Don Moynihan

@donmoyn

Policy Professor, Ford School, University of Michigan. Irish immigrant. Administrative burdens guy. Free newsletter, Can We Still Govern?:

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Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 26d

On Trump's claims of massive voter fraud in Michigan: FBI closed the investigation stating “the investigation to date did not identify a criminal violation or a priority threat to national security.” www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07...

This investigation has been well known to the public. In October of 2020, the local clerk in Muskegon told local media that her office caught hundreds of “irregular” voter registration applications, but that none of the voter registration forms that had been flagged as “irregular” had resulted in any ballots being sent out incorrectly.

The matter was referred to the police. In 2023, local media reported that state officials in Michigan had found evidence that scores of 2020 voter registration applications in Muskegon were “clearly fraudulent.” But they did not attempt to bring charges against individuals or the organization because the investigation had been referred to the F.B.I.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

Come work at the @fordschool.bsky.social at U Michigan. We are recruiting for a scholar studying democracy, its functioning and threats, broadly considered. careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan invites applications for a tenured faculty position focused on teaching, research, and public engagement in the emerging field of democracy policy: an area of public policy research that treats democracy as a policy domain with identifiable problems, measurable outcomes, and actionable interventions. Just as health outcomes are dependent on health policy rather than medical practice alone, democratic resilience requires its own research infrastructure, practitioner training, evidence base, and policy framework. A scholar in this field might study domestic or global policies that support democratic norms, institutional legitimacy, and public trust in government, including administrative design and competence, state capacity, transparency, accountability mechanisms such as citizen oversight boards, election administration, franchise regulations (e.g., civil rights protections and imperialism), subnational administrative reform including redistricting policy, fair electoral representation, free speech protections, anti-corruption measures, and safeguards against politicization of public sector work. Democracy policy sits alongside established fields such as economic, social, education, health, and environmental policy, while drawing on questions of institutional design, quality, and resilience. It connects contemporary debates about abundance, democratic backsliding, and public interest technology by asking how public institutions can better meet public needs, reduce administrative burdens, protect core democratic norms, and build effective public goods. The successful candidate may work domestically, comparatively, or internationally across democracies worldwide, with a research agenda focused on policies that affect how institutions can generate more equitable representation and a more just distribution of resources,

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

It is reasonable to assume these type of patterns extend beyond Israel. In a study of US state government potential job applicants, they became less attracted to working in a state government under conditions of backsliding and when they were ideologically not aligned w the Governor

How relevant are these findings beyond the Israeli case? Recent findings from the US suggest a similar pattern. Studying a sample of American job seekers, Susan Miller and I find that job seekers are less attracted to work for a state government when the Governor has a different party ID from them. We also find that job seekers are less attracted to public sector work under conditions of polarization between political elites and when governors undermine democracy and bureaucratic meritocracy.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

One theory about democratic backsliding is that bureaucrats will act as guardians to protect democratic values. Maybe. But Gilad finds that people who care about democratic values are less inclined to *join* govt to play the role of guardian. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-polari...

I can’t seem to make myself apply [for positions in the civil service], because there’s not a single government ministry that I would be happy to work in… not a single minister that I can trust that my professional judgment will be used for the good.

[I would be willing to work for] any government..., which is not headed by [Prime Minister] Netanyahu... [any government] ...which has a main aim of serving the public good. It is not about ideological affinity...But it has to be a government, which has the purpose of advancing the public [interest].

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

The research here comes from Israel, which has high polarization and democratic backsliding. People opposed to Netanyahu's coalition were already reluctant to join the govt before Oct 7, and even more so after. Supporters were more motivated to join after Oct 7.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

Most of the research on democratic backsliding the the rise of right-wing parties focuses on current employees. But government also hires lots of people every year. People who are ambivalent, withdrawers or fighters respond differently. Gilad find that few fighters actually join a govt they oppose.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

Says more about the quality of analytical reasoning of Clark than anything else

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 27d

New meme just dropped

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 28d

This is an ongoing pattern, where people seeking extraordinarily important jobs that require judgement and independence can't pass the most basic litmus test for supporting American democracy donmoynihan.substack.com/p/scenes-fro...?

Every recent Trump judicial nominee before the Senate who was asked about the 2020 election came up with formulaic dodges, like saying not that Biden won, but was “certified” or “served.” They said it was a political issue they could not comment on — when the outcome was actually decided by courts via dozens of lawsuits. How will they judge future lawsuits from their patron?

Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the Federal Reserve was similarly unwilling to acknowledge that Trump lost. How much backbone will the nominally independent Federal Reserve have when Trump tells it what to do?

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 28d

Another example. Recent stories about a millionaire exodus from NYC, with pictures of Mamdani. 1) The report covered a period from 2010-2022 - before Mamdani was elected! 2) Its about NY state not NYC! 2) There was no millionaire exodus! NY's millionaire growth just lagged other states!

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 28d

Covering the actual nuts and bolts of governance is hard for media, and downstream culture war stuff is easier. But the incentive structure this creates for politicians is to not do the nuts and bolts of governance because there is no reward. To his credit, Mamdani is pushing against that incentive!

A conventional wisdom is that politicians have scarce political capital and investing it into fixing existing government services, rather than claiming credit for new policies or initiatives, isn’t politically fruitful. This is one reason why our infrastructure is decaying. The smart politician goes to the ribbon-cutting for a new highway, but not fixing its potholes.

But here is Mamdani talking about filling potholes…

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 28d

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 29d

Celine Dion, on phone, expresses worry in French

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 29d

I will give him credit for providing verbatim transcripts of the people who disagree with him. It is hard to think of another columnist who would platform a critics arguments that transparently.

I had an exchange of emails with a proponent of transgender rights, Jay Marcellus, director of narrative at ASO Communications, an exchange I found dissatisfying. “Betraying transgender people would be morally repugnant — and electorally disastrous for Democrats,” they wrote and continued:

As someone who for the past six years has engaged in extensive research on what mobilizes Americans to participate in politics and what they desire from elected leaders, I can confidently say: Americans are looking for Democrats to lead — with moral conviction, authenticity and a plan to ensure all people, regardless of our races, backgrounds or genders, can thrive. Announcing an agenda to regulate transgender women’s participation in sports is nowhere near their top priorities and making such a move not only raises the saliency of this issue, it affirms Republicans’ primacy on it.

Silence, Marcellus continued,

is clearly not the answer — but, as we saw on immigration, your proposal of moving to the right threatens more electoral harm. So what’s the solution? Telling the real story of the aspirations and anxieties that Americans of all races and genders have in common, naming the billionaires and their Republican pals who have pitted us against each other and forced us to struggle, and making a case for bold change that would improve the lives of people across the country, whether we’re transgender or not.

Cowardice, Marcellus concluded, “doesn’t win elections. Leadership does.”

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 29d

DOGE, the rightward shift of Silicon Valley, and AI has dampened enthusiasm for tech on the left. Mamdani’s PIT Crew feels like an effort to *reclaim tech as a progressive force,* to explain how it can be used to help the public. From @alondra.bsky.social: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/mamdani-in...

As Alondra Nelson, former Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, noted:

Done right, digital government can help millions of people save hundreds of millions of dollars, and hours and hours of time. Done wrong, it can be costly, useless, discriminatory or even dangerous. How a City interacts with its people shouldn’t be outsourced. It should be local and accountable.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 29d

Easy for critics to say “well, Mamdani hates the private sector, and everyone knows govt tech is garbage.” Easy, but wrong. What people who know tech and govt have been screaming for years is that building good tech needs in-house capacity, but in a way thats different from standard IT shops.

Innovations like PIT Crew seek to solve both sets of problems. NYC should be able to attract top talent and their job descriptions advertise accelerated hiring. The sense of urgency and purpose that these offices create can change the culture of government. Having government ownership of the product should save money and improve quality. There are a lot of big ifs in Mamadani’s big bet on tech, but it matches something he promised in his inauguration speech: “we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· 29d

Mamdani's focus on state capacity represents a form of civic education about what govt does in an age of bureaucracy-bashing. He also connects improving state capacity to his core policy goals on housing, childcare, consumer and worker protection. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/mamdani-in...

Why is Mamadani so invested in the nuts and bolts of administration? He closed his speech announcing the PIT crews with this:

In the words of Jeff Gordon: I’ve never believed in luck. If you perform well, execute, have a good race car, and a good race team, you’re going to increase your chances dramatically of having better results. City Hall is building a team that performs well and executes well. You better believe that our chances of delivering well for New Yorkers are increasing dramatically as well.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 13

And here, it is, the predictable and almost certainly false claim that the shooting victim was trying to a threat to the ICE official, rather than vice versa www.pressherald.com/2026/07/13/s...

A federal immigration agent shot a man in Biddeford Monday morning after he allegedly drove “in the direction of the officer” as he tried to flee, according to the Office of the Maine Attorney General.

Spokespeople for ICE and U.S. Department of Homeland Security have not commented on the shooting, which occurred just before 7:18 a.m. Monday. Biddeford police confirmed that the incident involved ICE agents and that the police department’s involvement was limited to providing security at the scene.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 13

To be clear, this is a joke. Bisignano never said sorry for the mass SSA layoffs. The pretzels part is absolutely real tho

Morale at the Social Security Administration — which is at a 59-year staffing low due to the Trump administration’s sweeping workforce cuts — is poor.

To fix it, SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano has twice sent staff packages of chocolate-covered pretzels. They’re from his daughter’s company, Pretzables, emblazoned with Pretzable’s branding, website and phone number, as well as a line thanking employees for their work.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 13

The white SUV and kia in the video and image appears to be the same, but I'm just trying to describe what I'm seeing here, and so might be making errors. Witnesses says the victim emerged with a head wound, had said he tried to stop. www.pressherald.com/2026/07/13/s...

Daniel Boucher said he saw the man, who has not been identified by authorities, get out of the car while bleeding profusely from the head.

“He said, ‘I tried to stop,’” Boucher said hours after the shooting.

Another witness who lives near the intersection said she initially thought the shots were from a drive-by shooting, but then saw agents in vests trying to stop an out-of-control car.

“I don’t know who this man was, but he didn’t deserve to be executed in the street,” said Em, who asked to be identified only by her first name because she fears ICE.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 13

There is also an image of a white truck, presumably ICE, that has ploughed into the side of the white car. The front windscreen of the car features what look like gunshots. This suggests that additional action happened after the above video. www.pressherald.com/2026/07/13/s... (photo: Gregory Rec)

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 12

A while back I compiled a list of some of the *public* reasons why the Trump administration fired career public employees. Merit has fuck all to do with it. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/at-will-wh...

Not fetching Kristi Noem’s travel blanket as a US Coast Guard pilot.

An online monitor of the “deep state” accuses you of being disloyal to Trumpism. Such accusations are often erroneous: a prosecutor falsely accused of not willing to be part of the Comey investigation was fired. An FBI agent was fired after being falsely accused of participating in Mar-A-Lago investigations.

Sharing accurate information to a judge: A DOJ lawyer was fired when he acknowledged that the administration had erred when it deported an immigrant.

Not recommending that a prominent celebrity supporter of the President have his gun rights restored.

Signing a public statement that existing policies are undermining the ability of agencies to complete their tasks.

No reason at all. The President merely asserts that he has an Article II power to fire you and decides he wants someone assumed to be more loyal in your place.

Being a relative of a disfavored former employee: Maureen Comey, a respected DOJ prosecutor, was fired shortly before Trump demanded her father be prosecuted.

Refusing to illegally fire people: Kash Patel is being sued for firing senior FBI agents who asked him for adequate reason to fire their fellow agents.

Investigating corruption and abuses of power: For example, ethics officers at Fannie Mae were fired after they raised questions about how Bill Pulte obtained documents as part of his effort to prosecute Trump’s political enemies.

Investigating an insurrection or allegations of corruption by the President.

Providing an intelligence analysis that contradicts the President’s claims.

Being a trans person.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 12

Ploughmans Close. Up for anything food wise

Don Moynihan@donmoyn· Jul 12

This is a really good explainer about the mortality estimates around USAID. One big point is that dismantling USAID also dismantled one of the main sources of mortality data in some of these regions. Early indicators of mortality are very worrying.