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Christine Kexel Chabot

@kexelchabot.bsky.social
5.7K followers 322 following 276 posts

Professor of Law @ Marquette. Is the administrative state history?

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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Since when is it anti-democratic for a President to abide by the terms of a federal statute? @leahlitman.bsky.social @profmmurray.bsky.social @kateshaw.bsky.social have an important new paper highlighting slippery slope problems presented by the strong form of UET: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Is the Unitary Executive Democratic or Autocratic Governance?
This essay examines whether the unitary executive theory provides for democratic or autocratic governance. It argues that the unitary executive theory's underly
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
W/o getting drawn into the "seriously or literally" / "it'll never happen" trap, we need to stomp *hard* on the continuing effort to undermine Article 1 power of the purse by saying that this or that revenue stream makes something outside the normal budget process. 1/ www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...
nbcnews.com
Lutnick says Trump’s $5,000 checks for Americans wouldn’t rely on taxpayer funds
A top White House official suggested Congress would use a budget process to fund them. Vice President JD Vance had said tariff revenues.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🧵 I'm curious about competing historical evidence in Trump v. Barbara.
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Dan Walters @profdanwalters.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
New paper 🚨: SCOTUS has made democratic theory a central part of its consolidation of presidential power over agencies, but its democratic vision is chock full of empirical and normative holes, which I unpack in a forthcoming essay in the Duke Law Journal. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I must say, the person selling unlimited wash packages at the local car wash really enjoyed hearing about my upcoming research agenda/teaching schedule in response to the question, what prevents you from coming back at least 2x in the next 30 days?
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Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
This is a fantastic article that uses critical evidence most scholars didn’t even know existed. If you believe in the relevance of historical practice, find originalism an appealing approach to constitutional interpretation, or care about the history of public administration, this is for you!
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
If removal is a matter that the Constitution commits to Congress's discretion (as a matter of office creation under the Appointments and Necessary and Proper Clauses) then one would expect removal to vary by statute.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
In the wake of Trump v. Slaughter, everyone has been scrambling for a way to distinguish tenure protected officers from those who are removable at will. My updates to “The Interstitial Executive” drive home that history offers a basic yet overlooked way to make this distinction: statutes.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
This is a fatal flaw in Roberts' analysis in Slaughter. He cites a 1780 note in which Thomas Jefferson *recognized* good behavior and term of years tenure protections.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Great news for folks teaching Leg Reg this fall. You may expect pushback for teaching legislative history, but CJ Roberts just made legislative history the centerpiece of his argument for a categorical Art II removal power in Slaughter. Game on!
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
A must read analysis of Slaughter/Cook by @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social @janemanners.bsky.social www.justsecurity.org/145132/lost-...
justsecurity.org
“Lost to History”: Uses and Abuses of the Past in Slaughter and Cook
In these two cases, the Court misread history with an unmistakable result: two fundamentally irreconcilable decisions.
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Cathay Smith @cathaysmith.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
What are you wearing for America at 250 tomorrow? Check out my new essay with Prof. Felicia Caponigri @fashionbyfelicia.bsky.social in The Fashion Law @tfl.bsky.social on the American flag in fashion: www.thefashionlaw.com/america-at-2... 🇺🇸 #July4 #AmericaAt250 #fashion #trademark #copyright
thefashionlaw.com
America at 250: Who Owns the American Flag in Fashion?
As the United State of American marks its 250th anniversary, the American flag occupies a unique place in fashion.
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
So, this is in print now. Title pretty much says it all. virginialawreview.org/articles/abo...
https://virginialawreview.org/articles/abolish-conspiracy/

Abolish Conspiracy, by me, now in the Virginia Law Review
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Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
There is so much bs and bad faith, but I’ll just note that this response to @kexelchabot.bsky.social’s excellent scholarship on the Sinking Fund is utterly incomprehensible:
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Jed H. Shugerman @jedshug.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Unitary Executive thread: SCOTUS decided Slaughter & Cook. 6-3 for Trump, overturning Humphrey's. 5-4 for Cook & Fed independence. All 6 conservatives confirmed they do not understand or care about historical evidence or originalist methods. 1/ www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Completely botches the history! Power to remove the CJ/VP from the Sinking Fund Commission makes no sense given the comm’ns structure, Hamilton’s stated desire for a politically insulated body, and presidential commissions for CJs who served on executive bodies.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Honored that my article (Interring the Unitary Executive) was cited in Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in Trump v. Slaughter:
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Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Now up on @ssrn.bsky.social, my latest with @levmenand.bsky.social on The Case for Administrative Law Pluralism, forthcoming in the exciting new edited collection by @blakeprof.bsky.social, @joshuamacey.bsky.social, @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social, and Bijal Shah. (1/4) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The Case for Administrative Law Pluralism
<p><span>Federal administrative law is in flux. The Roberts Court has upended its doctrinal foundations, and the Second Trump Administration has flouted its lon
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 17/06/2026
The Battle over the Constitution Has Spread to American Science. I'm out in the @theatlantic.com today about the new OMB proposed rule. It's just the longtime agenda of the the Supreme Court. US science and cancer cures now all depend on us picking up a fight with the Roberts Court.
theatlantic.com
The Unitary Executive Takes Over New Territory
The Trump administration’s theory of how the federal government should work is a threat to American science.
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Christine Kooi @christinekooi.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Happy Defenestration of Prague Day to all who observe. #earlymodern
17thC engraving of a group of men trying to throw two nobles out of a window
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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Such arguments giving presidents the full privileges of kings are nonsense. As prominent judges like St George Tucker wrote after the revolution (1803) about the sections of Blackstone’s common law treatise that concerned the king’s privileges: irrelevant in the US because we are a republic
brennancenter.org
15 Historians File Amicus Brief in Trump v. US Debunking Immunity Claim
Historians show that history doesn’t support presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
A must-read. Congrats!
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
No, Article II/UET does not exempt the President from the rest of the Constitution: news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
UnAmerican? @lawprofblawg.bsky.social ?
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
This may be news to the Fifth Circuit, but we’ve had laws regulating home distilleries as a means of taxing spirits since at least 1791:
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
🧵A few takeaways on the role of original public meaning in the oral argument for Trump v. Barbara. Both sides cited historical sources from relevant time periods to explain the text of the 14A. Do competing historical arguments mean that the matter is impossible to resolve as a matter of OPM?
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Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
My contribution to the great Balkinization symposium on @slskowronek.bsky.social’s exciting new book is now live! balkin.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-...
The Adaptability Paradox raises a profound and challenging question about the way the Constitution works. Steve uses that question to retell the history of American government as the shift between a series of different settlements, which has only recently broken down. I wonder, though, whether the book suggests a different historical account, one that emphasizes not consensus, but dissensus. In this way, his book points us towards a new approach to Constitutional theory—and new historical and political projects that would go with it.
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Nathaniel Donahue @nwdonahue.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
I really like how this article offers a different answer to the question of removal than either 1) total indefeasible removal or 2) absolutely no removal power. It’s an interesting intermediate position that I don’t think has been adequately considered!
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
“The Interstitial Executive” is forthcoming in the BYU Law Review! Historical officer commissions show that the Founding generation recognized Congress’s power to insulate executive officials from political control. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Update on litigation over inferior officers: In Jackler v. DOJ and Jaroch v. DOJ, the MSPB has concluded that (1) IJs are inferior officers and (2) Article II allows the Attorney General these officers at will (i.e., the tenure protections are unconstitutional). www.mspb.gov/decisions/pr...
mspb.gov
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
“Why?”
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Jonathan Gienapp @jgienapp.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
New symposium on my book is out in the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities! It features essays by an extraordinary group of scholars from across Law and History followed by my response. yaleconnect.yale.edu/yjlh/yjlh-is...
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Katie Eyer @katieeyer.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Honored to find out that I am on this list of top-cited legal scholars again this year: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... Lots of others on this list whose work I deeply admire, including @jessicaclarke.bsky.social @miriamseifter.bsky.social @jdmortenson.bsky.social and many others! Congrats, all!
papers.ssrn.com
The Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2025
Traditional legal scholarship rankings rely almost exclusively on career-long publication metrics, a method that inherently favors decades-old articles and ofte
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Wondering how the Court should decide Trump v. Slaughter? Check out the latest version of my new paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
University of Michigan: On Friday, come participate in a day-long conference discussing/criticizing my new book *The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power.* With Profs. Jack Balkin (Yale), Maggie Blackhawk (NYU), Sam Erman (Michigan), Jonathan Gienapp (Stanford)… (1/4)
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Jed H. Shugerman @jedshug.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I’m excited to participate in this symposium “Constitutional Checks and Balances Under Trump’s Second Term” on Friday! Our panel at 1:30: Humphrey’s & Appointment/Removal: @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social @kexelchabot.bsky.social @chrisjwalker.bsky.social www.villanova.edu/university/l...
villanova.edu
The Villanova Law Review 2026 Norman J. Shachoy Symposium, 02/20 | Villanova University
This year’s Villanova Law Review Norman J. Shachoy Symposium features a series of discussions on constitutional checks and balances, focusing on how the modern executive branch shapes those checks.
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Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
It’s easy to lose this in the shuffle. Legal academia has always occupied an uncomfortable position between politics and the ivory tower. But for many (most?) of us the primary aim is scholarly. If we’d wanted to be primarily advocates we’d have gone into practice (and be so rich!!!). 1/3
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Roses are red, Violets are blue, UET may be on the rise, But as a matter of history, it’s simply not true. @jedshug.bsky.social @jdmortenson.bsky.social @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social @narosenblum.bsky.social @janemanners.bsky.social
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Allen Sumrall @asumrall.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Just discovered that one of my articles was published! In it, I argue that judicial power has multiple components or dimensions, one of which is ideational. In other words, ideas and norms about courts’ proper role empower them over and above the traditional formal sources of power. Check it out!
scholarship.law.marquette.edu
The Ideational Dimension of Judicial Power
The judiciary dominates contemporary American politics. In the United States, courts have overcome their humble origins to act as central figures in nearly every major policy dispute and separation of...
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Nooooo! Hoping to shake the Great Gatsby vibes in 2026.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
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Steven Mazie @stevenmazie.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
If the FTC and other (formerly) independent agencies are placed under the president's thumb, America can kiss impartiality goodbye. Opportunities for corruption will be legion. My story this week w @dlknowles.bsky.social www.economist.com/united-state...
economist.com
The Supreme Court is handing Donald Trump more power
What overturning Humphrey’s Executor means for the presidency
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
It’s a great piece! I learned so much reading it.
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Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
(1) We have had agencies that are run by people the President cannot fire since the beginning, as @kexelchabot.bsky.social has documented in exacting detail. There is nothing anomalous about independent agencies. (2) Presidents have sometimes *supported* agency independence. (1/4)
A list of some of Christine’s fantastic articles on unitary executive theory
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Fixed term for the Revolutionary War Debt Commission was a limitation on at pleasure removal. Read Jane Manners!
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Jed H. Shugerman @jedshug.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
50/ Finally, Kagan asks for an update on the legal history. Agarwal FINALLY gets back to the First Congress, citing examples. More specifics on the Sinking Fund: The president could neither appoint nor remove some of those commissioners. The chief justice and the VP! See @kexelchabot.bsky.social
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