Layla A. Jones
@laylaayanna.bsky.social
Current political reporter at TPM | past economic equity reporter @ the Philadelphia Inquirer; Knight-Bagehot Fellow @ Columbia; Billy Penn & WHYY; Philadelphia City Council; The Philadelphia Tribune
Wednesday's SCOTUS hearing about Trump's sweeping tariffs saw liberal justices troll conservatives using two of their own most favored legal doctrines -- most often employed against Democratic presidents -- to imperil the validity of the tariffs talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-i...
Liberal Justices Cheekily Use Conservatives’ Favorite Legal Theories to Push For a Ruling Against Trump On Tariffs
Wednesday’s Supreme Court oral arguments on President Donald Trump’s use of an...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Wednesday's SCOTUS hearing about Trump's sweeping tariffs saw liberal justices troll conservatives using two of their own most favored legal doctrines -- most often employed against Democratic presidents -- to imperil the validity of the tariffs talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-i...
"It is not a coincidence." The Trump admin is stalling the rollout of a new race and ethnicity policy. Experts warn the delay could interfere with the 2030 census, ultimately helping the GOP in high-stakes fights over redistricting.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-r...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-r...
On Project 2025’s Recommendation, Trump Admin Targets New Census Initiative With Widespread Potential Impact
Quyen Dinh didn’t even remember that, in 2024, she was selected as...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"It is not a coincidence." The Trump admin is stalling the rollout of a new race and ethnicity policy. Experts warn the delay could interfere with the 2030 census, ultimately helping the GOP in high-stakes fights over redistricting.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-r...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-r...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
“The attempt to revive classical architecture under current political condition" is about dismantling "the institutions of civil rights. And so it speaks silently the language of white nationalism...That’s why it’s so effective, because it’s easily deniable.”
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
Trump Is Using ‘Classical Architecture’ as ‘A Dog Whistle for White Nationalists’
One of President Donald Trump’s final actions in his first administration was...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
“The attempt to revive classical architecture under current political condition" is about dismantling "the institutions of civil rights. And so it speaks silently the language of white nationalism...That’s why it’s so effective, because it’s easily deniable.”
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Columbia architectural historian Reinhold Martin tells @laylaayanna.bsky.social Trump's attempt to assert control over civic architecture is an offshoot of Project 2025’s goal to gut public welfare and government services.
“It’s a project of demolition."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
“It’s a project of demolition."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
Trump Is Using ‘Classical Architecture’ as ‘A Dog Whistle for White Nationalists’
One of President Donald Trump’s final actions in his first administration was...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Columbia architectural historian Reinhold Martin tells @laylaayanna.bsky.social Trump's attempt to assert control over civic architecture is an offshoot of Project 2025’s goal to gut public welfare and government services.
“It’s a project of demolition."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
“It’s a project of demolition."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Trump has
-ordered that new federal structures be built in the “classical” style
-paved over the Rose Garden
-ordered that 2 DC Confederate statues be restored
-proposed a triumphal arch in Arlington
-demolished part of the WH to make room for his $200M ballroom
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
-ordered that new federal structures be built in the “classical” style
-paved over the Rose Garden
-ordered that 2 DC Confederate statues be restored
-proposed a triumphal arch in Arlington
-demolished part of the WH to make room for his $200M ballroom
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
Trump Is Using ‘Classical Architecture’ as ‘A Dog Whistle for White Nationalists’
One of President Donald Trump’s final actions in his first administration was...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Trump has
-ordered that new federal structures be built in the “classical” style
-paved over the Rose Garden
-ordered that 2 DC Confederate statues be restored
-proposed a triumphal arch in Arlington
-demolished part of the WH to make room for his $200M ballroom
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
-ordered that new federal structures be built in the “classical” style
-paved over the Rose Garden
-ordered that 2 DC Confederate statues be restored
-proposed a triumphal arch in Arlington
-demolished part of the WH to make room for his $200M ballroom
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-c...
The Trump admin says the shutdown costs the economy $15B/week. But the healthcare program the GOP won't fund is around $35B/year. If money were really the issue, Republicans would be better off funding the vital health care program at the heart of the shutdown. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/governm...
What GOP Lawmakers Are Costing the US Economy to Avoid Funding Healthcare
Trump administration officials have been parrotting a $15 billion-per-week figure to estimate...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The Trump admin says the shutdown costs the economy $15B/week. But the healthcare program the GOP won't fund is around $35B/year. If money were really the issue, Republicans would be better off funding the vital health care program at the heart of the shutdown. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/governm...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
"Penn follows Brown University, which similarly said no to the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education on Wednesday, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which rejected the proposal last week." www.inquirer.com/education/pe...
Penn rejects Trump compact offered to colleges
Brown and MIT have also rejected the proposal, which would have given the White House influence over the universities' operations in exchange for preferential consideration in federal funding.
www.inquirer.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:39 PM
"Penn follows Brown University, which similarly said no to the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education on Wednesday, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which rejected the proposal last week." www.inquirer.com/education/pe...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Talking Points Memo is turning 25 and I wrote a little encomium to early blogging, which I sometimes miss: talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/what-...
What Made Blogging Different?
Whether I like it or not, the first line of my obituary...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Talking Points Memo is turning 25 and I wrote a little encomium to early blogging, which I sometimes miss: talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/what-...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Here’s an incomplete list of federal data and statistics that’ve been deleted or tampered with since Trump took office.
A Shortlist of Federal Data the Trump Administration Has Tampered With or Destroyed
The scale and scope of federal data and statistics that have been...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Here’s an incomplete list of federal data and statistics that’ve been deleted or tampered with since Trump took office.
With only 1 of the 2,000+ Bureau of Labor Statistics staffers now able to work, the government shutdown creates a unique opportunity for Trump to further interfere with data he doesn't like talkingpointsmemo.com/news/governm...
The Government Shutdown Is Helping Trump Obscure Federal Economic Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been forced to halt the publishing...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:59 PM
With only 1 of the 2,000+ Bureau of Labor Statistics staffers now able to work, the government shutdown creates a unique opportunity for Trump to further interfere with data he doesn't like talkingpointsmemo.com/news/governm...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
THIS is why you should follow @laylaayanna.bsky.social
Every Living Former Fed Chair is Urging the Supreme Court to Stop Trump from Removing Lisa Cook
Every living former Federal Reserve Chair, from Alan Greenspan to Janet Yellen,...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 26, 2025 at 2:05 AM
THIS is why you should follow @laylaayanna.bsky.social
A new trend or more of the same? After speaking to Trump voters in swing states, two things are clear: While national elites are spiraling, everyday Republicans are willing to reason away Trump's violations of free speech and absolve the president, again. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/maga-fr...
MAGA Elite Are Split on Protected Speech. Trump Voters, Not So Much
You could almost hear the gears turning in Owen Strickland II’s head...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 24, 2025 at 6:38 PM
A new trend or more of the same? After speaking to Trump voters in swing states, two things are clear: While national elites are spiraling, everyday Republicans are willing to reason away Trump's violations of free speech and absolve the president, again. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/maga-fr...
Congress could've pushed back against Trump's inflationary tariffs, but instead House Republicans have repeatedly voted to block their own authority. It's one more way the GOP is ceding more power to the president talkingpointsmemo.com/news/republi...
Republicans Could Stop Trump’s Tariffs, But Keep Voting to Make Themselves Powerless
If Congress wanted to push back against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Congress could've pushed back against Trump's inflationary tariffs, but instead House Republicans have repeatedly voted to block their own authority. It's one more way the GOP is ceding more power to the president talkingpointsmemo.com/news/republi...
New data shows the Black unemployment rate spiked while unemployment for every other racial group stayed about the same. That's NOT typical, even before a recession, and signals a "different kid of downturn." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/black-u...
Why the Spike in Black Unemployment Is an Alarming Sign of What’s to Come
Troubling and unusual unemployment numbers for Black Americans are signaling that the...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
New data shows the Black unemployment rate spiked while unemployment for every other racial group stayed about the same. That's NOT typical, even before a recession, and signals a "different kid of downturn." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/black-u...
President Donald Trump learned the hard way Friday morning that firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t change the facts: the economy is cooling, the unemployment rate is going up, and the number of job openings isn’t keeping pace.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/new-job...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/new-job...
New Jobs Report Shows Trump Can’t Control Data by Firing People He Doesn’t Like
President Donald Trump learned the hard way Friday morning that firing the...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 5, 2025 at 2:05 PM
President Donald Trump learned the hard way Friday morning that firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t change the facts: the economy is cooling, the unemployment rate is going up, and the number of job openings isn’t keeping pace.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/new-job...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/new-job...
The Trump admin has ironically continued to defend workers' rights in Mexico via a labor provision in the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, all while gutting collective bargaining for nearly 400k U.S. civil servants, more than 2.6% of American unionized workers
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-tru...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-tru...
The Trump Administration is Investigating Workers’ Rights in Mexico While Demolishing Them At Home
Just one minute before the White House distributed via email a new...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
The Trump admin has ironically continued to defend workers' rights in Mexico via a labor provision in the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, all while gutting collective bargaining for nearly 400k U.S. civil servants, more than 2.6% of American unionized workers
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-tru...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-tru...
An appeals court ruled most of Trump's tariffs are illegal, opening the door for the possibility that the U.S. govt will have to pay back the money its collected so far. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Trump’s Tariffs Are Illegal, Appeals Court Finds
An appeals court ruled 7-4 Friday evening that most of President Donald...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:58 PM
An appeals court ruled most of Trump's tariffs are illegal, opening the door for the possibility that the U.S. govt will have to pay back the money its collected so far. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Trump says that he is removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move and a significant escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank
Trump says he is removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook
President Donald Trump's move pushes the Federal Reserve into unchartered territory.
www.cnbc.com
August 26, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Trump says that he is removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move and a significant escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank
SCOOP: Trump's BLS pick E.J. Antoni -- who many economists have flagged as unqualified -- will face a hearing before the Senate HELP committee.
Over 30+ years, only 1 of the last 6 BLS chiefs had a committee hearing
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-e...
Over 30+ years, only 1 of the last 6 BLS chiefs had a committee hearing
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-e...
Trump’s Problematic Pick to Lead BLS Expected to Face Senate Hearing After All
E.J. Antoni, President Donald Trump’s problematic pick to lead the Bureau of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:47 PM
SCOOP: Trump's BLS pick E.J. Antoni -- who many economists have flagged as unqualified -- will face a hearing before the Senate HELP committee.
Over 30+ years, only 1 of the last 6 BLS chiefs had a committee hearing
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-e...
Over 30+ years, only 1 of the last 6 BLS chiefs had a committee hearing
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-e...
"Trump has been especially focused on targeting Black women in public life." so refreshing to work at a publication that can state this obvious truth plainly
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
How the New Attack on Lisa Cook Gives Away Trump’s Abuse of Power Game
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
"Trump has been especially focused on targeting Black women in public life." so refreshing to work at a publication that can state this obvious truth plainly
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
"The mass deportation agenda is just one part of a larger agenda in which white Americans are fronted as the real America and everyone else is second-class..." from @davidkurtz.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
Trump Pushes White Nationalist Agenda Across Multiple Fronts
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"The mass deportation agenda is just one part of a larger agenda in which white Americans are fronted as the real America and everyone else is second-class..." from @davidkurtz.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Trump’s crusade against immigrants and other vulnerable groups threatens to fundamentally interfere with accurate data collection and reporting.
More from @laylaayanna.bsky.social:
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
More from @laylaayanna.bsky.social:
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Trump’s Attack on Data Has ‘Dangerous Trickle-Down Effect’ for America’s Most Vulnerable
President Donald Trump is going after the census again. In a Thursday...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 7, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Trump’s crusade against immigrants and other vulnerable groups threatens to fundamentally interfere with accurate data collection and reporting.
More from @laylaayanna.bsky.social:
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
More from @laylaayanna.bsky.social:
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
@laylaayanna.bsky.social spoke to economists about Trump picking a Heritage Foundation economist to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“A statistical agency that’s subject to political control has no credible economic value. It's kind of pointless."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
“A statistical agency that’s subject to political control has no credible economic value. It's kind of pointless."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
BLS Commissioner Nominee’s Suggestion to Suspend Monthly Jobs Report Is ‘Like Gouging Our Eyes Out’
President Donald Trump on Monday evening nominated a Heritage Foundation economist who...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:49 PM
@laylaayanna.bsky.social spoke to economists about Trump picking a Heritage Foundation economist to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“A statistical agency that’s subject to political control has no credible economic value. It's kind of pointless."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
“A statistical agency that’s subject to political control has no credible economic value. It's kind of pointless."
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics as is a Heritage Foundation economist with little relevant experience.
“What he has built a record on over the last few years is attacking the BLS,” economist Aaron Sojourner told @laylaayanna.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
“What he has built a record on over the last few years is attacking the BLS,” economist Aaron Sojourner told @laylaayanna.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
BLS Commissioner Nominee’s Suggestion to Suspend Monthly Jobs Report Is ‘Like Gouging Our Eyes Out’
President Donald Trump on Monday evening nominated a Heritage Foundation economist who...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics as is a Heritage Foundation economist with little relevant experience.
“What he has built a record on over the last few years is attacking the BLS,” economist Aaron Sojourner told @laylaayanna.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
“What he has built a record on over the last few years is attacking the BLS,” economist Aaron Sojourner told @laylaayanna.bsky.social
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-b...
Reposted by Layla A. Jones
And our newest reporter @laylaayanna.bsky.social has been doing incredible analysis on the impact of Trump's policies including tariffs and Medicaid cuts. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/experts...
Experts Say Foreign Governments Are ‘Playing Trump’ on Tariffs
President Donald Trump on Thursday night signed an executive order applying blanket...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
And our newest reporter @laylaayanna.bsky.social has been doing incredible analysis on the impact of Trump's policies including tariffs and Medicaid cuts. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/experts...