Sean M. Theriault

Fat Pope, Skinny Pope What an Italian proverb can tell us about the next head of the Catholic Church

Black smoke today… here are my thoughts on how to think of who might succeed Pope Francis.

open.substack.com/pub/utaustin...

Couldn’t have happened with your efforts!

The amazing Policy Agenda Project at UT-Austin have coded President Trump’s 2025 address to the Congress. See how his priorities have changed and how they differ from other presidents.

This strikes me as disgusting. It’s one thing for a parish priest to ask for prayers for an ailing Holy Father. It’s another thing for a frequent critic, who has a vote to elect his successor, to be doing it. If I know Pope Francis, I know that such a slight will only spur him to get better.

All true, and if they cross him, they have to look for a new job.

Perhaps, but the best and quickest prosecution in the world wouldn’t have changed voters’ preferences. Then we would have had a real constitutional crisis as the winning candidate faces a jail term.

Pretending that it didn’t happen is rarely a good strategy.

This from the New York Times this morning. Beyond a doubt, the most responsible are the voters. He told us what he would do and a plurality still voted for him.

If I were to do a second edition, I think I would call it CAPITULATION. Sigh.

Thanks, EJ! Can I count this as a cite? Haha!

A great @psjeditor.bsky.social paper from Lewallen, Park and @seanmtheriault.bsky.social examines when members of Congress use hearings to grandstand.

They find more grandstanding in solution (legislating) oriented hearings, with variation across topics.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Democrats flip the script, eyeing debt limit to block Trump’s agenda Republicans have leveraged the debt ceiling for years to block Democrats’ agenda. Now liberals see an opening to stymy Trump.

I think this is the wrong strategy. They should be working with him now to permanently get rid of the debt ceiling forever. Short-term loss for huge long-term gain.

Two things about the Vance pick interest me. First, he doesn’t help electorally. No one in MI or PA are going to find him compelling if they aren’t already on the Trump train. Second, among that generation, this pick eclipses Don Jr.’s political future. And, yet, Jr drove this decision. Hmmm…

Thanks to a great team of coauthors that include (among others) @mollyereynolds.bsky.social @nielslesniewski.bsky.social @anneliserussell.bsky.social @leedrutman.bsky.social

Disruption?: The Senate During the Trump Era: Theriault, Sean M.: 9780197767849: Amazon.com: Books Disruption?: The Senate During the Trump Era [Theriault, Sean M.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Disruption?: The Senate During the Trump Era

Today is the official release date for my latest book. I worked with 19 authors who wrote 15 chapters assessing the extent to which Donald Trump disrupted the Senate. Spoiler alert: We had at least 15 different answers to that question. www.amazon.com/Disruption-S...

A comparison of the 2024 SOTU address to previous presidents.

How did that compare to his and Trump’s over the last 8 years?

What issues did Biden highlight in the 2024 SOTU Address?

Was thrilled to work on this article with Jonathan Lewallen and Ju Yeon Julia Park. I was also happy to have LSE United States Centre ask us to write a blog post about it. Happy reading!

t.co/7Q6G35sr8T

Was thrilled to work on this article with Jonathan Lewallen and Ju Yeon Julia Park. I was also happy to have LSE United States Centre ask us to write a blog post about it. Happy reading!

t.co/7Q6G35sr8T

This didn't used to be a partisan or controversial statement.

Exactly this. I’ll take an “elderly man with a poor memory” over someone who would side with Putin over our allies.

If only there were another clue that could yield the same answer…

We’re getting shot number 2 next month. And then a colonoscopy in the summer. Dog!

I was mesmerized by her performance!

Along with Molly Reynolds from the Brookings Institute, and Kevin Kosar from AEI, I’m organizing a one-day workshop on congressional oversight in July. See the call for abstracts, which are due in less than 2 weeks.

mailchi.mp/wayne/call-f...

The correct answer was yes, yea, and yes.

It’s time for him to suspend his campaign and endorse Nikki. And then, Pence, Christie, Scott, and everyone else needs to jump in the bandwagon. I’m not sure it will make a difference, but it’s the only chance of saving us from him. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Such a morbid topic… who goes to Rosalynn Carter’s funeral? Traditionally First Ladies go. Does Bill? Does Joe? Does Melanie? I saw yes no yes. What say you?