Peter M. Shane
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petermshane.bsky.social
Peter M. Shane
@petermshane.bsky.social

Constitutional and admin law prof. Author, Democracy's Chief Executive (U. Cal. 2022). Podcast host @DemChiefExecPod. @Monthly contributor. Corgi-obsessed.

Peter Milo Shane is an American legal scholar and writer. He is currently the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, where he taught from 2003-2021.[1] Since 2022, he has been a Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Adjunct Professor at the New York University School of Law. [2] .. more

Political science 50%
Economics 18%
Pinned
“Trump’s use of executive power is not a distortion of the Roberts Court’s theory of the presidency; it is the Court’s theory of the presidency, brought to life.” My take in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built
The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible.
www.theatlantic.com

For sure. I can't imagine a more fair-minded monitor of judicial bias than Sen. Blackburn. (Satire)

This will happen right after the investigations of Thomas and Alito for taking gifts from right-wing billionaires www.huffpost.com/entry/ketanj...
GOP Senator Loses It After Ketanji Brown Jackson Attends 'Far-Left' Grammy Awards
The newest member of the Supreme Court was nominated in the spoken word category for the audio version of her memoir, "Lovely One."
www.huffpost.com

Turns out the surge at the border started before Biden and receded before Trump 2.0. And the shifts happen too early to support a theory that migrants were anticipating a change in the next election. Fact Checking the “Success” of Trump Border Patrol Policies at www.justsecurity.org/130422/fact-...
Fact Checking the “Success” of Trump Border Patrol Policies
A new study shows that border policies under both Biden and Trump had relatively small effects on border crossings.
www.justsecurity.org

Probably the safer prediction!

Something about the Fed seems to put the Roberts Court in a pragmatic mood. I wish it were equally attentive to the institutional dangers of applying its unitary executive narrative to the rest of government. Today's @washingtonmonthly.com essay: washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/03/t...
Trump’s Firing of a Fed Governor
Hopefully, the Court will see that kneecapping independent agencies isn’t needed to give presidents influence over policymaking.
washingtonmonthly.com

You're right about the communications context, but against that backdrop, anything said in opposition to MAGA is an easy target for bad actors. At least to my ears, "Abolish ICE!" doesn't seem to be the kind of strategic mistake we've seen in some other reform slogans. The polls support it.

"Abolish ICE!" is not an incendiary formulation. ICE itself resulted from the "abolition" in 2002 of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Justice Department. Creating a new structure with new personnel and new rules to enforce immigration law is imperative in light of ICE lawlessness.

That’s great!

A great comedy writer—which I am not— taught me that long ago, but it’s hard not to jump the gun.

A better version of my own joke: I hear “Melania” is the front-runner for FIFA’s first-ever Best Picture Award, the “Melania!”
Has FIFA yet announced that its new Best Picture Award goes to “Melania?”

I’m updating a casebook on separation of powers law. Not even Odo could shape shift this quickly.

There should be new legislation on civil liability for federal officers who violate constitutional rights and establishing operational limits for the proper enforcement of immigration law.
Voting NO on the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum.

Backing Kristi Noem’s impeachment is the bare minimum.

Holding law-breaking ICE agents legally accountable is the bare minimum.

ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it.
Voting NO on the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum.

Backing Kristi Noem’s impeachment is the bare minimum.

Holding law-breaking ICE agents legally accountable is the bare minimum.

ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it.

It what he was “calling for.” I am calling for a vast reduction in income inequality, higher marginal tax rates for the top 1% of earners, higher quality free education for all children regardless of zip code, foundation support for first-rate local news reporting in every county in America, …
Exhibit #4,293 for Watch What He Does, Not What He Says: Trump floated a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, to take effect... yesterday.

Just checked my statement. Rates are still higher than 10%.

Turns out this was all hot air, which took a whole news cycle but achieved nothing.

The trick is to get more people registered, The turnout among registered voters is much higher.

It would be enough to stop third party spoilers if all elections required a 50+% of the vote to be named the winner, whether through ranked choice or a runoff. We could have a multiparty system without losing majority rule.
The fact that it prevents third parties from emerging is something I *like*
FPTP actively prevents a useful and necessary third party from emerging, because a vote for a third party puts those constituents' last-choice candidate in power. It actively prevents good third parties! The Founders lacked the mathematics to understand why FPTP's good vibes were insufficient.

Reposted by Peter M. Shane

The fact that it prevents third parties from emerging is something I *like*
FPTP actively prevents a useful and necessary third party from emerging, because a vote for a third party puts those constituents' last-choice candidate in power. It actively prevents good third parties! The Founders lacked the mathematics to understand why FPTP's good vibes were insufficient.

Many a sixth-grade mean girl has thought to create a “club” primarily for the fun of telling some brighter kid, “You can’t be a member!” But no one before called their club the Board of Peace.

Reposted by Peter M. Shane

Exhibit #4,293 for Watch What He Does, Not What He Says: Trump floated a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, to take effect... yesterday.

Just checked my statement. Rates are still higher than 10%.

Turns out this was all hot air, which took a whole news cycle but achieved nothing.

But it also explains his uninterest in literature, medicine, and economics . . .
This is 25th Amendment shit.
Not the sort of letter committed to paper by a well man. "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"

Reposted by Peter M. Shane

This is 25th Amendment shit.
Not the sort of letter committed to paper by a well man. "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"

Looked at in the context of a month's headlines, one might conclude that, in going after Powell, Trump is trying to preserve his dominance on every front with uses of force--military, economic, and legal--that may actually be highlighting, rather than obscuring his increasing political weakness.

Add:

Kneecapping federal agencies.
Defunding science research.
Squandering decades of effort building international goodwill.
Terrorizing American citizens.
Threatening American allies.
Covering up for American sex criminals.

Welcome to the Trump administration, 2026!
Terrorizing American citizens.
Threatening American allies.
Covering up for American sex criminals.

Welcome to the Trump administration, 2026!

Any such funds would be controlled by Congress, not by Trump.
The technical term, in international law for this is "a smash and grab"
Trump on Venezuela oil:
The technical term, in international law for this is "a smash and grab"
Trump on Venezuela oil:

Could our Congressional leaders get beyond, "We're upset because not consulted" process objections and coalesce around something meaningful, e.g., "No funds in any appropriation may be used for the purpose of pursuing the acquisition of Greenland, whether through military or other means."

Trump reportedly said Melania has criticized two of bits of his shtick as unpresidential, one if which is his damcing at rallies. “Can you imagine,” he quotes her as saying, “FDR dancing?” Does either one know FDR had polio? www.newsweek.com/trump-melani...
Donald Trump reveals two things Melania says are "unpresidential" about him
At a House GOP retreat, Trump revealed that his wife dislikes his rally dancing and weightlifting gestures.
www.newsweek.com