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Madison Pauly

@msjpauly.bsky.social

15K followers 847 following 264 posts

Reporter covering gender and politics at @motherjones.com, part of the Center for Investigative Reporting Tips to mpauly at motherjones dot com Signal: madisonpauly.15 www.motherjones.com/author/madison-…

Posts Replies Media

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Sandy intro'd me to freelancing 10+ years ago and some of my most lasting lessons about journalism came from him. I bet this class is going to be good.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Former Levi's exec Jennifer Sey fanned a culture war over trans athletes in a league that has none—to the benefit of her clothing brand, XX-XY Athletics. "I know my mom isn’t that invested" in the WNBA, her son told me. "But...I guess the vultures will circle." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

The woman profiting off the WNBA's trans panic

Sophie Cunningham set off a firestorm. Jennifer Sey was ready to capitalize.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I’d love to talk to some trans WNBA fans about witnessing the Sophie Cunningham news cycle. If this is you and you’re open to chatting with a reporter, DM me!

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

There's been so many Trump administration attacks on trans healthcare lately it's almost hard to keep track, and easy to get exhausted. But I think we're going to be hearing a lot more of this "billing code fraud" line, so I dove in: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

The Trump admin launches a new angle of attack against trans healthcare

Federal officials referred over 150 healthcare organizations for investigation into allegations of fraud.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

A powerful essay. Worth reading.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 12/08/2026

Residents in a deep red Pennsylvania district were getting fed up with becoming a dumping ground for America’s waste. Reporter Madison Pauly spoke to many of them after they found out they were about to get another thing nobody asked for: a mega ICE detention center.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Big update: The Trump admin just issued its final rule banning CHIP and Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming care for minors. The rule will take effect in 6 months, and from then allows a 6-month tapering period for patients already on hormone therapy. www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...

federalregister.gov

Public Inspection: Medicaid Program: Prohibition on Federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures Furnished to Children

Medicaid Program: Prohibition on Federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures Furnished to Children

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Abraham Gutman @abgutman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I listened last night to @pablo.show’s episode about Riley Gaines with @msjpauly.bsky.social. Hearing the evolution of Gaines’ rhetoric about Lia Thomas — eventually comparing trans athletes to sexual abusers — is really stunning. Here is what Gaines said days after that race (notice pronouns):

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

"But something else has shifted in Tremont. After the [successful] fight against the detention center, 'It doesn’t matter if they’re Democrat, Republican, the town has come together'...” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

How the threat of an ICE detention center galvanized a Trump-country coal town

“We do deserve better than a plethora of data centers, detention centers, warehouses, biosolids processing plants, massive landfills.”

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Well, this had DLR Group written all over it, and sure enough, it's them! Employees who believed in this "humane prison design" PR-speak got a rude awakening this year when they learned DLR Group was working on an ICE detention center:

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

“We never went far enough to repair the original sin of the separations at the border. And now we’re perpetrating that same harm all over again.” I wrote about how the Trump administration is violating a landmark settlement agreement for families who were separated at the border years ago.

motherjones.com

Separated at the Border, Torn Apart Again

Years after being split up and reunited, a family gets caught in Trump’s immigration dragnet.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The thing about that Heritage Center paper against women's sports is not just the hypocrisy, or even the blatant sexism. A real argument is building in the courts to toss the longstanding rules that have caused schools to expand girls' sports. The story: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

The Heritage Foundation only wanted to protect women's sports when it was about trans athletes

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

You know the ICE officer who killed someone in Maine and was then accused by two ex-wives of abuse? Turns out he was likely eligible to skip a significant portion of training after ICE hired him, due to a policy change under this administration. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

What ICE should have known when it hired David Brouillette

The officer who killed a young father in Maine had been accused of abuse by two ex-wives. He was also eligible to skip weeks of training in Georgia.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I've been joking with journalist friends that I went to a rural diner in Trump country and all I found were secret Democrats and a non-voter. It's true! How Schuylkill County, PA, rose up against an ICE warehouse—and decades of being treated as a "dumping ground" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

How the threat of an ICE detention center galvanized a Trump-country coal town

“We do deserve better than a plethora of data centers, detention centers, warehouses, biosolids processing plants, massive landfills.”

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) previously denied a report, also alleged in court records, that he pushed a girl down a flight of stairs in high school. But the woman recently told me the alleged incident remains "one of the more traumatic nights of my life." Inside the investigation: ow.ly/8xU450ZpaNp

Assault, misogyny, verbal threats: Records detail new allegations against Rep. Max Miller

Police reports and filings in a bitter custody dispute raise new questions about the conduct of an Ohio Republican as he campaigns for a third term.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Huge news: NPR reports that the Trump administration has abandoned its proposed "nuclear weapon" against trans youth care—a rule that would have pulled *all* Medicaid and Medicare funding for *all* patients from hospitals that provided gender-affirming care for minors www.npr.org/2026/07/13/n...

Trump's HHS abandons threat to withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding over trans care

NPR has learned that the Department of Health and Human Services will not be finalizing its most aggressive attempt to end gender-affirming care for youth nationally.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Publishing this story in this political climate takes ridiculous levels of nerve and nuance. But @julialurie.bsky.social pulls it off. Her investigation into the psychological side effects of hormonal birth control, and the researchers working to improve it: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Did birth control make my depression worse?

What I wish I'd known about my IUD.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Today, SCOTUS ruled that states can ban trans girls from girls' sports. To get there, it watered down the way it analyzes Constitutional protections against sex discrimination. My analysis with comments from @maryrziegler.bsky.social and @avaayers.bsky.social: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

The Supreme Court's trans athlete ruling is a threat to gender equality

Justice Brett Kavanaugh is "not only creating a bad precedent for trans people, he’s significantly lowering the protection all women get."

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Riley Gaines was paid at least $6,600 from the private PayPal account of Polymarket's chief marketing officer to hype up the service, per this Politico scoop: www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds

The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Had a blast last night at the Sports Emmys with @pablo.show's hilarious and talented crew. Such an honor to be there!

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 14/05/2026

David Venturella, who spent more than a decade as an executive at the private-prison behemoth GEO Group, will be the next acting director of ICE. This has been a banner year for GEO Group, the largest private prison contractor incarcerating immigrants in the US: ICE is its single largest client.

motherjones.com

Trump taps former private prison exec to run ICE

GEO Group's biggest client is ICE—and ICE's new leader helped run GEO Group.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

After many failed attempts to subpoena trans kids' private health records, DOJ is now trying to get them via criminal grand jury in Texas. "This is mafia-type behavior," Shannon Minter tells @hurwitz.bsky.social. This will be a new test of blue-state shield laws. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

New York hospital faces criminal subpoena in Texas over trans youth care

"This is mafia-type behavior."

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

A mystery donor in Nebraska is spending $1.6 million on a ballot initiative banning trans girls from girls' sports—duplicating an existing state law. Uihlein is spending $800k on the same in Maine. What do these two states have in common? Close Senate races. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Are anti-trans ballot initiatives being used as Republican “ballot candy”?

At least one candidate has admitted his statewide referendum targeting trans kids is intended to drive GOP voter turnout.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

The ruling does not affect misoprostol, the second medication used with mifepristone to terminate pregnancies—and a powerful abortion drug on its own. “Abortion is too important,” says @greerdonley.bsky.social. “People are going to find ways around the law." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

A right-wing court just moved to choke off abortion by mail

A sweeping decision threatens to unravel one of the last remaining pathways to care post-Dobbs.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Today's demolition of Voting Rights Act by Roberts Court will likely trigger largest drop in Black representation since end of Reconstruction. They're taking America back to Jim Crow, when white supremacy and one party rule enshrined across South www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Supreme Court deals a death blow to the Voting Rights Act

The "now-completed demolition" of the law could take us back to the Jim Crow era.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Update: A federal judge this weekend issued a *permanent injunction* blocking HHS from defunding healthcare providers for offering trans youth care—likely including the proposed Medicare & Medicaid regs, per @gladlaw.bsky.social. And it's a spicy opinion! www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Federal judge calls RFK Jr. an “unsafe” leader in order protecting trans youth health care

The broad ruling was designed to deflect future attacks on gender-affirming care for kids.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Considering starting every future article with "Here is the promise you and I must cling to across the thousands of words that follow." @caity.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

theatlantic.com

I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America

Thirteen thousand miles. Infinite contenders. One beautiful loaf.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

The authors of the HHS report on trans youth health care were chosen by the Manhattan Institute's Leor Sapir. Now, a rule based on the controversial report could wipe out this care at hospitals. Parents are begging the administration not to go through with it. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Trump is about to drop a “nuclear weapon” on trans youth health care

How a report led by a right-wing pundit laid the groundwork for upending gender-affirming treatment

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

"This was one of the big reasons that we all won....I want to thank Riley. She really has been in the forefront.” - Trump, February 2025

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

The conversion therapy interest group profiled in this story with @hencarnell.bsky.social is cheering today's SCOTUS ruling. "Clients who have been forced to believe in LGBTQ ideology have faced irreversible harm in some cases," president David Pickup says. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

First they tried to "cure" gayness. Now they're fixated on "healing" trans people.

Inside the movement to resurrect conversion therapy.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

The Supreme Court's "conversion therapy" decision today is indefensible on its own terms. A ton of medical regulations restrict speech on the basis of "viewpoint." Nobody thinks they're unconstitutional. This court just subjects pro-LGBTQ protections to special hostility. slate.com/news-and-pol...

Yet anti-LGBTQ+ therapists now enjoy a First Amendment right that is denied to abortion providers. But as Jackson pointed out, the inconsistency runs deeper. After Chiles, parents who seek to “convert” their transgender children have a constitutional right to do so. But thanks to last year’s decision in Skrmetti, parents who seek to affirm their transgender children with medication have no such right. States can ban gender-affirming medication but evidently cannot ban anti-transgender talk therapy. And the majority does not explain why anti-LGBTQ+ speech receives heightened protections when other viewpoints do not. Surely, Jackson wrote, a state can direct doctors to discourage, and not encourage, smoking cigarettes. It can prohibit doctors “from telling an anorexic patient to eat less” while allowing them to recommend eating more. It can stop doctors from encouraging patients to end their lives. These laws, too, censor speech on the basis of the state’s preferred viewpoint—in Gorsuch’s words, they “enforce orthodoxy.” Why is it, then, that nobody seriously argues that they’d violate the First Amendment, too?

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 31/03/2026

In an 8-1 decision on this year's Trans Day of Visibility, the Supreme Court ruled against a Colorado law forbidding licensed therapists from a practice known as conversion therapy that the medical profession has long since discredited and condemned.

motherjones.com

On Trans Day of Visibility, Supreme Court sides with conversion therapy

The 8-1 ruling threatens to overturn bans on the discredited practice in 23 states.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Reo Eveleth @reveleth.com · 26/03/2026

if you want to know the history of this kind of policy, I made a podcast two years ago that explained why these tests make no sense, how they were already used and eventually abandoned by the IOC in the 80's and 90's, and the devastating impacts they have on real athletes: www.tested-podcast.com

tested-podcast.com

TESTED – A surprising history of women’s sports

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Holy cow my investigation into Riley Gaines for @pablo.show was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Sports Journalism!!! Cannot stop dancing around my apartment. Here's the show if you missed it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUl...

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

@byninamartin.bsky.social has written the definitive policy story on how it came to be that abortions are more accessible than ever *after* the fall of Roe v. Wade. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

How blue states got around the GOP’s efforts to ban abortion in red states

Four years ago, shield laws didn't exist. Now, they are one of the strongest weapons in the reproductive-rights arsenal.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

A bunch of architects basically said: Not on our watch www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Top architecture firm won’t design more ICE prisons after employees revolt

They thought their firm focused on humane design. Then they learned of the private detention center contract.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

SCOOP: The #1 "Justice Facility" architecture firm in the country, DLR Group, has committed not work on ICE detention or deportation facilities, after workers raised ethical objections to a deal to turn an an old private prison in Oklahoma into a new ICE jail. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Top architecture firm won’t design more ICE prisons after employees revolt

They thought their firm focused on humane design. Then they learned of the private detention center contract.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Kris Kobach started trying mess with trans people’s drivers licenses as soon as Kansas legislators approved the so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights,” imposing a legal definition of sex, in 2023 but courts held him back. Until the legislature decided to escalate. Revoking licenses with 3 days notice.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I wanted to know the backstory of the executive order that defined "man" and "woman"—the foundation for the Trump admin's targeting of trans people. So I took a deep dive into the conservative strategy & distorted feminism behind it. And I talked to the author. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Meet the mastermind behind Trump’s definition of "woman"

May Mailman’s anti-trans crusade could threaten gender equality for all.

Reposted by Madison Pauly

imogen sayers @imogensayers.ca · 26/01/2026

everyone should go listen to this comprehensive episode on trans athletes and take note! everyone involved did a great job of digging into how trans women ended up banned from athletics -- and a profile by me of the last openly trans woman to swim as a woman in the NCAA

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

I've got updates and a recap of my Riley Gaines reporting in this week's Reveal episode! Also featuring a dive into the science of trans athletes by @holarascon.bsky.social and a powerful profile of one of the last trans women to swim in the NCAA, by Imogen Sayers www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

How women’s sports became a battleground over trans rights

Riley Gaines turns a fifth-place tie in college swimming into a career in anti-trans activism. Soon, she’s sharing the stage with the president.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Taking a break from my Work Posts Only rule because my January (!) tomato haul is too pretty not to share.

a basket of green-to-orange sungold tomatoes

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Here's what you need to know ahead of tomorrow's SCOTUS arguments on transgender athletes www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Supreme Court battle over trans athletes is about so much more than sports

"It's just one part of a plan to push transgender people like me out of the public life entirely."

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Thrilled to share that my Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablo.show) episode on Riley Gaines was nominated for a GLAAD media award in the Outstanding Podcast Episode category! glaad.org/mediaawards/... Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUl...

What Is Riley Gaines Hiding? We Investigated | PTFO

YouTube video by PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT

Reposted by Madison Pauly

Henry Carnell @hencarnell.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Earlier this year, @msjpauly.bsky.social and I spent tens of hours speaking to trans kids and their families about their lives under Trump 2.0. Now is not a bad time to re-read it. Coverage of the latest news coming from colleagues at Mother Jones later today.

motherjones.com

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep her safe"

How families are fighting to survive Trump's war on transgender kids

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

I’ve spent a lot of the last three years investigating the rise of anti-trans politics. Often, it came back to the controversy over trans women athletes. So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines. www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/

motherjones.com

How right-wing superstar Riley Gaines built an anti-trans empire

The swimmer tied a trans woman for fifth. The MAGA industrial complex took care of the rest.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Cw: suicide This article is devastating. Earlier this month, a 15-year-old died by suicide the day after posting about a substitute teacher insisting on misgendering him. Suicide can have many contributing factors. His family is speaking out about bullying and misgendering as two.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

We finally know the identities of the 9 anonymous authors of the May HHS report on pediatric gender-affirming care. Surprise! It's stacked with people who make money advocating against pediatric gender-affirming care. Here's our writeup from May: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

"The right’s gripe isn’t just that trans people exist, but that their existence is tearing down the old world—of good men, obedient women, traditional family structures—and unleashing a new, godless age of chaos and precarity on you." @schuylermitchell.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

How the right uses "gender ideology" to blame trans people for everything

MAGA learned from global autocrats the language needed to push fear.

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Powerful from @katelynburns.com on the death of Lia Smith. I'll never forget watching an anti-trans mvmt leader try to reassure her allies that trans youth "are not suicidal because of us." Now, they either deny trans people's suffering or call it a kind of abuse. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...

Excerpt from Teen Vogue article: "There are some professional transphobes who have deluded themselves into thinking that there is no evidence that trans people do anything more than threaten to take their own lives to manipulate others into getting our way. Those of us on the ground, who have trans friends, who are up all night making sure a trans friend having a mental crisis is able to work their way through it, know the truth."