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Richard Primus

@richardprimus.bsky.social
7.5K followers 77 following 824 posts

Professor, University of Michigan Law School. Senior Editorial Adviser, Journal of American Constitutional History. I study the constitutional past and try to do my part for the rule of law in the present.

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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
About to discuss my book The Oldest Constitution Question with the students in Randy Barnett’s class at Georgetown. He sent me their criticisms in advance: good stuff. Glad to be here doing this. @georgetownlaw.bsky.social
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Who could have guessed that a scofflaw administration that has suffered few consequences for lawbreaking would openly break more and more laws to serve its political interests? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
A Trump 2024 Campaign Ad Returns, Now Brought to You by the Government
The ad, which ethics experts said could violate federal law, shows Mr. Trump vowing to “expel the warmongers” from the government and fight the “deep state,” even as he wages a war with Iran.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The law school asked me to recommend three books for law students (or anyone interested in stuff law students might be interested in). Here's my response. www.instagram.com/p/DdBzButx6k...
instagram.com
Michigan Law on Instagram: "Professor Richard Primus shares #3Books. Two related to constitutional law and one about rabbits.  His recs are:  Race and Reunion by David Blight How to Hide an Empire by...
422 likes, 7 comments - umichlaw on September 8, 2026: "Professor Richard Primus shares #3Books. Two related to constitutional law and one about rabbits.  His recs are:  Race and Reunion by David Bli...
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
And we’re up!
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Going soon to spend a wet afternoon at Michigan Stadium. Not going to boo the visitors when they take the field. They’re supposed to take the field. #GoBlue #MightAsWellBeAMensch
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Spending the day at the University of Georgia as the Constitution Day speaker. My first time here. Everyone has been super-nice. My God it’s hot. @universityofga.bsky.com
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Kennedy Center: Kulturkampf and Fit of Spite.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#CanYouSeeWhyThePosterIsClearlyNotAMichigander?
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MDefenders at Michigan Law @mdefenders.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
An incredible Public Defender Training Institute Retreat this weekend preparing students for careers in indigent defense. Thanks to amazing cofacilitators Rick Barinbaum Saeeda Joseph-Charles Blase Kearney & Anna Yaldo for your time wisdom & thoughtful feedback michigan.law.umich.edu/public-defen...
michigan.law.umich.edu
Public Defender Training Institute | University of Michigan Law School
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Some thoughts about last night at Michigan Stadium, and not about the clock. 1) We, the Michigan Wolverines, do not look so good. (1/6)
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
First day of football season. Town filling up. Looking forward to going to the stadium. Not going to boo the visitors when they come on the field. They aren't doing anything wrong by coming on the field. In fact, they'd be doing something wrong by *not* coming on the field. Give a gracious welcome.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
DJT has publicly threatened a journalist (Welker) w/ FCC retaliation for making accurate, unflattering statements about DJT. We're no longer surprised. But it's entirely unacceptable. Should be per se disqualifying for office in the USA. Nobody who cares about free speech gets to pretend otherwise.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I've just finished a new article by David Schwartz (Wisconsin), called *The Birth of Compact Theory,* in the most recent issue of the Journal of American Constitutional History. It's the most important piece of new legal scholarship I've read all summer. jach.law.wisc.edu/the-birth-of...
jach.law.wisc.edu
The Birth of Compact Theory
For claims about constitutional interpretation that hinge on the Constitution’s “original meaning,” it matters whether members of the Philadelphia Convention, or the state ratifying conventions, or th...
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Anne is one of the best in the business. See her if you can. @ajosephoconnell.bsky.social @jdmortenson.bsky.social
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Always read @mikegrunwald.bsky.social. michaelgrunwald.substack.com/p/reflecting...
michaelgrunwald.substack.com
Reflecting on the Reflecting Pool, and Whether Our Government Can Manage a Two-Car Funeral
Corruption, weaponization, and politicization are all bad. But don't forget incompetence!
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Benjamin Wittes @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org · 25/08/2026
It is not up to the president what the Kennedy Center is called. It is not up to the president what the Department of Defense is called. It is not up to the president what the Gulf of Mexico is called. It is not up to the president what Lake Ontario is called.
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Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Attention @umichlaw.bsky.social students: if you are interested in public defense or criminal legal system reform, please check out the MDefenders calendar of events below and join us!
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The new issue of the Journal of American Constitutional History is out today. Articles by Emily Rieger about pragmatism and the legal process school, Zachary Brown about Madisonian nationalism, and David Schwartz about compact theory. jach.law.wisc.edu
jach.law.wisc.edu
Journal of American Constitutional History
The Journal of American Constitutional History is a peer-reviewed web-based journal publishing high-quality scholarship on U.S. constitutional history. Our editorial board includes over 60 leading sch...
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I've written a bit about this in my contribution to the forthcoming "Building Democratic Capacity" volume, but there's a lot more to say. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Empowering and Fearing Government: Democratic Countervailing Power and the Future of the Administrative State
This essay examines three competing responses to the crisis of the administrative state in the Trump Era: libertarianism; proceduralist liberalism drawing on Ch
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
As someone who's been working in both "democratic backsliding" and "state capacity" camps, I found today's @donmoyn.bsky.social piece very useful. I've been meaning to write something myself about the tension, particularly w/r/t unitary executive theory. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-could...
donmoynihan.substack.com
What could a post-Trump governance coalition look like?
It should be being built now
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This @liberalcurrents.com piece is great. To rebuild our democracy, we have to rebuild congressional capacity. www.liberalcurrents.com/congress-nee...
liberalcurrents.com
Congress Needs Its Tech Experts Back
If Congress is to tackle issues from DOGE sabotage to AI to social media, it needs to resurrect its Office of Technology Assessment.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Greetings from Michigan. I think this is pretty good. El-Sayed’s Winning Path in Michigan www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | El-Sayed’s Winning Path in Michigan
A swing-state Democratic Senate nominee needs to keep saying this: Jews have a right to a Jewish homeland.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I’ve just finished “The Bootlegger,” in Amor Towles’s new *Table for Two.* Gorgeous.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
It’s really unacceptable. (11/11) (End) @bcbsmichigan.bsky.social Oh, here’s the check:
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
This thread is about the rather awful process involved in getting Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (“BCBSM”) to pay benefits that it is clearly supposed to pay. @bcbsmichigan.bsky.social (1/11)
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Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. And also the monkeys and tigers and bees. You’re wiping them out. You’re doing great harm. But your weapon ain’t data. Your weapon is farm. I know I’m off message. I’m sorry to nag. But if you want more forests you’ll have to shrink ag.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Just discovered this podcast called Unlikely Partners, about Israelis and Palestinians who work together. I hope it’s good. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com
Storytelling and Bridge-Building - with Nuseir Yassin and Ayelet Weissman
Podcast Episode · Unlikely Partners · July 26 · 34m
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The diag on UM’s central campus. Wheelchairs? Baby strollers? Ambulances? If so: bicycles? #HLAHartRidesAgain
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Prepping next week's Torah reading. One verse begins with the Hebrew word "Ve-heyseer," meaning "And he will ward off." My phone keeps interrupting to ask what I want.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Always read @sbagen.bsky.social.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Good post from @rickhills.bsky.social: Cook v. Trump and the Banks of the United States as a Case Study in Judicial Amnesia: How Judges Selectively Forget Dissensus in Minting New Political Precedents prawfsblawg.com/cook-v-trump...
prawfsblawg.com
Cook v. Trump and the Banks of the United States as a Case Study in Judicial Amnesia: How Judges Selectively Forget Dissensus in Minting New Political Precedents
The SCOTUS has lately been going long on the idea that post-enactment political precedents can settle constitutional controversies. Their latest investment in this principle is Trump v. Cook’s idea…
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Sean Hecker @sean-hecker.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Jack Smith has a ton of courage. And he’s also correct here.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Just read Slaughter/Cook. Gotta say: Barrett and Thomas are right re the flimsiness of saving the Fed by saying it’s like the 1st&2d Banks. And Gorsuch is right about how powerful this all leaves the POTUS. This is all so unnecessary. A functional government imperiled by a couple of bad ideas.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I know many smart, sincere people who are unitarians on executive power. My view: It is hard to think of many occasions in the history of law when an abstract idea as flawed as unitary executive theory converged as unfortunately with political and institutional circumstances as has now occurred.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I think often about (a) what it means that Graham said this when he did, and (b) what it means that his prediction about what would happen to the R Party turned out to be wrong.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
More than 2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote that the richest people make bad rulers--especially if they are rich from birth--because they are too accustomed to getting what they want.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I’m pretty sure that was impossible.
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Richard M Re @richardre.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
www.scotusblog.com/2026/05/the-...
scotusblog.com
The Supreme Court’s common sense problem
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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Among much else, note the disconnect between paragraph A and paragraph C. No basis for Blanche to issue this! He doesn’t even try try to articulate one that makes any sense! We discuss it (amid much else) here: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
lawfaremedia.org
The President Who Sued Himself
The Trump administration settles Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS with $1.776 billion for his allies and blanket immunity from government suits for the Trumps.
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Marty Lederman @martylederman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I don't think we in the legal community are giving sufficient attention to just how unlawful, corrupt and unenforceable this document is. It's so absurd--and was, until now, so unimaginable--that I wouldn't have even considered using it as a law school exam hypo. static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
static01.nyt.com
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
On Tuesday I said DJT’s $1.8 billion to pay J6ers and other Trumpists might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous. I’ve had threedays to think. On sober consideration: it might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
On Tuesday I said DJT’s $1.8 billion to pay J6ers and other Trumpists might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous. I’ve had two days to think. On sober consideration: it might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This is good for students, good for education, and good for America. Respect. www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
thecrimson.com
70% of Faculty Vote to Overhaul Harvard Grading With A Cap | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard faculty voted to impose a roughly 20 percent cap on A grades beginning in fall 2027, approving the College’s most aggressive attempt to reverse grade inflation and reshape academic standards.
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Jennifer Senior @jennifersenior.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Barney Frank wasn’t just the funniest and most intellectually formidable member of Congress in his day; he was also the most exacting of the press, never hesitating to say (including to yours truly), "That is THE dumbest question I've ever heard" if we came unprepared or asked something vague.
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Nathan A. Triplett @nathantriplett.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
⚖ The State Bar of Michigan's United States Courts Committee gathered last night for its annual Bench-Bar Dinner at the Hall of Justice. Special thanks to @richardprimus.bsky.social for his remarks on constitutional enumeration and federal power.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Yesterday I said DJT’s $1.8 billion to pay J6ers and other Trumpists might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous. I’ve had a day to think it over. On sober consideration: it might be the most corrupt act in US gov’t history & also one of the most dangerous.
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
DJT’s $1.7+ billion slush fund to pay January 6 insurrectionists & others whose unlawful (or potentially unlawful) activities on his behalf drew attention from law enforcement might be the most corrupt act U.S. government history. It is also one of the most dangerous for the rule of law. (1/4)
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I'm on this week's episode of The Oral Talmud, talking about legal interpretation. Episodes (including this one) were recorded back during the pandemic when the podcast hosts did a public virtual study session (hevruta-style) each week. www.judaismunbound.com/oral-talmud-...
judaismunbound.com
The Oral Talmud Episode 48: The Myth of Interpretation with Richard Primus — Judaism Unbound
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Richard Primus @richardprimus.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Happening now: MDefenders graduation @umichlaw.bsky.social HH250 is totally packed.
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Nate Persily @persily.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
The Draft Volume of the APSA AI Task Force, cochaired by Josh Tucker and me, is now available. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, POLITICS, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE will be published by Cambridge Press later this year, but the draft chapters are available today: apsanet.org/wp-content/u...
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