Stephen Spaulding

And to think that Chief Justice John Roberts — who presided over one of Trump’s two impeachment trials — is the Chancellor of the Smithsonian.

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

Wow. Literally deleting history.

🚨It’s worth pointing out that Chief Justice John Roberts — who presided over one of Trump’s two impeachment trials — is Chancellor of the Smithsonian.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Military families packed the Rules room when my boss Senator Klobuchar led a markup on a resolution to let the Senate vote on the noms en bloc.

Every Senate R voted no.

www.legion.org/information-...

Senate Rs are reportedly considering rules changes to address “historic obstruction” of Trump noms.

But remember when Senator Tuberville blocked 400+ military noms for months? I do.

👀 https://wapo.st/45bylmg

Opinion | The Supreme Court Owes the Country Explanations for Its Big Decisions

Three problems with the Supreme Court’s shadow docket, per NYT ed board:

1️⃣ No explanation of the Court’s decision results in a guessing game as to its scope and applicability, which...

2️⃣ Accelerates the perception of partisanship on the high court, including how it…

3️⃣ Aggrandizes its power.

BREAKING: Senators just reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill would restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — ensuring every voter is protected against racial discrimination at the polls.

Turned on CSPAN and listened as Mary T, a 97-year old voter from Harris County, TX, testified tonight against efforts to gerrymander Texas’ congressional maps.

As the annual August recess exodus gets critiqued, let’s stipulate that the confirmation process is broken. It has been for a long time. But facts are facts: the president’s nominees are on pace with those of his predecessor (h/t @washingtonpost.com/Partnership for Public Service tracker).

Yesterday Justice Kagan talked about the “most important thing” she had to say about the shadow docket: how it deprives litigants, judges, and the public of the Court’s rationale, using as an example SCOTUS’ order that greenlit the dismantling of the Department of Education.

"That decision permitted the President to push forward in dismantling the Department of Education, even though Congress created that agency and tasked it with performing vital functions."

... "The result—an increase of executive power at the expense of legislative authority—does not stand alone. Just last week, this Court granted another stay allowing the President to ignore a federal statute." ...

"And it has accomplished those ends with the scantiest of explanations. The majority’s sole professed basis for today’s stay order is its prior stay order in Wilcox. But Wilcox itself was minimally (and, as I have previously shown, poorly) explained." ...

Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, is calling it out: "Once again, this Court uses its emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency, as established by Congress."

The Court is doing so via the shadow docket - no real briefing, no real argument, no real reasoning -- except in this case when it cited an earlier shadow docket stay order when Trump fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The decision allows the president to (apparently) continue firing regulators on the commissions of independent agencies he doesn't like, without cause -- in this case, the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Supreme Court has yet again used the shadow docket to bless one of the president's power grabs, with little to no explanation or reasoning except to cite an earlier shadow docket decision. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Mapping Federal Funding Cuts to U.S. Colleges and Universities American science and innovation should not be subject to the political winds of the day. Find out how the Trump administration’s grant terminations are affecting your school, your community, and your ...

This is excellent and critical from @americanprogress.bsky.social --> Mapping Federal Funding Cuts to U.S. Colleges and Universities www.americanprogress.org/article/mapp...

The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability This Anti-Corruption Tracker focuses on the erosion or dismantling of oversight and accountability systems within the United States Executive Branch

Important new @justsecurity.org resource that tracks the erosion of anti-corruption oversight and accountability measures.

North Carolinians Go to Court to Protect Their Right to Vote In the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the state board of elections over the voter rolls, hundreds of thousands of voters are at risk of disenfranchisement.

"There are voters like me who followed the rules, provided all the information election officials asked for when they registered to vote…. Please, do not remove the voices of registered North Carolina voters." - Mary Kay Heling, North Carolina voter www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Lots more of course but happy reading/podcasting/listening...

2025 Supreme Court Review: Key Rulings, Public Perceptions, and Constitutional Debates Town Hall video for 2025 Supreme Court Review: Key Rulings, Public Perceptions, and Constitutional Debates

Last but not least - and this is one I have not finished yet, but what I've heard so far is great - is the @constitutionctr.bsky.social's SCOTUS Review event - strong panels and different perspectives. constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/...

163. A New Kind of Judicial Supremacy The Supreme Court closed the balance of the October 2024 Term with both actions and opinions that bespeak a new vision of how it exercises power—one that is as dangerous as it will be unpredictable.

Which brings me to @stevevladeck.bsky.social's piece on "a new kind of judicial supremacy" that also contextualizes a lot of what we saw last term and what we may see going forward.

Amy Coney Barrett Is Not The Centrist You Were Looking For. A conservative supermajority so keen to gobble more power for itself, might be giving Trump the tools to override it.

The all-star panel that @dahlialithwick.bsky.social and @mjsdc.bsky.social convened as part of their podcast's "Opinionpalooza" coverage is terrific - featuring @jamellebouie.net, @sifill.bsky.social, and @stevevladeck.bsky.social:

Opinion | Listen Up. Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Speaking to You.

Justice Jackson's dissent in that case was also a must-read and emblematic of a style of writing that speaks directly to the American people about what's at stake. John McWhorter had an excellent analysis (paywall unlocked).

SCOTUS Clears the Way for Trump’s Lawlessness | Crooked Media

And of course, always a must-listen -- @strictscrutiny.bsky.social's analysis of the blockbuster decision in Trump v. CASA.

Opinion | This Federal Judge Made Me Feel Better About Our Democracy

Zoom out and read retired Judge Michael W. McConnell's take on how federal courts are meeting the moment, how Congress is abdicating its responsibility to act as a check, and how political violence spreads.

Facing this Court A Sober Look at What to Expect in Trump v. Casa And What We Do About It

And be sure to read @sifill.bsky.social's take on what the Court said—and ominously did not say—in Trump v. CASA, the case about nationwide injunctions and the president's executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship.

How SCOTUS ruled to increase executive power and challenge constitutional order New York Times reporter Adam Liptak discusses the Court's decisions to limit the power of lower courts while expanding presidential power, and its consequential use of the "shadow docket."

Next up, download @adamliptak.bsky.social's interview on @nprfreshair.bsky.social which focused on how SCOTUS's shadow docket is being used to increase executive power.

The 2024–25 Supreme Court Term in Review Join legal experts for a look at this year’s major decisions.

First up is the @brennancenter.org's Term-in-Review featuring @joycewhitevance.bsky.social, Cecillia Wang, and @kimwehle.bsky.social‬, moderated by @aliciabannon.bsky.social. They covered a ton of ground, including what the decisions this term mean for the rule of law when democracy is under strain.