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Sean Casten

@seancasten.bsky.social

27K followers 180 following 3.1K posts

U.S. Representative, IL-06. Personal account. Dad. Husband. Trained as an engineer, 16 years as a clean energy CEO, now in middle management. For official stuff see @casten.house.gov

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · Nov 7

"The best friend of a nation is he who most faithfully rebukes her for her sins—and he her worst enemy who, under the specious… garb of patriotism seeks to excuse, palliate or defend them." - Frederick Douglass

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 9h

Kansas Senate President and candidate for Governor Ty Masterson is in a disavowing-my-relationship mood today. kansasreflector.com/2025/10/14/k...

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 9h

No surprise to see Elise Performative Outrage Stefanik here.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 10h

We have reached a point where you can morally differentiate yourself from Mike “If you want to know what I believe, just read the Bible” Johnson simply by acknowledging that shooting unarmed priests in the head is bad. newrepublic.com/post/201757/...

Mike Johnson Says ICE Shooting a Priest Doesn’t Cross the Line

The House speaker has yet to see any issue with ICE’s behavior in Chicago.

newrepublic.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 10h

Lawler seems to know all these guys.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 10h

And there’s this guy. I’ll keep adding as I find more…

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 10h

This is a good crowdsourcing project. Suggest you look through for names in your state, see who you can connect them to. For example, there’s this guy.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 10h

This is disgusting. And I can GUARANTEE you that lots of dumps are going to come out about lots of Republican electeds who are way too close to the people in these texts. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 14h

When I ran a coal plant we kept 7 - 14 days of coal in the pile to accommodate rail volatility. When we got below 3 we started curtailment planning to ensure critical loads were served. Anyway, please tell me more about how PV can’t work because it requires overnight on-sight energy storage.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 20h

Long term growth depends on economic policies that lift all boats. Trump's purely extractive policies are the opposite of that. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/b...

Global Growth Remains Sluggish as Tariff Threats Loom

www.nytimes.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 1d

Mining automation, shifts away from coal to natural gas and shifts from natural gas to renewables were all investments in labor productivity, using fewer hours to make the same amount of kWh. We dignify those workers by not pretending their interests always align with consumers and owners.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 1d

And to be clear, labor productivity gains are good! We just can’t keep making the lazy assumption that the historic truth that growths in LP create more jobs than they destroy means that they create jobs for the specific people whose livelihoods are destroyed.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 1d

I’ve got a small beef with the sub-hed that says that Trump has always been a “cheerleader for coal miners”. But that’s also a century-old error where we duck conversations about the wealth transfer from growths in labor productivity by assuming that it lifts all boats.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 1d

This is a 100 year old story; coal miners get trotted out as props by politicians who then help coal mine owners. There is a continuum from John Henry to Mother Jones to the Appalachia of today. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/c...

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump

www.nytimes.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 2d

I’m tired of having to repeat this but it still hasn’t sunk through to my economically illiterate colleagues. Clean energy is cheap energy. Attack one and you attack the other. Why not have both? www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

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Reposted by Sean Casten

Rep. Sean Casten @casten.house.gov · 4d

My statement on the peace deal in Gaza:

Statement from Rep. Casten on the Gaza peace deal. Find the full statement at https://casten.house.gov/media/press-releases/casten-statement-on-peace-deal-in-gaza

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 4d

Read this from @normornstein.bsky.social. The biggest problem with today's GOP isn't their policy views. It's the consistent disrespect they show to our institutions. They are an embarrassment to anyone who loves the Congress, and our country. contrarian.substack.com/p/senate-shame

Senate Shame

Republicans’ abdication of responsibility betrays both an institutional legacy and the American people

contrarian.substack.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 4d

The floor schedule released by the House GOP at the start of this year would have made today the 106th voting day of the year. It is, instead the 18th CANCELLED voting day. 88/106 =83%. So they’re still B students. But slipping comfortably into a mediocre C if they keep at it…

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 4d

I like to think about the guy who got cut by the Brooklyn Dodgers when they signed Jackie Robinson. Was he racist? Bitter? IDK. But I guarantee he was the least talented player on the team. And if Branch Rickey’s successor fired Robinson and hired that guy back it wouldn’t *only* be racist.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 4d

The racism is of course the point. But it’s also Trump’s quest for mediocrity. The white people he hires are universally 3rd rate talents whose only qualification is that they’ll do as their told. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

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Reposted by Sean Casten

Rep. Sean Casten @casten.house.gov · 5d

Speaker Johnson knows what it takes to reopen the government, but he refuses to do it. He will not negotiate. He will not let the House return to session.

Speaker Johnson chose to shut down the government because he believes you should pay more to see a doctor.

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Reposted by Sean Casten

Rep. Sean Casten @casten.house.gov · 6d

My office remains open and ready to assist constituents.
If you have questions about the government shutdown, visit my website or call my office.
casten.house.gov/shutdown2025

Government Shutdown FAQ | U.S. Congressman Sean Casten

The Official U.S. Congressional website of Congressman Sean Casten

casten.house.gov

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Reposted by Sean Casten

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 5d

Just 'cause it has to be said every now and then.

GOP Senators and Representatives are obviously okay with...everything...that's happening.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 5d

Profiles in Sycophancy, Chapter 20. Wherein Brooke Rollins tells us how straight she stood and how loud she clapped for Dear Leader. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5d

Rollins: "We had an amazing cabinet meeting. President Trump walked in before the cameras were there. We all stood up & gave him a two minute standing ovation. There's so much love in that room & respect & just appreciation for him. No one could do what that man is doing today. So I was so grateful"

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 5d

We've been making noise about this since it started, legislatively and in Congressional requests. But I remain really concerned that it has become partisan to defend due process and to oppose child trafficking.

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 5d

This is really important. I was recently talking to folks in Chicago who said that much as they fear ICE detaining children without due process, they worry even more that child traffickers will don their same masks and do even worse.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 5d

Lots of folks talking about this. This was one of the most heavily discussed parts of the TRO request, and I covered some of that on Monday.

tl;dr: Read Law Dork; be informed.

www.lawdork.com/p/illinois-l...

It is further ORDERED that all Federal Agents, excepting those who do not wear a
uniform or other distinguishing clothing or equipment in the regular performance of their official
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Case: 1:25-cv-12173 Document #: 42 Filed: 10/09/25 Page 5 of 6 PagelD #:839
duties or are engaged in undercover operations in the regular performance of their official duties, must have visible identification (for which a unique recognizable alphanumeric identifier sequence
will suffice) affixed to their uniforms or helmets and prominently displayed, including when
wearing riot gear.

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