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Elena Chachko

@elenachachko.bsky.social
4K followers 466 following 30 posts

Law professor @Berkeley Law. Inaugural Rappaport Fellow @Harvard Law. Writing and teaching about law, geopolitics, administration and technology.

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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Ben Heath @jbentonheath.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I've posted my first systematic attempt to make sense of the past 20 months, as well as what came before. It's a work in progress, so please do hit me up with comments, objections, and screeds. The abstract (w/ alt text) is here. Some acknowledgments & refs in 🧵.1/x papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
This paper argues that the second Trump administration is crystallizing a new phase of U.S. state-building-the Chokepoint State. In the Chokepoint State, state capacity is directed toward creating and controlling key nodes in financial and data networks, with the aim of using that control to punish adversaries, reward allies, and set new rules of the road. This stage in American state-making builds on earlier legal and administrative innovations, but it operates according to its own logic. In the Chokepoint State, actors that control nodes in economic and information networks can use their power to impose new, quasi-legal norms that do not derive from any ordinary lawmaking process. The second Trump administration's grab for power has depended heavily on the techniques of the Chokepoint State, but those techniques precede Trump and have been used by administrations from both major U.S. parties. The paper further argues that resistance in the Chokepoint State requires a combination of strategies to tame the state's discretion from within, while using countervailing power to build zones of sanctuary that exist outside the state's unbridled control.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7300179
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UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Join Andrew Tutt (Counsel at Arnold & Porter) and Professors @elenachachko.bsky.social and David Singh Grewal for a discussion on the Learning Resources v. Trump case and its implications for presidential power & U.S. trade. Lunch provided on a first come, first served basis: bit.ly/4dsAsbe
law.berkeley.edu
Emergency Powers & Trade after the Supreme Court's Learning Resources Decision
In the landmark case of Learning Resources v. Trump, the Supreme Court held that the President could not rely on an emergency statute to implement his aggressive tariff policies. Join […]
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Just Security @justsecurity.org · 20/01/2026
When is it justified for the EU to rely on emergency measures to protect Ukraine and counter Russia? @elenachachko.bsky.social and Katerina Linos present a framework for answering that question: www.justsecurity.org/129157/eu-em...
justsecurity.org
The EU Discovers Emergency Powers: Russian Assets Edition
When is it justified for the EU to rely on emergency measures to protect Ukraine and counter Russia?
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UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
“There are serious questions on both the domestic law front and international law front,” Professor Elena Chachko (@elenachachko.bsky.social) told @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/americ... #BerkeleyLaw
reuters.com
Trump orders 'blockade' of sanctioned oil tankers leaving, entering Venezuela
This is Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government, targeting its main source of income.
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Francisco J. Quintana @fjquintana.com · 07/11/2025
Delighted to see JIEL 28(3) out in the world, which includes my article 'Dollar Dominance, De-Dollarisation, and International Law'. The rest of the issue is packed with sharp work (inc @jbentonheath.bsky.social, @dcpeat.bsky.social, @elenachachko.bsky.social). academic.oup.com/jiel/article...
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Thank you @phverdier.bsky.social @uvalaw.bsky.social Sokol colloquium and @lawprofpuig.bsky.social, Kathleen Claussen & Michael Waibel for a terrific issue.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/...
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
The great @abenewman.bsky.social and I have a new paper in JIEL titled Building Norms of Economic coercion. It's a roadmap for thinking about the legitimacy of different instances of economic coercion, from unilateral sanctions to the tariff wars. Link below
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Listen: Assistant Professor Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social on BBC's Wake Up to Money discussing the recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on President Trump's tariffs: www.bbc.com/audio/play/m... #UCBerkeleyLaw
bbc.com
BBC Audio | Wake Up to Money | Drug costs and tariffs lost?
Will Bain has the latest after an another eventful weekend for trade and geopolitics.
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 14/07/2025
On Friday, the State Department began firing over 1,000 employees. In Feb, @SrAnderson.bsky.social and @ElenaChachko.bsky.social explained President Trump's "One Voice" executive order which asserted broad presidential prerogative over foreign affairs. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/one-...
lawfaremedia.org
‘One Voice’ and the Trump Administration’s Conduct of Foreign Affairs
A new executive order deploys a contested theory of presidential authority—and uses it to target the public servants responsible for conducting America’s foreign relations.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Spoke with @npr.org about presidential use of emergency authority and our present moment @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
"This is what happens when you take an instrument that has been very useful for many administrations, for many years, and now you overextend it," says @elenachachko.bsky.social, assistant professor of law at UC Berkeley Law on presidential use of emergency powers www.npr.org/2025/06/09/n... @npr.org
npr.org
What Trump's national emergencies could mean for American democracy
Trump invoked emergency powers more times in his first 100 days than any other modern president has in that time. Experts worry it could lead to an upending of the constitutional balance of power.
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
By 5-4 vote, #SCOTUS *denies* Trump’s emergency application in foreign aid funding cases, but in a way that sends things back to the district court *before* the payments will have to be made: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
From @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...
nytimes.com
Is It Time to Transfer Frozen Russian Assets to Ukraine? Calls Grow Louder.
President Trump’s threat to abandon Ukraine added urgency to plans to fund security or reconstruction with the roughly $300 billion owned by Russia’s central bank.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
And yet there are serious precedent-setting effects to consider, as well as implications for European and American assets in other countries—frozen or not. The exigencies of the Ukraine situation should not obscure these concerns.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Are we about to see this line in sanctions policy crossed? Would not be a surprise in the wake of the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting. Transferring frozen assets in the Ukraine case could strike many as an instance of “unlawful but legitimate”.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Under international law, sanctions are supposed to be temporary and reversible. That’s why the assets are frozen, not permanently seized. Issues arise under U.S. law too. So far sanctioning countries agreed to let Ukraine take out a loan against proceeds from the seized assets but not the principal.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Calls are getting louder to allow the transfer of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine as the U.S. pulls back. About 250B (of roughly 300) are held in EU. When this proposal was debated before many—Biden officials included—concluded that such transfer would likely be unlawful.
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Executive Functions @execfunctions.org · 02/03/2025
Read today's Executive Functions Morning Roundup: the next round in the battle over the admin's effort to fire Hampton Dellinger, more demotions for DOJ prosecutors, commentary from @sranderson.bsky.social and @elenachachko.bsky.social, and more (first three stories below). tinyurl.com/a9pz5834
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UC Berkeley Law @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
‘One Voice’ and the Trump Administration’s Conduct of Foreign Affairs www.lawfaremedia.org/article/one-... by Prof @elenachachko.bsky.social and @sranderson.bsky.social @lawfare.bsky.social
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
One could parse this language but it sure reads like a full throated endorsement of a theory of executive power in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has rejected, most recently in Zivotofsky II.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
From the EO: “Article II of the United States Constitution vests the power to conduct foreign policy in the President of the United States.”
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1...
oyez.org
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Interesting choice of language there with “one voice”… www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
One Voice for America's Foreign Relations
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
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Reposted by Elena Chachko
Harlan G. Cohen @harlangcohen.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Looking to make sense of our world of sanctions and economic statecraft? (Yeah, me too!) Next Friday, February 21 at @fordhamlawnyc.bsky.social, the Fordham International Law Journal symposium on Economic Sanctions: go.activecalendar.com/FordhamUnive...
go.activecalendar.com
The Fordham International Law Journal Spring Symposium : Economic Sanctions and the Law: Goals, Enforcement, and Procedural and Substantive Limits
The Fordham International Law Journal Spring Symposium : Economic Sanctions and the Law: Goals, Enforcement, and Procedural and Substantive Limits
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 11/02/2025
"PAUSING FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT ENFORCEMENT TO FURTHER AMERICAN ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY" (?????)
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
or is necessary for any reason to protect the revenue or to prevent unlawful importations." It is questionable whether the EOs properly exercised that waiver.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Section 321 does provide for a waiver. "The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized by regulations to prescribe exceptions to any exemption ... whenever he finds that such action is consistent with the purpose of subsection (a)...
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Trump eliminated it anyway based on IEEPA, potentially setting up a conflict between the President and congressional statute (aka Youngstown category III).
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
But Biden stopped short of modifying the exemption unilaterally via executive order. The reason for Biden's hesitation may have been a belief that eliminating the exception would require changing the statue.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Around 2020, lawmakers and Biden officials began advocating for reform to curb the flow of illicit goods like opioids and competition from predominantly Chinese companies delivering cheap merch directly to U.S. consumers. Notably, the U.S. threshold is comparatively very high.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
The de minimis exemption originates in sec. 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930. It now exempts imported goods up to 800 USD from standard duties and process. The exemption used to enjoy bipartisan support.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
The China executive order: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
For BBC radio, some analysis of President Trump’s executive orders imposing tariffs and eliminating the de minimis exception for products from China, Mexico and Canada (the latter two on hold). Around the halfway point: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social
bbc.co.uk
Wake Up to Money - Not always as easy as ABC - BBC Sounds
Sean Farrington gets reaction to disappointing trading results from Google parent Alphabet
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Bridget Dooling @bridgetdooling.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Quick blog post to share some great explainers on agency heads, our civil service, and Trump's early actions. Highlighting series from @theconversation.com & @washingtonpost.com and @nicholasbednar.bsky.social's excellent explainers @lawfare.bsky.social. www.yalejreg.com/nc/agency-he...
yalejreg.com
Agency Heads, Civil Servants, and Trump - Yale Journal on Regulation
This is a quick post to share some easy-to-read explainers about what different agency heads and civil servants do, how the civil service works, and Trump’s early and antagonistic actions towards our ...
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Chris Walker @chrisjwalker.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Attn #adlaw nerds: Call for Papers for Tenth Annual Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable here @umichlaw.bsky.social 5/19-5/20: www.yalejreg.com/nc/call-for-...
yalejreg.com
Call for Papers: Tenth Annual Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable - Yale Journal on Regulation
The University of Michigan Law School is very pleased to host the Tenth Annual Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable on May 19-20, 2025. For the past nine years, the Roundtable has offered adm...
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
And working link to the symposium: www.yalejreg.com/topic/sympos...
yalejreg.com
Symposium on Modernizing Regulatory Review Archives - Yale Journal on Regulation
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
DOGE is established as a temporary organization under 5 U.S.C. § 3161 through summer 2026. Interesting.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Also, among the Biden EOs rescinded: Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review). Big Biden effort to revamp WH (OIRA) review of significant regulations. @YaleJREG held a symposium on that EO when it was issued in 2023. yalejreg.com/topic/symposiu…
yalejreg.com
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
“Reorganization and Renaming of the United States Digital Service.  The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.”
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Full EO here: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Establishing And Implementing The President's "Department Of Government Efficiency" – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
For ad law folks - among the dozens of EOs issued there’s also one formalizing the structure of what has so far been known as DOGE. It’s going to be an office within the EEOP, not a full fledged agency, with broad access to agency infrastructure. One implication: administrator needn’t be confirmed.
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Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Starting a new (free) substack today with Bob Bauer, called "Executive Functions." We're covering executive power issues in detail. Welcome here: executivefunctions.substack.com/p/welcome-to... Please subscribe here: executivefunctions.substack.com/subscribe First substantive piece tomorrow.
executivefunctions.substack.com
Welcome to Executive Functions
Today we begin this (free) Substack newsletter, Executive Functions, devoted to coverage of presidential and broader executive power issues.
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Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
As Supreme Court Sets TikTok Case for Oral Argument, Senator McConnell, Champion of First Amendment in Citizens United, Files Amicus Brief Saying Government Can Shut Down Platform to stop “deployment of subversive enemy propaganda through algorithmic curation.” electionlawblog.org?p=147883
electionlawblog.org
As Supreme Court Sets TikTok Case for Oral Argument, Senator McConnell, Champion of First Amendment in Citizens United, Files Amicus Brief Saying Government Can Shut Down Platform to stop "deployment ...
Quite the amicus brief from the purportedly free-speech Senator McConnell. The Supreme Court set a very expedited schedule for oral argument in the TikTok case (unlike its dilatory tactics in the Trum...
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UChicago Law @uchicagolaw.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
The Supreme Court has “signalled that entities operating platforms have First Amendment interests,” Prof. Aziz Huq told @financialtimes.com about the TikTok ruling, adding that the Court has also been “open to freedom of speech limits in the context of national security.”
buff.ly
Can Donald Trump save TikTok?
Video app owned by China’s ByteDance is hoping for a lifeline to avoid being sold or shut down in the US
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Harlan G. Cohen @harlangcohen.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
...and logic. Allowing sanctioned states to rebalance would defeat the point of sanctions. FWIW, I wrestle with the problem in academic.oup.com/jiel/article..., suggesting a two track approach, with sanctions fitting better into something like XX.
academic.oup.com
Toward best practices for trade-security measures
Abstract. The global economy is increasingly being weaponized. Citing security concerns from traditional defence to economic competitiveness, health emerge
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Biden admin rule allowing DACA recipients to get health insurance on the ACA marketplace exchanges in 19 GOP-led states that sued. Judge Daniel Traynor, a Trump appointee in North Dakota, issued the ruling: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
case captionCONCLUSION
I1 40] The Court has reviewed the record, relevant caselaw, and arguments of the parties. For the above stated reasons, Plaintiffs' Motions for Preliminary Injunction and Stay (Doc. No. 35) are GRANTED. Defendants are preliminary enjoined from enforcing the Final Rule against the 19
Plaintiff States. As a result, Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (Doc. No. 105) is
MOOT. Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Doc. No. 108) are DENIED.
[41] IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED December 9, 2024.
Daniel M. Traynor, District Judge
United States District Court
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Paul Schwartz @paulschwartz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Wall St Journal profile of cybersec expert Brian Krebs. Good overview of state of danger on the Internet. www.wsj.com/tech/cyberse...
wsj.com
He Investigates the Internet’s Most Vicious Hackers—From a Secret Location
In the increasingly dangerous world of cybercrime, Brian Krebs faces threats, manipulation and the odd chess challenge.
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Elena Chachko @elenachachko.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thanks, @gwyneth.bsky.social @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social, for hosting this conversation on Voices Carry!
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