Tom “T.M.” Wolf
@tomtmwolf
Director of Democracy Initiatives at the Brennan Center for Justice. Founder of the Historians Council on the Constitution. By night, I write. My novel SOUND (FSG/Faber) and more: tomtmwolf.com. Views my own.
The Trump admin. is *once again* claiming that the Constitution's guarantee of birthright citizenship was limited to the children of former slaves. This is wrong. Historians @marthasjones.bsky.social & @katemasur.bsky.social wrote a whole brief explaining why. www.brennancenter.org/media/15301/...
In @justsecurity.org, @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social & the Historians Council's @janemanners.bsky.social spotlight the "folk history" the Supreme Court constructed to overturn Humphrey's Executor and undermine agency independence... www.justsecurity.org/145132/lost-...
Both Chief Justice Roberts' majority opinion and Justice Jackson's concurrence drew heavily on arguments and sources that historians @marthasjones.bsky.social and @katemasur.bsky.social presented to the Court in an amicus brief. www.brennancenter.org/media/15301/...
We’re living under the negative presidency. As @jamellebouie.net explains in today’s NYT, the Trump admin is trying to turn all of our negative precedents into our future. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/o...
Sam and I weighed in on the birthright citizenship case for MSNOW and @brennancenter.org. cc @sam-breidbart.bsky.social www.ms.now/opinion/supr...
Justice Sotomayor nails the ultimate problem with SCOTUS's Slaughter opinion:
“And after all, you should never give up hope before the dogs have crossed the finishing-line.“
Justice Jackson saw it coming. Check out her prescient observations at the April 2024 Supreme Court arguments on Trump's claims to presidential immunity:
This new NYT reporting on the birth of the shadow docket might also be coining a new term for another feature of SCOTUS practice: “vacation mode.“
From Countering Originalism: A Guide for Litigators... www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
And @mford.bsky.social nails it: Justice Alito seemed to be trying to jump off the originalism train when it was clear that the historical meaning of the Citizenship Clause wouldn't admit to new, contemporary exceptions
The SCOTUS oral argument on birthright citizenship is TODAY at 10 A.M. You can listen to the argument live at supremecourt.gov. 3 things to listen for 🧵🔽 @brennancenter.org
"Will the Supreme Court protect birthright citizenship?" A reasonable question, given <gestures broadly> all this. Keep in mind as you assess how the Court behaves at tomorrow's oral argument ⬇️
I love a headline that gets right to the point (You can read @marthasjones.bsky.social and @katemasur.bsky.social’s full op-ed here: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/o...)