Emily Badger
@emmbadger.bsky.social
New York Times journalist covering cities and urban policy for The Upshot. emily.badger@nytimes.com, ebadger.21 on Signal
This Kirsten Soltis Anderson phrase will stick with me: swapping "McDonald’s Drive-Thru Guy for Golden Ballroom Guy"
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/o...
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This Kirsten Soltis Anderson phrase will stick with me: swapping "McDonald’s Drive-Thru Guy for Golden Ballroom Guy"
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/o...
There are now cement trucks entering the White House construction site, which is not what you'd expect for a project that hasn't been reviewed by anyone yet.
The White House has previously said no NCPC approvals are needed yet because they're just doing demo, not construction.
The White House has previously said no NCPC approvals are needed yet because they're just doing demo, not construction.
November 6, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There are now cement trucks entering the White House construction site, which is not what you'd expect for a project that hasn't been reviewed by anyone yet.
The White House has previously said no NCPC approvals are needed yet because they're just doing demo, not construction.
The White House has previously said no NCPC approvals are needed yet because they're just doing demo, not construction.
A federal judge ruled today that the U.S. DOT violated the constitution by trying to coerce states to cooperate with ICE if they want federal transportation dollars.
November 4, 2025 at 8:46 PM
A federal judge ruled today that the U.S. DOT violated the constitution by trying to coerce states to cooperate with ICE if they want federal transportation dollars.
The Trump Administration has rearranged funds to pay for the parts of government it values most during the shutdown. In court, it is now saying it won't do that for food assistance.
via @tonyromm.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
via @tonyromm.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
October 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The Trump Administration has rearranged funds to pay for the parts of government it values most during the shutdown. In court, it is now saying it won't do that for food assistance.
via @tonyromm.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
via @tonyromm.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
After talking to a lot of people about Mamdani’s idea, we came away with the impression that many New Yorkers like the spirit of it more than the literal plan. They’re taking it as a signal he’ll do *something* about the buses. NYT/Siena polling also suggests this.
October 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
After talking to a lot of people about Mamdani’s idea, we came away with the impression that many New Yorkers like the spirit of it more than the literal plan. They’re taking it as a signal he’ll do *something* about the buses. NYT/Siena polling also suggests this.
There are also some real alternatives to free buses on the table in New York, like expanding the Fair Fares program that subsidizes half-cost rides for low-income riders. Scaling it up would cost a fraction of the full free-bus proposal.
October 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
There are also some real alternatives to free buses on the table in New York, like expanding the Fair Fares program that subsidizes half-cost rides for low-income riders. Scaling it up would cost a fraction of the full free-bus proposal.
This picture is a free-bus Rorschach test: On one hand, it shows many bus riders stopped paying with the pandemic, so why not rip off the bandaid? On the other, the MTA thinks it can cut fare evasion, which would make the cost in lost revenue of free buses higher than Mamdani suggests.
October 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
This picture is a free-bus Rorschach test: On one hand, it shows many bus riders stopped paying with the pandemic, so why not rip off the bandaid? On the other, the MTA thinks it can cut fare evasion, which would make the cost in lost revenue of free buses higher than Mamdani suggests.
Counterpoint: One of the more endearing things about the White House is that it's small. You walk up to it, and it's just... a startlingly modest building in scale... where a real-life family actually lives. You can get close to them, peer into their back yard, see them as human.
October 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Counterpoint: One of the more endearing things about the White House is that it's small. You walk up to it, and it's just... a startlingly modest building in scale... where a real-life family actually lives. You can get close to them, peer into their back yard, see them as human.
If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act falls, Democrats might need to win the national popular vote by 5 to 6 points to take control of the House, via Nate Cohn
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
October 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM
If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act falls, Democrats might need to win the national popular vote by 5 to 6 points to take control of the House, via Nate Cohn
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Really helpful initial @jeffasher.bsky.social look at crime trends in D.C. during the federal law enforcement surge:
jasher.substack.com/p/re-evaluat...
jasher.substack.com/p/re-evaluat...
October 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Really helpful initial @jeffasher.bsky.social look at crime trends in D.C. during the federal law enforcement surge:
jasher.substack.com/p/re-evaluat...
jasher.substack.com/p/re-evaluat...
DC folks! Come have a conversation with us about Home Rule at Solid State on H Street tomorrow night. Historian George Derek Musgrove will join us at 7 p.m. to talk about the epic DC history "Chocolate City."
October 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
DC folks! Come have a conversation with us about Home Rule at Solid State on H Street tomorrow night. Historian George Derek Musgrove will join us at 7 p.m. to talk about the epic DC history "Chocolate City."
Restaurants have been struggling. Year-over-year reservations have generally been up this year. In August they were flat. And D.C. did worse than other comparable U.S. cities.
So far in September, reservations are down from last year.
So far in September, reservations are down from last year.
September 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Restaurants have been struggling. Year-over-year reservations have generally been up this year. In August they were flat. And D.C. did worse than other comparable U.S. cities.
So far in September, reservations are down from last year.
So far in September, reservations are down from last year.
Bikeshare trips dropped with the federal surge too (this effect didn’t start with new pricing on Aug 1, but with the start of the surge on Aug 11).
September 12, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Bikeshare trips dropped with the federal surge too (this effect didn’t start with new pricing on Aug 1, but with the start of the surge on Aug 11).
Cell phone data from Mapbox shown here confirms several usually hopping neighborhoods had less activity during this time (and less than normal for August):
September 12, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Cell phone data from Mapbox shown here confirms several usually hopping neighborhoods had less activity during this time (and less than normal for August):
If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
September 11, 2025 at 11:21 PM
If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
A review of about a thousand arrests made in the first two weeks of the federal law enforcement surge in DC suggests that the operation has been more of a sprawling dragnet than a targeted crime-fighting operation: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...
August 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A review of about a thousand arrests made in the first two weeks of the federal law enforcement surge in DC suggests that the operation has been more of a sprawling dragnet than a targeted crime-fighting operation: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...
Been thinking about this graphic we published last fall after the election. Most large, diverse cities shifted toward Trump, one of the major stories of 2024.
D.C. notably broke that pattern. It barely shifted at all. People knew the stakes.
D.C. notably broke that pattern. It barely shifted at all. People knew the stakes.
August 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Been thinking about this graphic we published last fall after the election. Most large, diverse cities shifted toward Trump, one of the major stories of 2024.
D.C. notably broke that pattern. It barely shifted at all. People knew the stakes.
D.C. notably broke that pattern. It barely shifted at all. People knew the stakes.
Random little triangles of land on residential blocks created by the city's diagonal street grid... those are federal land too.
August 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Random little triangles of land on residential blocks created by the city's diagonal street grid... those are federal land too.
Did you know that the road medians on Pennsylvania Ave. in SE are National Park Service land?
August 14, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Did you know that the road medians on Pennsylvania Ave. in SE are National Park Service land?
Here is the federal government owning a stream bed in NE DC
August 14, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Here is the federal government owning a stream bed in NE DC
Good news
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...
July 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Good news
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...
The new bill would require states to contribute 5% toward the monthly SNAP allotments families receive.
And the rate increases from there depending the state’s SNAP error rate – the rate at which state agencies over- or underpay benefits in an annual review of a sample of cases.
And the rate increases from there depending the state’s SNAP error rate – the rate at which state agencies over- or underpay benefits in an annual review of a sample of cases.
May 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The new bill would require states to contribute 5% toward the monthly SNAP allotments families receive.
And the rate increases from there depending the state’s SNAP error rate – the rate at which state agencies over- or underpay benefits in an annual review of a sample of cases.
And the rate increases from there depending the state’s SNAP error rate – the rate at which state agencies over- or underpay benefits in an annual review of a sample of cases.
The government knows an enormous amount about you in the data systems DOGE has sought to access.
Just for starters:
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...
Just for starters:
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...
April 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The government knows an enormous amount about you in the data systems DOGE has sought to access.
Just for starters:
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...
Just for starters:
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...
DOGE, which operates with a spirit of moving fast and breaking things across the rest of the government, says it cannot be expected to move fast and set up a FOIA operation.
March 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
DOGE, which operates with a spirit of moving fast and breaking things across the rest of the government, says it cannot be expected to move fast and set up a FOIA operation.
Fantastic graphs by @aatishb.bsky.social + Irineo Cabreros showing how covid broke the trendline on... everything five years ago.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
March 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Fantastic graphs by @aatishb.bsky.social + Irineo Cabreros showing how covid broke the trendline on... everything five years ago.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...