Scott Lemieux

Seattle

Journalist at Freelance

Co-Founder and Host at Lawyers, Guns & Money Podcast

What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard. Tweets speak for myself only.

Articles

Trump threatens to send troops into LA

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Miller is the theory, Trump is the praxis:This is a good question:One obvious problem with invoking the Insurrection Act is that there is nothing remotely resembling an “insurrection,” although with “L’Etat, c’est Trump” being the default position of the Roberts Court this may not matter. Anyway, when James Bennet complains about being pushed out for publishing a Tom Cotton fash-ed advocating for exactly this my question remains “who am I supposed to be mad at here exactly?”
Supreme Court Republicans: it is an emergency if white nationalist incels do not have immediate unfettered access to your sensitive personal data

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Just how authoritarian are the Republicans on the Supreme Court? The shadow docket knows:The Supreme Court handed the Department of Government Efficiency a pair of significant wins on Friday, allowing the entity to access sensitive Social Security data for millions of Americans while simultaneously pausing an effort to look into whether it is subject to a key transparency law.
Abrego Garcia update

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Good news and bad news:Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador became a political flashpoint in the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement, was returned to the United States on Friday to face criminal charges related to what the Trump administration said was a large human smuggling operation that brought immigrants into the country illegally.
Another lawyer joins the resistance

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Leval, Petain loses yet another rainmaker:Damian Williams, the former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is leaving the law firm Paul Weiss to join Jenner & Block, defecting from a firm that struck a deal with the Trump administration to sign on with one that fought it in court. Williams is the highest-profile attorney to join the exodus from firms that made deals with President Donald Trump this year.
At least one Trump supporter will still be getting paid

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

If you’re a Steelers fan, and you liked Russell Wilson’s production in 2025 would would have liked it better if he spent a lot more time bashing teammates in between conspiracy theories on national podcasts, I have great news for you:After weeks of waiting and mulling his different options, Aaron Rodgers has chosen his new NFL team. The four-time NFL MVP is signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, sources told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
That escalated quickly

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Their sparring swiftly degenerated into threats on social media, as Mr. Trump questioned whether the government should cut its billions of dollars in contracts with Mr. Musk’s companies, and Mr. Musk claimed that there were references to Mr. Trump in government documents about the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while also seemingly approving of calls for Mr. Trump to be impeached. […]Elon Musk’s friends and associates on Thursday are in a state of disbelief.
Elon: I expected Trump to stay bought

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Trump suggest that Elon has "Trump derangement syndrome" [image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 5, 2025 at 9:11 AM This doesn’t mean that DOGE is over or that Elon won’t spend a lot of money to elect Republicans, but I don’t think this is just kayfabe either: Long-simmering tensions between President Trump and Elon Musk burst into the open on Thursday, as the two men traded barbs and insults, signaling the rupturing of a relationship that had been one of the most consequential in...
Travel announces another, even more wide-ranging arbitrary travel ban

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

That it was inevitable makes it no less outrageous: President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., a cushion that may avoid the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice in 2017.
Protection racket turns out not to be selling protection

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

The Trump administration attacked Columbia University’s accreditation, arguing the school is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws. The Education Department told the organization through which Columbia is accredited that the school has violated civil rights law over its handling of campus antisemitism, and no longer appears to meet the standards for accreditation.
The B,BB is effectively ACA repeal

3 weeks ago | lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | Scott Lemieux

Harvard Health Policy professor Adrianna McIntyre has the grim details: The final estimated increase in the uninsured is 10.9 million (a little above the prior estimate) [image or embed]— Adrianna McIntyre (@adrianna.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 7:02 AM They don't break out the effects by provision, but 7.8 million people become uninsured because of policies related to Medicaid and the remainder would be related to changes in the ACA marketplaces.— Adrianna McIntyre (@adrianna.bsky.social)...