Dad. Husband. Ex FTC Comm'r. Lawyer. Economist. "Probably the very best antitrust analyst ... on X." Read me: https://xitter.cf/t.co/dQ6qoyFxXm

McLean, VA
Joined January 2013
Some news. Competition on the Merits is my new, free weekly newsletter on antitrust law, economics, and politics.* *Not always in that order. The inaugural issue explores what a 2nd Trump antitrust program might look like. Check it out and subscribe. open.substack.com/pub/compet…
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Congratulations Dean.
For more than a quarter century, Dean Reuter has helped shape the Federalist Society as a leader, mentor, and friend. As he prepares to retire at year’s end, join us in celebrating his service and thanking him for his leadership, generosity, and good humor.
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There is actually no stopping @politicalelle - it’s designed to intimidate all the students who might agree with her, but lack her integrity and resolve.
This resolution is meant to stop people like @politicalelle from talking about Islamic terrorism while Georgetown takes Qatari money.
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Straight to jail.
Some parents are ditching plates and silverware for a “dump dinner,” pouring the meal straight onto a foil-covered table and letting the kids dig in. For these families, it’s less about manners and more about making memories.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The "dump dinner" is a viral social media trend of staged videos primarily for engagement, not a common family practice. Children in videos often react with alarm rather than requesting it. thebiglead.com/dump-dinner-vi… theguardian.com/food/2026/feb/… newsweek.com/table-dump-din…
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Appalling (but sadly, not surprising) stuff from @GeorgetownLaw attacking @politicalelle.
More insanity at @GeorgetownLaw: the Student Government is condemning my friend @politicalelle, because she came to campus to the Conservative and Libertarian Student Association to warn about the Muslim Brotherhood and it's American network. A terror organization! Wild!
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This sounds great. Looking forward to listening!
Can a school call a $1 million transfer fee “liquidated damages” and avoid the scrutiny that would apply to a noncompete? Dave Hoffman joins Taboo Trades to unpack NIL buyouts, penalty doctrine, and the changing college-sports labor market. buff.ly/7OaYXWY
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Josh Wright retweeted
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute @HamLincLaw is hiring attorneys! If your BigLaw firm only does left-wing pro bono or sneers at your @FedSoc membership, if you’ve billed 250 hours this month on discovery that will never matter and would prefer spending more time with your family, or if you miss thinking about the law from first principles instead of writing kitchen-sink briefs you know are tendentious—read on. We’re looking for strong writers who are smart, self-starting, computer-literate, detail-oriented, and can work independently from home in a flat organization; who hate rent-seeking and love the free market; who have BigLaw-or-government-litigation or clerkship experience; who know the difference between abuse of discretion and de novo review; who read judicial opinions, Garner, and Volokh for fun; who can do their own ECF filing; and who want to be thrown in the deep end. You have opinions about typography, and hate cy pres, rent-seeking, and DEI nonsense. You noticed this paragraph used “rent-seeking” twice and wanted to edit it. Our last six attorneys went to Chicago, Chicago, Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, and UCLA Law. Our alumni have had four presidential nominations to super-cool Senate-confirmed positions; one became a state SG. We can’t promise that you’ll be up for the Fifth Circuit in 2038 if you work for us, but it apparently doesn’t hurt much. We're known for our class-action objections that are taught in 1L and have gone to the Supreme Court and won hundreds of millions for consumers and shareholders, but we’ve also successfully challenged FCC abuses in the D.C. Circuit, regularly beat California in First Amendment lawsuits, won a settlement for a client against a top law school’s DEI program, are challenging a Virginia anti-landlord law, are suing left-wing NGOs engaging in civil terrorism, and are expanding our public-interest wings. Maybe you have ideas for our next lawsuit. Junior attorneys get first-chair work in federal court if they want it. Most HLLI attorneys have argued and won their first federal appeals with us. We’ll match experience-equivalent GS scale; you can moonlight in your own practice. We believe in Moneyball: part-time is possible. Bonus points for CA/DC/FL/IL/NY bar. Email Ted Frank with resume, transcript, writing sample, preferred hourly/salary requirements, and why you want to work with us. (Our first filter is whether you can figure out my email address.) Please don’t hold the cringe AI slop against us, the algorithm prefers it.
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Good things indeed! But saving my excitement for when the three tier system — the crown jewel of anticompetitive state regulation of alcohol — goes down.
Good things brewing? The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an 1868 law prohibiting the in-home distilling of spirits is constitutional under the Taxation and Necessary and Proper Clauses. The Fifth (no) and Sixth (yes) Circuits recently split on the issue.
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My response to @ElissaSlotkin based on my reporting for @ThinkerChicago
Spare me the pearl-clutching — especially from Republican Members of Congress and online MAGA grifters who have cheered President Trump's weaponization of the government against those he doesn’t like, as recently as last week. This is a subject I know something about: Less than a year ago, Trump directed the DOJ and FBI to investigate me, and then tried to criminally indict me for a 90 second video, exercising basic free speech. The same free speech you’re exercising now, lying about what I said in this clip. If not for an anonymous group of grand jury members standing up for America's laws, I’d be criminally indicted for sedition. President Trump has turned the government against people, with raucous support from you and virtually all D.C. Republicans. So spare us the manufactured outrage. America must be a place where the rule of law still matters. Those laws should apply to everyone equally. If you have aided in the corrupt use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to benefit the President or his family, or you have violated the law in order to carry out guidance from the President, you should be held accountable. And given how rampant that corruption appears to the average American, people looking to work for his Administration should realize that while the Supreme Court has granted the President immunity, it has not done the same for those who do illegal things at his behest.
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Josh Wright retweeted
This is a *huge* grant. Follow up to the Harvard case. This is the same issue raised by the Thomas Jefferson case in VA. And could affect (for example) Texas's top 10% plan. Read the orders list here: supremecourt.gov/orders/cour…
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Best halftime performance I’ve ever seen live. Absolutely electric.
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Revolting.
ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes planned political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare young conservatives from getting involved in politics. @ElissaSlotkin
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Parents Weekend with the Eldest!
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Josh Wright retweeted
Earlier this month, French President Macron criticized American laws and traditions of free speech, stating “I know this when I walk down the street: my freedom cannot mean hitting you, insulting you or trashing the public space we all share.” xitter.cf/lucauffret/status/2111…
Des véhicules de police sont prises pour cible par la foule dans le secteur République à Paris. #Paris #17octobre
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Josh Wright retweeted
The lawyer the judge berated is my law school classmate and a true professional— a senior DOJ lawyer since 2009. I also applaud the DOJ for sticking up for its people.
Well done, @ASGWoodward. Thanks for stepping up. Judge Ana Reyes terrible treatment of Trump Admin lawyers and witnesses is unacceptable. A motion for recusal is clearly warranted. A leftwing reporter (Scott MacFarlane) posted on X: “Court rules prohibit me from sharing audio of this hearing. But I ‘ve never heard a judge scream at full voice at a lawyer before. Not like this. Trump Admin lawyer getting excoriated.” Judge Reyes also required a DOJ lawyer to call a National Park Service official on the spot on a federal holiday, and this official was required to dial in from his car and forced to testify under oath, without any notice nor opportunity to consult counsel. This is abusive and outrageous and shows clear animus in this case. This motion for recusal is clearly justified. It is also clearly warranted to request that the audio tape from this hearing be released and that all hearings should be allowed to be taped and released to the public. Why secrecy? If Judge Reyes has acted properly, she should welcome the release of these tapes to show that her conduct was appropriate. There needs to be transparency for the American public to understand what is happening here. Great news that Stanley Woodward has entered this case and filed this motion.
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Josh Wright retweeted
HOA as the hub in an antitrust conspiracy with members to deprive the kids of their full-size candy bars!
My HOA sent me a letter requesting that I stop handing out full-size candy bars for Halloween this year. -Fun-size bars are usually 15–25¢ each. -Full-size are around 75¢–$1. Most people give out 2–3 fun-size anyway, so the real difference is often only a few cents per kid. Am I crazy, or is it weird for an HOA to police this?
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HOA as the hub in an antitrust conspiracy with members to deprive the kids of their full-size candy bars!
My HOA sent me a letter requesting that I stop handing out full-size candy bars for Halloween this year. -Fun-size bars are usually 15–25¢ each. -Full-size are around 75¢–$1. Most people give out 2–3 fun-size anyway, so the real difference is often only a few cents per kid. Am I crazy, or is it weird for an HOA to police this?
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Josh Wright retweeted
Combining complements is good, Elon Edition.
BREAKING: A Tesla–SpaceX merger could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting in early December, per Barclays. The most likely structure: SpaceX acquires Tesla in an all-stock deal, with Tesla shareholders getting about 0.7 SpaceX shares per Tesla share, plus a likely premium. Barclays says Musk would own about 37% of the combined company, with roughly 56% of the voting power.
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Josh Wright retweeted
Combining complements is good.
Hellmann's mayo McCormick spices Cholula hot sauce Frank's RedHot What do these products have in common? One company could soon control them all. I have concerns that McCormick and Unilever's $45 billion merger could increase YOUR grocery prices.
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Combining complements is good, Elon Edition.
BREAKING: A Tesla–SpaceX merger could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting in early December, per Barclays. The most likely structure: SpaceX acquires Tesla in an all-stock deal, with Tesla shareholders getting about 0.7 SpaceX shares per Tesla share, plus a likely premium. Barclays says Musk would own about 37% of the combined company, with roughly 56% of the voting power.
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