Trump's "Systematic" Undermining of the Economy - with Justin Wolfers
In this Talking Feds episode, economist Justin Wolfers breaks down the recent 3.8% headline inflation spike, explaining the difference between headline and core CPI and why real wages are falling as price growth outpaces wage growth. He discusses how inflation measurement is imperfect, the importance of keeping inflation low enough to be "ignorable," and why a modest 1‑2% target is crucial for monetary policy. Wolfers also critiques the Trump administration’s policies—tariffs, the Iran war, cuts to health subsidies—as systematic attacks on the institutional stability that underpins the U.S. economy, arguing that such actions have both immediate and long‑term economic costs.
Callais Caps the Roberts Court's Comprehensive Takedown of Voting Rights
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais joins Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) in a coordinated dismantling of federal voting‑rights safeguards. Callais curtails the judiciary’s ability to enforce Section 2 of the Voting...
DOJ Runs From Its Own Shadow
The Department of Justice is reportedly weighing a rapid settlement of former President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, driven by a May 20 briefing deadline from Judge Kathleen Williams. The settlement could involve a promise that the IRS will not...
Just Add ICE
The Department of Homeland Security released a press statement accusing Judge Melissa DuBose of freeing a violent illegal alien, but the judge was unaware that ICE had withheld a Dominican murder warrant from the court. ICE instructed DOJ attorney Kevin...
A Judge Calls Out Trump’s Self-Dealing
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams in Florida ordered the Justice Department and Donald Trump to brief the jurisdictional basis of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, focusing on the Article III “case or controversy” requirement. By refusing to simply grant...
Funding Extremism? Please.
The Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on wire‑fraud charges, alleging the nonprofit used donor money to pay informants inside extremist groups. The blog argues the indictment contains no specific false statement, no identified donor, and no...
A Bellwether Prosecution in Minnesota
Minnesota is suing the DOJ for withheld evidence in the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, arguing that the federal government must comply with the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment. While that case proceeds, Hennepin County...
The People V. The Shredder-in-Chief
Two nonprofit groups, the American Historical Association and American Oversight, have filed a lawsuit in the D.C. District Court to block the Trump administration’s effort to treat the Presidential Records Act (PRA) as dead. The suit challenges a controversial Office...
Free Speech for Quacks
The Supreme Court in *Chiles v. Salazar* struck down Colorado’s ban on conversion‑therapy for minors, ruling 8‑1 that the law constituted unlawful viewpoint discrimination. The majority, led by Justice Gorsuch, treated the therapist’s speech as protected expression rather than medical...
Bondi Botches It
The Justice Department handed the House Judiciary Committee a January 13, 2023 memo outlining evidence in the Mar‑a‑Lago prosecution of former President Donald Trump. The release came despite Judge Aileen Cannon’s order sealing related materials, raising questions about selective disclosure. Attorney General...
It's Viewpoint Discrimination, Stupid.
A D.C. senior judge struck down the Pentagon's new press‑credential policy, ruling it unconstitutional because it is vague and discriminates against journalists based on viewpoint. The policy forced reporters to acknowledge broad “solicitation” rules that could punish routine newsgathering, prompting...