Heidi Kitrosser
@heidikitrosser.bsky.social
Law professor focusing on constitutional law, especially free speech, the separation of powers, and government secrecy. Friend to all dogs and cats. Champion procrastinator.
In so many ways, this administration is at war with reality.
NEC Director Kevin Hassett calls for @newyorkfed.org researchers to be "disciplined" for a study that shows US companies bear nearly 90% of the Trump tariff burden.
Indeed, the NY Fed conclusion differs from the Kiel Institute, which estimates 94%; and the CBO, which estimates 95%...
Indeed, the NY Fed conclusion differs from the Kiel Institute, which estimates 94%; and the CBO, which estimates 95%...
February 18, 2026 at 4:05 PM
In so many ways, this administration is at war with reality.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings.
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
February 18, 2026 at 1:14 PM
ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings.
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
This was a coordinated campaign begun in earnest with WWII that took shape in tree 1950s (see Nicole Hemmer's work).
I don't know what to do but just keep repeating it so I don't go insane: the rise & eventual total domination of RW media is the single most significant political development of my lifetime and the entirely of the US political & media elite resolutely refuse to discuss or even acknowledge it.
February 18, 2026 at 1:55 PM
This was a coordinated campaign begun in earnest with WWII that took shape in tree 1950s (see Nicole Hemmer's work).
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
The 2-month-old baby in ICE detention was so sick he was hospitalized and unresponsive last night. Despite that, today, he and his entire family were deported. Now we don’t know where they are or if the baby is receiving healthcare.
After a discussion with their attorney, I have confirmed that Juan, his 16-month-old sister, his mom, and his dad have been deported.
February 18, 2026 at 1:45 AM
The 2-month-old baby in ICE detention was so sick he was hospitalized and unresponsive last night. Despite that, today, he and his entire family were deported. Now we don’t know where they are or if the baby is receiving healthcare.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
February 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I just posted my article, “Presidentialism at the Highest Ebb: Executive Power in the Age of Trump,” on @ssrn.bsky.social. The paper is forthcoming in the Dayton Law Review.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM
I just posted my article, “Presidentialism at the Highest Ebb: Executive Power in the Age of Trump,” on @ssrn.bsky.social. The paper is forthcoming in the Dayton Law Review.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
In this thread, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says 2-month-old baby Juan Nicolás was sent back to Dilley — the main immigration detention facility for families in the U.S. — just hours after he was “unresponsive” while hospitalized for bronchitis
I have an update on Juan Nicolás, the 2-month-old baby detained at Dilley, and his mother.
February 17, 2026 at 7:48 PM
In this thread, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says 2-month-old baby Juan Nicolás was sent back to Dilley — the main immigration detention facility for families in the U.S. — just hours after he was “unresponsive” while hospitalized for bronchitis
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
Springsteen planned his opening show in Minneapolis.
We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair — the cavalry is coming! Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring from Minneapolis to California to Texas to Washington, D.C. for the Land of Hope And Dreams American Tour.
February 17, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Springsteen planned his opening show in Minneapolis.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
polycrisis is the perfect framework to understand the mutually causal realtionship between antipress authoritarianism, oligarchism, and journalism's broken political economy. You can't understand the censorship of CBS outside of the context of the absence of robust public media or ownership controls
I have an essay out today that examines and proposes interventions against the cascading layers of "media capture" that lead to this kind of egregious censorship: lpeproject.org/blog/the-ame...
February 17, 2026 at 5:56 PM
polycrisis is the perfect framework to understand the mutually causal realtionship between antipress authoritarianism, oligarchism, and journalism's broken political economy. You can't understand the censorship of CBS outside of the context of the absence of robust public media or ownership controls
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I appreciate this thoughtful review by @leahlitman.bsky.social of my article on the 1A law of jawboning. Jawboning is the dominant mode of speech reg of the Trump admin. So it is impt to understand the signif (if underenforced) constraints the 1A imposes.... conlaw.jotwell.com/throwing-the...
Throwing the Supreme Court/Free Speech A Bone - Constitutional Law
Genevieve Lakier, Enforcing the First Amendment in an Era of Jawboning, __ Univ. Chi. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2026), available at SSRN (Mar. 01, 2025).Leah LitmanToo often, our “free speech culture” ...
conlaw.jotwell.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:19 PM
I appreciate this thoughtful review by @leahlitman.bsky.social of my article on the 1A law of jawboning. Jawboning is the dominant mode of speech reg of the Trump admin. So it is impt to understand the signif (if underenforced) constraints the 1A imposes.... conlaw.jotwell.com/throwing-the...
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
have you or someone you know had to find care for your pet after being detained by ICE? are you in hiding and worried about vet care? i am working on a story about what happens to pets during the ICE surge. DM me or email sstroozas@mpr.org
February 17, 2026 at 5:19 PM
have you or someone you know had to find care for your pet after being detained by ICE? are you in hiding and worried about vet care? i am working on a story about what happens to pets during the ICE surge. DM me or email sstroozas@mpr.org
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I’m thrilled, yes, & also stunned and bewildered, to announce that my job talk paper, Religion as Public Law, will be published in the Yale Law Journal next year. 1/6
February 17, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I’m thrilled, yes, & also stunned and bewildered, to announce that my job talk paper, Religion as Public Law, will be published in the Yale Law Journal next year. 1/6
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I wrote about the time Jesse Jackson brought the movement to Sesame Street. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
When Jesse Jackson Came to ‘Sesame Street’: ‘I Am! Somebody!’
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:06 PM
I wrote about the time Jesse Jackson brought the movement to Sesame Street. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
Bari Weiss built her career in part by whining about how the left was supposedly censoring conservatives. “The Free Press” - the unironic title of her publication - ran numerous pieces about a “censorship-industrial complex.”
Now, under her watch, we get to see real censorship - and hypocrisy.
Now, under her watch, we get to see real censorship - and hypocrisy.
Stephen Colbert blasted Brendan Carr after FCC scrutiny led CBS to pull an interview with Texas State Rep James Talarico. Instead, 'The Late Show' posted it to YouTube.
Colbert Says CBS Pulled Guest Over FCC Scrutiny; Posts Interview to YouTube Instead
Stephen Colbert blasted Brendan Carr after FCC scrutiny led CBS to pull an interview with Texas State Rep James Talarico. Instead, 'The Late Show' posted it to YouTube.
dlvr.it
February 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Bari Weiss built her career in part by whining about how the left was supposedly censoring conservatives. “The Free Press” - the unironic title of her publication - ran numerous pieces about a “censorship-industrial complex.”
Now, under her watch, we get to see real censorship - and hypocrisy.
Now, under her watch, we get to see real censorship - and hypocrisy.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
I remember this airing live and thinking "Whoa, an Important Person is honoring Dr. Seuss by being funny!" Repeatedly emphasizing "I" in "Sam I Am" is the kind of joke only an experienced orator would even think to make
February 17, 2026 at 3:11 PM
I remember this airing live and thinking "Whoa, an Important Person is honoring Dr. Seuss by being funny!" Repeatedly emphasizing "I" in "Sam I Am" is the kind of joke only an experienced orator would even think to make
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
We don't need to look to another country for a comparison. All Black people, including free Black people before the Reconstruction Amendments had to produce proof of how they became free on demand. Whites routinely presumed someone with Black skin o be enslaved w/ the burden on African Americans. 1/
" In a free society, the burden cannot be on us to prove our legal status on demand. Otherwise, we’d be a country where everyone — citizens and non-citizens alike — must be prepared at all times to prove their legal right to be here. We’d be a cliched “papers, please” dystopia..."
New at The Watch:
The Democrats' demands to "reform" Trump's immigration thugs aren't reforms at all. They're already the law, the Constitution, and widely accepted police practices. And in a free society, they'd never be negotiable.
The Democrats' demands to "reform" Trump's immigration thugs aren't reforms at all. They're already the law, the Constitution, and widely accepted police practices. And in a free society, they'd never be negotiable.
February 17, 2026 at 3:11 PM
We don't need to look to another country for a comparison. All Black people, including free Black people before the Reconstruction Amendments had to produce proof of how they became free on demand. Whites routinely presumed someone with Black skin o be enslaved w/ the burden on African Americans. 1/
Meanwhile, they're happy to throw children into cold, tiny cells with worm-ridden food.
His alleged mistress left her precious heated blanket on the other plane, so Corey Lewandowski demanded the pilot turn the plane around to go get it.
When he refused, Lewandowski -- who has zero authority to fire anyone at any time -- tried to fire the pilot IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLIGHT.
When he refused, Lewandowski -- who has zero authority to fire anyone at any time -- tried to fire the pilot IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLIGHT.
it's even worse than first reported
the fucking guy caused an inflight disruption so bad the pilot had to leave the command deck then he was like I RELIEVE U OF DUTY
absolute toddler baby shit brained government at the highest levels
the fucking guy caused an inflight disruption so bad the pilot had to leave the command deck then he was like I RELIEVE U OF DUTY
absolute toddler baby shit brained government at the highest levels
February 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Meanwhile, they're happy to throw children into cold, tiny cells with worm-ridden food.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
Very happy to announce that The Chadha Presidency is now forthcoming in the @georgetownlj.bsky.social! ssrn.com/abstract=536...
ssrn.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Very happy to announce that The Chadha Presidency is now forthcoming in the @georgetownlj.bsky.social! ssrn.com/abstract=536...
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
As an attorney with occasional experience with the Equal Time rule, I can explain what's going on here and how the FCC's Brandon Carr is leveraging his position to force late night and daytime talk show hosts to exclude Democratic candidates.
First I need to explain the Equal Time rule itself. 1/
First I need to explain the Equal Time rule itself. 1/
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:37 PM
As an attorney with occasional experience with the Equal Time rule, I can explain what's going on here and how the FCC's Brandon Carr is leveraging his position to force late night and daytime talk show hosts to exclude Democratic candidates.
First I need to explain the Equal Time rule itself. 1/
First I need to explain the Equal Time rule itself. 1/
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
Immigration is also an important part of solving the aging-society challenges that confront Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Crazy that we are going the other direction. (That we are doing it because the governing party wants ethnic cleansing adds moral outrage to the economic insanity.)
We Cannot Win unless we say immigration is good.
The thing that made the US economy great is immigration. For real. It was our superpower: birth rates fall as countries become more rich but we welcome immigrant. And our university and tech economic sectors are strong due to immigrant talent.
The thing that made the US economy great is immigration. For real. It was our superpower: birth rates fall as countries become more rich but we welcome immigrant. And our university and tech economic sectors are strong due to immigrant talent.
February 16, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Immigration is also an important part of solving the aging-society challenges that confront Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Crazy that we are going the other direction. (That we are doing it because the governing party wants ethnic cleansing adds moral outrage to the economic insanity.)
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
Breaking my social media hiatus to share some good news! I’ve just signed a deal with Basic Books for my next book, Impunity, which uncovers the right’s decades-long effort to destroy political accountability and protect their friends in power. I’m so excited for this one!
February 16, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Breaking my social media hiatus to share some good news! I’ve just signed a deal with Basic Books for my next book, Impunity, which uncovers the right’s decades-long effort to destroy political accountability and protect their friends in power. I’m so excited for this one!
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
This is a subtle point but I’ll try it out as a “yes, and”: What Minnesota (not just Minneapolis) showed us is even bigger than “love your neighbor,” because in Minnesota, “neighbor” is a more expansive category than proximity. It’s anyone who needs help.
My theory of the moment: The extraordinary courage of ordinary people in places like Minneapolis is reawakening us to our social and economic ties to immigrants. It's making "love thy neighbor" cool again. That's the ultimate antidote to MAGA hate.
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Thoughts on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
February 16, 2026 at 11:12 PM
This is a subtle point but I’ll try it out as a “yes, and”: What Minnesota (not just Minneapolis) showed us is even bigger than “love your neighbor,” because in Minnesota, “neighbor” is a more expansive category than proximity. It’s anyone who needs help.
This is beautiful. Sourcing in the linked thread.
I just stumbled across this and thought some of you might like to see it. A letter from E.B. White to a man who'd written he'd lost all hope:
February 17, 2026 at 1:26 AM
This is beautiful. Sourcing in the linked thread.
Reposted by Heidi Kitrosser
If you are wondering what words the all-male Congress found so "blasphemous" that they felt compelled to literally scrape them off the monument, they were: ''Woman, first denied a soul, then called mindless, now arisen, declared herself an entity to be reckoned.''
On this day in 1921, Congress reluctantly accepted a sculpture memorializing women’s 19th A victory. Congress relegated the memorial to the Capitol’s crypt & painted over the feminist inscription. The statue stayed entombed in the crypt for 76 years. The inscription is still not restored. #WeTheMen
February 16, 2026 at 4:35 PM
If you are wondering what words the all-male Congress found so "blasphemous" that they felt compelled to literally scrape them off the monument, they were: ''Woman, first denied a soul, then called mindless, now arisen, declared herself an entity to be reckoned.''