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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 6d

I ask because this was raised around the law firm deals (and I’m working on a paper exploring executive conditions in general). Q’s about whether ultra vires contracts are enforceable have also come up, www.justsecurity.org/110996/presi...

No, the President Cannot Enforce the Law-Firm Deals

The authors argue that President Trump's agreements with law firms are legally unenforceable. And the consequences that follow.

www.justsecurity.org

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 6d

Aware of anyone clarifying for universities whether they could be liable under state fraud/bribery/kickback law for signing this and getting induced grants to the extent that the promised benefits might be ultra vires and so outside supremacy clause preemption under In re Neagle?

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 6d

“If the President could later alter the bargain by negating provisions they disfavored, why would senators or representatives ever vote for a package including provisions they dislike?”

-Me, Pasachoff & Price last spring on how appropriations presidentialism causes shutdowns. tinyurl.com/59uwsu42

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 8d

For my part, I focus on the separation of powers side of shutdowns in my Columbia Law Review paper, Disappropriation. tinyurl.com/mr45twe5

And I talk about who pays for shutdowns in my @yalelawjournal.bsky.social paper, Subordination and Separation of Powers. tinyurl.com/bp8j3tnk

DISAPPROPRIATION - Columbia Law Review

Introduction “Here an appropriation is less a grant of money than an act of duty, to which the Constitution, that is, the will of the nation, obliges us.” “We need to handle our financial situation.” ...

www.columbialawreview.org

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 8d

For anyone trying to understand how government shutdowns work, I will post a couple pieces I've done on them in the reply. But first I'd read @joshchafetz.bsky.social on "Congress's Constitution." yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Congress's Constitution

A leading scholar of Congress and the Constitution analyzes Congress’s surprisingly potent set of tools in the system of checks and balances. Congress is w...

yalebooks.yale.edu

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 11d

Now, there have been arguments in the past that section 687 empowering GAO to sue is itself unconstitutional.

But at this point, if the courts are going to say that, we need them to actually do so—and then, if 687 is unconstitutional, they should sever any preclusion and let APA suits in.

Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 11d

On this: One reason the Supreme Court just said others can’t sue is *because Congress gave the power to GAO*. But GAO hasn’t sued.

Right or wrong, yesterday’s ruling is SCOTUS’s invitation for GAO to go to court. GAO works for Congress, so it will be interesting to see if members call for this.

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 11d

On this: One reason the Supreme Court just said others can’t sue is *because Congress gave the power to GAO*. But GAO hasn’t sued.

Right or wrong, yesterday’s ruling is SCOTUS’s invitation for GAO to go to court. GAO works for Congress, so it will be interesting to see if members call for this.

Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · 12d

Delighted to share that “Platform Politicization and the Constitution” is forthcoming in Emory Law Journal. The paper explores what open integration b/w social media platforms and political parties would/will mean for freedoms of speech and association.

Sharing abstract, dm for draft!

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Doron Dorfman @dorfmandoron.bsky.social · Jun 5

Fascinating(yet depressing) plenary session at the Health Law Professors Conference ft. @ninakohn.bsky.social @mayamanian.bsky.social @mblawrence.bsky.social Medha Makhlouf Joan Krause Aaron Kessleheim: Updates on healthcare law & policy in tumultuous times. #HLP2025

A panel of 7 people of different races and genders sitting at a table

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

@alvinvelazquez @alvinvelazquez.bsky.social · May 24

I always like to see what other LPE and LPE Adjacent Scholars are up to. Thanks to @lpeblog.bsky.social for highlighting my article alongside other people whom I like reading such as @mblawrence.bsky.social, Bijal Shah, and Fred Jacobs, amongst others.

LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · May 22

With summer just around the corner, are you looking to indulge in some juicy, page-turning scholarship?

Today, the Blog highlights some of the hottest new forthcoming LPE and LPE-adjacent articles. 🔥🔥

Some of the Best New LPE and LPE-Adjacent Scholarship

With summer just around the corner, are you looking to indulge in some juicy, page-turning scholarship? As always, the Blog has you covered with our biannual roundup of some of our favorite…

lpeproject.org

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 21

"Within only a couple months, Sewell became addicted to the app."

Big decision denying motion to dismiss on 1A grounds today in Garcia v. Character A.I., the first case against a chatbot for allegedly contributing to a teen's death.

Full opinion here: tinyurl.com/496s4epn

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · May 20

My book won the 2025 Neustadt award for best book on the American presidency.

Presidents enact bad policies, on purpose, because it helps them define their brand & gives the impression they're in charge. If that basic message resonates, please give it some of your reading time: lnkd.in/dVPsriXt

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 20

Surreal honor to be among a truly impressive list of experts recently appointed to serve as public members and senior fellows of the Administrative Conference of the United States. www.acus.gov/article/admi...

Administrative Conference Appoints New Public Members and Senior Fellows | Administrative Conference of the United States

www.acus.gov

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 19

Thank you to the wonderful editors of the Indiana Law Journal for bringing "Super-Groups: Legal Empowerment and Public Law" to print!

My best effort to explore who the "powerful" are and the role of law in making them that way.

www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol100/i...

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Rachel Sachs @rachelsachs.bsky.social · May 12

There's relatively little substantive content in the text of the MFN EO, but this section is emblematic of the many, many questions people should have about its scope. Where will the Secretary get this pricing information? How will they decide "price targets"? For which drugs? Which countries? Etc.

Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other relevant executive department and agency (agency) officials, communicate most-favored-nation price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring prices for American patients in line with comparably developed nations.

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Guha Krishnamurthi @ggkrishnamoomoo.bsky.social · May 12

Sharing some of my thoughts on the unconstitutionality of impoundment at @dorfonlaw.bsky.social

Thoughts welcome!

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · May 12

Each of the Trump admin's funding cutoffs to universities, agencies, NGOs, etc., violates its own specific statutory and constitutional provisions. The overall approach is also unconstitutional impoundment in violation of separation of powers, as @ggkrishnamoomoo.bsky.social explains on the blog.👇

Clinton v. City of New York, Line-Item Vetoes, and Impoundment

In the whirlwind of constitutional questions, I want to return to the issue of impoundment. Impoundment refers to the President withholding ...

www.dorfonlaw.org

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 12

Thanks Josh!

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 12

Thank you!

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Rohan Grey @rohangrey.bsky.social · May 6

"in effect the early second Trump Administration seems to have substituted OMB’s legal authority over apportionment (which now must be exercised transparently) with DOGE’s functional control over federal payment systems"

www.yalejreg.com/nc/secret-co...

Great piece on by @mblawrence.bsky.social

Secret Conditions Move from DOGE to OMB, by Matthew B. Lawrence - Yale Journal on Regulation

As Eloise Pasachoff, Zachary Price, and I describe in a forthcoming essay, the second Trump Administration is implementing unilateral executive control over federal spending—or “appropriations preside...

www.yalejreg.com

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · May 11

Very cool-looking new paper from Dave Pozen and @mblawrence.bsky.social. Check it out! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design

The United States makes bad choices when it comes to psychoactive drugs. Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), U.S. drug law has simultaneously fueled mass

papers.ssrn.com

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 6

Thanks @gaiabernstein.bsky.social and Seattle L. Rev.!

Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 6

Aspects of social media regulation we address:
1. Is "addiction" the right word?
2. Epistemic bias and how it distorts the conversation
3. How industry bends science
4. Do we consent to being conditioned?
5. The costs of phone bans
6. Some ways kids are different

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · May 6

Incredible to see "Moral Panic or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs and Gambling for 'Addictive' Design" now out in print!

With my amazing @EmoryLaw 2L coauthor, Kevin Yan.

When was the last time you saw a Music Man epigraph?

digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcont...

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Matthew Lawrence @mblawrence.bsky.social · Apr 29

Doing our best to explain what is going on with checks and balances when it comes to federal spending!

Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · Apr 29

On Lawfare Daily, @mollyereynolds.bsky.social spoke to @mblawrence.bsky.social‬, Eloise Pasachoff, and Zach Price about their new paper on “Appropriations Presidentialism,” or how the executive branch attempts to control the process of allocating federal funds at the expense of Congress.

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Reposted by Matthew Lawrence

Dan Deacon @dtdeacon.bsky.social · Apr 28

Over at the Notice and Comment blog, today's Ad Law Reading Room entry is "Appropriations Presidentialism," by @mblawrence.bsky.social, Eloise Pasachoff, and Zachary Price. Check it out! www.yalejreg.com/nc/ad-law-re...

Ad Law Reading Room: "Appropriations Presidentialism," by Lawrence, Pasachoff, and Price - Yale Journal on Regulation

Today’s Ad Law Reading Room entry is “Appropriations Presidentialism,” by Matthew B. Lawrence, Eloise Pasachoff, and Zachary S. Price, which is forthcoming in the Georgetown Law Journal Online. Here i...

www.yalejreg.com

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