Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Daniel Sharfstein

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 20h

If you want to read 20,000 or so more words on how Trump has assaulted Congress’s power of the purse, and how Congress should fight back, I’ve got the law review article for you: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The Crisis of Appropriations Law

<p><span>Appropriations law is a unique body of federal law. Appropriations law imposes its own somewhat baroque set of statutory interpretation principle

papers.ssrn.com

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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 17h

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.

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Daniel Sharfstein @danielsharfstein.bsky.social · 13h

Congratulations!!!

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 1d

Seeing a lot of celebration of this as a win.

But at NIH we have seen this exact play before.

It looks like it is the Vought strategy -and to stop the lawless firings we have to see the bigger picture.
A 🧵:

Trump Administration Will Rehire Scores of Experts Fired in Error

www.nytimes.com

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 2d

Vanderbilt AAUP press release about the Vanderbilt Faculty Senate voting overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution opposing the President's proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education as an unconstitutional & illegal infringement on rights & freedoms.

vanderbiltaaup.org/2025/10/09/v...

Vanderbilt Faculty Senate Votes Overwhelmingly to Oppose Trump Loyalty Oath

The Vanderbilt Faculty Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing President Trump’s proposed “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education.” The resolution, citing concerns …

vanderbiltaaup.org

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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 1d

With yesterday's (quite good) opinion from Judge Perry, we can now add Chicago. DJT is trying to impose unaccountable armed force on U.S. communities for no good reason; two courts have now refused to pretend it's OK.

This matters. A lot.

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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 3d

The Battle of Portland—the conflict over whether a president can subject a basically peaceful, law-abiding community within the U.S. to armed occupation just by making things up—may become one of the most consequential showdowns in our constitutional history.

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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 1d

Holy shit.

To all my fellow parents with kids with an IEP: good luck to us, I guess.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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mbbendt @bendts2cents.bsky.social · 2d

Pretty sure that when you have giant frogs everywhere, God is very disappointed in how you are treating immigrants.

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 3d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Lauren MacIvor Thompson @lmacthompson1.bsky.social · 2d

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 2d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 2d

OMB head Russ Vought says RIFs have begun. In litigation challenging OMB's ability to RIF during a shutdown, OMB must provide more details by 3pm PT/ 6pm ET.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Russ Vought
@russvought
The RIFs have begun.

The Court hereby ORDERS defendants to file a response to the motion for a TRO no later than October 10, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. PDT. In their response, defendants SHALL address: (1) the status of any currently planned or in-progress RIF notices to be issued during/because of the government shutdown, including the earliest date that those RIF notices will go out; (2) which of the defendant agencies anticipate issuing RIF notices during/because of the government shutdown and the estimated number of employees at the defendant agency who will receive such RIF notices; and (3) whether any employees at the defendant agencies have been ordered back to work during the government shutdown in order to effectuate the issuance of RIF notices. Defendants shall provide evidence (declarations, exhibits, etc.) in support of the above information.

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 3d

Yesterday, Vanderbilt's faculty senate enacted a resolution condemning the Trump "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as an illegal, unconstitutional infringement on civil rights and academic freedom, and an unacceptable infringement on institutional independence.

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Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 2d

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Lee Kovarsky @kovarsky.bsky.social · 2d

In addition to what Mike says the op ed is deeply dishonest insofar as it omits the most troubling parts of the pact, which require universities to “abolish” departments that “belittle” “conservative ideas,” or face a clawback of all funding - with all of this determined unreviewably 1/

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 2d

This is an op-ed from one of the framers of the Trump administration’s compact with universities. Regardless of whether one believes the litany of accusations the beginning, the idea of the compact and its mechanics are completely bad faith: [1/2]

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Badly Needed

www.nytimes.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 3d

Indicting political opponents & critics because they are political opponents & critics is terrifying.

It's completely inconsistent with the rule of law & democracy.

It should scare everyone - and (hopefully) will get people to realize that we all need to stand against this.

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Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 4d

Virginia State Senate Dems just brought down fire and fury regarding the “Compact,” notifying the President and Rector that UVA would lose ALL STATE APPROPRIATIONS if it signs and cedes the University to “federal political control.” Notably, their letter directly restates points made here by @siva.

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 4d

The “compact” for higher ed is an unserious document written by unserious people from a position of spectacular ignorance. No one should take it seriously. Sadly, my bosses are taking it seriously.

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 3d

Any university that agrees to this outrageous “compact” is a full participant in Trump’s assault on democracy. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 4d

Want to hear about a party that isn’t too keen on democracy, deporting people who side with their opposition and stifling the opposition press to remain in power?

The Alien and Sedition Acts have a LOT to say.

Crystal Kile @crystalkile.bsky.social · 4d

America at 250: A History

Lecture 7: “What Kind of Nation? Democracy, Hamilton, Jefferson, and More” with Professor Joanne Freeman

The relevance of revisiting The Whiskey Rebellion will shock you

RIYL “Hamilton”

youtu.be/jMJLuErzYtg

DeVane Lecture, Class 7 – What Kind of Nation? Democracy, Hamilton, Jefferson, and More

YouTube video by YaleCourses

youtu.be

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Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · 5d

Courtesy of Prof Bagenstos, the statutory provision is 31 USC 1341(c)(2)

(2) Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations, and each excepted employee who is required to perform work during a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for such work, at the employee's standard rate of pay, at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates, and subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 5d

This series launched last month and will go into wide release in a few days. I'm excited to listen to it and occupy a minor part as an attendee at Fela's nightclub, The Shrine, and as someone who interviewed him. deadline.com/2025/09/obam...

The Obamas’ Higher Ground Sets Fela Kuti Podcast At Audible

The 12-part series, which launches on September 18, explores the true story of Fela Kuti.

deadline.com

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Jonathan Gilligan @jgilligan.org · 6d

The Vanderbilt chapter of @aaup.org has issued a statement condemning President Trump's proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as an illegal assault on civil rights, academic freedom, shared governance, and institutional autonomy.

vanderbiltaaup.org/2025/10/06/s...

Statement by the Vanderbilt AAUP Executive Committee on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

October 6, 2025 On October 2nd, Vanderbilt was among nine universities “invited” to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” with the federal government. The Compact, however, i…

vanderbiltaaup.org

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Manoj Mate @manojmate.bsky.social · 8d

"Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. said there was evidence that Mr. Abrego Garcia’s prosecution “may stem from retaliation” by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security."

Opinion here:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

Judge Finds ‘Likelihood’ That Charges Against Abrego Garcia Are Vindictive

www.nytimes.com

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Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · 7d

Great post from my colleague Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social. The same should be said about the preexisting Title VI demands. I don’t see any kind of “deal” that doesn’t fundamentally undermine the rule of law and academic freedom.

Universities' only proper response to this "compact"— and to May Mailman's dangerous invitation to negotiate further, by way of providing "feedback" on the initial draft—is to offer absolutely nothing. There is no revised version of this compact that retains its core enforcement mechanism that would be even remotely compatible with the independence of universities and their continuing vitality as venues for free speech and free inquiry.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 7d

for any UVA folks that follow me you should circulate this among your networks balkin.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

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T. J. Stiles @tj-stiles.bsky.social · 8d

Now up: My interview with Democrats Abroad, the party organization of U.S. citizens living in other countries. The official title of the episode is, "What American History Can Tell Us about Today." It could have been titled, "When we say Trump is unprecedented, what do we mean?"
tinyurl.com/3tyk6bja

Spotify – Web Player

tinyurl.com

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