New York Times journalist covering cities and urban policy for The Upshot. emily.badger@nytimes.com, ebadger.21 on Signalhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mj5von6zzk25More detailed renderings now available for Trump's proposed arch: https://www.cfa.gov/system/files/meeting-materials/1-CFA-16APR26-1-EOP_DOI_Arch-pres%20%5BApr9%5D.pdf10 Apr 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj5von6zzk25https://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mijtopvbsc2sThe East Wing demolition is now making it difficult for the government to argue in the Arch lawsuit that no injunction is needed because construction isn't imminent. Judge Chutkan just doesn’t believe it, when the president himself has said he wants the arch by July 4th.02 Apr 2026 18:31 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijtopvbsc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mijk65wdok2sCatching up on this thorough and thoughtful @philipkennicott.bsky.social piece on Trump's designs on the capital, until now a city of simple symmetry and unfussy architecture: https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/03/23/trump-washington-architecture-ballroom-arch/02 Apr 2026 15:41 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijk65wdok2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mijf45pork2sThe National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to vote today to approve the president's ballroom. As of March, this is where the project stood. By this afternoon, it will jump to the "final" step. (NCPC is no longer showing this tracker on their website tho.)02 Apr 2026 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijf45pork2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mihaqi4hgc2sNCPC has posted an addendum to the ballroom plans incorporating the removed stairs as the president showed Sunday night. No new renderings, detailed plans, dimensions, landscape. Just the images Trump showed. https://www.ncpc.gov/files/projects/2026/8733_East_Wing_Modernization_Project_Addendum_Apr2026.pdf01 Apr 2026 17:47 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mihaqi4hgc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mif3zrm5622gNCPC says they're still voting on the ballroom on Thursday, despite this ruling. Unclear tho, what plans they're voting on -- the ones they saw earlier this month, or the changed ones the president revealed on Air Force One on Sunday. [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Mar 2026 21:17 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mif3zrm5622ghttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3miev45znrk2gFederal judge rules construction must stop on the president's ballroom until Congress authorizes it: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287645/gov.uscourts.dcd.287645.60.0_2.pdf31 Mar 2026 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3miev45znrk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mhmdirfn4c2dWe’re reading @birdyword.bsky.social fascinating “The Land Trap” for the next Reading The City book club at Solid State in DC, on April 1. If you’re one of those people who is *always* trying to talk about Henry George, this month's book is for you!22 Mar 2026 00:54 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhmdirfn4c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mgsodgcdnc2dGood @heatherknightsf.bsky.social and Soumya Karlamangla story about the dire situation for BART in SF: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/bart-bay-area-san-francisco-transit.html11 Mar 2026 19:59 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgsodgcdnc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mgg6wdfjd22dGreat @jonathanmahler.bsky.social story on the new politics of housing in the Mamdani era: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/magazine/zohran-mamdani-new-york-rent-landlords.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RFA.7DUc.TTGzcMCobFJY&smid=url-share06 Mar 2026 20:51 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgg6wdfjd22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mgg5wboq7s2dThe Upshot is hiring a data graphics/multimedia editor. Come work with us and make weird things that help people understand the world! https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/thenewyorktimes/jobs/466994500506 Mar 2026 20:33 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgg5wboq7s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mgd4r5dsyk2dThis 3D model by the NYT of the proposed East Wing ballroom really makes clear how out of scale it is with the rest of the complex...05 Mar 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgd4r5dsyk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mgaghhdojk2dWe've been tracking nearly 200 lawsuits against the Trump administration over its attempts to leverage federal funding to impose the president's agenda. The most startling pattern: The administration seems entirely undeterred when it loses in court. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/03/upshot/trump-funding-lawsuits.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QlA.H6KQ.3nKxkileVXrl&smid=url-share04 Mar 2026 13:50 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgaghhdojk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mg6okviepc2dA federal judge finally ruled today that the Trump administration acted illegally in trying to shut down New York's congestion pricing program, via @stefanoschen.bsky.social + Winnie Hu https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/nyregion/nyc-congestion-pricing-ruling.html03 Mar 2026 21:10 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg6okviepc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mdixz3gdyc26Great @natecohn.bsky.social piece on what "affordability" really means to people in this moment, drawing on our most recent polling: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/upshot/poll-affordability-housing-prices.html28 Jan 2026 19:10 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdixz3gdyc26https://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mczgzczlpc26"The second Trump coalition has unraveled." via @natecohn.bsky.social https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/upshot/trump-poll-analysis-times-siena.html22 Jan 2026 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczgzczlpc26https://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mcwtzgu2zs26Many months later, the Social Security Administration acknowledged in court that DOGE employees at the agency shared sensitive data in violation of security policies last spring, just as critics and privacy advocates feared at the time: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/us/politics/doge-employees-social-security-data.html21 Jan 2026 14:11 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcwtzgu2zs26https://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mckmoyi3sc2pLatest NYT analysis of video footage from the Renee Good shooting capture Ross firing the 2nd and 3rd shots at her after his body is visibly clear of the path of her vehicle. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/video/ice-shooting-renee-good-minneapolis-videos.html16 Jan 2026 17:28 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mckmoyi3sc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mcfgqe65uk2pLong before construction jobs became dominated by immigrant workers, the appeal of those jobs for American workers began to collapse. Only *then* did immigrants start to fill them. From a *great* story by @rondakaysen.bsky.social + Rob Gebeloff: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/upshot/home-construction-roofers-immigration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EVA.Nanw.k9GZBZcspIlJ&smid=url-share14 Jan 2026 15:58 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcfgqe65uk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mcajxsj6ok2p“He’s tended to turn the other cheek, and he’s reached a moment where he can’t.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/business/federal-reserve-changes-course-trump-administration.html12 Jan 2026 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcajxsj6ok2phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mbzh64jvt22pA long-awaited update of federal employment data shows crippling staff reductions in some federal agencies and offices: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/09/upshot/trump-workforce-cuts-table.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DFA.Y-Uo.a9yrh4xIr_wE&smid=url-share09 Jan 2026 21:33 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbzh64jvt22phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mbwgbdcmz22pThe Times' Visual Investigations team is the best at trying to find clarity when clarity is hard to come by. Their view on the Minneapolis shooting yesterday: https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html?smid=url-share08 Jan 2026 16:39 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbwgbdcmz22phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mbowpoznpc2pMy favorite evidence that congestion pricing in New York has reshaped peoples’ behavior: we can see a surge of people trying to enter the zone before the price kicks up at 5 a.m., and after it decreases at 9 p.m.05 Jan 2026 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbowpoznpc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3mba3nzv63c2pLove these little @aliciaparlap.bsky.social graphics that illustrate the absurdist ways DOGE claimed it saved money, at the end of a year of trying to chase their accounting. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/politics/doge-musk-trump-analysis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AlA.5klQ.ZvKbRGBKMTwq&smid=url-share30 Dec 2025 19:31 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mba3nzv63c2phttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m76tpgx6522mRemarkably few of the immigrants arrested in big-city ICE operations have had violent criminal records, via Albert Sun: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/04/us/ice-arrests-criminal-records-data.html04 Dec 2025 20:46 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m76tpgx6522mhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m65lho3kw22oMay need a taller chart soon.21 Nov 2025 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65lho3kw22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m63oaxdto22oA federal judge says the government has exceeded its authority in deploying the DC National Guard in the District to deter crime -- and by calling in the guard from states around the country to participate: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2025cv3005-8820 Nov 2025 21:05 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m63oaxdto22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m5vviys72c2qRepublicans worried that steep Medicaid cuts in their big tax bill would shutter rural hospitals. To pass it, they included a $50B rural health care fund. But a very different group of hospitals will bear the brunt of the law: large urban safety-net hospitals. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/upshot/urban-hospitals-medicaid-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2E8.EXBd.5Ww49rFjkwMF&smid=url-share18 Nov 2025 13:59 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5vviys72c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m52dklkfgk26This Kirsten Soltis Anderson phrase will stick with me: swapping "McDonald’s Drive-Thru Guy for Golden Ballroom Guy" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/opinion/elections-2025-trump-democrats.html07 Nov 2025 14:55 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m52dklkfgk26https://bsky.app/profile/emmbadger.bsky.social/post/3m52cias3kc26Smart Eliza Shapiro story about the six-figure economic precarity in New York that has helped fuel Mamdani's rise: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/nyregion/zohran-mamdani-voters-upper-middle-class.html07 Nov 2025 14:36 +0000at://did:plc:b6242ykw6c2nlw67iahhtks4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m52cias3kc26