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Peter M. Shane

@petermshane.bsky.social
10K followers 1.6K following 972 posts

Constitutional and admin law prof. Author, Democracy's Chief Executive (U. Cal. 2022). Podcast host @DemChiefExecPod. @Monthly contributor. Corgi-obsessed.

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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The self-beclowning of such Senators would be more amusing if we weren’t paying their salaries.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The accelerating pace of tech progress: It took years to go from “The WWW will connect humanity!” to the evisceration of local journalism, and weeks from “Claude, give the dog in my photo a bigger smile,” to, “We’re all gonna die!”
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I can’t be the only one who wishes Norm McDonald were still among the living for Weekend Update to cover U.S.-Canadian relations.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
43 USC 364: "The Secretary of the Interior...shall provide for uniformity in geographic nomenclature...throughout the Federal Government...." Congress has enacted statutes that name "Lake Ontario" as part of the Great Lakes. I'd argue the "uniformity" requirement precludes second-guessing Congress.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Trump's determination to make the economy worse for his supporters is matched only by his relentless campaign to alienate our allies and generally to persuade the world that America is less powerful and less dependable than both friends and adversaries might have thought.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The writers and performers who have so far won the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song are all wonderful, but it's criminal that Dolly was not among the first winners. I mean, for example, I like Garth Brooks who won in 2020, but . . .
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Trump sees no difference between himself and his office or, for that matter, between himself and the USA. The office of President, he believes, constitutionally empowers him to do whatever he wants. The value of US relations with other countries is measured in how nicely their leaders treat him.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It is disheartening that roughly a third of Americans do not understand how profoundly Trump and Hegseth are unsuited for military leadership and how catastrophic are their complete lack of strategic vision. Also disheartening: Iran understands this perfectly.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
This is the funniest political ad you will see today . . . or maybe ever. youtu.be/QlHVxUMasu0?...
youtu.be
Ken Paxton Steals Pens
YouTube video by James Talarico
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The headline makes it appear that the column will be a scolding, but it's something much more constructive. I hope Mayor Mamdani, whom I deeply admire, will take the approach Thomas Friedman recommends. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Mamdani’s Netanyahu Stunt Was a Waste of His Talent and Our Time
What if Mamdani actually wanted to be a bridge builder between Israelis and Palestinians, a role for which he has the unique capacity and talent?
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
For the Regulatory Review's annual set of essays on the prior Supreme Court Term, I catalogue the FTC removal case's flaws and expand on the opinion's obliviousness to institutional consequence and pretense that this Court's unanimous predecessors were idiots: www.theregreview.org/2026/07/20/s...
theregreview.org
Article II Removal Power and the Roberts Court’s Reckless Hubris | The Regulatory Review
In weakening checks on executive power, the Roberts Court overlooks the wisdom of its predecessors.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Who knows what will come of Trump’s threat to cut off trade with Spain? But we normally run a trade surplus with Spain, so shutting down trade would worsen our balance of payments.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Is it an "own goal" that, by pushing FIFA to allow Folarin Balogun to play yesterday, Trump deprived himself of the opportunity to blame a U.S. loss on Balogun's nonparticipation?
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Just as the Atlantic piece saw Slaughter as the triumph of Reaganite unitary executive theory, this places it in the context of other decisions that limit the range and impact of legislative power. After Slaughter, the idea of 3 co-equal branches seems shaky. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/06/30/t....
washingtonmonthly.com
The Roberts Court and the Disappearing Congress
In the Slaughter case, the Roberts Court ignored the Founders, discarded precedent, and expanded executive power.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
My new piece on The Atlantic website identifies yesterday’s opinion in Trump v. Slaughter—the FTC presidential removal case—as the ultimate, longed-for triumph of the Reaganite unitary executive champions. Abuses of power expected shortly. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
The Ultimate Triumph of the Unitary Executive
A half century ago, a new and radical legal theory emerged. Now it is American law.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
An administration proud of our diversity, awed by American achievements in art, science, music, and literature, and appreciative of how immigrants have shaped our nation would have put on a grand celebration for our 250th instead of whatever the heck is going on in D.C.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
As much as I love this response, @ringwiss.bsky.social, who gets deep into the parliamentary weeds, tracked this and it appears that presentation did not occur Wednesday morning.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Serious questions: The NYT is reporting that Johnson "will" deliver the housing bill to the WH and start the clock for signature or veto. But didn't the House Clerk present it to the White House on Wed., morning before Trump called off signing? Didn't that start the clock? @joshchafetz.bsky.social?
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hypothetically: "Justice Alito has four opinions."
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Despite canceling his ceremony, if the "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act" was presented to Trump for signature today (June 24), it will become law (unless vetoed) by July 6 whether or not he signs it. U.S. Const., Art. I, Sec. 7.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Please post a link to the written remarks when available.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It certainly doesn't reflect well on Trump.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Regarding the lie that enslaved Africans needed white overseers to teach them how to do stuff: it was the West Africans who taught the whites how to grow rice and indigo, which made South Carolina the wealthiest of the British colonies in North America before the Revolution.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Trump, being Trump, could not resist fantasizing about the Italian PM, who apparently is the one G7 leader unprepared to pretend fawning admiration for him. And Trump, being Trump, can't take it when a woman rejects or criticizes him. And thus, once again, is the U.S. embarrassed on the world stage.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Iran is awarding him the FAFO Peace Prize.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
The deaths this week of Robert Coles and Gordon Wood have measurably lowered the average intellect of the English-speaking world.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
To a narcissist, all attention is experienced as positive.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
What about Ted Nugent and any number of testosterone-infused bands that turn out to be Nazis?
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
He is the signatory also of the laughably bad OLC opinion asserting the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. Among its patent flaws are treating the PRA as if enacted as part of Congress's oversight powers and neglecting Congress's explicit Article IV power to regulate government property.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
And Trump presents a worst case scenario because he recognizes no difference between the office and himself as a temporary incumbent. He executes only his own will.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Isn’t this in direct violation of 31 USC 5114(b)? “Only the portrait of a drceased individual may apoear on United States currency and securities.” www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait
The director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing who resisted the effort was reassigned last month. “The buck stopped here,” she wrote in her goodbye email.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Amid much discussion about the potential political fallout from gutting the VRA, what’s missing is the outrage that the Court, from Shelby County on, has usurped Congress’s explicit authority to decide on what legislation is appropriate for enforcing the 14th and 15th Ams. Not the original plan.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Seems surprising that Congress got a powerfully delivered “No Kings” message from (checks notes) King Charles III. www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
huffpost.com
King Charles Receives Standing Ovation In Congress While Discussing Government Checks And Balances
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Last month, I published an essay on the conservative divide over "major questions doctrine," as displayed in Trump's tariff loss, and how it might defeat his civil service shenanigans. I am grateful to Touro Law for inviting me to share the thoughts in podcast form. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1OV...
youtube.com
Professor Peter Shane on the The Major Questions Doctrine, the Tariffs Case, and the Civil Service
YouTube video by Touro Law Center
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
He plans to explain the Quran to his Iranian counterparts,
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
If @theatlantic.com pays even one dime to settle this BS, it will lose subscribers. Get discovery, people!
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
So much for Hamilton’s description of the Court as lacking “will.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...
nytimes.com
The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Turns out April 12 is not January 6. Congratulations to the people of Hungary!
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Enjoyed spending half an hour discussing the precarious state of checks and balances with Brian Endless, filling in for Edwin Eisendrath, on yesterday’s broadcast of “It’s the Democracy, Stupid,” on WCPT out of Chicago. omny.fm/shows/democr...
omny.fm
WCPT 820 Interview: Peter Shane - It's the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath (formerly The Big Picture)
Filling in for Edwin Eisendrath, Brian Endless is joined by Peter Shane, the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, and distin...
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Poetry can say it all.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I still don't understand how he lasted past the Access Hollywood tape or his public belittling of Serge Kovaleski's disability.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
It is the American civilization he is killing, one norm of decency, empathy, and accountability at a time.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
And in related news, "FEMA Hires Crackpot as Associate Administrator of its Office of Response and Recovery." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/u...
nytimes.com
No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
With amazing hubris, the Justice Department OLC has declared the Presidential Records Act of 1978 unconstitutional--even though the Supreme Court upheld the earlier statute on which it was expressly modeled. The opinion's issuance on April Fool's Day fits. If only. www.justice.gov/olc/media/14...
justice.gov
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
It is almost worth having Alan Dershowitz spew constitutional nonsense into our national conversation if it spawns rebuttals as beautifully written as this. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/02/a...
washingtonmonthly.com
Alan Dershowitz: Trump Can Serve a Third Term
The law professor argues that the president isn’t prevented from serving a third term. This former Dershowitz admirer begs to differ.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
The other lie in the DJT post is that only the U.S. has birthright citizenship.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
"There’s no military theory or really any kind of competition where the established wisdom is to cede the initiative to your opponent and then react to whatever they decide to do." Escalate on the Trump Admin’s ‘ICE at the Polls’ Plans Now talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/escal...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Escalate on the Trump Admin’s ‘ICE at the Polls’ Plans Now
In recent weeks there’s been a recurring story, albeit with different players....
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
He doesn't even qualify for a Perfect Attendance certificate.
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
SCOTUS: Under the Constitution, accountability ultimately depends upon the People! Also SCOTUS: The Constitution guarantees no one’s right to vote!
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Peter M. Shane @petermshane.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
But the resigning MAGA guy said it was all Israel’s fault! Saudi Prince Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...
nytimes.com
Saudi Prince Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls
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