As of March 14, 2025
It was a busy week with push back by the courts. Of significance was the apparently warrantless arrest of a legally permanent resident of Palestinian origin for national security reasons. He was arrested in NYC but moved to a detention facility in Louisiana and denied access to legal counsel. Two additional search warrants were executed yesterday (or today) at Columbia University by DHS agents.
Additionally, Trump requested the Supreme Court overturn three district judge rulings staying the implementation of his Birthright Citizenship ban. If the Supreme Court sides with Trump this would nullify the 14th Amendment and fundamentally alter how we as a nation think of citizenship. Very dangerous moment in America.
BENCHMARKS OF DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING AND EROSION
Civil Society:
- Us verse Them
- DOD purges DEI related words from all current and previous website posts. Words such as Gay were removed, to include reference to the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that carried he atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
- Federal government bans a long list of words that cannot be used in official correspondence, documents, websites, etc.
- Republicans in the House of representatives threatened to withhold federal funding if the District of Columbia did not paint over a Black Lives Matters mural. DC obliged.
- Musk and Shapiro lobby Trump to pardon Derick Chauvin for federal convictions for violating George Floyd’s civil rights when he murdered Floyd.
- Trump offers expedited citizenship to white south African farmers.
- Attacks on DEI. Recent threat to investigate Georgetown University law school and not hire graduates who apply for federal jobs.
- Attacks on Trans people
- Increasing number of book bans.
- Prohibiting teaching African American studies, curriculum
- Mass deportations
- Trump requests Supreme Court overturn lower courts decisions to stay the birthright citizenship executive order. Birthright citizenship executive order.
- DOGE attacks on career civil service
- Political attacks on European Allies in particular
- Tariffs on trade allies
- Executive Order stating English is official language
- Threats to seize Greenland, Panama Canal, Canada
- Legislative Attacks on Minorities
- Criminalizing or limiting Trans gender care in states (26 states)
- Attacks on DEI
- Laws restricting trans athletes (23 states)
- Executive Orders targeting LGBTQ persons in general and the military in particular.
- As of November 1, 2022, 16 states had passed laws restricting the ability of educators to talk about race and racism in the curriculum. In 2019, only one state had such law. All 16 states provide details of the specific concepts that cannot be taught; five states explicitly prohibit teaching “critical race theory.”
- Seven states impose penalties for discussing race and racism in the classroom. Two of those states name specific penalties for teachers (Arizona and New Hampshire) and principals (New Hampshire).
- Political/Military Relations
- Trump loyalist and right-wing TV broadcaster as SecDef
- Firing of Chairman and Joint Chiefs
- Trump loyalist Chairman Joint Chiefs pick
- Firing of Senior Military Service JAGs
- Firing of women leadership
- Purging DEI related words from DOD websites
- Attacks on liberal democratic Institutions and values
- Political attacks on US Ally values
- NATO membership in doubt
- UN (e.g., recent vote with North Korea, Russia, and Belarus to against resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine)
- WHO withdrawal
- Dismantling of USAID
- Attacks on Press and First Amendment
- Attacks on career civil service
- DOGE. UPDATE: A federal judge in San Francisco orders the reinstatement of probationary employees fired in mass layoff. The District Judge deemed the firings “unlawful.”
- House Oversight Chair seeks investigation to “root out partisan staff who joined the executive branch” at the end of the Biden Administration. Requesting names of all employees hired between Jan 1, 2024 and Jan 20, 2025.
- Manufactured political, social, economic crises
- DOGE
- 2020 election result denial
- Jan 6 insurrection and coup
- Trans in sports
- DEI in government, academic institutes
- Zelenskyy/Ukraine White House televised meeting
- Redo: Trade wars/Tariffs
- Control/Manipulate media platforms
- Social media companies X and Truth Social have become de facto government communications, issuing government wide edicts.
- X (Musk)
- Truth Social (Trump)
- Facebook (Zuckerburg Coopted by Trump)
- Instagram (Zuckerburg Coopted by Trump)
- Physical, economic, psychological coercion (trolls, social media, etc)
- X
- Truth Social
- Attacks on Science/Academics
- Citing waste, fraud, and abuse, the EPA administrator canceled $20 Billion in Biden-era climate change grants. A federal judge ordered the EPA to provide an affidavit documenting evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse by Monday, March 17. Stay tuned.
- Trump stops $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University for allegedly not protecting Jewish students. Additional schools on target list.
- Trump calls for congress to “get rid” of the CHIPS and Science Act, $52 billion for increasing domestic capacity to manufacture computer chips.
- Trump on social media threatens to halt funding of universities or colleges that don’t expel students that protest. Threatens to deport foreign students.
- Attacks on DEI at Universities, Research Institutions,
- DOGE mass firings NIH, NOAA, FDA, USDA, National Weather Service
- WHO withdrawal
- Eliminating science grants
Constitution:
- Insurrection Act
- Trump issued executive order Jan 20 requiring the Secretaries of defense and DHS to complete a report in 90-days on whether to declare a national emergency at the southern border, invoke the Insurrection Act and other measures.
- Bills of Attainder
- Trump Executive Order punishing a law firm that represents Democratic Party clients was rejected in part by a federal judge, who compared the executive order to a ‘Bill of Attainder,’ which is a legislative act by congress that punishes a person without a trial. Bills of attainder are banned by the Constitution (Article 1, section 8). The judge issued a partial restraining order on the EO, writing the order ‘sent chills down her spine.’
- Birthright Citizenship Executive Order that bans birthright citizenship, counter to the 14thAmendment and Supreme Court precedence. Three district judges stayed the order and this week Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn the stays. A ruling in favor of Trump would effectively nullify the 14th Amendment and throw the country in chaos.
- Presidential Term limits
- Trump openly discusses multiple terms.
- Some in Congress drafting constitutional amendment to do such
- Erode separation of powers
- Senate confirms unqualified nominees to all cabinet positions.
- DOGE, Congress surrender power of the purse
- Congress acquiescing to Trump (executive aggrandizement)
- Centralizing executive power (Unitary theory of executive power).
- Executive Order for President to assume supervision over independent agencies.
- Judge permits DOGE to take over the US African Development Foundation, an independent Agency created by Congress. The Foundation’s mission, according to it’s website, is to “invest in African grassroots organizations, entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses to promote local economic development.
- Attacks on judiciary/court rulings
- Vance and Musk call for impeachment of judges who rule against Trump initiatives.
- Conservative Super Majority on SCOTUS. Mitchell rule about nominating supreme court justices in election years. One rule for Democrats another for Republicans.
- While lower courts are ruling against Trumps recent executive orders, it remains unclear whether the Supreme Court will sustain these rulings. Positive news: Supreme Court upheld decision to restore USAID funds.
- Additionally, Supreme Court’s last term decision to grant Trump unlimited immunity from criminal prosecution for illegal acts done as official acts.
- Attacks on press independence
- Amazon Prime, owned by Bezos, paid Trump’s wife $40 million for a biopic. Amazon Prime recently added reruns of the TV show The Apprentice to Prime TV.
- Bezos changing opinion section in Post.
- Lawsuits against ABC, CBS, and Des Moines Register.
- FCC investigation of NPR and PBS.
- AP Ban at White House
- Pentagon kicking out some press agencies
- White House controlling of who in Press Pool
- New Unaccountable Institutions (DOGE)
- US district judge orders DOGE to turn over documents in a ‘discovery request’ from several States AGs, citing DOGE’s “unprecedented power” and “unusual secrecy.”
- Social media companies X and Truth Social have become de facto government communications, issuing government wide edicts.
- Impeachment effectiveness
- Impeachment failed to remove Trump during his first term.
- Calls to impeach judges who issue rulings counter to Trump (Musk/Vance)
- Amend constitution
- Trump requests Supreme Court overturn lower court stays on implementing birthright citizenship Executive Order. Birthright citizenship is major test of Supreme Court independence
- Change presidential term limits
- Executive aggrandizement
- Every day
Rule of Law:
- Investigations/arrests
- Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, permanent resident/green card holder, arrested and threatened with deportation as a national security risk. Removed to a detention facility on Louisiana, although arrested in NYC. Access to lawyers denied. Trump administration said more such arrests were coming. Judge blocks deportation. Two additional search warrants were executed at Columbia student residences by DHS agents. No arrests.
- Acting US Attorney District of Columbia sends target letter to Georgetown University law school regarding DEI. Threatens to not hire applicant from GT Law school for internships, etc.
- In a setback to Trump, a court ruled that the firing of the head of the Federal Employee Labor Board, ruling the firing was unlawful.
- Trump threatens to jail people on “domestic terrorism” charges for vandalizing Tesla cars at a White House garage sale of Tesla vehicles.
- Trump signs Executive Order suspending security clearances of law firm Perkins Cole, a Seattle-based firm, that has long provided legal work for the DNC and other democratic and liberal groups. In an updated, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order on the executive order, comparing the Order to a “Bill of Attainder.” The judge wrote that EO sent “chills down her spine.”
- NY Times reports that Senator Chuck Schumer is target of DOJ investigation.
- Operation Whirlwind, threat to investigate those that oppose DOGE by acting US Attorney District of Columbia Ed Martin.
- NYC Mayor quid pro quo: Drop federal corruption charges in exchange for political fealty.
- Trump pauses enforcement of law prohibiting US businesses from bribing overseas companies, governments.
- Trump on social truth threatens to cut funding for universities and colleges that don’t crack down on protests/free speech. $400 million Columbia university.
- Bank accounts frozen by DOJ of NGOs receiving funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction fund at the request of EPA admin who labeled these groups as “left wing.” Eight recipients bank accounts frozen. A Fed prosecutor resigned, saying she has been pressured to launch a criminal investigation despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.
- Request by border Czar to DOJ to target Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
- Threat to prosecute “sanctuary cities.”
- Trump pardons all Jan 6 convicted felons. Some of whom assaulted police officers.
- Repeated threats to jail political opponents by Trump
- Firing and investigation of federal prosecutors who participated in crimes committed by Trump (Jan 6, classified doc case)
- Fire, demote, and investigate FBI agents
- Creation of Paramilitaries
- White Papers submitted to White House to create paramilitary forces to round up undocumented immigrants by multiple groups.
- This would circumvent posse comitatus (no use of military in Law enforcement)
- Armed civilians
- While the overall number of hate groups has dropped since 2018, the number of white supremacist groups had risen to an all-time high according the Southern Poverty Law Center.
- The number of reported incidents has risen, despite an overall drop in total group numbers.
- Pardoning of Proud Boys convicted of insurrection.
- Mass incarcerations
- Undocumented immigrants
- Off-shore prison (Guantanamo)
- Trump state willing to deport American criminals to foreign prisons
Voting Rights/Civil Rights:
- Protecting elections from cyber attacks
- The acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency paused “all election security activities” pending the results of an internal investigation (?). All funding to the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis center was cut. This center helps state and local officials monitor, analyze, and respond to cyber-attacks targeting the nation’s election hardware and software. Critical CISA election protection staff targeted for termination.
- Attacks on Suffrage:
- Birthright citizenship executive order would impact suffrage
- Attacks on Voting (state/federal laws)
- North Carolina Supreme Court judge election: Riggs, a Democratic justice defeated Republican challenger by 734 votes, a vote tally confirmed by two separate recounts. Republican Griffin filed numerous legal challenges seeking to throw out more than 60,000 ballots.
- Trump attempt to take control of FEC and other independent agencies
- Birthright citizenship would throw voter rolls into chaos and reduce voting rolls by tens of millions.
- Federal bill to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and updating voter registration reintroduced 2025. Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act.
- Shortened window to apply for mail-in or absentee voting (10 states since 2020)
- Shortened window to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots (5 states since 2020)
- New restrictive voter ID requirements (15 states since 2020)
- Expanded laws to purge voter rolls (13 states since 2020)
- Laws that limit number, location, and availability of ballot drop boxes (8 states since 2020)
- Move US Postal System to Commerce Department open potential to manipulate absentee voting
- Gerrymandering
- Creating safe districts where there are no challengers from opposing party. See incumbency rates above.
- incumbency (win/loss)
- Too many safe districts.
- Incumbent wins reelection 95 percent.
- At the state level runs about 94 percent. A number of states had 100 percent incumbent win.
- Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights
- Dobbs decision overturning Roe.
- 12 states banned abortions
- 6 states no women’s health exceptions
Separation of Church and State, Religious Freedom
Supreme Court said States that provide taxpayer funded vouchers to private schools must also provide said vouchers to religious school students (2020). In 2022 the Court again ruled in another case that the State could not restrict such funds within the school, that is fence off the voucher money to pay for religious instruction and worship.
State Governments establishing Christian studies, symbols, and objects at Public Schools to the exclusion of other religions
- Oklahoma: incorporate bible into the curriculum but no other religions’ texts.
Louisianna requires public schools display the ten commandments but no other religions’ tenets.
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