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Trump v. Cook (Independent Agencies) - [Oral Argument Live Thread]
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.

Audio Stream [10AM Eastern]
Trump v. Cook (Independent Agencies)
Question presented to the Court:
Whether the Supreme Court should stay a district court ruling preventing the president from firing a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Opinion Below: D.C. Cir.
Orders and Proceedings:
Application (25A312) for a stay, submitted to The Chief Justice
Opposition to Request for Immediate Administrative Stay
Response to application from respondent Lisa D. Cook, et al.
Reply of applicant Donald J. Trump
Supplemental brief of applicant Donald J. Trump
Supplemental brief of respondents Lisa D. Cook, et al.
Coverage:
The Supreme Court and whether the Fed is special - Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog
Our quality standards are relaxed for this post, given its nature as a "reaction thread". All other rules apply as normal.
Live commentary threads will be available for each oral argument day. See the SCOTUSblog case calendar for upcoming oral arguments.

Trump’s Outrageous Threats Get Practical Results
Who's accountable for the results?

Think about it. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other heads of state. Yet that is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway did Sunday, on the first weekend of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the international press would have no difficulty finding appalled foreign leaders to comment.

You could think of this as a hostile act of a statesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the government of Norway does not decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize.

It is probably better to think of it as an intervention by a sympathetic observer who has noticed that President Donald Trump backs down from untenable positions in response to ructions in political and financial markets.

Which is what Trump has done between the publication of his letter on Sunday and his speech at Davos on Wednesday. On Sunday, he seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and European commentators, not without reason, lamented that he was risking breaking up the NATO alliance out of pique of not being awarded a prize by a committee that was never going to honor a non-leftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to President Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was for no tangible accomplishment. And Trump has never forgotten the ridicule heaped on him by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, ridicule that led directly to that ride down the Trump Tower escalator four years later.

Actually, Trump has some valid points on Greenland. It sits astride missile, drone, and air transport routes between North America and Western Russia and Eastern Europe. The United States would have even more flexibility than it does under current agreements with Denmark if it were to become U.S. territory. That’s one reason the U.S. holds on to Guam in the West Pacific and has spent billions upgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’s usual negotiating technique of starting off with extravagant demands was, in the careful words of social scientist Charles Murray, “next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an active ally of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded, and has adopted immigration policies in line with Trump’s advocacy.

With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’s obnoxious maximalist demands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered the forces against him. Other leaders have figured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeate every dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’t use violence to obtain Greenland.

Some surely consider this a humiliating process. But national leaders dealing with American presidents at least since the time of Franklin Roosevelt have felt themselves duty-bound to cater to their personal styles (Roosevelt’s was condescension, Lyndon Johnson’s domineering) despite personal distaste. Only a leader as disciplined and aloof as Charles de Gaulle dared do otherwise.

And it has …

House Oversight Committee widens investigation into alleged Minnesota fraud
This deserves loud pushback.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is expanding a probe into social services fraud allegedly perpetrated in Minnesota, according to a press release.
"The Committee requests a staff-level briefing, as well as all underlying documents and communications related to any review the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) conducted regarding the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and allegations of fraud in the State of Minnesota," Comer noted in a letter to Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randall.
The state's Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report earlier this month about a performance audit regarding Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Administration grants during a period spanning July 1, 2022, through 2024.
TRUMP CITES MINNESOTA FRAUD CASES TO WARN AGAINST MIGRATION FROM ‘FAILED’ SOCIETIES
The report's conclusion asserts, "The Behavioral Health Administration did not comply with most requirements we tested and did not have adequate internal controls over grant funds." 
Comer also issued a letter calling for temporary Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services Shireen Gandhi to deliver "testimony at an in-person transcribed interview on January 30, 2026."
‘YOU HAVE FAILED’: COMER CLASHES WITH DEMOCRAT AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE SPARKS SHOUTING MATCH
"If you do not voluntarily appear for the interview, we will be forced to evaluate the use of the compulsory process," the letter warns.
The committee's investigation was launched last month before independent journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley released a viral report about alleged widespread fraud in the state.
JOURNALIST WHO EXPOSED ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD SAYS NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA ARE HIS NEXT TARGETS
"Criminals in Minnesota have stolen an estimated $9 billion in taxpayer funds intended to feed children, support autistic children, house low-income and disabled Americans and provide healthcare to vulnerable Medicaid recipients," the congressional committee's press release noted.

Walz: “Keep exercising your 1st Amendment rights (i.e Keep doing everything you’re doing, while I act like I’m ’turning the temperature down’)”
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.

Walz Is currently speaking and telling his voters to keep protesting (violence is okay, as long as it’s OUR violence!). Trump would have every right to use the Insurrection Act. This has become a mockery of our entire nation. Everything always comes back to “”J6””, which was ONE DAY where a bunch of boomers were escorted into the Capitol building.
Now, every single day is “”J6””. And for what?

Biological Male Under Pressure From Colleagues After Stunt at Women-Only Event
Are they actually going to vote on something real?

Conservative members of Congress pushed back on biological male Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., at a women-only press conference on legislation that would allow victims to sue the creators of nonconsensual sexually explicit artificial intelligence content on Thursday.

McBride, who now goes by the name Sarah, began identifying as a woman 10 years before being elected to Congress in 2014.

“He didn’t belong, and he will never be one of us,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote on X on Thursday.

POV: You attend a press conference for women and biological male Tim McBride shows up.

He didn’t belong and he will never be one of us.

HOLD THE LINE
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 22, 2026

Other members of Congress, such as Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz, also spoke out against McBride for his unwanted appearance at the press conference.

“Why did a man show up at a women-only press conference? Biological men can never be women,” Biggs wrote.

After publication, McBride’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director Michaela Kurinsky-Malos, provided The Daily Signal with the following statement:

This event was open to cosponsors no matter their gender and Rep. McBride is proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation to ban explicit deepfakes. It’s disappointing that some would lie about this press conference and seek to distract attention from this important bill to, once again, grab headlines for themselves.

Biggs, and Mace did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

McBride’s appearance at the press conference on the DEFIANCE Act, which passed the Senate last week and is now headed to the House of Representatives for a vote, ties into a larger and ongoing national debate on biological males who identify as women.

National Debate on Self-identifying Women

The comments from the conservative members of Congress come amid a national debate on whether biological men who self-identify as women can be socially and legally classified as one.

In Feb. 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports executive order, which banned biological males from competing in federally funded women’s sports.

Trump argued that allowing men who identify as women in women’s sports is a direct violation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, which states that educational institutions receiving federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports.

Trump also argued that federal courts in the cases of Tennessee v. Cardona and Kansas v. U.S. Dept. of Education have previously recognized that “ignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities.” Trump’s order then called on Congress to protect biological women in education.

Weeks before, the House passed Rep. Greg Steube’s, R-Fla., Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which was sent to the Senate for a vote.

“Men have no place in women’s sports,” Steube wrote in a statement. “Republicans have promised to protect women’s sports, and under President Trump’s leadership, we will fulfill this promise.”

Democrat senators have since …

Trump takes aim at Senate 'blue slip' tradition as GOP resists change
What's the administration thinking here?

President Donald Trump is waging war against a century-old tradition in the Senate that both Republicans and Democrats don’t want to touch.
Trump has ebbed and flowed in his disdain for the blue slip tradition in the upper chamber, taking out his frustrations on Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Republicans who have drawn a firm line in the sand for their support of the practice.
Much of his anger stemmed from the blue slip’s role in derailing a pair of his hand-picked U.S. attorney nominees — Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan — last year.
SENATE DEMOCRATS REBEL AGAINST THEIR OWN LEADERSHIP OVER DHS FUNDING PACKAGE, INCREASING SHUTDOWN ODDS
Trump sounded off on the practice late last year in the Oval Office, arguing that the GOP should "get rid of blue slips, because, as a Republican President, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with US attorneys or having to do with judges."
But the practice, which has been around since World War I, is likely not going anywhere, given that it’s been a valuable tool for minority parties to block nominees.
The tradition allows for home state senators to weigh in on judicial nominees, giving them a say on who does and doesn’t move forward. Returning a blue slip is the equivalent of giving a thumbs up to the nominees moving forward, while keeping the slip effectively blocks the process.
While the tradition was used to block both Halligan and Habba, both of whom served as Trump’s attorneys while in between stints in the White House, Republicans have still been successful in confirming several of the president’s judicial picks.
REPUBLICANS NARROWLY REJECT EFFORTS TO HANDCUFF TRUMP'S WAR POWERS IN VENEZUELA
Grassley noted in a post on X that "nearly 1/5 of the 417 nominees who were confirmed this [year] went" through his committee.
"I’m ready to process even more in the new [year] just need materials from WH and DOJ so [committee] can continue contributing to Senate's historic nominations progress," he said.
While Senate Democrats tried to block as many of Trump’s nominees throughout last year, Republicans changed the rules to ram more through. That resulted in the upper chamber confirming 36 U.S. attorneys and 26 federal judges.
Four of those were from Democratic senators with blue slips in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Michigan and Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s usage of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has faced legal challenges.
Both of Minnesota’s Democratic senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who aren’t quiet critics of Trump and his administration, …

Why I Didn’t Report My Rape
We're watching the same failure loop.

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The Weekend Read

/ January 24, 2026

Why I Didn’t Report My Rape

In 2021, six men sexually assaulted me in a Las Vegas hotel room. Something more than abolitionism prevented me from reporting the crime.

Anna Krauthamer

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Rays from the setting sun break through storm clouds west of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

In the heart of Las Vegas, there’s a hotel with a phone that never rings. It’s been silent for over four years. The hotel, a huge casino resort, is busy. Guests check in and check out; gamblers come in the early evenings and stumble out the next morning; and hundreds of rooms are endlessly dirtied and then made clean again by hotel workers. But the phone remains silent. I like to think that the rotating check-in staff are always alert and prepared even for the call that they don’t know is coming. Meanwhile, all the way across the country in New York, I wake up every day and wonder if today is the day that I’ll finally make the hotel phone ring.

Of course, I know that isn’t true. The phone has rung countless times since that morning in June of 2021 that I checked out of that hotel, and nobody is waiting for my call. But to me, it’s frozen in time.

There in that hotel, a little over four years ago, I was raped by a group of men during a three-day trip I took to Las Vegas with two of my best friends. Of the rape, which lasted all night, I remember both too much and too little. I never did anything about it. I didn’t tell anyone who could have done something about it, either, such as the hotel staff or th…

Discussion Thread: Debate Between US Rep. Crockett and TX State Rep. Talarico in US Senate Race
This is performative politics again.

The debate is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Central Time (3 p.m. Eastern).
News and Analysis
AP: Crockett and Talarico ready for Senate debate as Democrats hope for breakthrough in GOP-heavy Texas

Texas Tribune: Jasmine Crockett, James Talarico to face off in first debate of Senate Democratic primary

Where to Watch : Live stream

Democrats call for ICE accountability after second fatal shooting in Minnesota
Who's accountable for the results?

Democratic lawmakers are calling for the defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its removal from Minnesota, following a second fatal federal agent-involved shooting in Minneapolis. 

Border Patrol agents fatally shot a man in south Minneapolis Saturday morning during a physical altercation. The agents were attempting to make an arrest where the shooting occurred, two sources told the Washington Examiner.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) led the calls for ICE removal from Minnesota, saying the shooting was “disgusting.” 

WHITE HOUSE SAYS MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS ARE ‘INCITING INSURRECTION’ AFTER ‘TERRORIST TRIED TO ASSASSINATE’ OFFICERS

“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning,” he wrote on X. “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.”

I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.

The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 24, 2026

“The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” he added. 

This is the third shooting involving federal agents since Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agents on Jan. 7. 

Walz revealed in another post on X that he told the White House to let the state lead the investigation. 

TIM WALZ AND JACOB FREY UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BY DOJ

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey affirmed Walz’s statement at a press conference following the shooting, saying if federal agents are removed, safety in the city will be “restored.” 

“To President Trump, this is a moment to act like a leader,” Frey said. “Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment. Let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation.”

Minnesota U.S. senators condemn shooting

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who recently filed paperwork for a Minnesota gubernatorial run, said Trump and Republicans in Congress need to “Get ICE out of our state NOW.”

“Donald Trump and all your lieutenants who ordered this ICE surge: watch the horrific video of the killing today,” she wrote on X. “The world is watching. Thousands of citizens stopped and harassed. Local police no longer able to do their work. Kids hiding. Schools closed.”

Donald Trump and all your lieutenants who ordered this ICE surge: watch the horrific video of the killing today. The world is watching. …

Shadow Cabinet League Table: Badenoch beats Jenrick in pre-defection poll
Temporary powers never stay temporary.

Kemi Badenoch has had quite the week. After losing Robert Jenrick – and Andrew Rosindell too, though that particular defection was quietly slipped out on a Sunday night without fanfare – to Reform UK, the Conservative leader has spent much of the past seven days shoring up what remains of her parliamentary party.

From a Monday evening address to MPs on the party’s right, to a full turnout of her 116 MPs at the 1922 Committee on Wednesday night – with a series of one-to-one conversations with those on the whips’ watchlist in between – it has been a relentless round of reassurance and repair.

So far, so good. She has been well received by members of both camps. “Kemi came across as boil lanced,” was one verdict from the right. “She did a fantastic job,” said others who attended the 1922, where Badenoch struck an optimistic tone:

“There is a lot to fix in this country. A lot of stuff isn’t working, a lot is broken, but the whole country isn’t broken beyond repair.

“We need to show hope, aspiration and that we can fix problems – we are brave enough to take tough decisions, and we are competent enough to deliver. Where Reform are negative about our country, we will be fuelled by positivity.”

She undoubtedly handled the bad hand Jenrick dealt her with dexterity, moving swiftly to sack him once his defection plotting became clear. And at this week’s shadow cabinet the Tory Leader was credited by her colleagues for “showing true leadership” – ConHome understands the Chief Whip Rebecca Harris also thanked Badenoch for letting her make the phone call sacking Jenrick.

But this is no moment for complacency. Hence Badenoch’s continued private conversations with figures thought to be tempted by Reform, including Sir John Hayes – who provided ConHome with a highly open to interpretation comment “my life long battle for authentic, unabridged conservatism continues” – and Esther McVey. The danger has so far been contained, not cured.

Still, there is at least some cheer from ConservativeHome to steady the leader’s nerves. A bit of that positivity that she has been looking for.

In our latest shadow cabinet league table – conducted earlier this month, before Jenrick’s defection – Badenoch finally surged into first place, posting a strong +74.4. In the previous survey she languished in third. The last time she topped the table was back in December 2024.

Jenrick, until recently the party’s golden boy when it comes to ConHome surveys, was close behind on +69.7 – just 4.7 points adrift – though notably this saw him fall from the top spot he had dominated in every survey since February 2025. That Badenoch had already overtaken him before his departure will be quietly savoured in LOTO.

It also puts a dent in Jenrick’s own defection bravado. In announcing his move, …