Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Gregg Gonsalves

@gregggonsalves.bsky.social

50K followers 2.8K following 4.1K posts

Epidemiologist. AIDS Activist. Dog lover. New Haven.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

AAUP–Penn @aaup-penn.bsky.social · 7h

Also, he has already been doing the same to higher ed—not only in his prior attempt at a hostile takeover of Penn in 2023 but also as CEO of the parent company that owns the University of Phoenix, from which he’s made a fortune putting students into $21 billion in debt prospect.org/education/20...

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

Scientists, journalists, all of us who believe in democracy and freedom and rule of law:
Please read KBJ's opinion in t July RIF case.

She begins:
"Under our Constitution, Congress has the power to establish administrative agencies and detail their functions"
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Cite as: 606 U. S. ____ (2025) 1
JACKSON, J., dissenting
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 24A1174
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, ET AL. v. AMERICAN FEDERATION
OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[July 8, 2025]
JUSTICE JACKSON, dissenting from the grant of application for stay.
Under our Constitution, Congress has the power to establish administrative agencies and detail their functions.
Thus, over the past century, Presidents who have attempted to reorganize the Federal Government have first
obtained authorization from Congress to do so. The President sharply departed from that settled practice on February 11, 2025, however, by allegedly arrogating this power
to himself. With no mention of congressional buy-in, the
President’s Executive Order No. 14210 mandates a “critical
transformation” of the Federal Government, to be accomplished by “eliminat[ing] or consolidat[ing]” existing agencies and ordering agency heads to “promptly undertake
preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.” 90
Fed. Reg. 9669, 9670.
This unilateral decision to “transfor[m]” the Federal Government was quickly challenged in federal court. As relevant here, the District Judge thoroughly examined the evidence, considered applicable law, and made a reasoned
determination that Executive Branch officials should be enjoined from implementing the mandated restructuring until this legal challenge to the President’s authority to undertake such action could be litigated. But that temporary,
practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

Yes, the lawless court majority, which believes in unfettered presidential power and seizing power from Congress, is going to let this happen. While weaseling around and letting Trump do it anyway, via shadow docket orders whose meanings district judges must divine or Gorsuch will yell at them.

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

The president cannot just reorganize agencies and cut out essential functions without Congress. It is lawless to do so.

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

And Sotomayor says
"I agree with JUSTICE JACKSON that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent
with congressional mandates."

That is, Sotomayor is saying mass firings — mass RIFs — are lawless.

And let's be real: of course they are.

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

Sotomayor concurs. But she doesn't say anything is lawful.

She simply says the RIF orders are not before the court. That is because the Trump government withheld them from the district court.

2 TRUMP v. AMERICAN FEDERATION
OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring
assessment of the plans themselves. Those plans are not
before this Court.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, concurring in the grant of stay.
I agree with JUSTICE JACKSON that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent
with congressional mandates. See post, at 13. Here, however, the relevant Executive Order directs agencies to plan
reorganizations and reductions in force “consistent with applicable law,” App. to Application for Stay 2a, and the resulting joint memorandum from the Office of Management
and Budget and Office of Personnel Management reiterates
as much. The plans themselves are not before this Court,
at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider
whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the
constraints of law. I join the Court’s stay because it leaves
the District Court

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

Here is the Calvinball conserv court ruling on the spring RIFs.

The unsigned shadow docket order says "the Trump gov't is likely to succeed in showing the EO is lawful." 1. Calvinball. 2. Saying the EO is lawful isn't saying the mass firings are lawful.

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 24A1174
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, ET AL. v. AMERICAN FEDERATION
OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[July 8, 2025]
The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and
by her referred to the Court is granted. The May 22, 2025
preliminary injunction entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, case No.
3:25–cv–3698, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari,
if such a writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied,
this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending
down of the judgment of this Court.
The District Court’s injunction was based on its view that
Executive Order No. 14210, 90 Fed. Reg. 9669 (2025), and
a joint memorandum from the Office of Management and
Budget and Office of Personnel Management implementing
that Executive Order are unlawful. Because the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive
Order and Memorandum are lawful—and because the other
factors bearing on whether to grant a stay are satisfied—
we grant the application. We express no view on the legality of any Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan produced or
approved pursuant to the Executive Order and Memorandum. The District Court enjoined further implementation
or approval of the plans based on its view about the illegality of the Executive Order and Memorandum, not on an

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16h

Russell Vought has announced that "mass firings [RIFs] have begun."

Lawless. The RIFs in the spring were illegal, as Judge Illston outlined. Yes, the conservative SCOTUS supermajority lawlessly signed off. But the Calvinball Court is not doing law.

Congress can stop this. A thread: 1/

'RIFs have begun.' Vought announces start of mass firings during government shutdown

The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 16h

This is what courage in the face of authoritarianism looks like. No university should take Trump's bribe & surrender their integrity — bending the knee to a bully only feeds the beast & puts ALL our rights at risk.

Others should follows MIT’s example ASAP.

MIT rejects Trump administration deal for priority federal funding

MIT is one of the nine schools that were asked to agree to adopt conservative priorities and policies in exchange for funding perks.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 16h

Yes, we argue vociferously, backed by empirical research, that patients’ wellbeing and health outcomes will suffer from the Trump administration’s push to end DEI policies at US medical schools

The BMJ @bmj.com · 16h

The Trump administration and its allies have taken several steps to ensure that medical schools in the US dismantle all diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

It is patients who will be the victims of this, write @gavinyamey.bsky.social and @michaeldgreen.com
www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 16h

Thornhill and me...

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

This work was led by Julia Dennett now at @hpi.bsky.social, Evan Soltas at @princetonecon.bsky.social, Kevin Werner formerly with @urbaninspo.bsky.social, Gopi Shah Goda at @brookings.edu, Thomas Thornill and I at @yalesph.bsky.social. end/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

What does it mean? COVID may have created a new year-round baseline for work absences that is similar to influenza season conditions before the pandemic; policymakers should consider expanding interventions & data collection efforts to address the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the labor force. 5/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

What did we find? In this study of approximately 158.4 million workers, rates of health-related work absences remained elevated after the pandemic and were associated with circulating SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent decreases in labor force participation by absence-affected workers. 4/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

The setting was the US before the COVID-19 pandemic (before March 2020), during the pandemic (March 2020 to April 2023), and after the end of the public health emergency declaration (May 2023 to December 2024). 3/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

We used monthly data from employed survey respondents in the nationally representative Current Population Survey spanning January 2010 to December 2024 and linked to COVID-19 wastewater surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17h

Our latest paper in @jamanetworkopen.com where we asked: Following the #COVID pandemic, has SARSCoV2 circulation been associated with health-related absences from work and labor force exits? @yaleemd.bsky.social @princetonecon.bsky.social @brookings.edu 1/ jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Enduring Outcomes of COVID-19 Work Absences on the US Labor Market

This cohort study examines the extent to which COVID-19 continues to generate work absences and decrease labor force participation beyond the pandemic period in the US.

jamanetwork.com

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 19h

I completed a PhD in Physics at MIT in '03. Even when the intensity seemed to be off-scale, there was one piece that I never doubted: the place had integrity, purpose, and passion.

It's clear the culture and drive of MIT remains.

MIT says no to the compact.

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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

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

Reposted by Gregg Gonsalves

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 20h

MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

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%.
• 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 tree 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
CC
Ms. May Mailman
Mr. Vincent Haley

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 19h

Thank you #MIT!

Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 20h

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23h

The @nytimes.com will both-sides everything until the bitter end. One could see them running an op-ed "Perhaps We Deserved It" when Trump comes after them. The Overton window will fall out of its frame one day, taking us all with it, after the paper exhausts the field of false equivalence. end/

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23h

This is mob justice. "Nice university ya' got there, shame if anything would happen to it." 11/ www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

A Deal That Would End Universities’ Independence

The free-speech provisions of the so-called compact are an exercise in contradiction.

www.theatlantic.com

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23h

1400 colleges and universities large and small spoke out together on this coercive power grab. 10/ www.aacu.org/newsroom/aac...

AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for… | AAC&U

AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23h

It's a recipe for subservience and government control. 9/ www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.

Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23h

Extortion. 8/ www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/09/m...

‘It’s extortion’: Brown, Dartmouth faculty urge schools to resist Trump bid to reshape higher education - The Boston Globe

“You must refuse all unlawful demands and political threats that would undermine our academic freedom and self-governance,” read a petition signed by 500 members of the Dartmouth community.

www.bostonglobe.com