Stephanie Mencimer
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smencimer.bsky.social
Stephanie Mencimer
@smencimer.bsky.social
Senior reporter Mother Jones. Utah native. Send me tips at smencimer@motherjones.com or securely on Signal at smencimer.48 or smencimer@proton.me
They came to the United States as kids. Now, Trump is targeting them for deportation. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Trump’s vendetta against EVs is driving up costs for every vehicle owners www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Trump’s vendetta against EVs is driving up costs for every vehicle owner
The problem isn't government regulations—it's instability.
www.motherjones.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
Republican mad libs: Kid Rock had Donald Trump appoint Mike Johnson’s landlord to the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithint...
Is Kid Rock the Most Powerful Person in Tennessee?
Lee Beaman sat down with the Nashville Business Journal to discuss how he got a recent TVA board nomination, and it turns out it wasn’t his tenant Mike Johnson who secured the gig for him. It was Kid ...
www.nashvillescene.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I wrote this last year. I guess I wasn't reaching. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Enjoy your air travel this Thanksgiving. Next year will likely be much, much worse.
Under the next Trump administration, airlines will once again be free to abuse you.
www.motherjones.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
Note: By my count, this brings number of clergy who claim to have been and/or have been *filmed* being hit with projectiles shot by ICE/DHS or Illinois state police to *7.*
November 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
If the Trump administration wants more babies, it shouldn’t let poor families go hungry www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
If the Trump administration wants more babies, it shouldn’t let poor families go hungry
Denying food and health benefits to single moms doesn't exactly scream: "pro-natalism."
www.motherjones.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
On tariffs, the Supreme Court must choose between the president and their plutocratic patrons www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
On tariffs, the Supreme Court must choose between the president and their plutocratic patrons
This case is all about power and loyalty.
www.motherjones.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
Data from ICE shows that none of its agents have ever been killed by an immigrant in the agency’s more than two-decade history.
How dangerous is it really to work for ICE?
According to ICE’s own data, none of its officers have been killed by an immigrant in the agency’s history.
www.motherjones.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
With no word leaking out on a deal, it kinda feels like negotiators are putting off studying for the big test and are going to *cram* in the last minute for the big test.
Trump’s Colorado River deadline is almost here. Is Utah ready for cuts?
Because of drought, mandatory water cuts are nothing new in Utah. But the potential of large-scale reductions across the Colorado River Basin would present a steep challenge.
buff.ly
November 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
ICYMI, the Utah State Engineer is warning people of a possible worst-case scenario if negotiations over the Colorado River fall apart. It includes curtailments (including to a not-so-insignificant part of the Wasatch Front’s drinking water supply): www.fox13now.com/news/colorad... #utpol #Utah
October 31, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This is so utterly depressing.
October 31, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Sean Duffy once danced naked on MTV's "Real World." Now he's using official government resources to make religious videos and promote Christianity through the Transportation Department. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Sean Duffy’s holy war at the Transportation Department
“Could we bring Jesus up from the basement?”
www.motherjones.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
NEW: I spoke with the inestimable Terry Gross (!) on @nprfreshair.bsky.social about my year-long investigation of Russ Vought, the "shadow president" of Trump's second presidency.

Listen here: www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...
Who's the man behind President Trump's dismantling of the federal government?
In a New Yorker article co-published with ProPublica, reporter Andy Kroll describes Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as a "shadow president" with oversized influence.
www.npr.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
The Justice Department targets cartels by prosecuting them.

Since January, federal drug prosecutions have dropped to their slowest pace in decades. That enforcement pullback was steepest for the types of cases used to go after higher-level traffickers.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
October 31, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
it's the unitary executive, the tribune of the people, the all-powerful sovereign, the sun and the moon. it can bomb fishermen and deport citizens. but it cannot, it turns out, free up money to pay for SNAP—there are laws, after all.
October 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
Read my latest story investigating how a political action committee tried to funnel $14K in campaign donations from an Arizona Christian nationalist pastor to an Ogden City Council candidate in a scheme to circumvent campaign contribution limits.
October 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
If you’re looking to understand why Brett Kavanaugh is Trumpier than ever, look no further than how he’s feeding Donald Trump judicial nominees. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Kavanaugh’s Chambers Are a Big Pipeline for Trump Circuit Judges
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has emerged as a major source of judicial nominees in the second Trump administration, with the president repeatedly looking to the justice’s former clerks to fill influential ...
news.bloomberglaw.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:35 PM
The staid Department of Transportation is a tough place from which to launch a culture war. But with official religious DOT videos and USMMA football game prayers, Secretary Sean Duffy is giving it his best shot: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Sean Duffy’s holy war at the Transportation Department
“Could we bring Jesus up from the basement?”
www.motherjones.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
There's a lot going on these days, so Sean Duffy may have flown under the radar. But he's been using taxpayer resources to promote Christianity in what once would have been seen as a shocking constitutional violation even during the last Bush administration. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Sean Duffy’s holy war at the Transportation Department
“Could we bring Jesus up from the basement?”
www.motherjones.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Sean Duffy’s holy war at the Transportation Department www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Sean Duffy’s holy war at the Transportation Department
“Could we bring Jesus up from the basement?”
www.motherjones.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
😲 SEATTLE: Shackled at his wrists and ankles, an elderly man struggles in the cold rain to mount the slippery stairs to this Avelo jet, which will fly him to another detention facility in Texas 👀
October 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Suggesting that Neal Katyal arguing the tariff case is a "strategic blunder" because he's a liberal is so embarrassing @postopinions.bsky.social. Among other things, it fails to mention Katyal pissed off liberals by introducing conservative Neil Gorsuch at his confirmation hearing. wapo.st/4nlTi5e
Opinion | This strategic blunder could swing the Supreme Court tariffs case
For Trump’s challengers, a conservative lawyer’s arguments might have the best chance of success.
wapo.st
October 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM
In which Tim Noah has me ready to bail out of the stock market today: newrepublic.com/article/2021... via @newrepublic.com
Looking Back on the Trump Stock Market Crash of 2025
My retrospective analysis of the Second Great Depression—before it begins.
newrepublic.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Stephanie Mencimer
So Trump is gonna steal $230M from US taxpayers and then give it to charity? That claim, if you know anything about Trump's history with charitable giving, is downright laughable.
Trump Claims He’d Give His $230 Million Justice Department Grift to Charity. Yeah, Right.
The president, who has a history of reneging on charitable pledges, ran his own family foundation into the ground.
www.motherjones.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Important to get the Epoch Times into the Pentagon! Their CFO was indicted for laundering money through the outlet last year. www.npr.org/2024/06/13/n...
October 16, 2025 at 8:16 PM