Nick Bednar
@nicholasbednar.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law; Affiliated Professor of Political Science at U. of Minnesota. AdLaw, Admin. Capacity, and the Federal Workforce. Contributing Editor for Lawfare; Nonresident Fellow at Brookings. Signal: Nbednar.46
Opinions are my own; Not UMN.
Opinions are my own; Not UMN.
Pinned
Civil Service
The federal government employs approximately 3 million individuals, making it the largest employer in the United States. Most of these employees enjoy tenure protections under the civil service law…
nbednar.com
By request, I updated my website with a list of all the essays and podcasts I have done on the civil service. I'll keep it updated as I write and speak.
nbednar.com/civil-servic...
nbednar.com/civil-servic...
Reposted by Nick Bednar
BREAKING: ICE has halted "all movement" at a Texas detention facility due to measles infections, DHS confirms.
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.
cbsn.ws
February 2, 2026 at 1:21 AM
BREAKING: ICE has halted "all movement" at a Texas detention facility due to measles infections, DHS confirms.
One Nobel nomination per officer who leaves! Final offer.
February 2, 2026 at 1:38 AM
One Nobel nomination per officer who leaves! Final offer.
Dear Donald,
If you could ask the ICE agents to leave the Kowalski's several blocks away just until I finish this paragraph, I would be tremendously grateful. As a quid pro quo, I will submit your name for the Nobel. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
If you could ask the ICE agents to leave the Kowalski's several blocks away just until I finish this paragraph, I would be tremendously grateful. As a quid pro quo, I will submit your name for the Nobel. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
February 2, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Dear Donald,
If you could ask the ICE agents to leave the Kowalski's several blocks away just until I finish this paragraph, I would be tremendously grateful. As a quid pro quo, I will submit your name for the Nobel. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
If you could ask the ICE agents to leave the Kowalski's several blocks away just until I finish this paragraph, I would be tremendously grateful. As a quid pro quo, I will submit your name for the Nobel. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Reposted by Nick Bednar
This is the direct result of a judicial order. Law isn’t magic but it can be powerful stuff.
Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
February 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM
This is the direct result of a judicial order. Law isn’t magic but it can be powerful stuff.
There is a special counsel when the government seeks to investigate the president but I don't think anyone have ever thought the president would sue the government in a personal capacity while in office.
February 1, 2026 at 3:02 AM
There is a special counsel when the government seeks to investigate the president but I don't think anyone have ever thought the president would sue the government in a personal capacity while in office.
I study the early American presidency with a focus on the Obama administration.
February 1, 2026 at 2:56 AM
I study the early American presidency with a focus on the Obama administration.
Because I agreed. Needs to be a book.
February 1, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Because I agreed. Needs to be a book.
It started six months ago when you last commented, "Maybe it should be a book."
February 1, 2026 at 2:52 AM
It started six months ago when you last commented, "Maybe it should be a book."
Not until I finish the civil service book. I can only have one moving target of a book project at a time.
February 1, 2026 at 2:49 AM
Not until I finish the civil service book. I can only have one moving target of a book project at a time.
Like the President argued that he had the power to demolish the East Wing because he receives ambassadors and I'm trying to decide if that's so tame that it needs to be cut.
February 1, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Like the President argued that he had the power to demolish the East Wing because he receives ambassadors and I'm trying to decide if that's so tame that it needs to be cut.
I have been trying to write an essay for four weeks now about Article II under the Trump administration and I keep having to restart because the draft never appropriately conveys the insanity of whatever happened during the last week.
Trump on his multiple suits against the federal government: "I'm supposed to work out a settlement with myself ... We could make it a substantial amount, nobody would care, because it's gonna go to numerous, very good charities."
February 1, 2026 at 2:39 AM
I have been trying to write an essay for four weeks now about Article II under the Trump administration and I keep having to restart because the draft never appropriately conveys the insanity of whatever happened during the last week.
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Dear journalists,
Once again, we implore you to include links to a judicial decision when making reference to said decision.
Thank you,
Everyone
Once again, we implore you to include links to a judicial decision when making reference to said decision.
Thank you,
Everyone
January 31, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Dear journalists,
Once again, we implore you to include links to a judicial decision when making reference to said decision.
Thank you,
Everyone
Once again, we implore you to include links to a judicial decision when making reference to said decision.
Thank you,
Everyone
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Judge Menendez denies Minnesota plaintiffs’ request to end Operation Metro Surge because they don’t meet the high bar set by the 10th Amendment, but she also points to what she doesn’t decide, including the legality of what ICE is doing on the ground.
January 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Judge Menendez denies Minnesota plaintiffs’ request to end Operation Metro Surge because they don’t meet the high bar set by the 10th Amendment, but she also points to what she doesn’t decide, including the legality of what ICE is doing on the ground.
Reposted by Nick Bednar
I'm not sure this has precise relevance to labor law, but I'm definitely putting it in my slides.
January 31, 2026 at 4:16 PM
I'm not sure this has precise relevance to labor law, but I'm definitely putting it in my slides.
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Important essay by my @umnlawschool.bsky.social colleague:
"The shootings of Good and Pretti were not mandated by the Constitution. But they were made possible, legible, defensible, and even absorbable, by a constitutional order more comfortable debating its limits than enforcing them."
"The shootings of Good and Pretti were not mandated by the Constitution. But they were made possible, legible, defensible, and even absorbable, by a constitutional order more comfortable debating its limits than enforcing them."
From Minneapolis, what many describe as a constitutional crisis looks very different on the ground.
EMMANUEL MAULEÓN on racialised suspicion, the erosion of Fourth Amendment protections, and the shift of state violence from the margins to the center.
verfassungsblog.de/a-letter-fro...
EMMANUEL MAULEÓN on racialised suspicion, the erosion of Fourth Amendment protections, and the shift of state violence from the margins to the center.
verfassungsblog.de/a-letter-fro...
January 31, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Important essay by my @umnlawschool.bsky.social colleague:
"The shootings of Good and Pretti were not mandated by the Constitution. But they were made possible, legible, defensible, and even absorbable, by a constitutional order more comfortable debating its limits than enforcing them."
"The shootings of Good and Pretti were not mandated by the Constitution. But they were made possible, legible, defensible, and even absorbable, by a constitutional order more comfortable debating its limits than enforcing them."
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Working on your PhD? Looking for dissertation funding?
The Russell Sage Foundation and the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research jointly support dissertation research on employment-related topics in any discipline.
#Fundsocsci, #Econsky, @russellsagefdn.bsky.social
The Russell Sage Foundation and the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research jointly support dissertation research on employment-related topics in any discipline.
#Fundsocsci, #Econsky, @russellsagefdn.bsky.social
January 31, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Working on your PhD? Looking for dissertation funding?
The Russell Sage Foundation and the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research jointly support dissertation research on employment-related topics in any discipline.
#Fundsocsci, #Econsky, @russellsagefdn.bsky.social
The Russell Sage Foundation and the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research jointly support dissertation research on employment-related topics in any discipline.
#Fundsocsci, #Econsky, @russellsagefdn.bsky.social
Reposted by Nick Bednar
🚨TONIGHT’S PROTEST IN MINNEAPOLIS IS INSANE:
CNN is STUNNED. Share this widely!
“I've covered many protests… I've not seen a crowd like this before.” It’s 8 degrees. “It is freezing, but nothing, nothing is stopping these people.”
This isn’t a rally. It’s a movement. @calltoactivism.bsky.social
CNN is STUNNED. Share this widely!
“I've covered many protests… I've not seen a crowd like this before.” It’s 8 degrees. “It is freezing, but nothing, nothing is stopping these people.”
This isn’t a rally. It’s a movement. @calltoactivism.bsky.social
January 31, 2026 at 12:59 AM
🚨TONIGHT’S PROTEST IN MINNEAPOLIS IS INSANE:
CNN is STUNNED. Share this widely!
“I've covered many protests… I've not seen a crowd like this before.” It’s 8 degrees. “It is freezing, but nothing, nothing is stopping these people.”
This isn’t a rally. It’s a movement. @calltoactivism.bsky.social
CNN is STUNNED. Share this widely!
“I've covered many protests… I've not seen a crowd like this before.” It’s 8 degrees. “It is freezing, but nothing, nothing is stopping these people.”
This isn’t a rally. It’s a movement. @calltoactivism.bsky.social
Reposted by Nick Bednar
A report from The Partnership for Public Service warned that the adoption of a plan formerly known as Schedule F would not fulfill the Trump administration’s stated ambitions of making agencies more effective and responsive, and could instead cost hundreds of millions of dollars. buff.ly/xHEYFKt
Schedule F won’t fix government’s performance management problems, report finds
The Partnership for Public Service warned that, contrary to proponents’ claims, there is “no evidence” that at-will employment improves employee or agency performance.
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 10:45 PM
A report from The Partnership for Public Service warned that the adoption of a plan formerly known as Schedule F would not fulfill the Trump administration’s stated ambitions of making agencies more effective and responsive, and could instead cost hundreds of millions of dollars. buff.ly/xHEYFKt
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
January 30, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
Reposted by Nick Bednar
Protesters carried a giant rendition of the U.S. Constitution through downtown Minneapolis on Friday, chanting "ICE out now."
📷️: Kyeland Jackson
📷️: Kyeland Jackson
January 30, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Protesters carried a giant rendition of the U.S. Constitution through downtown Minneapolis on Friday, chanting "ICE out now."
📷️: Kyeland Jackson
📷️: Kyeland Jackson
I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THIS
January 30, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THIS
Reposted by Nick Bednar
In 1 hour, @annabower.bsky.social, @rparloff.bsky.social, @mollyroberts.bsky.social, and @ericcolumbus.bsky.social will discuss the FBI searching a election office in Fulton County, Georgia, the arrest of protestors in Minnesota, and more live on YouTube.
Lawfare Live: Trials of the Trump Administration, Jan. 30
YouTube video by Lawfare
youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM
In 1 hour, @annabower.bsky.social, @rparloff.bsky.social, @mollyroberts.bsky.social, and @ericcolumbus.bsky.social will discuss the FBI searching a election office in Fulton County, Georgia, the arrest of protestors in Minnesota, and more live on YouTube.
Reposted by Nick Bednar
The Minnesota Star Tribune, @mprnews.org @minnesotareformer.com , @spokesmanrecorder.bsky.social, @sahanjournal.bsky.social, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association today released the following statement:
January 30, 2026 at 4:55 PM
The Minnesota Star Tribune, @mprnews.org @minnesotareformer.com , @spokesmanrecorder.bsky.social, @sahanjournal.bsky.social, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association today released the following statement:
I sneak this in every moment I get.
January 30, 2026 at 11:04 AM
I sneak this in every moment I get.