Emma Janssen
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emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Emma Janssen
@emmarjanssen.bsky.social
1.7K followers 85 following 24 posts
Writing Fellow at The American Prospect // Chicago-based // hello, hallo, merhaba, سڵاو!
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emmarjanssen.bsky.social
@prospect.org sends me around the Midwest to tell stories about poverty & political power w/ no paywall—corporate media could never! We rely on reader donations to do this work & are asking for your support (those under-25 rental car fees aren't cheap!): secure.actblue.com/donate/tap-f...
I just donated to The American Prospect
My donation supports independent, fact-checked, professional journalism, which is now more valuable than ever before.
secure.actblue.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
The Prospect's @emmarjanssen.bsky.social is at a protest at an ICE detention center in Illinois where ICE agents are forcibly removing protesters. Video here:
September 12, 2025 at 5:45 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
I’m reporting from a protest at an ICE facility in Broadview, IL. Now everything is calm, but earlier uniformed officials shoved protestors and tried to push the crowd back, as @mulchy.bsky.social documented.
September 12, 2025 at 4:49 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
This summer I traveled to NW Indiana—"The Region"—to see how SNAP restrictions will hit both rural & urban communities.

Trying to make sense of the gulf between the MAHA movement's rhetoric & its harmful actions. Read here for a story about health, food & poverty:

prospect.org/health/2025-...
Do SNAP Food Restrictions Help Health, or Punish Poor People?
Indiana is among several states restricting the purchase of sugary foods with nutrition assistance funds.
prospect.org
July 31, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
It's a familiar cycle: a food company makes a superficial promise, maybe sets a long deadline to accomplish it, & then gets free advertising from Trump, the White House, & RFK Jr. That's what Coke's up to with this cane sugar business. @emmarjanssen.bsky.social explains:
prospect.org/health/2025-...
Cane Sugar in Coke Will Not Save Us
Big food and drink companies know exactly how to play Trump and RFK Jr.
prospect.org
July 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
So @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social did a writeup of Brad Lander's arrest today at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC, focusing not just on Lander's treatment, but the treatment of immigrants inside, both in the courtroom and once they are detained.
prospect.org/justice/2025...
“What was going on in those courtrooms is absolutely unacceptable,” Barnette said, adding that the judge “chastised” them for entering a public courtroom and said that in the future she was planning on locking her door at night. “It is a place of intimidation, it is a place of fear.” She and Lander sat in a number of courtrooms, watching defendants getting their cases dismissed “with completely inadequate explanation” of what that meant. No one told defendants, for example, that a dismissal of their case subjected them to forcible removal by anonymous masked agents once they stepped out of the courtroom, Barnette said. “That is not the rule of law. That is not due process. That is not acceptable in this country or anywhere else,” she said. “I am very rattled, frankly.” In one instance, the proceeding for a man whose native language was Yoruba was held in French. The judge dismissed his case and “it was clear he had no understanding” of what had happened, Barnette said. Then he was sent out into the hall, where immigration agents were waiting. Edgardo, the person Lander was helping when ICE agents attacked, spoke Spanish. The judge dismissed his case but said he had the right to appeal and gave him a date in July. “So the guy thinks he has a month to appeal,” Barnette said. “Nobody says, ‘ICE is waiting for you on the other side of the door It’s not only the courtroom treatment of defendants that’s egregious. So are the living conditions at 26 Federal Plaza. In an interview with the Prospect, Daniel Coates, director of public affairs at Make The Road New York, said that ICE is using the building to hold people for multiple days before transferring them elsewhere, packing them in so tightly that some have no room to sleep except for on the bathroom floor. The rooms are hot because the air conditioning is inadequate, detainees have “no opportunities to get a change of clothes or clean themselves,” have no access to medical treatment, and cannot maintain their dietary restrictions, said Coates, who spoke at the press conference held after Lander’s detention. “The space is exploding,” Coates said, “and it’s sort of a black hole there because ICE is refusing entry to members of Congress,” who are supposed to be allowed to oversee such buildings. It’s an open question of “what actually 26 Federal Plaza is being used for,” he said.
June 17, 2025 at 11:56 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Your tax dollars feeding hungry children? ❌🙅‍♀️❌
Your tax dollars building a missile defense system that will probably never work ✅😍✅
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jun 17
We already have a nearly trillion-dollar military budget and nobody can say definitively where all the money goes. But the GOP will throw another $156 billion on the pile for dubious items like the Golden Dome. Great piece from @emmarjanssen.bsky.social:
prospect.org/politics/202...
Republican Spending Bill Throws $156 Billion at Defense Contractors
Experts say its military spending isn’t grounded in strategy, would line the pockets of defense corporations, and would redirect the military to domestic deportations.
prospect.org
June 17, 2025 at 5:59 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
My colleagues @prospect.org are covering No Kings protests today. I’m in Chicago, where folks are shoulder to shoulder and ICE is a main concern of protesters.
June 14, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
kateontransport.bsky.social
Good discussion @emmarjanssen.bsky.social @prospect.org Yes to fare integration, but frequency is higher priority for supermajority of riders. No magic bullet for frequency; investment needed (all benefit-collective equity, economy & environmental benefits). prospect.org/infrastructu...
Chicago’s Public Transit Is in Limbo
As COVID transit money finally runs out, the city looks for new lifelines.
prospect.org
June 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
karlawalter.bsky.social
Important story from American Prospect's ‪@emmarjanssen.bsky.social‬ on reconciliation bill's sneaky provision that could undermine federal workers' ability to defend themselves and stand up against cuts to critical services
Republican Mega-Bill Charges Federal Workers for Basic Rights on the Job
If the spending bill is passed, an estimated three-quarters of eligible federal workers may be coerced into at-will employment.
prospect.org
June 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
prospect.org
Scoop from @emmarjanssen.bsky.social: Trump's Big Beautiful Bill would force federal workers to pay 5 percent of their income or become at-will employees: prospect.org/politics/202...
Republican Mega-Bill Charges Federal Workers for Basic Rights on the Job
If the spending bill is passed, an estimated three-quarters of eligible federal workers may be coerced into at-will employment.
prospect.org
June 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
I watched a lot of solar bro TikToks for this story — give it a read so my sacrifice has meaning.
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · May 29
Next up in our series on the scams sure to proliferate in the absence of regulatory enforcement: solar sales.
Solar bros go door-to-door trapping consumers in loans that they can’t afford. Again CFPB was on the cusp of fixing this before Trump.
prospect.org/environment/...
Sunburnt
How door-to-door solar salespeople can scam homeowners, and what the government could do to stop it.
prospect.org
May 29, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
New House Dem primary alert: State Rep. Donavan McKinney is going to challenge Shri Thanedar in Detroit. It's the first endorsement for Justice Democrats in four years.
@emmarjanssen.bsky.social has the story:
prospect.org/politics/202...
The Squad Could Have a New Member in 2026
Justice Democrats endorses Donavan McKinney, their first endorsement in four years, to challenge multimillionaire Shri Thanedar for a House seat.
prospect.org
April 28, 2025 at 1:06 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
The risks facing our anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs are chilling. If Republicans go through with SNAP cuts, a truly vicious cycle of hunger will be set off, devastating the poorest states and economies. Link below.
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Apr 11
Republicans have passed their budget resolution in Congress and now must decide on taxes and spending cuts. We've seen a lot of attention & pushback on Medicaid cuts, but less on SNAP. @emmarjanssen.bsky.social does a deep dive into this critical program that's at risk:
prospect.org/health/2025-...
The Republican Budget Plan: Snatch Food From the Mouths of Hungry Children
SNAP cuts are ‘going to have a massive shock wave across the country, and everybody will feel it.’
prospect.org
April 11, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
prospect.org
Republicans are looking for cuts to pay for more tax cuts for the rich. One item on the chopping block is food stamps. From @emmarjanssen.bsky.social: prospect.org/health/2025-...
The Republican Budget Plan: Snatch Food From the Mouths of Hungry Children
SNAP cuts are ‘going to have a massive shock wave across the country, and everybody will feel it.’
prospect.org
April 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Who has power, and who is actually using it? We ranked Democratic-led states and found some useful patterns.
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Mar 24
I'm excited to bring you the cover package of our latest print issue: the Blue State Power Index.
We looked at the 17 states that had Democratic governing majorities in 2023-24 to see which ones best used their power.
prospect.org/politics/202...
The Blue State Power Index
We reviewed 17 states with Democratic trifectas to see what they did with that power.
prospect.org
March 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
nelsonforwi.bsky.social
Check out my thoughts on the #WiSupremeCourt race in the @theprospect.bsky.social
and why — as @ddayen writes — it is “the most important election of the year.” @emmarjanssen.bsky.social
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Mar 21
The most important election of the year is an allegedly nonpartisan state supreme court race in Wisconsin that is going to pull in over $100 million in campaign spending. Good report from @emmarjanssen.bsky.social
prospect.org/justice/2025...
The Wisconsin Court Election Drawing Elon Musk’s Money
Liberals and conservatives face off in the most political apolitical race in the country.
prospect.org
March 23, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
The most important election of the year is an allegedly nonpartisan state supreme court race in Wisconsin that is going to pull in over $100 million in campaign spending. Good report from @emmarjanssen.bsky.social
prospect.org/justice/2025...
The Wisconsin Court Election Drawing Elon Musk’s Money
Liberals and conservatives face off in the most political apolitical race in the country.
prospect.org
March 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
got pizza from one of these at the DNC influencer brat-themed afterparty (a sentence that is perhaps new to the english language)
hishamzerriffi.bsky.social Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · Mar 8
It’s a pizza oven kitchen.

It’s a shipping container.

It’s a truck.

It’s a combination pizza oven kitchen shipping container truck.

#Vancouver
A white truck with a shipping container that has windows. Inside is a pizza oven kitchen. There are stairs leading out the back
March 8, 2025 at 2:47 AM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Dems are making their strategy choices and Newsom has evidently decided that throwing trans people under the bus is the way to go. But there's another way! Look at Pritzker in IL and his unabashedly pro-LGBTQ agenda and rhetoric. Newsom should take notes (and so should voters).
jamellebouie.net jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Mar 6
the thing about chasing what you think is public opinion is that if and when things turn you will have made a bunch of statements and taken a bunch of stances that you’ll have to disavow. probably a better strategy just to say what you actually believe and stand by it. anyway, this guy sucks.
Gavin Newsom breaks with Democrats on trans athletes in sports
The Democratic California governor made the stunning remarks in his debut podcast with conservative guest Charlie Kirk.
www.politico.com
March 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Emma Janssen
ddayen.bsky.social
More executive action reactions: here's @emmarjanssen.bsky.social on abandoning the Refugee Act of 1980 and what that means for displaced people fleeing violence: prospect.org/politics/202...
Advocates at #AfghanEvac, a coalition working to resettle Afghan allies who aided the U.S. before the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, say that Trump’s executive order is placing 2,000 people in limbo, and could affect thousands more in the coming months. Those 2,000 people, some of whom are family of U.S. service members, have already been vetted by the U.S. and are waiting for resettlement. Now, their dangerous wait will continue indefinitely. I could also mention the fact that refugees in the U.S. work at higher rates than non-refugees, or the fact that they open new businesses at higher rates, or that they have reinvigorated neighborhoods in cities like St. Louis, Columbus, and Cleveland. But I think the moral case here is more important. We have a duty to be members of the global community, to take in some of the most oppressed and targeted among us—especially but not only when their oppression is a direct result of our foreign wars. This executive order is strategically, economically, and—most importantly—morally bankrupt. –Emma Janssen
January 22, 2025 at 7:50 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters have been fighting the blazes down in LA. The job is voluntary, but most other forms of prison labor aren't. In November, Californians voted to keep it that way. Slavery is alive and well in California's prisons.
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jan 21
Here are a couple @theprospect.bsky.social stories on the LA wildfires before we start breaking down the executive orders.
First, @emmarjanssen.bsky.social notes that California voted in November against ending involuntary work by incarcerated people. Now look who's fighting the fires.
Incarcerated Firefighters Battle L.A. Blazes While California Upholds Prison Slavery
Firefighting is a rare voluntary role, but the state’s other prisoners still have no choices, making the dangerous work in wildland fire camps more attractive.
prospect.org
January 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
emmarjanssen.bsky.social
Consider joining me as a writing fellow at the Prospect! I'm learning so much about writing and myself as a thinker every day at this job.
ddayen.bsky.social David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jan 15
We have two open jobs for our two-year writing fellowships at @theprospect.bsky.social.
It's an full-time, entry-level position where you learn by doing everything in a newsroom: reporting and writing breaking news, profiles, features, analysis.
Come join the best damn team in journalism.
The American Prospect Submission Manager
theamericanprospect.submittable.com
January 15, 2025 at 10:19 PM