Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science and a Resident Fellow in the Institution of Social and Policy Studies at Yale University.  Broadly, I study American political institutions and their role in policymaking under separation of powers.  

 

My research on the executive branch examines the political control of the bureaucracy, and has been published in the American Political Science Review and Presidential Studies Quarterly.  I am currently working on a book manuscript entitled Politics of Unconfirmed Power, in which I investigate how presidents strategically use vacancies in their appointments that require Senate confirmation to promote their policy priorities. I also have research in progress that examines the policy and political implications of acting appointees; interest group and Congressional oversight of vacancies; Executive Branch responses to epidemics; bipartisanship in Congress; and state legislative actions to limit public sector collective bargaining.

 

I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2019. My dissertation received the 2021 E. E. Schattschneider Award for best dissertation in American government from the American Political Science Association and the 2020 George C. Edwards III Award for best dissertation on executive politics from APSA’s Presidents and Executive Politics Section. I also hold an M.P.A. in Public and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics and B.A.'s in Political Science and Economics from UCLA.