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Don Moynihan

@donmoyn.bsky.social

160K followers 2.2K following 14K posts

Policy Professor, Ford School, University of Michigan. Irish immigrant. Administrative burdens guy. Free newsletter, Can We Still Govern?: https://donmoynihan.substack.com

donmoynihan.substack.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Re-upping this piece on news that Vought is firing federal employees:
*Vought lying that shutdowns compel layoffs, never have before.
*Layoffs are a choice, the shutdown is an excuse.
*Comes on top of existing RIFs, will make restoring govt services harder post-shutdown.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

Shutdown hostage taking

Russ Vought's threatens more mass firings; SCOTUS blesses his de facto impoundment

substack.com

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 4h

An HHS source says admin also RIFed entire Office of Population Affairs last night.
“Not a single staff person to run our nation's family planning program or the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program. The Office of Adolescent Health which nested within OPA functionally ceases to exist”

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🎃 public HELLth guy 🎃 @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 4h

kirby smart can play scumbag football with the best of them lol. go dawgs

Awful Announcing @awfulannouncing.bsky.social · 4h

Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy try to make sense of Kirby Smart getting off the hook for calling a timeout here.

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Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 4h

"One source told me that some of the reversals came after the Trump administration realized that they had accidentally terminated critically important staffers working on current measles and Ebola outbreaks."

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 4h

…really?

Breaking News: RIFs in reverse. Some CDC workers have been brought back, in latest whiplash.

This is breaking news.

insidemedicine.substack.com

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Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 5h

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · May 30

No words

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Clay Jackson @clayjak.substack.com · 6h

that lawyer was me.

open.substack.com/pub/radleyba...

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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 7h

We’ve lost a diamond.

Luís M. Rocha @lmrocha.bsky.social · 10h

RIP Diane Keaton. Always to see her in anything she has ever done. A Ray of sunshine.
youtu.be/kADG1WA-4vE?...

Kevin Bacon Always Wanted To Kiss Diane Keaton - The Graham Norton Show

YouTube video by BBC America

youtu.be

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 7h

Yikes?

Reporters: I hope you are digging into this hard.

I can imagine this meaning they are trying to rebuild trust among Republicans (which would be great!). I can also imagine much more worrisome possibilities.

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 8h

So dominion voting got sold, look at this fascinating statement from their new owner (not to doom but this is, uh, suboptimal). www.dominionvoting.com

(Dominion voting website now redirecting to libertyvote.com with the following statement:)

Our Promise.
-
My Fellow Americans,
Today, I am proud to announce Liberty Vote - a 100% American-owned election technology company dedicated to restoring trust in our elections. Our mission is clear: every vote must be secure, fair, and verifiable.
I have spent my life working to strengthen America's elections. That commitment began years ago, in the aftermath of the 2000 election, when I worked for the Missouri Secretary of State. Later, as Election Director in St. Louis, I led the effort to modernize outdated systems and rebuild public trust. Eventually, I founded an election technology company that today serves nearly one in four voters nationwide.
With Liberty Vote, we are building on that legacy. We are turning the page and beginning the vital work of restoring faith in American elections. While these changes will not happen overnight, Liberty Vote's mission is rooted in American values and committed to transparency, independent audits, and verifiable paper records.
Our purpose is simple: to ensure that America's elections are secure, fair, and honest.
Scott Leiendecker
Founder and Chairman, Liberty Vote

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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 8h

It’s no wonder that Trump has such a twisted view of war and sacrifice. And the utility of bribes.

Donald was seven years old, and his father was brought before a U.S. Senate committee investigating abuses in a housing program for war veterans and middle class families. President Eisenhower had been outraged to learn of the bribes that developers paid to bureaucrats and of the alleged profiteering practiced by Trump and others. Ike called them "sons of bitches."
As federal investigators had discovered, the elder Trump had collected an extra $1.7 million in rent-equivalent to $15 million today-before beginning to pay back his low-cost government loan. He was able to do this because a bureaucrat named Clyde Powell approved the paperwork.
Powell, who had never been paid more than a modest government salary, had mysteriously amassed a small fortune. (While it was clear Powell accepted bribes, the sources were never officially identified.) In addition to collecting the extra rent, Trump paid himself a substantial architect's fee. And he charged inflated rents based on an estimate of construction costs that was far greater than what he actually spent. All of this was legal, even if it did victimize taxpayers, veterans, and other renters.

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 8h

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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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 8h

The end of federal enforcement of special ed laws. Some states - including MN - will likely be ok. But a lot of disabled kids in a lot of states are going to lose the education that federal law and decades of jurisprudence say they are owed.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

www.usatoday.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 8h

Who belongs in Trump's America?

USA TODAY @usatoday.com · 12h

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

bit.ly

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 9h

famously an area where the sun don't shine

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 9h

the real constraint is you need to have an electrical outlet near a toilet, which is unusual imo

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Sam Halpert @samhalpert.bsky.social · 10h

Dems floated a narrow bill to fund the military, which can’t move because the House isn’t in session. Meanwhile, DoD is now going to spend funds not appropriated by Congress to ensure military paychecks continue.

POTUS now both commands and provisions the military. Unconstitutional and SO dangerous

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.
A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC
News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 11h

Just got back from Normal, IL for a lecture at Illinois State University. Established in 1857 after this small town lawyer named Abe secured the funding. Was reminded once again that US public universities are the triumph of civilization

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sadvil 😎 @sadvil.bsky.social · 10h

A great weekend to share Jeff Bridges making a perfect joke

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

this is asymmetric; Pritzker would not do it, and a Dem President would not ask him do.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

The National Guard mainly exists for domestic purposes as a compact where Governors agree to help each other in cases of disasters.

It runs on trust and norms of reciprocity.

Having Governors send their troops against the will of the receiving state creates some real long term problems.

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 12h

Texas is preparing emergency resources for wildfires and floods. The Texas National Guard should be THERE — not in Illinois.

We stand ready to support their return home so they are best positioned for helping Texans respond to any natural disasters.

Abbott activates emergency resources ahead of growing wildfire threat, flood risk in Texas

With expected growing wildfire danger across Texas and the potential for a flood risk this weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott is activating more state emergency response resources Friday.

trib.al

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

Hegseth restored the name of a confederate general to the base.
Taking care of your troops matters. You can't eat the culture war.

Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 14h

If this was happening in any other country you'd have journalists and analysts discussing risks of state failure

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Elizabeth Linos @elizabethlinos.bsky.social · 12h

Apparently it needs to be said one more time: the way to keep our cities safe is to invest in the people who keep us safe. The people who make sure our water is safe, our roads are safe, our food is safe, our kids are safe...

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 11h

Per CDC source: At internal leadership meeting this afternoon, it was shared that 1,257 people were RIF'd at CDC. Number may not be final. Apparently, chief of staff was unaware that RIFs were going to occur so not clear who is making decisions. (Short 🧵)

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 11h

This is the line to get into the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, which will close in a few hours and not reopen until the shutdown ends

Long line of people waiting to get through security at the museum

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11h

Watched that on a plane, and spent a large chunk of time crying

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12h

Writing something about ICE and sweet Jesus it is so incredibly dark what they are doing to these cities. We have all seen the videos, but when you wade into the details of their actions, it is extraordinarily bleak.

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