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Steve Vladeck

@stevevladeck.bsky.social
251K followers 1.1K following 3.8K posts

@ksvesq.bsky.social’s husband; father of daughters; prof. @georgetownlaw.bsky.social; #SCOTUS nerd @CNN.com Bio: www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/stephen-i-vladeck "One First" SCOTUS newsletter: stevevladeck.com Book: tinyurl.com/thecourtweneed

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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 6h
There is a cottage industry on that other site of people in official government legal jobs affirmatively misstating or misrepresenting what rulings are about and then expressing surprise that anyone could possibly disagree. Just the latest example—from the Solicitor General of Iowa:
“Can President Trump use lawful authority granted by Congress to deport illegal aliens to third countries? The Supreme Court has stayed an order saying no twice, now stayed a permanent injunction for a third time. Oddly, 6-3 despite a similar posture to the Missouri First map”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 4h
I started writing a newsletter post about the third-country removals case and had to stop—I was too mad. Maybe tomorrow.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 6h
There is a cottage industry on that other site of people in official government legal jobs affirmatively misstating or misrepresenting what rulings are about and then expressing surprise that anyone could possibly disagree. Just the latest example—from the Solicitor General of Iowa:
“Can President Trump use lawful authority granted by Congress to deport illegal aliens to third countries? The Supreme Court has stayed an order saying no twice, now stayed a permanent injunction for a third time. Oddly, 6-3 despite a similar posture to the Missouri First map”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 9h
Just a reminder that this is the same Sen. Schmitt who repeatedly claimed that Chief Judge Boasberg was receiving a disproportionate share of Trump-related cases because he confused the D.C. Superior Court (which has 62 judges) with the D.C. district court (which has 15).
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 9h
WOOT!! Can't wait for this.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 9h
#BREAKING: Over dissents from the three Democratic appointees, #SCOTUS grants a stay in the third-country removals case; clears way for Trump admin. to continue removing non-citizens without a full chance to litigate the conditions in those countries (while also taking up the full merits appeal).
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 15h
Which is ... what, exactly?
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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Harry Litman @harrylitman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Here’s a book you can read by its cover: as pressing a topic as we have and the most thoughtful and clear Supreme Court expert writing it. Will be indispensable. 
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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm thrilled to share that my new book about #SCOTUS, "The Court We Need: What's Really Wrong With the Supreme Court—and How to Fix It," is now available for pre-orders: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812983... The book is set to be published by @vikingbooks.bsky.social on May 4, 2027.
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Court We Need by Stephen Vladeck: 9798217061815 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A brilliant and bracing account of the Supreme Court’s rise, its unraveling, and what it will take to save it, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Docket Richard Nixon turned...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Less than one week before the oral argument, #SCOTUS has informed the parties in the major Suncor environmental law case that Justice Alito will recuse (albeit without telling us why): www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
supremecourt.gov
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For those keeping score, this is the 41st emergency application filed at #SCOTUS by the second Trump administration—matching the (unprecedented) total that the first Trump administration filed across its entire four-year term.
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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Andrew Weissmann @weissmann.substack.com · 28/09/2026
From the insightful author of the illuminating book, the Shadow Docket.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm thrilled to share that my new book about #SCOTUS, "The Court We Need: What's Really Wrong With the Supreme Court—and How to Fix It," is now available for pre-orders: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812983... The book is set to be published by @vikingbooks.bsky.social on May 4, 2027.
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Court We Need by Stephen Vladeck: 9798217061815 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A brilliant and bracing account of the Supreme Court’s rise, its unraveling, and what it will take to save it, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Docket Richard Nixon turned...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#BREAKING: #SCOTUS once again freezes the lower federal courts’ rulings in the Missouri redistricting case—and affirms that, as the Missouri Supreme Court held earlier this month, Missouri will use the 2022 map in the November elections. There were no public dissents.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Here's a graphic that does a better job of conveying the point than my original post: even by the (insane) standards of the first Trump administration, #SCOTUS is receiving—and granting—a truly unprecedented number of applications for emergency relief from the federal government:
A chart that shows the number of emergency applications filed and granted by the Supreme Court during each presidency dating back to George W. Bush, with the data annualized to show the far-higher frequencies since 2017, but especially during the Trump I and Trump II administrations.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This was the 28th time #SCOTUS has granted emergency relief to the Trump administration since 1/20/25. That matches the total number of grants during the entirety of the first Trump administration. And both of those totals dwarf the *four* grants of relief (two each) during the Bush & Obama admins.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“I have an affidavit here…”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#BREAKING: In non-Missouri emergency docket news, #SCOTUS *grants* the Trump administration's request for a stay in the SAVE case, allowing DHS to have access to certain Social Security information. The three Democratic appointees dissent.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is a great catch from Chris, and a remarkably … suggestive … citation from Sauer—flagging the only two recent examples in which (we think) a circuit justice was overruled / preempted by the full Court. Here’s my post from November on this subject: www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-192-...
stevevladeck.com
Bonus 192: The Court vs. the Circuit Justice
Tuesday's ruling in the SNAP case appears to be the second example in seven months (and for quite some before that) of the full Supreme Court taking an application away from the circuit justice.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Trump administration is back at #SCOTUS with another emergency application (its 40th)—this time asking the justices to restore its power to remove non-citizens to “third countries” without a chance to meaningfully challenge the conditions there. (During all of Trump I, DOJ filed a total of 41.)
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Judge Kelly's TRO will be a fascinating test for how much sway Solicitor General Sauer has with the White House. Trump is going to want to seek immediate, emergency relief from the D.C. Circuit + #SCOTUS, but Sauer has been savvy about doing that only in cases he might win. This isn't one of them.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"How to piss off a judge you appointed (and who issued a relatively modest ruling) in three easy steps."
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
As expected:
stevevladeck.com
251. Newsgathering, the First Amendment, and the White House
President Trump’s viewpoint-based exclusion of three outlets from the White House is clearly on the wrong side of the Supreme Court's First Amendment doctrine.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The intervenor-defendants in the Missouri redistricting case (the folks who triggered the referendum on the 2025 map) have filed their expected emergency application at #SCOTUS, seeking to restore the 2022 map (again). Justice Kavanaugh, moving very quickly, has called for a response by 2 ET today.
supremecourt.gov
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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 23/09/2026
I turned on my long-dormant Substack to have occasional conversations with fellow nerds who care about law and politics, democracy, and being swole. Thank you to @stevevladeck.bsky.social for agreeing to nerd out with me this morning. I contained myself and did not bring up Younger abstention!
open.substack.com
The Missouri Mess: Live with Cristian Farias and Steve Vladeck
A recording from Cristian Farias and Steve Vladeck's live video
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Reposted by Steve Vladeck
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Confused about what the Eighth Circuit did last night in the Missouri redistricting case—or what happens now? Join @cristianfarias.com and me for a Substack Live at 8:45 ET to cover the details: open.substack.com/live-stream/... And/or read my explainer post: www.stevevladeck.com/p/252-the-ei...
open.substack.com
LIVE SOON: The Missouri Mess: Live with Cristian Farias and Steve Vladeck
Starting Sep 22 at 8:45 AM EDT
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Confused about what the Eighth Circuit did last night in the Missouri redistricting case—or what happens now? Join @cristianfarias.com and me for a Substack Live at 8:45 ET to cover the details: open.substack.com/live-stream/... And/or read my explainer post: www.stevevladeck.com/p/252-the-ei...
open.substack.com
LIVE SOON: The Missouri Mess: Live with Cristian Farias and Steve Vladeck
Starting Sep 22 at 8:45 AM EDT
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Trying to figure out what the Eighth Circuit actually *did* tonight in the Missouri redistricting case (try to put HB 1 back into effect), whether it's allowed to do it (not really), and what happens next (another stay from #SCOTUS)? "One First" has it covered: www.stevevladeck.com/p/252-the-ei...
stevevladeck.com
252. The Eighth Circuit’s Missouri Redistricting Mishegas
The Eighth Circuit’s attempt to put Missouri’s 2025 congressional map back into effect will fail. It’s also yet another example of the mischief the Supreme Court’s shadow docket behavior can beget.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Eighth Circuit has ordered the district court to reinstate Missouri’s 2025 congressional map. But before folks freak out, it also ordered that court to pause such a ruling for long enough that the challengers can (and will) seek further review from #SCOTUS: s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
To allow for appellate review, the district court should administratively stay its permanent injunction until September 28, 2026, at 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Without any stay, Secretary Hoskins and local election authorities would be required to immediately begin implementing the 2025 map before the Supreme Court receives or decides any appeal. And without a limit to the stay, PNP could wait to file its petition for a writ of certiorari until the December 21, 2026, due date, see
SUP. CT. R. 13.1, thus preventing the Supreme Court from considering the merits of this case until after Missouri has conducted the November 2026 general election. The mandate shall issue forthwith
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Judge Kelly has scheduled a TRO hearing for 3:30 p.m. this Wednesday (9/23): www.courtlistener.com/docket/74823...
courtlistener.com
CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC. v. TRUMP, 1:26-cv-03287 - CourtListener.com
Docket for CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC. v. TRUMP, 1:26-cv-03287 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It would be more than a little ironic if Trump's CNN/MS NOW/Politico tantrum (and the resulting lack of coverage the entire WHCA is going to provide) is what finally educates the press about the extent to which Trump needs *them* even more than they need him.
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Sonja West @sonjawest.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Totally agree with this excellent analysis. Trump is making these cases easy by saying the quiet part out loud. The real question is how quickly the courts will act.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
After recapping another busy week of summer #SCOTUS news, today's "One First" walks through why President Trump's categorical exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico is such an open-and-shut First (and Fifth) Amendment violation — even under the logic of the D.C. Circuit's stay ruling in the AP case:
stevevladeck.com
251. Newsgathering, the First Amendment, and the White House
President Trump’s viewpoint-based exclusion of three outlets from the White House is clearly on the wrong side of the Supreme Court's First Amendment doctrine.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Two updates: The plaintiffs have already filed for a TRO: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... And the case has been assigned to Judge Timothy Kelly—a Trump appointee, but the same one who ruled *for* Jim Acosta in the press pass revocation dispute during the first Trump administration.
storage.courtlistener.com
Temporary Restraining Order – #2 in CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC. v. TRUMP (D.D.C., 1:26-cv-03287) – CourtListener.com
MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order by CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC., Akayla Gardner, Cheyenne Haslett, Betsy Klein, MS NOW Cable, LLC, POLITICO LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Declara...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Here's the 27-page complaint just filed by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico challenging President Trump's categorical exclusion of those three outlets from the White House: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... As I explained this morning, this suit will succeed: www.stevevladeck.com/p/251-newsga...
storage.courtlistener.com
#1 in CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC. v. TRUMP (D.D.C., 1:26-cv-03287) – CourtListener.com
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF against Steven Cheung, DONALD J. TRUMP, SUSAN WILES ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12686613) filed by Betsy Klein, POLITICO LLC, MS NOW Cable, ...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
After recapping another busy week of summer #SCOTUS news, today's "One First" walks through why President Trump's categorical exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico is such an open-and-shut First (and Fifth) Amendment violation — even under the logic of the D.C. Circuit's stay ruling in the AP case:
stevevladeck.com
251. Newsgathering, the First Amendment, and the White House
President Trump’s viewpoint-based exclusion of three outlets from the White House is clearly on the wrong side of the Supreme Court's First Amendment doctrine.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We’re reaching the point, and I don’t say this lightly, when flying in/out of Dulles is starting to make more sense than National. And I say this as someone who lives meaningfully closer to DCA.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today's bonus post of "One First" is a bit different—taking a mini break from #SCOTUS to reflect on why I spend so much time in my academic and litigation work arguing for tighter limits on the scope of military jurisdiction, both with respect to who can be tried and for which offenses:
stevevladeck.com
Bonus 250: Reining in Military Jurisdiction
A lot of my scholarship, and an increasing amount of my litigation work, has centered on the jurisdiction of military courts—and my (minority?) view that it should be far narrower than it is today.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today's bonus post of "One First" is a bit different—taking a mini break from #SCOTUS to reflect on why I spend so much time in my academic and litigation work arguing for tighter limits on the scope of military jurisdiction, both with respect to who can be tried and for which offenses:
stevevladeck.com
Bonus 250: Reining in Military Jurisdiction
A lot of my scholarship, and an increasing amount of my litigation work, has centered on the jurisdiction of military courts—and my (minority?) view that it should be far narrower than it is today.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Total number of substantive #SCOTUS rulings on Trump emergency applications since 1/20/25: 32 Rulings with dissents from 2+ Democratic appointees: 22 Rulings with dissents from 2+ Republican appointees: 5 The mail-in ballots ruling is a big one, but let's not lose sight of the denominator here.
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Bug @bugsy31.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This is another great piece on the ruling.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
What did we learn from the Supreme Court's three-sentence Monday night ruling leaving on hold the Trump administration's effort to interfere with mail-in voting? Quite a lot, as it turns out—and at least some of it is good: www.stevevladeck.com/p/250-what-w...
stevevladeck.com
250. What We Learned from USPS v. California
In refusing to put the USPS mail-in ballots rule into effect, the majority didn’t say very much. I still think there are three big lessons in Monday's ruling.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
What did we learn from the Supreme Court's three-sentence Monday night ruling leaving on hold the Trump administration's effort to interfere with mail-in voting? Quite a lot, as it turns out—and at least some of it is good: www.stevevladeck.com/p/250-what-w...
stevevladeck.com
250. What We Learned from USPS v. California
In refusing to put the USPS mail-in ballots rule into effect, the majority didn’t say very much. I still think there are three big lessons in Monday's ruling.
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Harry Litman @harrylitman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The ruling is in: the Supreme Court rejects Trump's mail-in ballot order 7-2. I'm going live on Substack at 9:30 ET with @stevevladeck.bsky.social to discuss the all-important opinion.
harrylitman.substack.com
Talking Feds Substack | Harry Litman | Substack
Talking Feds Substack with Harry Litman is a series of dispatches from the front of a constitution in crisis. Harry explains how the maneuvers of Trump and his circle transgress constitutional norms a...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
#BREAKING: Over public dissents from Justices Thomas and Alito, #SCOTUS *denies* the Trump administration’s request for a stay in the mail-in ballots case. The USPS Rule will remain blocked—almost certainly through the midterms.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Have you ever been confused by what it means / what #SCOTUS *says* when it issues a “stay” of a lower-court ruling? Well today’s issue of “One First” is (hopefully) for you: www.stevevladeck.com/p/249-the-la...
stevevladeck.com
249. The Language of Supreme Court Stays
Thursday’s Missouri redistricting ruling used boilerplate to freeze the district court’s TRO. That didn’t prevent confusion over what the Court had “stayed.”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Have you ever been confused by what it means / what #SCOTUS *says* when it issues a “stay” of a lower-court ruling? Well today’s issue of “One First” is (hopefully) for you: www.stevevladeck.com/p/249-the-la...
stevevladeck.com
249. The Language of Supreme Court Stays
Thursday’s Missouri redistricting ruling used boilerplate to freeze the district court’s TRO. That didn’t prevent confusion over what the Court had “stayed.”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Among other things, this means that, even if #SCOTUS *grants* a stay of Judge Talwani’s earlier injunction against the USPS rule (which seems increasingly unlikely), the rule would *still* not go into effect; the Court would have to freeze *this* injunction, too.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
And we’re back from our summer break from the 8YO’s 6 a.m. Sunday synchronized skating practices (which I usually devote to writing Monday’s “One First”). Sigh. Or should I say 💤💤.
Picture of a laptop (with the Substack editor open on screen to a new draft), AirPods, and a water bottle with an empty ice skating rink behind it.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's both September 11 *and* Erev Rosh Hashanah. I'd be pretty shocked if we got something today. My over/under is next Wednesday, but that's worth what you paid for it.
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