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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 14h

Find me when Collins's talking stick appears.

Burgess Everett @burgessev.bsky.social · 14h

Is it time for ... a Senate shutdown GANG?

Coons: “A couple more days of this, and you'll have a group of senators at least trying"

Murkowski: “For the Democrats to switch their vote ... you have to have some germ of an idea as to where we go once we get it open"

www.semafor.com/article/10/0...

Could a bipartisan Senate gang stop the shutdown?

Senators once locked arms across the aisle on infrastructure, immigration, and more. Some in the chamber think that’s the way out of the current crisis.

www.semafor.com

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Reposted by Molly Reynolds

Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 4d

On Lawfare Daily, @mollyereynolds.bsky.social spoke to @nicholasbednar.bsky.social and Sam Berger about how the Trump administration is using this government shutdown to pursue RIFs and how to think about the shutdown in the broader context of the Trump administration’s exercise of executive power.

Lawfare Daily: The Law of the Shutdown

YouTube video by Lawfare

youtu.be

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 8d

you're really burying the lede by failing to mention that said reign involved lamberth ordering the severing of the internet connections of parts of the interior department *more than once* www.govexec.com/federal-news...

Judge severs Interior Department Web connections again

www.govexec.com

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 13d

Will admit that, in the *extremely* large number of hours I spent thinking about pandemic-era congressional operations between 2020 and 2022, "if one lies during testimony delivered remotely, where is one possibly indicted?" did not cross my mind.

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 13d

I had wondered how Comey could be indicted in EDVA for lying to Congress, which is in DC. I had forgotten that during the pandemic you could testify from the friendly confines of home!

Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 13d

It was on Zoom!

cc @ericcolumbus.bsky.social @kovarsky.bsky.social

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 15d

Oh, and underappreciated point: even if Congress avoids a shutdown now, they're just kicking the can down the road for some number of weeks and this core tension will still be here when a CR runs out.

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 15d

No prediction, but here's the big tension imo:

1. Dems are facing pressure to "fight" for the sake of "fighting" in a way that is newer to them than to the GOP.
2. A shutdown is at odds with one of the core reasons someone becomes a congressional Democrat: government should work and do things.

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 15d

Has @mollyereynolds.bsky.social issued a shutdown / no shutdown prediction yet?

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 18d

One unexpected consequence of the Senate's recent changes vis-a-vis nominations? The absolute number it has done on the vote page on senate dot gov. So much more scrolling!

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 18d

Knowing that the Senate lost some official papers in mid-2020 makes me feel better about any number of things my brain failed at during that year.

ringwiss @ringwiss.bsky.social · 18d

TIL.

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Reposted by Molly Reynolds

NYU Law Democracy Project @democracyproject.bsky.social · 18d

🟣11 New from @mollyereynolds.bsky.social @brookings.edu — "When It Comes to Its Spending Power, Congress Must Save Itself"

Part of the Democracy Project’s @nyulaw.bsky.social w.bsky.social 100 Ideas in 100 Days series

Read the full essay 👉

When It Comes to its Spending Power, Congress Must Save Itself

A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

democracyproject.org

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 19d

Good morning to everyone but mostly to the person who designed this pop-up that greets you on the House Appropriations Committee Democrats' web site.

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 26d

Each year on this day, I return to this, and while it hits a little differently from one year to the next, I still feel this deeply each time.

"I am only humbled: to be here, to be alive." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/wel...

Welcoming Remarks Made at a Literary Reading, 9/25/01

Every year, we wonder what might be appropriate on this day, and we can never think of anything more appropriate than this piece, which John Hodgma...

www.mcsweeneys.net

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 26d

I am once again reminding you that behind so many stories you see about D.C. is a real city full of real people just trying to live regular lives and not simply a platform on which things happen. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

They watched ICE detain their dad. Now D.C. neighbors escort them to school.

Immigrant neighborhoods across the District have organized “walking school buses” to shuttle kids to classes during President Donald Trump’s federalization of D.C. police.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · 29d

The "we should have more younger members of Congress" conversation isn't just about things like whether committee chair term limits choke off paths to power. It's also about things like this.

Annie Karni @anniekarni.bsky.social · 29d

Juggling Congress and Life, She Opted to Freeze Her Eggs

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...

Juggling Congress and Life, She Opted to Freeze Her Eggs

www.nytimes.com

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Sep 5

take it up with the census bureau?

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Reposted by Molly Reynolds

Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · Sep 2

On Lawfare Daily, @mollyereynolds.bsky.social, Zach Price, and Philip Wallach discuss pocket rescissions as an approach to cancelling funds previously approved by Congress.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Sep 2

the source of the single weirdest thing, imo, in the unexpectedly large universe of weird post-viral things that happen in kids

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

that's your lane, dooling, not mine :).

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

i think the original provision is actually in the FSGG title, in the government-wide general provisions section. it repeats in the FY24 omni (www.congress.gov/118/plaws/pu..., pp. 117-18). I don't *think* there's anything in the FY25 CR that changes that provision but I'm less confident.

www.congress.gov

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

this is like my personal catnip. standby.

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

And last but certainly not least, this, from folks at @protectdemocracy.org, on why the historical examples used by pocket rescissions advocates don't necessarily provide a basis for the practice. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/past...

Past Pocket Rescissions Are Not Precedents for Power Vought Claims

A deeper look at the examples cited by Trump’s OMB and how Congress fought back against those late rescissions from Presidents Ford and Carter. 

www.lawfaremedia.org

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

And then I'd recommend this, from @pwallach.bsky.social, which articulates nicely why the practice is bad for Congress www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lega...

Pocket Rescissions: Legal Controversy and Political Meaning

If the power of the purse is at all dear to Congress, legislators will need to fight back against this maneuver to cut spending. 

www.lawfaremedia.org

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

You can move on to @bbkogan.bsky.social on "what is a pocket rescission?" www.americanprogress.org/article/what...

What Is a Pocket Rescission?

Understanding President Donald Trump and Russ Vought’s new plan to illegally stop spending.

www.americanprogress.org

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 29

If you need some pre-Labor Day weekend reading on pocket rescissions (and who doesn't), I have the list for you! You can start with GAO itself, which cuts to the chase with "Are pocket rescissions legal? No." www.gao.gov/blog/what-po...

www.gao.gov

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 26

best news about someone who's not usually in dc being present here that i've heard all week.

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Molly Reynolds @mollyereynolds.bsky.social · Aug 6

and (3) last but certainly not least, GAO itself, which includes the characteristically direct statement "are pocket rescissions legal? No." www.gao.gov/blog/what-po...

What is a “Pocket Rescission” and is It Legal?

You may have heard of a “pocket veto,” but maybe not a “pocket rescission.” In both cases, timing is key. But unlike pocket vetoes, pocket rescissions aren’t allowed. As we approach the end of the fis...

www.gao.gov

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