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Kirsten Widner

@kirstenwidner.bsky.social
538 followers 799 following 54 posts

Assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I study the political representation of marginalized groups. Co-author of Race, Gender, and Political Representation: Towards a More Intersectional Approach.

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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I’m just spitballing here, but maybe we should take Nazi tattoos seriously as an indicator of character?
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Just a thought about that injustice of the tariffs being permitted to continue while the Court can to a decision that was always going to be the answer if they followed the Constitution: importers will get refunds. The consumers who overpaid and the businesses that struggled or closed, not so much
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Immigration officials should not carry deadly weapons. Ever.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Have you considered ordering them to work on it with all deliberate speed? www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
politico.com
Justices wonder how Trump could refund tariffs, if they decide against him
Justice Amy Coney Barrett cautioned during oral arguments Wednesday that the logistics of refunding companies that have paid the disputed duties would be “a mess.”
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
NEW: By a 6–3 vote, the Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to cancel Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants. KBJ, dissenting, says she "cannot abide our repeated, gratuitous, and harmful interference" while "lives hang in the balance." www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
I view today's decision as yet another grave misuse of our emergency docket. This Court should have stayed its hand. Having opted instead to join the fray, the Court plainly mis- judges the irreparable harm and balance-of-the-equities factors by privileging the bald assertion of unconstrained executive power over countless families’ pleas for the sta- bility our Government has promised them. Because, re- spectfully, I cannot abide our repeated, gratuitous, and harmful interference with cases pending in the lower courts while lives hang in the balance, I dissent.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
Never thought I’d say this, but I kind of miss the major questions doctrine
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
UTK graduate students crushing it at the #APSA2025 judicial poster session. Stop by and see Hannah and Matthew in the Exhibition Hall!
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
We had one of these Charlie Kirk events on our campus last spring. It was right outside my building. Life lost to violence is always tragic, but I can’t stop thinking about the poor students who witnessed it. They have a right to feel safe on their campus
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
“Expedited”
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Steven Mazie @stevenmazie.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
These decisions are so discouraging. Where is the remedy if the Court won't uphold basic constitutional standards? www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Live Updates: Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Immigration Stops in L.A.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
University of Tennessee Political Science is hiring! We have two open positions, one in comparative politics with a focus on China/Asia (apply.interfolio.com/1714560, and one in American Institutions (apply.interfolio.com/171457)! Come be my colleague! Knoxville is a great place to live!
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Look, I know that it’s not the only/best reason to love Justin Jones, but THAT JACKET
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
CBS has lost all credibility/integrity
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James Martin, SJ @jamesmartinsj.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Look, I don’t have to think Mandami is the best candidate to celebrate the fact that the sexual predator might not win
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
New publication alert! @elizabethlane.bsky.social and I examine how the institutional interests of the Office of the Solicitor General shape its positions and the justices' reactions to them 1/3 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Mixed Signals? Rethinking How Ideology and Institutional Motivations Shape the Solicitor General’s Positions - Kirsten Widner, Elizabeth A. Lane, 2025
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) wins more cases before the US Supreme Court than any other party. Recent scholarship shows that justices are most like...
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
As J. Sotomayors dissent says, the Republican Justices seem to think the Trump admin is injured “any time a court orders…it to refrain from doing something it would like to do.” But it cares nothing for the people sent to countries they don’t know - places they’re at risk of slavery, torture, more.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Rubio is a lawyer and officer of the court.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Teared up talking to my students about the Abrego Garcia case today. This is an absolutely wild time to be teaching Constitutional Law
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
My brilliant honors student just gave a great talk about the Tennessee anti-suffrage movement to a packed public audience 1/2
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I’m your huckleberry
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Disappeared Tufts Human Dev. PhD student Rumesya Ozturk is also a graduate of Teachers College - she’s a dev. psychologist studying children’s media & prosocial development. She also bakes without recipes and binge-watches cartoons. She is our colleague & she was abducted on the street w/ our tax $.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Rereading Trump v. US in prep for tomorrow's class and struck by language from Thomas's concurrence and its relevance to DOGE: "By requiring that Congress create federal offices by Law, the Constitution imposes an important check against the President—he cannot create offices at his pleasure." 1/2
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
RIP to a very good boy: www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Hurricane, the most decorated K-9 in White House history, dies at 15
The Belgian Malinois was lauded for protecting President Barack Obama and his family after an intruder hopped the White House fence in 2014.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
I have smart friends who write important things: goodauthority.org/news/misinfo... @carolyneholmes.bsky.social
goodauthority.org
What South Africa's new land act really says.
The Trump administration's executive order against South Africa makes unfounded claims about the new land act.
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𝕮𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖒 𝖎𝖘 𝖆 𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝕮𝖚𝖑𝖙 @mostwrechdcomodity.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.
BY EMAIL
Re: United States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH)
Mr. Bove,
I have received correspondence indicating that I refused your order to move to dismiss the indictment against Eric Adams without prejudice, subject to certain conditions, including the express possibility of reinstatement of the indictment. That is not exactly correct. The U.S.
Attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, never asked me to file such a motion, and I therefore never had an opportunity to refuse. But I am entirely in agreement with her decision not to do so, for the reasons stated in her February 12, 2025 letter to the Attorney General.
In short, the first justification for the motion-that Damian Williams's role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by ample evidence, and pursued under four different U.S. attorneys is so weak as to be transparently pretextual. The second justification is worse.
No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.
There is a tradition in public service of resigning in a last-ditch effort to head off a serious mistake. Some will view the mistake you are committing here in the light of their generally negative views of the new Administration. I do not share those views. I can even understand how a Chief Executive whose background is in business and politics might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S. attorney would know much i i red oril, in this ily. wing the perset arthro he Reside is ving to,
give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.
Please consider this my resignation. It has been an honor to serve as a prosecutor in the
Southern District of New York.
Yours truly,
Hagan Scotten
Assistant United States Att…
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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Framing matters. Stop saying racially charged when you mean racist. Stop letting DEI operate as a pejorative catch-all. Refer to the group(s) being targeted. Stop contrasting DEI with merit as if they are mutually exclusive rather than intertwined. DEI exists due to the past ABSENCE of merit.
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Academic Bluesky: I have a grad student who needs to do a bunch of open records requests for his dissertation. To avoid re-inventing the wheel I was wondering if anyone had a primer on FOIA requests already put together that you’d be willing to share
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Look what just arrived!
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Another grad student shining: Matthew Cooper presents our work on how partisanship and election timing affect prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
My grad student co-author Hannah crushing our presentation at #SPSA2025
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Interest Groups & Advocacy @igajournal.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Online First version of @annagunderson.bsky.social @kirstenwidner.bsky.social @mgmacdonald.bsky.social "interest group activity on social media" link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Lobbying in public: interest group activity on social media - Interest Groups & Advocacy
Social media has transformed political communication by making it easy to post and free to disseminate information. Interest groups can use social media platforms to direct messages to policymakers an...
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Social media had the potential to upend power imbalances in public communication and lobbying. Did it? We find online lobbying mostly follows the patterns documented elsewhere 1/2
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
An extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. Rest in Peace Mr. President www.politico.com/news/2024/12...
politico.com
Former President Jimmy Carter dead at 100
The nation’s 39th president left a long meaningful legacy after a difficult four years in the White House.
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Law & Courts Women @judicialwomen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
📚New book alert! 📚 Important and timely work from @kirstenwidner.bsky.social and @annagunderson.bsky.social #polisky
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Anna Gunderson @annagunderson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Interested in how litigants + amicus have (and will) respond to Trump SCOTUS justices? See our new book! Open access! 🎉🎉🎉
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
My @cambridgeup.bsky.social Element with @annagunderson.bsky.social is finally available, and the electronic versions is open access for the next month! www.cambridge.org/core/element.... 1/3
cambridge.org
The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021
Cambridge Core - American Studies - The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
I can’t.
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Dr. Susan Liebell @drsusanliebell.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Fabulous research on SCOTUS by @annagunderson.bsky.social and @kirstenwidner.bsky.social The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021. They joined me on the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast! newbooksnetwork.com/kirsten-widn... #PoliSky #LawSky 💙📚
newbooksnetwork.com
Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson, "The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021" (Cambridge UP, 2024) - New Books Network
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Helen De Cruz @helendecruz.net · 12/11/2024
Lots of academics on this place--so exciting. I'd love to get to know you better. Could you reply below here with a link to *one* article or book you recently co-authored that you love, and a brief description of what it's about? You can reskeet this for wider uptake so we get a nice list!
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 06/11/2024
Look, it might still go against the current indicators, but even if it does, that a man could commit sexual assault and other crimes, foment insurrection, deny legitimate election results, spew racist and sexist nonsense and still be this close to victory is deeply disheartening
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 01/11/2024
It was great to share my new work with @annagunderson.bsky.social on the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social this week! Check it out to learn about the downstream consequences of judicial appointments — and therefore presidential elections! newbooksnetwork.com/kirsten-widn...
newbooksnetwork.com
There has been a lot of commentary from scholars and journalists as to the meaning of Donald Trump’s three appointments to the United States Supreme Court – with regards to changes in jurisprudence, increased separation of the Court from political processes that legitimate it. Drs. Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson have done something a little different using tools from political science.
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Dr. Susan Liebell @drsusanliebell.bsky.social · 31/10/2024
Pre-election podcast on @kirstenwidner.bsky.social and @annagunderson.bsky.social's 🔥 new book The Haves and Have-Nots in SCOTUS Representation & Participation, 2016 to 2021. The new justices have affected WHO brings cases. #History #PoliSky #gendersky #LawSky 💙📚 newbooksnetwork.com/kirsten-widn...
newbooksnetwork.com
There has been a lot of commentary from scholars and journalists as to the meaning of Donald Trump’s three appointments to the United States Supreme Court – with regards to changes in jurisprudence, increased separation of the Court from political processes that legitimate it. Drs. Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson have done something a little different using tools from political science.
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Anna Gunderson @annagunderson.bsky.social · 31/10/2024
The presidential election is days away. What are the consequences of the election for who chooses to appear before SCOTUS? @kirstenwidner.bsky.social and I's new book digs into this question. We are on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social chatting about it! megaphone.link/NBNK6866203115
megaphone.link
Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson, "The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021" (Cambridge UP, 2024) by New Books in Political Science
An interview with Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson
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Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 26/10/2024
I guess it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to endorse Harris for president wapo.st/3UqHWRM
The Washington Post is not bothering to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. (Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin and the founder and executive chairman of Amazon and Amazon Web Services, also owns The Post.)
We as a newspaper suddenly remembered, less than two weeks before the election, that we had a robust tradition 50 years ago of not telling anyone what to do with their vote for president. It is time we got back to those “roots,” I’m told!
Roots are important, of course. As recently as the 1970s, The Post did not endorse a candidate for president. As recently as centuries ago, there was no Post and the country had a king! Go even further back, and the entire continent of North America was totally uninhabitable, and we were all spineless creatures who lived in the ocean, and certainly there were no Post subscribers.But if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement. I will spare you the suspense: I am endorsing Kamala Harris for president, because I like elections and want to keep having them.
Let me tell you something. I am having a baby (It’s a boy!), and he is expected on Jan. 6, 2025 (It’s a … Proud Boy?). This is either slightly funny or not at all funny. This whole election, I have been lurching around, increasingly heavily pregnant, nauseated, unwieldy, full of the commingled hopes and terrors that come every time you are on the verge of introducing a new person to the world.
Well, that world will look very different, depending on the outcome of November’s election, and I care which world my kid gets born into. I also live here myself. And I happen to care about the people who are already here, in this world. Come to think of it, I have a lot of reasons for caring how the election goes. I think it should be obvious that this is not an election for sitting out.The case for Donald Trump is “I erroneously think the economy used to be better? I know that he has made many ominous-sounding threats about mass deportations, going after his political enemies, shutting down the speech of those who disagree with him (especially media outlets), and that he wants to make things worse for almost every category of person — people with wombs, immigrants, transgender people, journalists, protesters, people of color — but … maybe he’ll forget.”
“But maybe he’ll forget” is not enough to hang a country on!
Embarrassingly enough, I like this country. But everything good about it has been the product of centuries of people who had no reason to hope for better but chose to believe that better things were possible, clawing their way uphill — protesting, marching, voting, and, yes, doing the work of journalism — to build this fragile thing called democracy. But to be fragile is not the same as to be perishable, as G.K. Chesterton wrote. Simply do not break a glass, and it will last a thousand years. Smash it, and it will not last an instant. Democracy is like that: fragile, but only if you shatter it.Trust is like that, too, as newspapers know.
I’m just a humor columnist. I only know what’s happening because our actual journalists are out there reporting, knowing that their editors have their backs, that there’s no one too powerful to report on, that we would never pull a punch out of fear. That’s what our readers deserve and expect: that we are saying what we really think, reporting what we really see; that if we think Trump should not return to the White House and Harris would make a fine president, we’re going to be able to say so.

That’s why I, the humor columnist, am endorsing Kamala Harris by myself!
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Kirsten Widner @kirstenwidner.bsky.social · 09/10/2024
This breaks my heart. Visiting Elephant Nature Park was one of the most wonderful travel experiences of my life: www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/w...
nytimes.com
Flooding Ravages Thai District Known for Elephant Parks
Two people have died following the intense rains that inundated the city of Chiang Mai and surrounding areas that are popular with tourists.
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