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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

New, from me: I break down all that is happening with the shutdown.
Shutdowns are bad. But only Trump and Russ Vought are brave enough to ask: what if shutdowns aren’t painful enough? How can we use this as an opportunity to target our political enemies? 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-shutdo...

The Shutdown Shitshow

As Trump uses the shutdown to settle scores, the public bears the cost

donmoynihan.substack.com

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Duke @brendanvduke.bsky.social · 1d

The Admin is claiming these cuts were required by the shutdown.

They weren’t.

This was their choice and it’s a bad one.

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Duke @brendanvduke.bsky.social · 1d

This past Friday, the Trump Administration made a choice to cut support for vital services people depend on like education funding for children with special needs, financial services in underserved communities, and public health readiness.

🧵

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 1d

On Friday, the Trump Admin hurt millions of families w/disabled kids, all but disbanding the office that distributes funding for special ed & ensures compliance w/the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the civil rights law for disabled students.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump's new layoffs hurt disabled kids

"This is absolutely a violation of federal law."

www.motherjones.com

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 1d

The stakes of the deep Social Security disability cuts the Trump Admin is planning:

"approval for benefits reduces the likelihood of bankruptcy, foreclosure... For low-income beneficiaries, disability benefits reduce mortality, effectively saving lives."

www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

The Trump Administration’s Plans To Covertly Cut Social Security Disability Benefits

An upcoming regulatory proposal would change the rules of Social Security disability programs to make it harder to qualify, particularly harming older adults.

www.americanprogress.org

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 1d

“If Congress lays down its arms on its most fundamental authority, I don’t know what leg they’re going to have to stand on,” said Brendan Buck, aide to former GOP House speakers Ryan and Boehner.

Agreed. It’s a baffling & frightening threat to the constitutional order.

wapo.st/4n5ksgv

Congress is losing its grip on the power to spend Americans’ money

Congress is supposed to control spending, but increasingly, the White House is dictating how America’s money is used.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 3d

My parents were Republicans because George H.W Bush signed the Americans with Disabilites Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A generation of people with disabilities went to college, got jobs and lived independently because of IDEA.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/spe...

Special education staff decimated after Trump administration shutdown firings: Sources

The nation’s special education services have been significantly damaged after Fridays’s mass layoffs within the Department of Education, sources told ABC News.

abcnews.go.com

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Duke @brendanvduke.bsky.social · 5d

And this is why guardrails that provide greater confidence that funds Congress provides on a bipartisan basis will reach the communities they are intended to assist are so crucial to resolving the 2026 funding impasse.

www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

New Proposal Shows Congress Can Enact Guardrails to Ensure a Deal Is a Deal for 2026 Funding | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Republicans in Congress should be willing to include proposals like these in a 2026 funding agreement to ensure it is implemented consistent with the deal they reach.

www.cbpp.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Duke @brendanvduke.bsky.social · 5d

Claims that the shutdown has forced their hand are false.

Nothing about a shutdown justifies these firings or makes them necessary. That’s why they haven’t happened in past shutdowns – including in the first Trump admin.

www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

Administration Plans for Mass Firings in a Shutdown Not Justified by Law or Prudent Management | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Raising the prospect of mass layoffs as direct retaliation if Democrats do not accede to the House Republicans’ short-term funding proposal is simply an Administration threat to hurt the American peop...

www.cbpp.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Duke @brendanvduke.bsky.social · 5d

Firing federal employees during a shutdown is not only illegal but must be seen for what it is: blatant extortion.

The Trump Administration is using working people and their families as pawns in a power play with no concern for who gets hurt.

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5d

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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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 5d

4) you should follow Bobby for terrific analysis like this!

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 5d

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 5d

The CPI is used to calculate the Social Security COLA, so this will allow the COLA to be paid on time.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5d

CPI coming Oct 24, says BLS:

www.bls.gov/bls/092025-c...

September 2025 CPI Release Rescheduled

www.bls.gov

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 5d

Republicans keep insisting that they’re pushing a “clean CR” while promising to unilaterally cut spending below agreed-to levels however they want with zero Democratic input.

Eleanor Mueller @Eleanor_Mueller
X.com
00 On this press call with the House Freedom Caucus, Johnson tells reporters: "We worked on rescissions, and there'll be more of that, we expect, in the days ahead."
11:12 AM • 10/10/25 • 28K Views

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 6d

An artificial heart for children with congenital heart defects was almost finished. Families had waited for years it.

Then, Trump canceled billions in grants for universities — including the grant for this device.

The cruelty is endless. www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d

Utterly sinister and deeply threatening to democracy:

"plans to deploy America's counter-terrorism apparatus... as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence"

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 6d

President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

www.reuters.com

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 8d

That's unhinged, Eric, and I love you for admitting it.

hot dogs > hamburgers

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Matthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 8d

The majority of SSI and SSDI applications are denied at the initial stage. The majority of those denials are reversed on appeal - a process that takes years.

SOAR trains attorneys to do the kind of initial applications for homeless disabled people that can win at the first stage

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Matthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 8d

The Trump Regime is killing SOAR

www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-a...

Access to the SOAR Works website ended August 18, 2025.

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 8d

New lawsuit alleging the Trump Admin used sensitive Social Security data “in secret, without the notice required by law and comment from the public or Congress, and without assessing the privacy implications or risks of error posed by repurposing the data in this way."

www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...

A lawsuit tries to block the Trump administration's efforts to merge personal data

A class action lawsuit argues that the administration's efforts to combine databases of personal information on Americans violate privacy laws and the Constitution.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism @thinkingautism.com · 12d

On the echoes of refrigerator mothers in MAHA policy: Tiffany Hammond @fidgetsandfries.bsky.social "sees the focus on Tylenol and vaccines not only as a way to blame moms, but as a way to distract from Trump’s cuts to the services and supports families like hers need."

19thnews.org/2025/10/refr...

This isn't the first time moms have been blamed for their kids' autism

One of the earliest theories of autism is centered on “refrigerator mothers.” Echoes of it can be found in plans to Make America Healthy Again.

19thnews.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities @centeronbudget.bsky.social · 9d

The Trump Admin abruptly ended federal support for SOAR, a program that helped disabled people experiencing homelessness access vital disability benefits. Congress should direct the Admin to restore this highly effective, low-cost support. www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-a...

Trump Administration Abruptly Cut Off Highly Effective Support for Disabled People Experiencing Homelessness | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

The Trump Administration abruptly ended federal support for a highly effective intervention that helps disabled people experiencing or at risk of homelessness access benefits to help them stabilize...

www.cbpp.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Romig

Social Security Works @socialsecurityworks.org · 9d

Another cost of the Trump shutdown:

"If the shutdown continues and more workers aren’t brought back within a month, the Social Security Administration’s work of calculating the percentage adjustment and notifying recipients of their benefit increases could be delayed."

Furloughs Could Delay Social Security’s Cost of Living Adjustments

Just one employee at the Bureau of Labor Statistics is left to put together the data needed for Social Security increases.

www.notus.org

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 9d

The Trump Admin abruptly ended federal support for a highly effective program that prevents homelessness among disabled people, including veterans. This will mean more people living on the streets, unable to access housing, health care & other supports.

www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-a...

Trump Administration Abruptly Cut Off Highly Effective Support for Disabled People Experiencing Homelessness | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

The Trump Administration abruptly ended federal support for a highly effective intervention that helps disabled people experiencing or at risk of homelessness access benefits to help them stabilize...

www.cbpp.org

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 9d

This unprecedented arrangement cries out for meaningful oversight to ensure that each agency adequately serves the public, conflicts of interest are resolved, and our most sensitive data are protected.

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