"The wrong kind of American: The Trump White House needed me—until the fact I am trans became public." In @theatlantic.com (gift) By my @lawfaremedia.org colleague @juliacurlee.bsky.social . www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
The Wrong Kind of American
The Trump White House needed me—until the fact that I am trans became public.
theatlantic.com
Sharing this one because we don't read enough about what's happening in the lives of trans people - this is thorough and tragic.
Opinion | What’s Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All (Gift Article)
Is Kansas just the beginning?
nytimes.com
NPR has removed its story about Justice Alito's retirement from its frontpage, and SCOTUSBlog says the article's author says it was posted in error. (I'll note it wasn't just posted; it was a top story on npr.org.) In short, no retirement announcement for now.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote UPHOLDS birthright citizenship, affirming the default rule that all persons born in the United States (with narrow exceptions) are U.S. citizens at birth. A total LOSS for President Trump and the effort to rewrite the 14th Amendment.
Slaughter is an earthquake: SCOTUS has overturned a 90-year-old precedent that facilitated much of modern governance by granting many agencies meaningful independence from the president. Now SCOTUS crushes that independence ... for seemingly every agency except the Federal Reserve.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of the Trump admin on Temporary Protected Status, blocking the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, allowing DHS to strip over 350,000 people of legal status even though they utterly failed to follow the required legal procedures.
![MULLIN v. DOE
Syllabus
that the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation violated the constitutional right to equal protection because it was motivated by race. The
District Court granted interim relief, and a divided D. C. Circuit panel
declined to issue a stay. The Government sought a stay and a writ of
certiorari before judgment in both cases. This Court granted review,
consolidated the cases, and deferred ruling on the stay applications.
Held:
1. The TPS statute bars judicial review of non-constitutional claims.
Pp. 12–18.
(a) Section 1254a(b)(5)(A) provides that “[t]here is no judicial review
of any determination of the [Secretary of Homeland Security] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation,
of a foreign state.” The term “determination” may mean either an individual decision or the process leading to a decision. Under either
understanding, §1254a(b)(5)(A) bars all of respondents’ non-constitutional claims. Further, the phrase “with respect to” “generally has a
broadening effect, ensuring that the scope of a provision covers not
only its subject but also matters relating to that subject.” Patel v. Garland, 596 U. S. 328, 339 (internal quotation marks omitted). Pp. 12–
13.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifragvqrfnsseonrcnsl6nx32n2tbgdi7a4ugnuyh2h4xggbga3si)
NEW: @katherinepomps.bsky.social has compiled the most comprehensive study currently available of the crimes alleged against Jan. 6 pardonees in the years since their prosecutions for the insurrection. View the database:
The Jan. 6 Pardons: How Many Clemency Recipients Have Faced Other Charges?
The real count is much higher than the public knew.
lawfaremedia.org
section 2 of the VRA? nullified? the 15th amendment? only applies to intentional discrimination. intentional discrimination? impossible to prove given an unbreakable assumption of good faith for a state legislature. 14th amendment? equal protection clause means the constitution can't even see race.
My reporting finds that sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli authorities is widespread. I'm grateful to these assault victims for sharing with me the brutality they endured. Whether we're pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian, we should unite in being anti-rape. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/o...
Opinion | The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians
nytimes.com
america's reactionaries would love nothing more to nullify the reconstruction amendments and render them a dead letter of the constitution. this was as true in 1873 as it is today.
jamelle@jamellebouie.net · 4mo agoi think it is a testament to the inherent radicalism of the reconstruction amendments that the supreme court’s main project with regards to them has been to limit and weaken their impact on american society.
USAID's destruction has fallen out of the news, but the impact is ongoing. The conversation includes his reaction to a political appointee accusing USAID civil servants of killing his dog and why, contrary to popular belief, not everything this administration has done was predictable.
Anna Hickey@annahickey.bsky.social · 4mo agoEarlier this week, I talked to Nicholas Enrich, former USAID official, about his new book "Into the Woodchipper," which details the agency's dismantling and whether anyone in charge understood what they were destroying. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts! youtu.be/naftZg7waOw?...
Earlier this week, I talked to Nicholas Enrich, former USAID official, about his new book "Into the Woodchipper," which details the agency's dismantling and whether anyone in charge understood what they were destroying. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts! youtu.be/naftZg7waOw?...
On Lawfare Daily, @annahickey.bsky.social talked to Nicholas Enrich, former acting assistant administrator of Global Health at USAID, about his book, “Into the Wood Chipper," where he detailed the agency's dismantling during the early months of the Trump administration. youtu.be/naftZg7waOw
I thought DOGE was fixing this? That's why they destroyed USAID, which will result in the death of millions around the world and left hundreds of thousands of people unemployed, right?
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 4mo ago(WSJ) - The U.S. national debt now exceeds 100% of gross domestic product, crossing a once-unthinkable threshold, on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-...
Just a reminder that in Shelby County, Roberts told us not to worry about the loss of VRA preclearance, because we’d still have VRA sec. 2 suits. That was, of course, disingenuous nonsense even at the time. Now, with Brnovich and Calllais, it’s all the more so.
A nationwide warrant has been issued in the first criminal charges against an ICE agent for on-duty actions during the enforcement surge in Minnesota.
ICE agent charged with two felonies for pointing his gun at motorists during Operation Metro Surge
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said a nationwide warrant has been issued in the first criminal charges against an ICE agent for on-duty actions during the surge.
bit.ly
Not to weather post but DC has to update its housing regulations to allow apt buildings to turn heat off before May 1
BREAKING: Before she was fired, Pam Bondi gave Attorney General's Awards to two K-9s www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Next Attorney General Has an Impossible Job
Just like the last one
theatlantic.com
Thinking about how small USAID's budget was compared to this and how much good it did is just so infuriating
Jeff Stein@jeffstein.bsky.social · 6mo agoSCOOP: The Pentagon asked the White House today for more than *$200 billion* for Iran war supplemental, sources say Some in WH think Congress won't support b/c it's so big Will tee up giant battle in Congress My last story for WaPo: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
The first two episodes of "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" — our six-part audio investigation into the strange Georgia monument — are out TODAY. It's a wild ride, with a fair share twists and revelations along the way. So grab your tin foil hat and join me by subscribing below 👇🎧🪦🍑
Currently being 84 degrees but tomorrow having a 75% chance of snow feels vaguely apocalyptic
For the second time since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has gone to war with Iran. @sranderson.bsky.social delves into the international and domestic law surrounding the strikes and what congressional opposition could look like.
The Law of Going to War with Iran, Redux
The Trump administration’s attack on Iran pushes even the executive branch’s generous understandings of the President’s legal authority to their limits.
lawfaremedia.org
By the way, Democrats have now flipped 27 legislative seats in Trump 2.0. Republicans are still stuck at zero. Even in 2017-18, the GOP managed to flip a few. This time, just a goose egg, despite several good chances.
The Downballot@the-downballot.com · 6mo agoJUST IN: Democrat Alex Holladay has flipped a GOP-held seat in *Arkansas*. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried hard to delay this race and wanted the seat to stay vacant for 8+ months, but the courts told her to hold it today. If she was worried, she was right to be. Our full recap:
Secretary Marco Rubio claimed no one died as a result of cuts to USAID. That’s not what we found. After Trump officials cut food aid to Kenya, children starved to death in an American-made hunger crisis. (Published Dec. 2025)
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
propublica.org
It’s crazy that it’s basically just a combination of the single worst most disastrous parts of every administration in history
if only there were some kind of join comprehensive plan of action that could have reduce the likelihood of nuclear iran without military action
"Until circumstances compel the other branches of government to adjust their posture...the executive branch is unlikely to see itself as legally constrained from participating in Israel’s military campaign against Iran, if Trump ultimately opts to do so."
Lawfare@lawfaremedia.org · 6mo agoEarlier today, the United States and Israel conducted a significant military operation against Iran. Last summer, @sranderson.bsky.social explored the legality of the Trump administration potentially engaging in military action against Iran.
