Miami-based #UChicagoLaw alums — come join @adamchilton.bsky.social & me tonight to discuss the future of presidential administration
Jennifer Nou
@jennifernou.bsky.social
Law Professor at UChicago. Administrative law, executive branch dynamics, separation of powers.
I've been struggling with when to post this draft article, but last week's news about Trump firing the Commissioner of Labor Statistics convinced me I better share it now. It unpacks both the promise and the peril of what I call "informational administration." papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Informational Administration: The Administrative State Beyond Legal Administration
On many dimensions, the administrative state is at the nadir of its power. The Supreme Court has tightened administrative law controls on agency power, and the
papers.ssrn.com
Over at the Notice and Comment blog, today's Ad Law Reading Room covers two pieces: "Presidential Brokering in the Regulatory State" by @jennifernou.bsky.social and "The Chadha Presidency" by @joshchafetz.bsky.social. Check it out! www.yalejreg.com/nc/ad-law-re...
Ad Law Reading Room: "Presidential Brokering in the Regulatory State," by Nou & "The Chadha Presidency," by Chafetz - Yale Journal on Regulation
Today’s Ad Law Reading Room brings two entries. The first is “Presidential Brokering in the Regulatory State,” forthcoming in the George Washington Law Review, by Jennifer Nou. The second is “The Chad...
yalejreg.com
Now on SSRN: How do White House policy councils shape the president's highest priority rules? What is their relationship to OIRA and regulatory review? Part of an effort to understand the rise of presidential power through the institutional presidency: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Presidential Brokering in the Regulatory State <br>
<div> <span>Presidents seeking to make regulatory policy face formidable hurdles, most recently heightened litigation risk, reduced judicial deference, and pol
papers.ssrn.com
So important to be talking across disciplines, especially in these times.
Yale ISPS@ispsyale.bsky.social · last yr.Backseat car hammocks for babies? Thanks to government, they are no longer for sale in the United States. Now, as federal regulators come under attack from within, political scientists and legal scholars gathered for a conference on the future of studying the administrative state: bit.ly/44LJSbW
“‘Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden’ … effectively cuts through the partisan chatter of the Beltway to offer clear-eyed lessons about how we got to where we are and what still needs to be done to confront the emerging regulatory challenges of the day,” writes Prof. @jennifernou.bsky.social.
Transcending Partisanship in Regulatory Reform | The Regulatory Review
Graham’s new book highlights the challenges of and opportunities for regulatory reform.
buff.ly
Chicago folks: Come ask David Strauss & me anything tomorrow about the President's executive powers! Needless to say, lots to discuss. RSVP here: events.uchicago.edu/event/246256...
Ask me Anything About the President’s Executive Powers: Q&A with Profs. Jennifer Nou and David A. Strauss
What powers does the president of the United States actually have? How can these executive powers be used to shape policy, respond to crises, or in...
events.uchicago.edu
Also time for judges to deny any presumption of regularity. Presume irregularity
Jack Goldsmith@jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social · last yr.Judges are growing increasingly "frustrat[ed]" (as Judge Ali put it) with the cat-and-mouse "compliance" games of the Trump administration. Judge AliKhan's denial of a "presumption of good faith" by the administration is especially noteworthy.
Hi folks: With @nicholasbednar.bsky.social, @lorenraeds.bsky.social & Don Kettl, I will be talking at an @appam.bsky.social about the attack on public employees and government programs, Thursday, 2/27, 12.30-2pm EST. Free registration. www.appam.org/events/webin...
Many saw the extension of OIRA review to independent regulatory agencies coming, but this EO does so much more... 🧵 www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
whitehouse.gov
I'm excited to share my article, The Immigration Subpoena Power, which explores the way that ICE uses administrative subpoenas for civil immigration enforcement and the concerns that these practices raise. Many thanks to those who helped improve it (1/2) columbialawreview.org/content/the-...
THE IMMIGRATION SUBPOENA POWER - Columbia Law Review
Introduction After a series of public losses in its war on “sanctuary” cities, the first Trump Administration deployed the immigration subpoena, a new and formidable weapon in this fight. It used thes...
columbialawreview.org
Some quick reactions to Trump's reg review EO 1/x: www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ex...
Executive Order—Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation | The American Presidency Project
presidency.ucsb.edu
Given recent news, I’m happy to share a working paper quantifying presidential deviations from enacted budgets from 1958-2018. Analyzing agency/bureau level data on spending and presidential requests, I find that presidents spend less than appropriated when they desire to.
Yes. Looks like OMB’s deliberative clearance process for M-memos is not yet up and running (or seriously compromsied)
Bridget Dooling@bridgetdooling.bsky.social · 2y agoHere's the thing about pasting transition-written memos onto government letterhead and pushing them out. When an administration bypasses the "know-how meat-grinder" of the executive branch, you get garbage, unimplementable policy.
On recklessness: only giving agencies one *day* to "immediately identify any legally mandated actions or deadlines for assistance programs" before the freeze goes into effect. Shows that OMB never intended to avoid illegal funding delays.
@davidasuper.bsky.social · 2y agoMy latest on the spectacularly unlawful and utterly reckless funding freeze the Administration announced last night. balkin.blogspot.com/2025/01/unla...
I see some suggestions, in the reporting regarding the OMB impoundment order, that a mere delay in spending appropriated funds is legal. But that's not really true. The delay OMB has ordered specifically contradicts the Impoundment Control Act. A thread.
Revocations of existing appointee-to-civil servant subdelegations are rare; @jennifernou.bsky.social & my data show one revocation for every 33 new subdelegations of authority. That Trump 2.0 is pursuing this so early suggests a more sophisticated operation than in '17.
Trump Pauses Permitting for All Renewables on Federal Lands
A newly released memo from the Department of the Interior freezes the pipeline for 60 days.
heatmap.news
Prof. @jennifernou.bsky.social tells @donmoyn.bsky.social for his ‘Can We Still Govern’ newsletter that large-scale firing of federal employees, as suggested by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is “likely illegal” based on Section 3301.
Will the federal government become a toxic employer?
Sorting fact from fiction on mass firings, relocations, and return-to-office policies
buff.ly
Much more is spent on contractors than pay for federal personnel, but we can guess the reasons DOGE won't go after these "government" workers. One of many insights here from @donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 2y agoNew, from me: Muskawamy's plans for federal government employees, sorting out fact from fiction. Bottom-line: mass firings are unlikely, some proposals are real, but likely to worsen state capacity. Making the government a toxic employer is bad for the rest of us. 🧵 open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
Great new hub of resources for civil servants.
Civil Service Strong: Resources for Civil Servants
Effective. Impartial. Resilient. The civil service comprises dedicated, nonpartisan federal employees who work tirelessly across the country and around the world to ensure the effective delivery of go...
civilservicestrong.org
Should career staff attorneys at DOJ and beyond stay or leave the Trump administration? Join us on 12/18 for a discussion organized by @acslaw.bsky.social! To register: www.acslaw.org/event/should...
Should I Stay or Should I Go (Again)? Public Service During an Unfriendly Federal Administration | ACS
acslaw.org
Over at @lawfare.bsky.social, I have a primer on how the Trump Administration may seek to exercise its authority over the civil service. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-pr...
A Primer on the Civil Service and the Trump Administration
The broad discretion afforded to presidents to shape personnel policy poses a threat to the civil service during the Trump administration.
lawfaremedia.org
A must read. "They want to blame the bureaucrats, but they’re going to need those very same bureaucrats if they want to get anything done."
Nicholas Bagley@nbagley.bsky.social · 2y agoWhat Musk and Ramaswamy Don’t Get Their opening salvo about DOGE depends much more heavily on the finer points of administrative law than I expected. But they say some odd things about it. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Testing the usability of agency guidance while drafting, such a great idea. Check out the results in OIRA's new Paperwork Reduction Act guidance (fittingly on usability testing!) @stuartshapiroblou.bsky.social @bridgetdooling.bsky.social
whitehouse.gov
The Niskanen Center@niskanencenter.bsky.social · 2y agoOIRA & USDS tackled this by testing their own guidance. When early drafts confused agencies, they rewrote them with clear, user-friendly language. The new guidance encourages usability testing and private-sector best practices.
For almost fifty years, the CEQ has issued regulations governing environmenta impact statements. A recent D.C. CIrcuit opinion throws shade on CEQ's powers to do that, and the overruling of Chevron raises further questions. Here's your guide through the legal maze. legal-planet.org/2024/11/25/n...
NEPA and Loper Deference - Legal Planet
The Supreme Court dumped the Chevron test. It's new rules would still give deference to CEQ's NEPA regulations - but how much is unclear.
legal-planet.org
I'm happy to welcome the University of Chicago Law School, @uchicagolaw.bsky.social, to Bluesky! To celebrate the arrival of our official account, here is a starter pack with my faculty colleagues. go.bsky.app/L81ZCoX
The president's authority to "prescribe rules governing the competitive service" pertains to civil service examination, certification & selection, not adverse action like firing. Adverse action rulemaking authority is granted to OPM, which is subject to the APA. See n. 107: tinyurl.com/35dm4jfa
Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to reinforce and clarify longstanding civil service protections and merit system principles, codified in law, as they relate to th...
tinyurl.com
Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 2y agoHere is the text of the op-ed that Musk and Ramaswamy published in the Wall St Journal. Lots of claims here about legal authority of the President to do big things. Really appreciate some responses that identify problems with these claims (admin law scholars, talking to you especially).
