Dan Walters
@profdanwalters.bsky.social
Law professor at Texas A&M University School of Law, specializing in administrative law. Views are mine alone. Dog pictured is Oliver Wendell Holmes Walters Jr. (RIP 2025)
https://law.tamu.edu/faculty-staff/find-people/faculty-profiles/daniel-e.-walters
https://law.tamu.edu/faculty-staff/find-people/faculty-profiles/daniel-e.-walters
Come for the CLE, stay for the admin law enlightenment.
Can you help me get the word out? We are having trouble reaching government attorneys due to the shutdown.
This is 6 hours of CLE of FREE through the ABA. But you don’t have to be an attorney to sign up!
Thread of topics we will cover:
This is 6 hours of CLE of FREE through the ABA. But you don’t have to be an attorney to sign up!
Thread of topics we will cover:
NEWS! The ABA Admin Law Conference is FREE this year, in light of the shutdown. Great for admin law practitioners, academics, and students. It'll be Nov. 21 but you'll also be able to access recordings for 30 days afterwards.
6 FREE hours of CLE (approvals pending), including 3 ethics hours:
6 FREE hours of CLE (approvals pending), including 3 ethics hours:
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Come for the CLE, stay for the admin law enlightenment.
Really interesting from @donmoyn.bsky.social: the ball is up in the air in the court of public opinion when it comes to the value of independence in administration. Lots of tactical implications of this for our politics.
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
October 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Really interesting from @donmoyn.bsky.social: the ball is up in the air in the court of public opinion when it comes to the value of independence in administration. Lots of tactical implications of this for our politics.
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
This is very encouraging.
Student government leaders of MIT, UVA, U of AZ, Dartmouth, UPenn, Brown, and Vanderbilt united in their opposition to the "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
October 15, 2025 at 9:39 PM
This is very encouraging.
Remarkable that just a year out from Loper Bright you have judges who were previously Chevron critics beginning opinions this way.
media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/doc...
media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/doc...
October 15, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Remarkable that just a year out from Loper Bright you have judges who were previously Chevron critics beginning opinions this way.
media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/doc...
media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/doc...
I've just been alerted to a "symposium" that is going on over at the Yale J on Reg Notice & Comment blog that seems designed to lend an air of legitimacy to some very extreme ideas about how admin law doesn't apply to deregulation. Surprised they're running this.
www.yalejreg.com/nc/foreword-...
www.yalejreg.com/nc/foreword-...
October 14, 2025 at 5:47 PM
I've just been alerted to a "symposium" that is going on over at the Yale J on Reg Notice & Comment blog that seems designed to lend an air of legitimacy to some very extreme ideas about how admin law doesn't apply to deregulation. Surprised they're running this.
www.yalejreg.com/nc/foreword-...
www.yalejreg.com/nc/foreword-...
Reposted by Dan Walters
A huge part of the problem is that we only hear from the partisan political appointees. There are many reasons why, but the vast majority of people have no idea what agency staff do and why their work is important. Michael Lewis has done a stellar job of highlighting this work, but it's rare.
We've long seen this kind of contingent partisan evaluation of other institutions, but as far as I know this is some of the first real evidence of it when it comes to administrative agencies. It makes sense: people could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that agencies just are the President.
Which agencies do Americans think are doing a good job?
Recent surveys have shown that how Republicans and Democrats view federal agencies has switched since Donald Trump became president again.
www.govexec.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM
A huge part of the problem is that we only hear from the partisan political appointees. There are many reasons why, but the vast majority of people have no idea what agency staff do and why their work is important. Michael Lewis has done a stellar job of highlighting this work, but it's rare.
We've long seen this kind of contingent partisan evaluation of other institutions, but as far as I know this is some of the first real evidence of it when it comes to administrative agencies. It makes sense: people could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that agencies just are the President.
Which agencies do Americans think are doing a good job?
Recent surveys have shown that how Republicans and Democrats view federal agencies has switched since Donald Trump became president again.
www.govexec.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:28 PM
We've long seen this kind of contingent partisan evaluation of other institutions, but as far as I know this is some of the first real evidence of it when it comes to administrative agencies. It makes sense: people could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that agencies just are the President.
I'll add that what Nelson is saying here is completely unoriginal. SCOTUS has barreled ahead with the unitary executive theory DESPITE a surfeit of evidence rebutting it, and all Nelson does here is (finally) acknowledge that fact.
please do not get excited about this, signed a law professor who wishes law professors had this much power www.rawstory.com/humphreys-ex...
'Bombshell!' Ex-clerk to Clarence Thomas sends shockwaves with Supreme Court warning
The U.S. Supreme Court seems almost certain to side with President Donald Trump in an upcoming challenge to his authority to fire government officials for any reason, but a leading conservative legal ...
www.rawstory.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I'll add that what Nelson is saying here is completely unoriginal. SCOTUS has barreled ahead with the unitary executive theory DESPITE a surfeit of evidence rebutting it, and all Nelson does here is (finally) acknowledge that fact.
Somehow I missed this piece from Kate Andrias the other day, but she absolutely nails it. "Our Constitution is not dying. It is waiting — waiting for us to claim it."
Opinion | The Constitution Doesn’t Belong to Trump or the Supreme Court
www.nytimes.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Somehow I missed this piece from Kate Andrias the other day, but she absolutely nails it. "Our Constitution is not dying. It is waiting — waiting for us to claim it."
🔥
ICYMI, I did a blog post today at @lpeproject.bsky.social that’s really about the death of a 20 c mode of liberal/progressive politics. It’s about the need, as a first-order objective, to relegitimize the state around a representational legitimacy.
Rebuilding State Authority In A Post-Trump America
In the ruins of the administrative state after Trump, many on the left see an opportunity to design a New Deal-type reconstruction agenda. But building state capacity requires a government that is…
lpeproject.org
October 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
🔥
I'm old enough to remember when the talk of the town was how the libertarian wing of the GOP had seen the light and was working to deconstruct the politics of the "war on crime." Don't hear much about that anymore.
October 7, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I'm old enough to remember when the talk of the town was how the libertarian wing of the GOP had seen the light and was working to deconstruct the politics of the "war on crime." Don't hear much about that anymore.
Maybe I'm missing something about Danielle Allen's pitch to lean into the higher ed compact shakedown, but couldn't higher ed collaborate without the Trump admin? And so what would be the benefit of engaging Trump on his terms? Optics with Trump supporters? Are they ever going to support higher ed?
October 6, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Maybe I'm missing something about Danielle Allen's pitch to lean into the higher ed compact shakedown, but couldn't higher ed collaborate without the Trump admin? And so what would be the benefit of engaging Trump on his terms? Optics with Trump supporters? Are they ever going to support higher ed?
Our Center on the Structural Constitution, led by @crockeroncourts.bsky.social and Neil Siegel, has organized an amazing symposium with the Harvard Law Review on the politics and law of judicial review. And the best news is that you can attend online!
harvardlawreview.org/judicial-rev...
harvardlawreview.org/judicial-rev...
Judicial Review in Jeopardy? Symposium - Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is proud to host, in collaboration with the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law,...
harvardlawreview.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Our Center on the Structural Constitution, led by @crockeroncourts.bsky.social and Neil Siegel, has organized an amazing symposium with the Harvard Law Review on the politics and law of judicial review. And the best news is that you can attend online!
harvardlawreview.org/judicial-rev...
harvardlawreview.org/judicial-rev...
What I hear is a person who has no competence in anything other than performative grievance trying to distract us from that fact.
Hegseth: "No more dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship ... we are done with that shit."
September 30, 2025 at 12:48 PM
What I hear is a person who has no competence in anything other than performative grievance trying to distract us from that fact.
It is not remarked upon enough that many of the SCOTUS justices spent years peddling hysterics about agencies having an unfair advantage in litigation, and now that their preferred party firmly controls them, agencies can seemingly do no wrong.
September 27, 2025 at 2:44 AM
It is not remarked upon enough that many of the SCOTUS justices spent years peddling hysterics about agencies having an unfair advantage in litigation, and now that their preferred party firmly controls them, agencies can seemingly do no wrong.
This is a bluff, and not a particularly good one. As we've seen, layoffs can be challenged and workers can be reinstated. I hope the Democrats are not tricked by this empty threat.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
White House directs mass firings if there is a government shutdown
The Office of Management and Budget sent a memo to federal agencies Wednesday night instructing them to plan for staff reductions, including firings.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
This is a bluff, and not a particularly good one. As we've seen, layoffs can be challenged and workers can be reinstated. I hope the Democrats are not tricked by this empty threat.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Honestly, I'm not sure it makes much difference whether Humphrey's is overturned sub silentio on the shadow docket. It's not like a single good argument will be concocted while we wait for the merits. And it will be that much easier to restore agency independence in the future using this device.
September 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Honestly, I'm not sure it makes much difference whether Humphrey's is overturned sub silentio on the shadow docket. It's not like a single good argument will be concocted while we wait for the merits. And it will be that much easier to restore agency independence in the future using this device.
We all know how this will play out. We can never forget the role SCOTUS played in ending the rule of law.
OMG. Tom Homan was reportedly under FBI investigation for taking $50,000 in cash allegedly in exchange for a commitment to steer government contracts to a specific company. The entire thing was recorded, as it was an FBI sting operation.
The Trump admin dropped the investigation entirely.
The Trump admin dropped the investigation entirely.
Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.
The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.
www.msnbc.com
September 20, 2025 at 11:46 PM
We all know how this will play out. We can never forget the role SCOTUS played in ending the rule of law.
Wow. I hope he uses his newfound freedom to say what he really thinks about the assault on academic freedom here, and I really hope it isn't that "this is about academic responsibility, not academic freedom," because that didn't really do much for anybody.
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/18/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/18/t...
Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III to step down after a week of turmoil over viral classroom video
Calls for Welsh’s ousting intensified over his handling of a student’s complaints about gender identity discussions in a children’s literature class.
www.texastribune.org
September 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Wow. I hope he uses his newfound freedom to say what he really thinks about the assault on academic freedom here, and I really hope it isn't that "this is about academic responsibility, not academic freedom," because that didn't really do much for anybody.
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/18/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/18/t...
What a cool diagram from @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social and @progressivereform.bsky.social showing the changes from the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda to the (recently issued) Spring 2025 Unified Agenda.
progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/tru...
progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/tru...
September 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM
What a cool diagram from @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social and @progressivereform.bsky.social showing the changes from the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda to the (recently issued) Spring 2025 Unified Agenda.
progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/tru...
progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/tru...
"He seemed perversely unaware that those accursed unelected officials downtown are now our unelected officials."
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said former Trump adviser Elon Musk was “backward” in his efforts to cut government waste through the firings led by the U.S. DOGE Service.
Lutnick says Musk was ‘backward’ in cutting government
The commerce secretary said the billionaire’s efforts focused too much on reducing the workforce rather than targeting waste.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 13, 2025 at 12:07 AM
"He seemed perversely unaware that those accursed unelected officials downtown are now our unelected officials."
This just goes to show you that there isn't an end in sight to the censorship once you open that door.
OH NO NOT ROBERT DAHL
September 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
This just goes to show you that there isn't an end in sight to the censorship once you open that door.
All I see in this video is a student disrupting class on a subject that is still well within academic freedom. Sad to see that my University is being attacked by opportunists and zealots and that we appear to be caving. We know caving won't stop them.
share.google/pfb4Hjak0F9X...
share.google/pfb4Hjak0F9X...
Video of clash over gender-identity content in Texas A&M children’s lit class leads to firings
After the video fueled outrage, two college leaders were removed from their administrative roles for approving plans to teach content inconsistent with the course’s published description.
share.google
September 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
All I see in this video is a student disrupting class on a subject that is still well within academic freedom. Sad to see that my University is being attacked by opportunists and zealots and that we appear to be caving. We know caving won't stop them.
share.google/pfb4Hjak0F9X...
share.google/pfb4Hjak0F9X...
Kavanaugh is getting an earful right now, which means we will soon be hearing about respect for the Court. These jusices, man--they just are not ready for the responsibility they have. Going forward, this needs to be part of the vetting process for all SCOTUS nominees: Can you handle criticism?
September 8, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Kavanaugh is getting an earful right now, which means we will soon be hearing about respect for the Court. These jusices, man--they just are not ready for the responsibility they have. Going forward, this needs to be part of the vetting process for all SCOTUS nominees: Can you handle criticism?