@ericpatashnik
Director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy and Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Brown University. https://home.watson.brown.edu/people/faculty/watson-faculty/eric-patashnik
Dylan, Idiot Wind.
My unfashionable take is that it is possible for civil service systems to learn, and most of the things we could do to improve that capacity are being undermined right now. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
All-star contributors include @donmoyn.bsky.social Anzia, Teles, Carpenter, Canes-Wrone, Curry & Lee, Rothenberg, @alongcamejones.bsky.social 2/2
www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/...
The special issue of @theforum-degruyter.bsky.social on "American Government and the Politics of Problem Solving" that I coedited with Alan Gerber has been published. Intro (Open Access) here: @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social @ispsyale.bsky.social 1/2
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
really liked this @mattglassman312.bsky.social on the tariff case and the legislative veto (also shoutout to @joshchafetz.bsky.social) blog.mattglassman.net/the-court-th...
"At 1 p.m., the storm had dumped 32.8 inches on Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, according to the National Weather Service, obliterating the prior-record 28.6-inches that fell there during the Blizzard of 1978."
Understanding the U.S. judicial system & Supreme Court decision-making has never been more important. A big thank you to @stevevladeck.bsky.social for sharing his insights yesterday with @brown.edu students at the @taubmancenter.bsky.social's Politics & Policy lunch. @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social
Extraordinary US government surveillance of ordinary people is beginning
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
New, from me: Trump finalized his Schedule F policy, allowing him to remove job protections from career civil servants.
The new rule is dishonest and unmoored from reality in its effort to formalize the politicization of the federal government 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/trumps-sch...
Policy backlashes gain strength when they join elite leadership with grassroots protest. We have seen less of this combination in Trump 2.0 than under Trump 1.0 but it is starting to happen more.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u... 1/2
Most policy backlash has come from reactionary groups since the 1960s. However, as I argued in my book, as "threats to the policy status quo increasingly emanate from the right, the incentives for liberal countermobilzation will likely strengthen." 1/2
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Brown University's Taubman Center is searching for a postdoc in American politics and public opinion. @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social @taubmancenter.bsky.social
jobs.chronicle.com/job/37938823...
.@watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social @taubmancenter.bsky.social is searching for a postdoc in American politics and public opinion. Please circulate.
members.apsanet.org/CAREERS/eJob...
"A dismal scenario for the year 2100, even lacking any formal constitutional changes, would be a U.S. Congress...diminishing to city-council status, deprived of talent, media coverage, public attention, and real power as the executive branch expands to conduct an imperial role."
3/3
"On the record, that kind of activity, however well-advised on policy grounds, is not auspicious for a balanced constitution. Congress, the courts, and popular rule all tend to pale before it... 2/3
Remarkable quote from David Mayhew, writing in 2005:
"For the twentieth-first century, a good bet for the chief menace to the American institutional mix is the White House's continuing flexing of military muscle in imperial enterprises abroad... 1/3
A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving remains a good value for students -- $36.10 for spring semester eBook rentals. @goldmanschool.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social
collegepublishing.sagepub.com/products/a-p...
An interview with me from January 2016 about what Trump might mean.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Table of Contents for Publius: The Journal of Federalism 56 (1, 2026): The Future of Federalism in the United States Articles Introduction: The Future of Federalism in the United States Paul Nolette and Philip Rocco Can Federalism Protect Subnational Liberal Democracy from Central Authoritarianism? James A. Gardner Tools of Subnational Democratic Subversion: A Taxonomy and Research Agenda Andrea Louise Campbell and Andrew Karch Money Is Not Enough: The Temporary Impact of Pandemic-Era Aid on American Fiscal Federalism Amanda Kass Federalism and the Future of US Minimum Wage Policy Shanna Rose Climate Federalism at a Crossroads: From Compensatory to Coercive and Mitigation to Adaptation Scott Moore Who Benefits From Federalism Claims in Federal Court? Lisa L. Miller US Federalism and the Political Economy of Territorial Status: Evidence from Puerto Rico Mariely Lopez-Santana Federalism and Polarization: How Can Research Be More Relevant? Carol S. Weissert Is the Picket Fence Still Standing? Tracing Administrative Federalism in the States Matthew J. Uttermark From Variables to Mechanisms in Federalism Research Scott L. Greer
It has been a bracing moment for American federalism, with both unprecedented efforts to extend executive control over state and local govts, novel forms of subnational resistance. Where is federalism going? Paul Nolette and I have edited a new issue of Publius on that question. Short thread:
New Trending Globally #podcast: Shutdown politics, gerrymandering, and the role of Congress as Trump enters his lame-duck phase — @ericpatashnik.bsky.social & Rep. Kathy Manning discuss GOP resistance, Dem strategy, & why approval of Congress is so low ahead of midterms.
This is good. Enough with the Wilsonian crap that there's a single national will and that the president has some mystical connection to it. The Framers were wiser than that, and the Constitution they wrote makes no sense unless we accept that.
“It’s the logical endpoint to unitary executive theory,” said Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. “Their desired end goal would be to arrive at a completely ‘at-will’ workforce. ... I think the administration is going to push the unitary executive idea as far as it can, and all of the signals it has been getting from the Supreme Court is to push further and push faster.”
This guy gets it
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
If the executive can unilaterally shift all functioning out of an congressionally established agency, then what is left of Congress’ lawmaking?
Why should Congress authorize executive agencies to do anything at all, ever?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
I wish I could take credit for the phrase "new heights of flouting" but that came from the team at @theunpopulist.net who gave me the space for this take on the current landscape of congressional vs. executive power over spending. www.theunpopulist.net/p/founders-w...
New at Can We Still Govern? New Medicaid work requirements will see an estimated 5 million lose coverage.
Small investments in in-house tech capacity could allow states to start preparing now to expand automatic renewal of clients. Here is the evidence 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-a-van-...
You have to read between the lines here to imagine what President Trump is proposing. But, it sounds like it may be a plan for health accounts that could be used for insurance that doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, which could create a death spiral in ACA plans that do.
Video of my conversation on the government shutdown with Kathy Manning, former member of Congress & Senior Fellow @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social
youtube.com/watch?v=nEIf...
