunction?"