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Emily Badger

@emmbadger.bsky.social
3.3K followers 715 following 206 posts

New York Times journalist covering cities and urban policy for The Upshot. emily.badger@nytimes.com, ebadger.21 on Signal

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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The Trump administration is sitting on more than $7 billion meant for big transit construction projects around the country: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
nytimes.com
Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It. (Gift Article)
“It’s hard to look at the last year and see anything other than a deliberate slowdown of these grants.”
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
NCPC staff says the Height of Buildings Act *does* apply to Trump's arch -- but that he can still build it to 250 feet. He just has to make the arch itself shorter and the statue 40 feet taller...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Did you all realize that the National Mall is slightly crooked compared to the rest of D.C.'s L'Enfant street grid? The McMillan Commission did that!
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Careful planning is Washington’s whole thing: symbolic sightlines; monuments that speak to one another; columns, rooflines and axes aligned just so. The whole city is supposed to be a work of civic art. Trump’s projects test this 235-year-old idea: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Washington Has Been Carefully Planned for Two Centuries. Now Trump Has His Own Designs. (Gift Article)
The city is unlike any in America for its accumulation of intricate details, a whole that is a work of civic art.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Tomorrow the Commission of Fine Arts will take another look at Trump's proposed arch, including renderings of it viewed from around the area. Here is its winged statue, peeping over the trees from the National Mall.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
More detailed renderings now available for Trump's proposed arch: www.cfa.gov/system/files...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
The East Wing demolition is now making it difficult for the government to argue in the Arch lawsuit that no injunction is needed because construction isn't imminent. Judge Chutkan just doesn’t believe it, when the president himself has said he wants the arch by July 4th.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Catching up on this thorough and thoughtful @philipkennicott.bsky.social piece on Trump's designs on the capital, until now a city of simple symmetry and unfussy architecture: www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Trump is the biggest threat to D.C.’s architectural splendor since War of 1812
President Trump’s garish, piecemeal changes to Washington’s urban design and architecture are poised to destroy symbolism upheld for centuries.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to vote today to approve the president's ballroom. As of March, this is where the project stood. By this afternoon, it will jump to the "final" step. (NCPC is no longer showing this tracker on their website tho.)
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
NCPC has posted an addendum to the ballroom plans incorporating the removed stairs as the president showed Sunday night. No new renderings, detailed plans, dimensions, landscape. Just the images Trump showed. www.ncpc.gov/files/projec...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
NCPC says they're still voting on the ballroom on Thursday, despite this ruling. Unclear tho, what plans they're voting on -- the ones they saw earlier this month, or the changed ones the president revealed on Air Force One on Sunday.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Federal judge rules construction must stop on the president's ballroom until Congress authorizes it: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
We’re reading @birdyword.bsky.social fascinating “The Land Trap” for the next Reading The City book club at Solid State in DC, on April 1. If you’re one of those people who is *always* trying to talk about Henry George, this month's book is for you!
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Good @heatherknightsf.bsky.social and Soumya Karlamangla story about the dire situation for BART in SF: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...
nytimes.com
The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Great @jonathanmahler.bsky.social story on the new politics of housing in the Mamdani era: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/m...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
The Upshot is hiring a data graphics/multimedia editor. Come work with us and make weird things that help people understand the world! job-boards.greenhouse.io/thenewyorkti...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
This 3D model by the NYT of the proposed East Wing ballroom really makes clear how out of scale it is with the rest of the complex...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
We've been tracking nearly 200 lawsuits against the Trump administration over its attempts to leverage federal funding to impose the president's agenda. The most startling pattern: The administration seems entirely undeterred when it loses in court. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Trump Has Been Sued 198 Times for Withholding Funding. It Hasn’t Stopped Him. (Gift Article)
Immigration demands for highway dollars, D.E.I. rules for homeless grants: how Trump has tried to wield spending to get his way.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
A federal judge finally ruled today that the Trump administration acted illegally in trying to shut down New York's congestion pricing program, via @stefanoschen.bsky.social + Winnie Hu www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/n...
nytimes.com
Congestion Pricing Wins in Court After Lengthy Battle With Trump
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Great @natecohn.bsky.social piece on what "affordability" really means to people in this moment, drawing on our most recent polling: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
"The second Trump coalition has unraveled." via @natecohn.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Many months later, the Social Security Administration acknowledged in court that DOGE employees at the agency shared sensitive data in violation of security policies last spring, just as critics and privacy advocates feared at the time: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...
nytimes.com
DOGE Employees Shared Social Security Data, Court Filing Shows
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Latest NYT analysis of video footage from the Renee Good shooting capture Ross firing the 2nd and 3rd shots at her after his body is visibly clear of the path of her vehicle. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Long before construction jobs became dominated by immigrant workers, the appeal of those jobs for American workers began to collapse. Only *then* did immigrants start to fill them. From a *great* story by @rondakaysen.bsky.social + Rob Gebeloff: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
“He’s tended to turn the other cheek, and he’s reached a moment where he can’t.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
nytimes.com
Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
A long-awaited update of federal employment data shows crippling staff reductions in some federal agencies and offices: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
220,000 Fewer Workers: How Trump’s Cuts Affected Every Federal Agency (Gift Article)
New data offers the first clear view of the impact of the buyouts and firings.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
The Times' Visual Investigations team is the best at trying to find clarity when clarity is hard to come by. Their view on the Minneapolis shooting yesterday: www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
nytimes.com
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles show that the vehicle appears to be turning away from a federal officer as he opened fire.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My favorite evidence that congestion pricing in New York has reshaped peoples’ behavior: we can see a surge of people trying to enter the zone before the price kicks up at 5 a.m., and after it decreases at 9 p.m.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Love these little @aliciaparlap.bsky.social graphics that illustrate the absurdist ways DOGE claimed it saved money, at the end of a year of trying to chase their accounting. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Remarkably few of the immigrants arrested in big-city ICE operations have had violent criminal records, via Albert Sun: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
May need a taller chart soon.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
A federal judge says the government has exceeded its authority in deploying the DC National Guard in the District to deter crime -- and by calling in the guard from states around the country to participate: ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Republicans worried that steep Medicaid cuts in their big tax bill would shutter rural hospitals. To pass it, they included a $50B rural health care fund. But a very different group of hospitals will bear the brunt of the law: large urban safety-net hospitals. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
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...
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Smart Eliza Shapiro story about the six-figure economic precarity in New York that has helped fuel Mamdani's rise: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/n...
nytimes.com
Zohran Mamdani and the Revenge of the Struggling Yuppie
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
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.
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Lazaro Gamio @lazarogamio.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Good morning. We crunched 4.6GB of trade data to find out how much of U.S. imports are getting tariffed (quite a bit) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Almost Half of U.S. Imports Now Have Steep Tariffs
President Trump has transformed U.S. trade policy. Here's how much of his tariff agenda is under threat at the Supreme Court.
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Stefanos Chen @stefanoschen.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Zohran Mamdani's focus on public transportation - and on affordability in general - paid off in a big way. Lots of fascinating insights in this map (free link) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Carlos Odio @carlosodio.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
NJ election is the first real measure of Latino support since last year. A test of whether the Trump discontent in polls is re-shaping behavior heading into '26: will Sherrill come in closer to '21 or '24 in Hispanic bellwethers? Here are cities to watch. Note '24 vs. prior.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
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.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
DOJ lawyers have told two federal judges the government will make partial SNAP payments this month. Then Trump said today the government won't pay anything until the shutdown ends: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Threatens to Withhold SNAP Payments, Despite Court Order
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
The One Big Beautiful Bill ratchets up work requirements for Medicaid. In the process it will force states to pay millions more to Equifax to verify that residents qualify for the program. Wild story by @sangerkatz.bsky.social @asmaaelk.bsky.social and Sarah Kliff www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/h...
nytimes.com
‘A Big Positive’: How One Company Plans to Profit From Medicaid Cuts
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Unlike other projects the Trump administration has canceled during the shutdown to punish Democratic-leaning places, disruption to SNAP will touch every corner of the country, including many communities that support the president. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/u...
nytimes.com
Here’s Who Will Be Affected by Disruptions to Federal Food Aid
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
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...
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The Boston Globe @bostonglobe.com · 29/10/2025
A US Drug Enforcement Administration agent said the DEA made “high-level arrests” of 171 Sinaloa Cartel members across New England in August. A Globe investigation found that many of the DEA’s targets were addicts, low-level dealers, shoplifters, and homeless people.
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The DEA said they arrested 171 ‘high ranking’ Sinaloa Cartel members. A Spotlight investigation found that’s not true. - The Boston Globe
A Globe investigation found that the federal agency misrepresented the stature of its targets, claiming cartel ties at a time when the Trump administration is taking lethal military action against such groups.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes walking to a parade do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer. They just don’t. And you can’t use riot control weapons against them.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/u...
nytimes.com
Judge Questions Border Patrol Leader Over Immigration Crackdown Tactics
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Can fast buses in New York actually be free? @stefanoschen.bsky.social + Larry Buchanan and I take a close look at an idea that has helped propel Zohran Mamdani's campaign for mayor. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Can Faster Buses Really Be Free? (Gift Article)
An analysis of the possible promise and fundamental tension in one of Zohran Mamdani’s big plans for New York.
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Katie Harbath @katieharbath.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
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.
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Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
One of the potential upsides of autonomous cars is that they could drive *better* and more safely than humans do. What's the point of programming them to have human-like sloppiness, making rolling stops and disobeying traffic laws? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Musk doubles down in fight with Trump administration, risking his empire
The tech executive has shown little sign of backing down from a battle over the future of NASA. It has spilled into the Transportation Department, which oversees regulation for Tesla.
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