Resistance To Trump Agenda
Resistance To Trump Agenda
Embedded Files
NEXT MEETING: 04/13/26, 7 PM, OZARK-DALE LIBRARY
Please note that this is a subpage dealing with resistance to the Trump & MAGA agenda. Previously, our news articles focused on the actions, statements, & plans of the Trump Administration without talking about the pushback from reasonable citizens, leaders, and organizations. This was an error on our part. In our discussion, "the resistance" does not refer to any particular party, organization, or militant ideology. Judges defending our laws and Constitution against actions by the Trump Administration can be considered "the resistance." Anti-Trump Republicans, like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, can belong to our definition of "the resistance," and even foreign US allies can be considered resisting if they oppose some of Trump's insane foreign policy pronouncements and claims. Due to Trump's "shock and awe" campaign, the resistance, in the beginning, was mostly limited to political statements, lawsuits, editorials, citizen protests, and a few boycotts. However, the resistance is now getting better organized, and we'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed. This list is clearly not indicative of all resistance efforts. For context, you may also wish to view the other subpages to better understand why the resistance is occurring.
Poll: Majority of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled Iran
Comment: "Most independents say the U.S. shouldn't have taken military action, along with a slice of Republicans, according to a national NBC News poll."
Comment: Linked article includes Video.
Americans aren't sold on Iran attacks, new polls show
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/04/iran-attacks-polls-americans-disapprove
Comment: "Some five days into the sprawling Middle East conflict sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, significantly more Americans disapprove than approve of the attacks across several polls."
Comment: "President Trump has offered a mixed bag of motivations for the strikes and his plans to resolve the rapidly escalating conflict that has killed six U.S. service members."
"If early polling is any indication, the White House's reasoning isn't resonating with Americans."
Comment: "Nearly six in ten Americans disapproved of the decision to take military action in Iran, according to a Feb. 28 to March 1 CNN poll conducted by SSRS of 1,004 U.S. adults. Forty-one percent said they approved."
"Six in ten also said they don't think Trump has a clear plan for handling the situation, and 39% said the U.S. did not put in enough diplomatic effort before using military force."
"There is a sharp partisan divide: While 82% of Democrats and 68% of Independents or others strongly or somewhat disapproved, just 23% of Republicans shared that sentiment."
Comment "That party divide is shown across numerous polls which repeatedly depict a wary public, though significant shares of Republicans said they approve the strikes."
Harvard sidesteps Hegseth’s ban on military students
Comment: "Harvard University will allow active-duty troops to defer their admission for up to four years in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban on academic involvement with the school — a rebuke of his attempt to sever ties between the Ivy league school and the military."
"The university will also work with students accepted into the Harvard Kennedy School’s programs to get expedited consideration at four other graduate schools that have not been banned by the Defense Department, according to a person familiar with the plans and a letter written for prospective students obtained by POLITICO."
“ 'While we hope to welcome active-duty military students to the Harvard Kennedy School next year, we are fully committed to making sure you get the education you deserve — even if you cannot get it at Harvard,' Dean Jeremy Weinstein wrote in the letter."
"The four-year deferral could allow troops who had hoped to study at Harvard to push the start of their studies into the next presidential administration. Typically, students can only apply for deferrals of one year."
Comment: Perhaps after Trump and Hegseth are gone, some sanity will return to the relationship between the military and institutions of higher learning.
Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariff-refunds-09cd60a170d01d8d62739ab13086ff9e
Minnesota sues to block Trump administration’s holding back of Medicaid funds
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-medicaid-funding-lawsuit-trump-3242c0992c8c266570bfd3200b14b483
Minnesota sues Dr. Oz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over $243M in deferred Medicaid funding
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-lawsuit-ellison-oz-rfk-medicaid-funding/
Comment: "Minnesota on Monday sued Trump administration officials Dr. Mehmet Oz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an attempt to stop them from withholding $243 million in Medicaid spending, warning it may have to cut health care for low-income families if the funding is held back."
"The lawsuit, which names Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi as plaintiffs, asked a U.S. court in Minneapolis to issue a temporary restraining order to block the withholding for Medicaid, which is the health care safety net for low-income Americans."
"The Trump administration on Jan. 6 said it would withhold $2 billion in Medicaid funding from Minnesota each year. The lawsuit said federal officials based the move on 'vague assertions of 'noncompliance,' ' with Medicaid regulations, according to court documents."
"The state appealed on Jan. 13 and, as of Monday, 'has not yet been told how it is noncompliant or what it can do remedy' concerns from the federal government, the lawsuit said."
Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration's push to delay start of tariff refund process after Supreme Court ruling
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-appeals-court-rejects-trump-tariff-refund-delay-supreme-court/
Judge restores lawmakers’ unfettered access to ICE detention facilities
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/02/lawmaker-access-ice-detention-ruling-00807198
Comment: "The Department of Homeland Security may not bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities, a federal judge ruled Monday, blocking a policy imposed in January by Secretary Kristi Noem requiring a week’s notice before lawmakers could gain access.
"U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Noem’s policy was crafted with funds that Congress specifically said could not be used to impede lawmakers’ visits to detention facilities, even if those visits are not announced in advance. And she rejected DHS’ claim that it had relied on alternative funding sources to craft and implement the policy — namely the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directed unprecedented sums toward DHS operations."
" 'The Court agrees that these funds are indeed staggering,' Cobb wrote in the 44-page ruling. 'But the power of the purse rests with Congress, and even a deep-pocketed agency must comply with Congress’s restrictions on the permissible uses of appropriated funds.' ”
"The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling."
"It was Cobb’s third time blocking or limiting the reach of Noem’s efforts to prevent unannounced lawmaker visits. In December, the Biden-appointed judge blocked the policy in response to a lawsuit filed by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and a dozen other lawmakers who sued, claiming their efforts to visit detention facilities had been illegally blocked.
Comment: Kristi Noem and DHS have sure spent a lot of time and effort in attempting to restrict congressional inspections of ICE detention facilities. One wonders what ICE and DHS are trying to hide.
Minnesota launches investigation that could bring charges against federal immigration officers
Minnesota county attorney investigating Gregory Bovino and other federal officials over immigration crackdown
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/02/us/minneapolis-immigration-greg-bovino-investigation
Trump administration drops effort against law firms after judges find president's orders unconstitutional
Comment: "Numerous judges have ruled against Trump's executive orders targeting certain law firms."
DOJ drops defense of Trump’s law firm executive orders
Comment: "The surprising surrender comes nearly a year after the administration sought to punish law firms he viewed as adversaries."
Comment: "The Justice Department on Monday moved to drop its defense of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at punishing major law firms, a rare legal surrender that ends a saga that roiled the legal community."
"Four judges, in separate cases, previously rejected as unconstitutional the executive orders, which sought to cancel government contracts of the law firms, suspend their security clearances and restrict employees from entering government buildings."
Video: Some in MAGA base are criticizing Trump for Iran strikes - March 2, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wvp-P_t_Uc
Just one in four Americans say they back US strikes on Iran, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Comment: "Summary:
Poll shows 43% disapprove of US strikes on Iran
56% believe Trump too willing to use military force
Americans wary of US casualties, higher fuel prices"
Judges in a Trump stronghold condemn ICE tactics
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/01/west-virginia-immigration-rulings-00804575
Comment: "Federal judges in one of the Trumpiest states in the country have suddenly become a firewall against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda."
"District court judges in West Virginia describe rampant lawlessness by masked ICE agents, defiance of court orders and a wanton infliction of fear and intimidation by the federal government after the Trump administration deployed a targeted immigration enforcement operation in the state last month."
" 'Operation Country Roads,' a partnership with federal and local law enforcement that netted an estimated 650 arrests in January, primarily focused on targeting immigrants driving along the state’s roadways. It has resulted in a flood of lawsuits by people — most without criminal records and with longstanding ties to the U.S. — seeking release from ICE custody."
"Though federal judges in other states have raised alarms, four judges in deep-red West Virginia who have been inundated by Country Roads cases are using their rulings to grab Americans by the shoulders and warn against a descent into authoritarianism — often in terms they acknowledge are un-judicial."
" 'Antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening,' U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, a Clinton appointee, wrote in a Feb. 19 opinion. 'Across the interior of the United States, agents of the federal government — masked, anonymous, armed with military weapons, operating from unmarked vehicles, acting without warrants of any kind — are seizing persons for civil immigration violations and imprisoning them without any semblance of due process.' "
Comment: "There are five federal judges in active service on the federal bench in the Southern District of West Virginia, where the immigration cases have all been concentrated. The district’s chief judge, Trump appointee Frank Volk, has yet to weigh in on the mass detention policy. But the other four have been on a tear in recent weeks. And they’re now promising 'legal consequences' if the administration and its allies in state government keep detaining people in ways they have deemed unconstitutional. Those consequences could range from civil fines to contempt."
Why young voters are moving away from Trump
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5759759-young-voters-trump-approval-rating-economy/
Comment: "Young voters consistently cite economic issues as their top concern in political polling. Weekly surveys conducted by YouGov and The Economist show Trump’s approval rating among Americans younger than 30 falling more than 20 points — from 48 percent in late January 2025 to 25 percent in early February 2026. His approval rating on the economy dropped even further, down 27 points among the same demographic. Trump has also seen declines among younger voters on immigration, foreign policy and health care, though not to the same extent."
Trump says he "ended DEI." Courts disagree
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/28/trump-says-he-ended-dei-courts-disagree
Comment: "About three quarters of lawyers working on civil rights at the Justice Department have left the division since President Donald Trump took office."
Comment: "Former Justice Department employees recently established an initiative to track the Trump administration’s overhauls to federal civil rights enforcement."
"Regan Rush, the director and editor-in-chief of Red Line for Civil Rights, served as a senior official in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division but left government after being demoted in 2025. She said that the project is a 'continuation of the division’s work, just not in the division.' ”
" 'Many people who do civil rights and social justice work, there's just something that burns inside of us whenever we see inequality and we see injustice around us. It is something that once you start keeping an eye out for it's like a radar that goes off everywhere,' Rush said. 'When you see that, me and many others just feel like we want to do something about that. That's what drove us to work in federal civil rights enforcement and drove us to continue working in enforcement post-government.' "
"Red Line for Civil Rights is housed under Democracy Forward, a nonprofit that is behind many of the lawsuits against the Trump administration and that has provided other opportunities for former feds to continue working on public policy."
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Virginia governor orders end to state agency partnerships with ICE
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5724348-governor-spanberger-limits-ice/amp/
Comment: "State agencies in Virginia will no longer enter cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to an executive order from Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D)."
"In a brief press conference Wednesday, Spanberger said the order was about maintaining 'public trust' in state law enforcement."
Video: Breaking down Republican senator's criticism of Stephen Miller - February 4, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnKlYIob2i0
Comment: "Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has been openly criticizing President Trump’s closest White House staff — with much of his frustration aimed at Deputy Chief of Staff of Policy Stephen Miller. CNN’s Manu Raju explains how Miller’s influence on immigration and foreign policy has become a flashpoint."
Comment: While one can easily agree with Tillis' criticism of Stephen Miller, one wonders if this Republican would be as candid and truthful were he not retiring from the Senate.
Fulton County asks court to return 2020 election documents seized by the FBI
Comment: "Officials in Georgia's Fulton County said Wednesday they have asked a federal court to order the FBI to return ballots and other documents from the 2020 election that it seized last week, escalating a voting battle as President Donald Trump says he wants to 'take over' elections from Democratic-run areas with the November midterms on the horizon."
ICE gets even worse ratings in polling after Pretti's fatal shooting; majority calling for Noem's removal
https://abcnews.com/Politics/ice-gets-worse-ratings-polling-after-prettis-fatal/story?id=129859236
61% Of Voters Think The Trump Administration Has Not Given An Honest Account Of The Fatal Shooting Of Alex Pretti, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 58% Of Voters Think DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Should Be Removed
https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3946
Minnesota school districts sue over ICE raids
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5722277-minnesota-schools-ice-raids-dhs/
Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/03/republicans-hispanic-voters-texas-special-00763560
Comment: The beginning of the 2026 referendum on the Trump agenda?
Trump's $45 billion expansion of immigrant detention sites faces pushback from communities
Comment: "With tensions high over federal immigration enforcement, some state and local officials are pushing back against attempts by President Donald Trump's administration to house thousands of detained immigrants in their communities in converted warehouses, privately run facilities and county jails."
"Federal officials have been scouting cities and counties across the U.S. for places to hold immigrants as they roll out a massive $45 billion expansion of detention facilities financed by Trump's recent tax-cutting law."
DHS watchdog investigating use of force by ICE
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/03/dhs-investigation-use-of-force-ice-00761953
Comment: "The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is investigating use of force by ICE agents, according to a letter sent to the watchdog by congressional Democrats."
"The probe comes as the Trump administration faces intense scrutiny over its nationwide immigration crackdown, which has at times turned violent in recent weeks, sparking concern from a bipartisan group of lawmakers."
"The letter, sent Monday to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, cites the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. The letter says the inspector general launched a review on Jan. 8 of the tactics undertaken by ICE and Customs and Border Protection, urging the watchdog to speed up the timeline of the probe."
" 'Given the urgency of this situation — with communities facing severe, and sometimes fatal, harm from ICE’s tactics on American streets every day — we request that your office conduct this review expeditiously and share any preliminary findings with Congress and the public on an expedited basis,' the Democrats wrote, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by POLITICO."
Judge presses DOJ lawyers for a precedent for Pentagon to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over video
Comment: "Kelly seeks to block Hegseth from reducing his rank and retirement benefits."
Haitians win pause on Trump's plan to end their protected status
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/03/ohio-trump-columbus-springfield-protected-status-immigration-haiti
GOP effort to add House seats in Florida through census lawsuit hits a snag
Comment: "Republican groups seeking to add U.S. House seats in Florida by challenging the 2020 census suffered a major setback Tuesday as a federal court ruled the lawsuit was filed too late."
"The suit alleges that the statistical methods used to calculate the census undercounted the state’s population, costing the state two seats in Congress. The legal challenge comes as President Donald Trump has been pressuring Republican-led state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the GOP ahead of this year’s midterm elections."
"A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Tampa threw out the suit but did give the plaintiffs a chance to amend and refile. The judges said the plaintiffs should have mounted their legal challenge within four years from the time the statistical methods were used."
Fulton County, Georgia, to sue Trump administration over seizure of 2020 election records
Comment: "Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the county is filing a motion Monday challenging the legality of the search and the seizure of sensitive election records."
Newsom leads resistance to RFK Jr.’s public health upheaval
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5716466-newsom-leads-public-health-resistance/
Comment: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is making California the front line in the resistance to the Trump administration’s revamped health care policies under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in what experts see as a politically savvy move that previews what a 'Balkanized' public health landscape could look like as states lose faith in federal agencies."
"Throughout 2025, California was at the center of state-level efforts to depart from new public health guidance coming from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Kennedy, primarily those having to do with infectious diseases and vaccines."
Judge sides with Democrats against Trump, nixing latest limits on lawmakers’ access to ICE facilities
Judge says Trump administration must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/02/ice-detention-congress-visit-00759990
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigrant detention facilities without a week’s notice."
"U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that in crafting and enforcing the one-week-notice policy, the department relied on funds that Congress specifically forbade from being used to deny lawmakers access to those facilities."
"The ruling applies to 13 Democratic members of Congress who have joined a lawsuit filed last year, challenging limits on their ability to visit locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains people facing deportation proceedings."
"The judge’s action comes several weeks after three Democratic lawmakers were blocked from visiting the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis to survey conditions amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation surge in the Twin Cities."
Trump administration sued over visa freeze on immigrants from 75 countries
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/02/nx-s1-5696686/visa-freeze-lawsuit-trump
State department and Marco Rubio sued over order denying visas to 75 countries
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/marco-rubio-state-department-lawsuit-visa-ban
Comment: "A coalition of immigration groups, lawyers and US citizens is suing Marco Rubio and the state department to overturn an order that suspended immigrant visa approvals to citizens of 75 countries, alleging the move 'eviscerates' decades of settled policy and is blatantly discriminatory."
"The suit, filed in a US district court in New York, accuses the department and Rubio, the secretary of state, of denying immigration rights to the nationals of certain countries on 'the demonstrably false claim' that they are likely to seek welfare payments."
"The state department suspended immigrant visa approvals to nationals of 75 countries last month in a social media post couched in notably undiplomatic language."
"It said it would 'pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.' "
Comment: "The lawsuit claims the suspension amounted to a bar on nearly half of all immigrant visa applications."
"It said the 'public charge' justification was 'based on an unsupported and demonstrably false claim that nationals of the covered countries migrate to the United States to improperly rely on cash welfare'."
"The suit added: 'Many applicants for immigrant visas are not eligible for cash welfare and remain ineligible for years.' "
Comment: "Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights – another group filing the lawsuit – called the order 'base racism … clothed … in obviously pre-textual tropes about nonwhite families undeservedly taking benefits'."
" 'Congress and the constitution prohibit white supremacy as grounds for immigration policy,' he said."
US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/trump-halted-offshore-wind-project-to-proceed
Comment: "All five offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration in December can resume construction after a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that cleared Denmark’s Ørsted to proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York."
"Ørsted’s request for an injunction blocking the interior department order was the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the 22 December pause on five leases."
Comment: "Ørsted said in a statement it would resume work immediately but continue with the underlying lawsuit challenging the interior department’s stop-work order. It added it was trying to find a solution to the matter by cooperating with the US administration."
"Ørsted has spent or committed more than $7bn to date to build Sunrise Wind, the company said. If the stop-work order is not lifted by 6 February, the project risks losing access to a specialized vessel needed to complete installation of an offshore cable, Ørsted attorneys argued at the hearing."
France’s Capgemini to sell subsidiary working with ICE during anger at US immigration crackdown
https://apnews.com/article/france-ice-contract-capgemini-cd7e4c2625fd8e1ca2fa54b67c5c43e4
Comment: "French company Capgemini announced Sunday it is selling off its subsidiary that provides technology services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during global scrutiny of ICE agents’ tactics in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown."
"France’s government had pressured the company to be more transparent about its dealings with ICE, whose actions in Minneapolis in recent weeks have raised concern in France and other countries."
Resistance erupts over ICE's warehouse buying spree
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/01/ice-detention-centers-jails-noem-trump
‘We’re fighting for the soul of the country’: how Minnesota residents came together to face ICE
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/01/minnesota-twin-cities-ice-protests
Video: Judge orders release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos, his father from detention - January 31. 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB_KeU2QfdQ
Federal judge knocks down Trump efforts to tighten voter citizenship rules
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5716442-judge-blocks-trump-order-proof-of-citizenship/
Comment: The headline is a bit misleading. Non-citizens can't vote in federal elections. Trump was trying to add requirements to prove U.S. citizenship before voting, thereby making it more difficult for some valid U.S. citizens to vote.
NPR: Milan protesters call for U.S. ICE agents to leave Italy as Winter Games approach
Comment: "Hundreds of protesters gathered in a central square in Milan on Saturday, demanding that U.S. ICE agents assisting with security at the Winter Olympics leave Italy."
Comment: "With the opening ceremony taking place next Friday, Italy's government has scrambled to contain the growing political scandal over ICE's role at the Winter Games, holding high level cabinet meetings and offering public assurances that the role of ICE agents would be limited."
"According to U.S. officials, meanwhile, an ICE unit from the Department of Homeland Security will help monitor for criminal activity but will conduct no immigration operations. In the past, that kind of activity by U.S. agents has been a normal part of major international events like the Olympics."
"But many Italian politicians, including Milan's mayor, have said that in the wake of violence in Minneapolis, ICE officers are no longer welcome in the city."
Crowd braves winter weather to protest ICE in downtown Huntsville
https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/crowd-braves-winter-weather-to-protest-ice-in-downtown-huntsville/
Comment: "HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Freezing conditions didn’t stop hundreds of people from lining Governors Drive in Huntsville Saturday morning to protest Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."
" 'It’s such an important matter,' said Protestor Jennifer Downs. 'It doesn’t matter how cold it is. I would have shown up regardless.' ”
Comment: "Randy Britt, 62, said he wants to remind Alabama lawmakers that their support of ICE doesn’t reflect all of their constituents."
" 'I am disappointed with our two senators and our representative,' he said. 'I don’t think they’ve done anything to correct these atrocities that are going on.' "
"Aujaene said she is protesting ICE arrest tactics and violence."
Video: Trump's ICE enforcement 'backfiring,' spurring protests and organizing nationwide - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq9S23o3Wwk
Comment: "MS NOW's Ali Velshi is joined by Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-executive director of 'Indivisible,' to discuss the enormous nationwide organizing and protesting that has followed the fatal killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis."
Comment: Some discussion of planned "No Kings" protest scheduled on March 28th.
Video: Strikes, demonstrations across the U.S. to protest ICE - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmRoEG_Ik1I
Comment: "Crowds gathered across the U.S. on Friday to protest immigration enforcement actions. Thousands have taken to the streets in Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and beyond as activists call for a nationwide strike to protest ICE. CBS News' Ian Lee reports on protests in Minneapolis."
Reuters: Lawsuit challenges ICE ability to enter homes without warrants from US judges
Lawsuit challenges ICE ability to enter homes without warrants from judges
Comment: "The lawsuit argues that allowing ICE officers to enter someone’s home to conduct arrests based solely on an administrative warrant violates constitutional rights."
Comment: "The lawsuit by the Greater Boston Latino Network and Brazilian Worker Center was filed in federal court in Boston and marked the first case to challenge the constitutionality of a policy laid out in a May memo ICE issued that became public last week as a result of a whistleblower complaint."
"The policy marked a departure for ICE, whose agents in the past had generally been barred from entering private homes and businesses without a warrant signed by a federal judge."
"But as President Donald Trump’s administration ramped up immigration enforcement last year in its quest to carry out mass deportations, the acting head of ICE issued a memo that advised its agents they could rely instead on administrative warrants."
"Those warrants, also known as Form I-205s, are issued by officials within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including ones in ICE itself."
"The lawsuit argues that allowing ICE officers to enter someone’s home to conduct arrests, even with force, based solely on such an administrative warrant violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures."
Judges across the country rebuke ICE for defying court orders
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/ice-immigration-court-orders-00757894
Comment: "They are increasingly castigating what they say are systematic legal and constitutional abuses by the administration."
Democratic governors scramble to build a legal wall against Trump’s deportation agenda
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/democratic-governors-trumps-deportation-agenda-00757892
Comment: "Democratic governors are racing to erect new legal barriers to President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy, limiting the reach of federal immigration officials in their states."
"Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an order restricting how closely police can work with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on her first day in office rescinded her Republican predecessor’s executive order that encouraged such cooperation. And in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker called for a state oversight commission that he created to expand its investigation into immigration enforcement practices, with an additional focus on senior figures in the Trump administration."
"On Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul became the latest to make an immigration-related move. She is seeking to end agreements that allow federal agencies like ICE to deputize local police officers for the purpose of carrying out civil deportations."
" 'We’re sending a strong message to ICE: You will not weaponize our police in the state of New York,' Hochul said."
Video: DHS, Noem Suffer Turbulent Week As Leaders Call For Impeachment Following MN Shootings | TRENDING - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvDra84zbJ4
Comment: "Democrats continue their push to rein in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following two fatal shootings in Minnesota at the hands of federal immigration enforcement officials. Leaders across both parties have blasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in recent weeks over the agency’s use of force in its deportation operations, calling on the DHS chief to resign or face impeachment."
ICE has expanded its mass surveillance efforts. Online activists are fighting back.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/ice-tracking-tools-protesters-00755703
Comment: "Protesters are using social media and encrypted messaging apps to track ICE vehicles and agents, while hackers have targeted ICE’s surveillance arsenal."
Comment: "Federal agencies have expanded their use of domestic surveillance to carry out mass deportations and crack down on protesters. Now, online activists and hacker groups are deploying their own arsenal of digital tools to fight back."
"In recent weeks, efforts to track ICE agents’ movements and identities have exploded online, including sites to report ICE raid locations. Even prolific cybercriminal collectives — better known for their ransomware attacks on luxury carmakers — are joining the fray by releasing the names and personal information of hundreds of ICE and DHS officials online."
"And despite sweeping efforts to swat down these anti-ICE tools, new apps or websites continue to pop up."
Comment: This linked article also discusses new ICE surveillance efforts and equipment. Comments and article excerpts related to this subject will be discussed under our "Immigration & Border Security" News heading.
Trump approval rating drops to 37 percent: Pew poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5713634-trump-approval-rating-decline/
Minneapolis ICE watchers face violence, teargas and arrests. They keep showing up
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/minneapolis-ice-observers
Comment: "Bystanders say they are determined to keep recording federal agents’ actions: ‘There will be absolutely no accountability unless people are documenting’"
Comment: Read the accounts of ICE violence and brutality for citizens taking legal actions of observation.
U.S. appeals court says Noem’s decision to end protections for Venezuelans was illegal
Comment: "A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority in taking the action."
Noem ending protected status for Venezuelans in U.S. was illegal, federal appeals court rules
Murkowski, Shaheen call for Congress to rein in Trump
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/murkowski-shaheen-congress-trump-greenland-00750680
Comment: "Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are urging Congress to move quickly and block President Donald Trump from taking unilateral action against NATO allies, warning that his fixation on Greenland has crossed a line that now requires legislative intervention."
"Following a bipartisan visit to Denmark, the two senators said that Trump’s rhetoric and actions have become so destabilizing to U.S. alliances that Congress needs to take steps to prevent the administration from acting further without congressional approval."
"“Congress cannot be a bystander when the stakes involve the sovereignty of an ally or the future of NATO,” they warned in a New York Times opinion essay published Tuesday. 'We have the tools at our disposal to assert our authority and make clear to our allies that we will not tolerate further threats against them.' "
"One tool, they argued, is to pass their bipartisan NATO Unity Protection Act, which would block the use of taxpayer dollars to seize, blockade or otherwise assert control over the sovereign territory of a NATO ally without the ally’s consent or approval from the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s decision-making body."
The Guardian: America has reached a tipping point on fascism – and on opposition to it | Robert Reich
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/27/america-tipping-point-fascism-opposition
Comment: "A chance encounter reminded me: there are two ways to look at what’s happened in Minneapolis"
Murdoch Paper Says Stephen Miller’s Chaotic Crusade Is Backfiring
https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdoch-paper-says-stephen-millers-chaotic-crusade-is-backfiring/
Comment: "The Rupert Murdoch–owned Wall Street Journal has blasted Stephen Miller's immigration policies as having spiraled out of control."
"The newspaper’s editorial board wrote that the Trump administration is no longer following through on its vow to target only criminals in its hardline deportation push, warning that enforcement has devolved into an 'undisciplined' mess under the White House deputy chief of staff."
Comment: The Murdoch's can hardly be considered as part of the "resistance," but even they and the Wall Street Journal know that Stephen Miller has gone entirely too far in his anti-immigrant zeal.
Trump approval among independent voters hits new low: Poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5709227-trump-independent-voter-decline/
AFGE demands resignations of Noem, Miller following member’s slaying
Comment: "The nation’s largest federal employee union said key leaders involved in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and dissent 'defamed' VA nurse Alex Pretti by erroneously describing him as a 'domestic terrorist.' ”
Comment: "On Monday, the leaders of both the American Federation of Government Employees and AFGE Local 3669, of which Pretti was a member, demanded that Miller and Noem resign from their posts over statements they made Saturday; Noem called Pretti a 'domestic terrorist,' while Miller described him as a 'would-be assassin,' claims belied by the wide array of videos capturing the encounter and subsequent killing. Those same videos appear to show that Pretti had already been disarmed when he was shot."
Trump administration releases Minnesota detainee after judge threatens to hold acting ICE director in contempt
Comment: "The judge had ordered acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear in court Friday and explain why ICE was violating a court order related to the detainee's case."
Federal judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit seeking Oregon's voter rolls
Comment: "The ruling comes about 10 days after a judge took similar action over DOJ's efforts to obtain voting data in California."
Appeals court won’t reconsider Habba disqualification, paving way to Supreme Court
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5706899-federal-appeals-court-declines-rehear/
Comment: "A federal appeals court has declined to reconsider a three-judge panel’s decision to uphold Alina Habba’s disqualification as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, paving the way for the Justice Department to take President Trump’s fight to retain U.S. attorneys to the Supreme Court."
"In a terse order Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit said the judges who ruled that Habba, a former personal attorney to Trump, was unlawfully appointed as U.S. attorney for New Jersey did not ask to rehear the case. A majority of judges voted against putting the matter in front of the full court, as well."
Comment: "The decision keeps intact the panel's ruling that Habba’s tenure became unlawful when she remained in the role after her 120-day interim term expired, despite the 'novel series of legal and personnel moves' the administration took to keep her in the job."
Judge strikes down Trump freeze on EV charger funds
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5706538-ev-electric-vehicle-charger-funding/
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Friday against the Trump administration’s freeze on a $5 billion program that seeks to fund the build-out of electric vehicle (EV) chargers."
"Judge Tana Lin, a former President Biden appointee, barred the Department of Transportation from revoking previously approved state EV charger deployment plans and from withholding funds for the plans."
History’s hall of shame awaits the Trump regime
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5703490-trump-collaborators-hall-shame/
Tech workers urge CEOs to condemn ICE
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/26/tech-workers-ceos-ice
Comment: "Some tech workers are pressuring the industry's top leaders to speak out against ICE after federal officers killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, less than a month after the shooting of Renee Good."
Comment: "The world's richest tech companies often wield unique influence over the White House. But in the wake of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis, the companies and their CEOs have largely chosen to stay silent."
Comment: "More than 450 tech workers from companies including Google, Salesforce, Meta, OpenAI and Amazon have signed a letter urging CEOs to contact the White House, demand that ICE leave cities, and cancel all company contracts with ICE."
Americans largely at odds with Trump administration on immigration, ICE tactics: Polls
Minnesota Republican drops out of governor's race, citing GOP's handling of immigration enforcement
Comment: "Republican Chris Madel said in a video posted to X that he 'cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state.' "
Comment: One hopes this decision was based on the principled rationale expressed in his statement. However, a cynic might wonder if his decision was based on his perceived chances of any GOP candidate winning in Minnesota after the ICE debacle there.
Comment: For now, we'll assume this candidate is sincere, and we'll assume that he is truly resisting the Trump administration's ICE enforcement tactics.
Clinton and Obama urge Americans to 'speak out' and take action after Minneapolis shootings
Comment: "Two Democratic former presidents on Sunday condemned the scenes in Minnesota after Alex Pretti was killed this weekend, framing the tragedy as a pivotal moment that calls Americans to 'speak up' and take action."
"Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama called Pretti’s death a 'heartbreaking tragedy' in a statement."
" 'It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,' the Obamas wrote."
Comment: "The Obamas called on every American to 'draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country' and said they hope administration officials change their approach and work with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey 'to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals'.”
Comment: "Former President Bill Clinton called the scenes in Minneapolis 'horrible' in a statement on social media."
" 'Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them,' he wrote."
"Clinton said 'the people in charge' are lying to the public and telling them 'not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes'.”
" 'It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,' he added."
America's largest labor movement calls for ICE to leave Minnesota before 'anyone else is hurt or killed'
Comment: "The AFL-CIO, which represents nearly 15 million workers, called Pretti's death 'senseless'."
" 'As tens of thousands of Minnesotans made clear peacefully and powerfully yesterday, the Trump administration's horrific operation — and their actions aimed at stoking violence and chaos — must end,' the labor group said in a statement."
Video: Rep. Raskin: Everyone needs to unite against the ‘unleashing of state terror’ by ICE, admin. - January 25, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCFIvRDoUgs
Comment: "Trump administration officials are laying the blame of the tragic killing of Alex Pretti at the feet of Pretti, with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claiming without concrete evidence he was looking 'to kill law enforcement.' Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) joins Alex Witt to share his reaction to the events unfolding in Minnesota, which he calls the 'unleashing of state terror'.”
NRA and pro-gun groups call for ‘full investigation’ into killing of Alex Pretti
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/25/alex-pretti-killing-nra-pro-gun-groups
Comment: "The National Rifle Association (NRA) has joined other gun lobbying and advocacy groups that are typically aligned with Donald Trump in calling for the Republican president’s administration to conduct a 'full investigation' into the killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was shot dead by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis on Saturday."
"Pretti was reportedly legally permitted to carry a gun and is a citizen of the US, where there is a constitutional right to bear arms. Widely circulated video of his shooting death does not depict him ever holding a gun. It does show an officer reaching to Pretti’s lower back and stepping away with what appeared to be a pistol – and Pretti being subsequently shot to death."
Comment: Although it's very doubtful that the NRA can be considered part of "the resistance," it is resisting the Trump administration claim that the Pretti shooting was justified because Pretti was legally carrying a holstered firearm to a protest demonstration. Pro-gun groups are pointing out that Pretti never "brandished" the firearm, as some Trump administration officials have claimed.
Trump news at a glance: groundswell of anger at second fatal shooting by federal agents in weeks
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/25/trump-administration-news-updates-today
Comment: "Protests erupt across US after American citizen Alex Pretti shot dead, as video shows he had been holding a phone and not a gun, contradicting federal claims – key US politics stories from 24 January"
Comment: This link introduces several articles, most of which focus on the response to the Alex Pretti shooting.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/24/protests-alex-pretti-killing-federal-agents-ice
Comment: "Large protests spread across US cities on Saturday – including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island – after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot dead by federal agents."
FBI agent resigns over investigation into shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, sources say
Comment: "An FBI agent has resigned over the investigation into the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good after Trump administration officials focused the probe more on the actions of Good and her partner and less on the officer who shot her, according to two people familiar with the decision."
Comment: "The FBI launched an investigation after the shooting and initially included local officials, which is customary. However, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was cut out of the investigation."
Comment: "It comes after six prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota resigned over their concerns about the direction of the investigation."
Video: BREAKING: DOJ sought criminal probe of Renee Good after her death - January 23 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxXswToanBU
Comment: "Todd Blanche’s aides directed federal investigators in Minnesota to shut down the investigation into the ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Good—and instead probe the victim for possible criminal liability, according to reporting from MS Now’s Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian."
Thousands rally against immigration enforcement in subzero Minnesota temperatures
Philadelphia sues Trump administration over removal of slavery exhibit from public park
Comment: "Outraged critics accused President Donald Trump of '"whitewashing history' on Friday after the National Park Service removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park in response to his executive order 'restoring truth and sanity to American history' on display at the nation's museums, parks and landmarks."
Comment: "Seeking to stop the display's permanent removal, the city of Philadelphia on Thursday sued Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron."
Judge warns Trump administration against changing immigration status of plaintiffs in case
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5702958-judge-rules-campus-activists/
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that university association members may seek relief from the court if their immigration status is changed as retribution for challenging an alleged Trump administration policy to single out campus activists critical of Israel’s war in Gaza for immigration enforcement."
"U.S. District Judge William Young’s order follows a trial last year where he found top Cabinet officials conspired to target noncitizens for deportation on account of their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel."
"At a hearing last week, Young said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio operated an 'unconstitutional conspiracy' to deport certain people so the university association members would be hesitant to speak out."
" 'The big problem in this case is that the Cabinet secretaries, and ostensibly, the president of the United States, are not honoring the First Amendment,' Young said. 'There doesn’t seem to be an understanding of what the First Amendment is by this government.' "
Leaders warn of authoritarian threat, urge action in 2026
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/22/authoritarian-threat-2026-leaders-roundtable
Comment: "A year into President Trump's second term, civil rights leaders say the nation is entering a more volatile phase for civil rights enforcement and democratic norms — and they're no longer waiting for signals from Washington. They're suing, organizing, and drawing new lines around power, protest and equal protection."
"Civil rights leaders say the country isn't facing a single crisis — but a convergence of legal, economic and democratic threats."
"What began as concern over diversity rollbacks has widened into a fight over the rule of law, freedom of speech and the American social contract itself."
Comment: "The second Demand Diversity Roundtable, convened by the National Urban League, on Thursday brought together more than 30 leaders not just to defend diversity, equity and inclusion — but to challenge what they describe as an authoritarian-style playbook that they argue is threatening civil rights enforcement, protest freedoms and fracturing democracy."
Comment: "Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, framed the moment as one defined by consequences rather than rhetoric."
" 'This is not theoretical,' Morial said. 'It's showing up in paychecks and classrooms, in courtrooms and communities.' "
" 'We are on the brink of tyranny and authoritarianism.' "
Comment: "One year in, civil rights leaders say the fight has moved decisively out of Washington and into states, courts and coalitions — where enforcement, not rhetoric, now defines whether rights hold."
'I will not be intimidated': Jack Smith says he'll stand up to Trump despite attacks
Comment: "In his first public testimony before Congress about his investigations into President Donald Trump, former special counsel Jack Smith warned Americans not to take the rule of law for granted, and insisted he would not be intimidated by the president despite his attacks."
" 'I have seen how the rule of law can erode. My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in this country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted,' Smith said during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee."
" 'But, the rule of law is not self-executing — it depends on our collective commitment to apply it. It requires dedicated service on behalf of others, especially when that service is difficult and comes with costs,' he said. 'Our willingness to pay those costs is what tests and defines our commitment to the rule of law and to this wonderful country.' "
"As Smith spoke, Trump continued his attacks against him, this time on Truth Social. Smith said that Trump had made statements that 'are meant to intimidate me.' "
" 'I will not be intimidated,' he said. 'I think these statements are also made as a warning to others what will happen if they stand up. And I am, as I say, I’m not going to be intimidated.' ”
"The hearing broke little new ground but gave the public a chance to see and hear Smith, and it offered the longtime prosecutor a chance to talk publicly about his investigations."
‘We have to stand together’: Minnesota economic blackout organizers push to take demonstrations nationwide
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/22/minnesota-economic-blackout-ice
Comment: "Minnesotans urged not to work, shop or go to school as part of protests against ICE and the death of Renee Nicole Good"
FBI can't examine devices it took from Washington Post reporter for now, judge rules
Comment: "A federal judge has barred the FBI from examining the electronic devices its agents seized last week from the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter until he can review the controversial case."
World leaders in Davos must stand up to Trump. This is their chance - Robert Reich
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/21/world-leaders-denounce-trump-davos
Comment: "The world needs global leaders to clearly and firmly denounce the havoc Trump is wreaking on the US and international order"
Comment: "Hundreds of global CEOs, finance titans, and more than 60 prime ministers and presidents are in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual confab of the world’s powerful and wealthy: the World Economic Forum."
"This year’s Davos meeting occurs at a time when Donald Trump is not just unleashing his brownshirts on Minneapolis and other American cities, but also dismantling the international order that’s largely been in place since the end of the second world war – threatening Nato, withdrawing from international organizations including the UN climate treaty, violating the UN charter by invading Venezuela and abducting Nicolás Maduro, upending established trade rules, and demanding that the US annex Greenland."
"He’s even threatened to hike tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland – fellow Nato members that have expressed solidarity with Denmark in its refusal to yield to Trump’s demand to annex Greenland."
"According to a text message Trump sent to Norway’s prime minister over the weekend, the US president said one reason he was seeking to acquire Greenland was because he didn’t win the Nobel peace prize. 'Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,' Trump wrote."
"I hope the leaders now assembling at Davos speak out against Trump’s tyrannous assault on international laws and rules, and his contempt for every institution established to maintain peace."
"Their collective repudiation of Trump would give other CEOs and world leaders cover to express their opposition as well. It could be a tipping point."
Dozens of former military leaders defend Mark Kelly in Pentagon fight
‘No ICE in Alabama’: Protesters tell Tuberville to ‘Go Back to Auburn’
Comment: "A group of protesters stood along St. Louis Street in downtown Mobile on Tuesday ahead of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's speech during a Mobile Chamber event."
"The protesters held signs opposed to immigration enforcement, 'Stop Supporting Ice-Cold Murder,' and 'There should be no ICE in Alabama.' ”
Comment: Perhaps the protesters should have told Tuberville to Go Back to Florida.
Video: Moral principles drive faith leaders to speak out against Trump on immigration, foreign policy - January 20, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0hC3sZYMbQ
Top U.S. archbishops denounce American foreign policy
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/19/nx-s1-5682310/cardinals-catholic-church-foreign-policy-trump
Comment: "The three highest-ranking heads of Roman Catholic archdioceses in the United States issued a strongly worded statement on Monday criticizing the Trump administration's foreign policy — without mentioning President Trump by name."
"Cardinals Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, and Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, say America's actions raise moral questions."
" 'Our country's moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,' the statement reads. 'And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity's well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.' "
‘Very historic time’: US protests have jumped since Trump’s first term
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/19/trump-protests-data
Comment: "Data shows 133% increase from 2017 to 2025 as anti-ICE and No Kings protests push mobilization against White House"
Comment: "There were more than 10,700 protests in 2025, a 133% increase from the 4,588 recorded in 2017, the first year of Trump’s first term. According to the data, an overwhelming majority of US counties – including 42% that voted for Trump – have had at least one protest since he was re-inaugurated last year."
Comment: The last "No Kings" Protest had approximately 7 million participants. For the next "No Kings" protest, scheduled on March 28, 2026, the goal is at least 9 miilion participants.
(Please note that "No Kings" refers to no Trump monarchy and does not refer to any prohibition of MLK celebrations. In fact the current "No Kings" organizers stress the non-violent protest tactics that Dr. King promoted.)
Comment: See you at the Dothan courthouse on March 28.
Video: Mainers protest potential increase in ICE presence, demand immigrant safety - January 19, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPC_nCZuPT8
Poll finds Americans not satisfied with handling of Epstein files
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/19/poll-americans-jeffrey-epstein-00735886
Comment: "A majority of Americans suspect the government is intentionally withholding noteworthy information."
Video: Republican, Democratic strategists react to new poll on Trump's Greenland bid - January 19, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOrB4N09QEc
Comment: "A recent CBS News poll depicts Americans' sentiments on President Trump's push for the U.S. to take over Greenland."
Comment: Bottom Line: Americans are not very happy about it.
Trump suffers major losses in his war on offshore wind
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/18/trump-offshore-wind-problems-00734850
Comment: "The administration’s arguments that offshore wind farms present a national security risk failed to convince judges in three separate courts."
Counterprotesters chase off far-right activists at pro-ICE rally in Minneapolis
Comment: "Hundreds of counterprotesters on Saturday drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of the Trump administration's latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis."
"Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstration, saying on social media beforehand that he intended to 'burn a Quran' on the steps of City Hall. But it was not clear if he carried out that plan."
"Only a small number of people showed up for Lang’s demonstration while hundreds of counterprotesters converged at the site, yelling over his attempts to speak and chasing the pro-ICE group away. They forced at least one person to take off a shirt they deemed objectionable."
Comment: "Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency at the beginning of his second presidency for January 6 Capitol attackers. Lang later announced that he was running for the US Senate in Florida."
Heckler yells ‘leave Greenland alone!’ during US national anthem at NBA game in London
American CEOs push back on Trump ... mildly
Comment: "Summary:
CEOs express mild opposition to Trump's policies
Business leaders fear retaliation for dissent, say analysts
Experts warn of risks from Trump's economic policies"
America's largest labor movement says ICE is a danger to 'innocent working people'
Comment: "The AFL-CIO, the country's largest network of labor unions representing some 15 million workers, says ICE is a threat to workers."
" 'The Trump administration's militarized immigration enforcement is putting innocent working people in danger,' the AFL-CIO said in a post on X on Saturday. 'America's unions have your backs.' "
"A group of local unions in Minnesota, meanwhile, has endorsed a planned statewide economic blackout in response to ICE actions in the state."
Protests in Greenland and Denmark against Trump plans
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c338rm41y88o
CNN: Thousands rally in Denmark against Trump’s threats to take over Greenland
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/17/europe/protesters-denmark-greenland-trump-intl
Judge rules federal agents can't arrest or use pepper spray on peaceful protesters in Minneapolis
Update: U.S. Justice Dept. appeals temporary restraining order on federal agents' response to protests
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/live-updates/minnesota-protests-ice-shooting-law-enforcement/
Comment: "The Department of Justice on Monday appealed a recent ruling that limits tactics federal law enforcement is permitted to use in the midst of anti-ICE enforcement protests in Minneapolis."
"About 1,500 active-duty soldiers are on standby in Alaska for possible deployment to Minneapolis, a U.S. defense official told CBS News Saturday. No decision has yet been made on whether to deploy the soldiers, the official said."
Further Update: Reuters: US appeals court lifts order curbing immigration agents' tactics against Minnesota protesters
Comment: "A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday lifted a lower court's order that had restrained federal officers from arresting or tear-gassing peaceful protesters in Minneapolis, where thousands of immigration control agents have been deployed over the wishes of state and local leaders."
Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/ice-minneapolis-arrests-judge-protests-00735416
Comment: "The judge’s order prevents federal agents from arresting peaceful protesters.
In Minneapolis and beyond, businesses ban ICE officers as outrage grows
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2026/0116/minneapolis-immigration-protests-ice
Disastrous poll shows Trump’s White House return is a ‘failure’: Americans say he’s ‘gone too far’
US’s largest offshore wind farm can resume construction, in a third blow to Trump
Comment: "In a setback to Trump’s anti-offshore wind crusade, a federal judge today issued an order granting Dominion Energy’s request for a preliminary injunction allowing construction to resume on the US’s largest wind farm, the 2.6-gigawatt (GW) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project."
"Judge Jamar Walker of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has cleared Dominion to restart construction on its $11.2 billion project while the company’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Interior Department moves forward."
"This marks the third offshore wind project to get a court-ordered green light to resume construction this week – joining Revolution Wind and Empire Wind – while Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts has now gone to court seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind, which is about 45% complete, announced on January 6 that it was filing a preliminary injunction against the lease suspension order."
"Dominion Energy was the first to sue the Trump administration after the US Department of the Interior ordered five offshore wind projects currently under construction to stop offshore work on December 22."
CNN: CNN poll finds majority of Americans say Trump is focused on the wrong priorities
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/politics/trump-economy-first-year-cnn-poll
Majority of Americans say ICE agent’s shooting of Good was unjustified and inappropriate; ICE making cities less safe
Comment: "A set of recently released polls found Americans largely at odds with the Trump administration and its defense of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot Minneapolis woman Renee Good."
"A Quinnipac University poll found 53% of registered voters saying the shooting of Good was not justified, 35% saying it was justified and 12% with no opinion. Over 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 6 in 10 independents said the shooting was not justified, but over three-quarters of Republicans said it was."
Comment: This poll was taken before the second fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Renee Good, ICE bad’: Minneapolis protests – in photos
ACLU sues Trump administration over ‘racial profiling and unlawful arrests’ in Minnesota ICE surge
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/aclu-lawsuit-ice-minnesota-trump
Comment: "The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing federal immigration authorities in Minnesota of racial profiling and unlawful arrests amid widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids."
"In a 72-page lawsuit filed on Thursday on behalf of three community members who are all US citizens, the ACLU accused federal immigration agents of violating citizens’ constitutional rights, arguing that Somali and Latino communities in the state have been disproportionately targeted."
"Naming the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its secretary, Kristi Noem, as defendants, along with several other Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, the lawsuit points to what it describes as a 'startling pattern of abuse spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security … that is fundamentally altering civic life in the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota'."
" 'Masked federal agents in the thousands are violently stopping and arresting countless Minnesotans based on nothing more than their race and perceived ethnicity irrespective of their citizenship or immigration status, or their personal circumstances. At the center of DHS’s campaign are Somali and Latino people, who are being targeted for stops and arrests based on racial profiling motivated by prejudice,' the lawsuit said."
‘Unconstitutional conspiracy’: Judge slams Trump administration over targeted deportations
Comment: :A federal judge handling a lawsuit over the deportation of pro-Palestinian activists excoriated top administration officials, including President Donald Trump, for trampling on the First Amendment and for what the judge described as a fearful approach to freedom."
" 'There was no policy here,' said U.S. District Judge William Young, an 85-year-old Reagan appointee who has been on the federal bench in Boston for 40 years. 'What happened here is an unconstitutional conspiracy to pick off certain people.' ”
"During a hearing on the suit Thursday, Young tore into Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for pursuing a targeted deportation campaign that Young said was at odds with the country’s core values."
" 'I find it breathtaking that I have been compelled on the evidence to find the conduct of such high-level officers of our government — cabinet secretaries — conspired to infringe the First Amendment rights of people with such rights here in the United States,' Young said. 'These cabinet secretaries have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.' ”
"Young’s comments came as he prepares to issue what he described as a steep sanction against the Trump administration for seeking to “chill” the free speech of pro-Palestinian activists targeted for arrest and removal weeks after Trump took office — including Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Madhawi, as well as Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk and Georgetown University academic Badar Khan Suri."
"Young ruled against the administration’s policy in September after a two-week trial, and held Thursday’s hearing to hash out a 'remedy' for the violations. The judge said he plans to issue a ruling that will grant the plaintiffs a 'conclusive presumption' that future changes to their immigration status amount to retaliation for their suit. The ruling will put the onus on the government to prove that officials have good cause before moving forward with any planned changes to group members’ immigration status, the judge said."
"Young used extraordinarily stark language during the hearing, describing Trump as an 'authoritarian' while insisting that he was choosing the term carefully, rather than simply using a 'pejorative.' The judge also compared the Trump administration’s broader mass-deportation campaign to historic efforts to return formerly enslaved people to their owners under the Fugitive Slave Act, noting an infamous episode in Boston history when a U.S. marshal was killed near Young’s courthouse as he guarded a man named Anthony Burns who escaped slavery in Virginia."
Judge: TSA ‘plainly’ violated court order with renewed union busting push
Comment: "The Homeland Security Department’s planned ouster of the American Federation of Government Employees from the Transportation Security Administration, scheduled to take effect Sunday, must now be halted."
PEER Demands Accounting from Interior Department Over “Freedom250” Use of Taxpayer Funds
https://peer.org/peer-demands-interior-accounting-freedom250-taxpayer-funds/
Comment: "Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum demanding detailed disclosures regarding the creation, funding, and oversight of 'Freedom250,' a separate entity that has reportedly received taxpayer funds appropriated by Congress for the America250 commemoration program."
"Congress authorized and funded America250 as the official, bipartisan vehicle for commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary. That authorization established specific structures, safeguards, and lines of accountability intended to ensure lawful use of public funds and meaningful congressional oversight."
"PEER’s letter raises concerns that public money may have been redirected from America250 to Freedom250, an entity operating outside the framework Congress created. If confirmed, such a diversion would raise serious questions about compliance with appropriations law, transparency requirements, and DOI’s authority to redirect congressionally authorized funds."
"In its letter, PEER calls on DOI to provide prompt, public answers to the following questions:
How at least $100 million in taxpayer funds redirected to Freedom250 are being spent, including budgets, funded activities, contractors or grantees, and who holds decision-making authority;
Whether Freedom250 is raising or accepting private funds in addition to public dollars, and if so, the sources and amounts of those funds, along with safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest or political influence; and
What role, if any, the National Park Foundation is playing in supporting Freedom250, including whether Foundation funds, staff time, or in-kind resources are being used and whether those activities are consistent with its statutory mission."
A federal judge dismisses the DOJ's effort to get voter data from California
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/15/nx-s1-5678969/doj-voter-data-california-dismissal
'We're in a bad spot': Fed leaders push back on Trump's attacks on Powell
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/14/fed-leaders-push-back-on-trumps-attacks-on-powell-00727953
Comment: "The leaders of Federal Reserve regional banks who play a key role in setting interest rates are pushing back on the Trump administration’s move to subject Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a criminal inquiry."
" 'I consider Chair Powell to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame Fed chair,' Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told NPR Wednesday morning. 'If we’re going to get into a circumstance where the independence — or even the integrity — of Chair Powell is in question? We’re in a bad spot.' ”
Comment: "The rebukes from top regional Fed officials are landing as the White House faces a cascade of criticism from top CEOs, Republican lawmakers, economic policy heavyweights and global central bank leaders over the Justice Department’s criminal inquiry into Powell’s congressional testimony last year covering the costly headquarters renovation."
Trump administration reinstates fired employees of DoJ race relations agency
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/trump-administration-doj-fired-workers
Comment: "Donald Trump's administration is reversing course on firing nearly every employee at a 1960s-era agency within the US Department of Justice known as 'America’s peacemaker' that is tasked with quelling racial and ethnic tensions in US communities."
"The justice departent, in a filing on Tuesday in federal court in Boston, disclosed that it had on Friday rescinded layoff notices it issued in September to 13 of the Community Relations Service’s employees as part of a 'reduction in force'.
"Those job cuts would have eliminated almost all of its employees, a fact civil rights groups cited in a lawsuit arguing the firings were part of an unlawful effort by Trump’s administration to dismantle the Community Relations Service."
"In Tuesday’s filing, the justice department said it decided to reinstate the employees 'as a matter of administrative discretion'. But it did not say if they would be resuming work on Community Relations Service functions, a fact the plaintiffs noted in a separate filing."
"The plaintiffs, who include the Ethical Society of Police and two local branches of the NAACP, asked a judge to hold a hearing to assess the impact on the case and if the reinstated employees would return to work on CRS duties."
Comment: It took a lawsuit, but the employees were reinstated. Now the fight continues to save the Community Relations Service.
86 percent in new poll against US taking Greenland by force
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5688901-greenland-military-force-survey-quinnipiac/
Comment: "More than 8 in 10 Americans are opposed to the U.S. taking over Greenland by military force as President Trump ramps up pressure on the semiautonomous Danish territory, according to a new survey."
"The Quinnipiac University poll, released Wednesday, found that 86 percent of respondents are against the U.S. using military force to acquire the Arctic island, which is part of NATO. Just 9 percent are in favor of such a move."
What Americans think about Trump’s military intervention abroad, according to a new AP-NORC poll
Comment: "More than half of U.S. adults believe President Donald Trump has 'gone too far' in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to a new AP-NORC poll."
"The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted Jan. 8-11, after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's capture. It found that 56% of U.S. adults think Trump has overstepped on military interventions abroad, while majorities disapprove of how the Republican president is handling foreign policy in general and Venezuela in particular."
Poll: Only 27% of Americans think Minneapolis ICE shooting was 'justified'
Comment: "A majority (54%) now say ICE is doing more harm than good"
Lawsuit dismissed after Trump admin quietly restored tens of millions to Planned Parenthood
Comment: "The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration over tens of millions in Title X family planning funds that federal officials had withheld from Planned Parenthood from Planned Parenthood and some other health clinics since last spring, after HHS quietly released the money in December."
"Though the Trump administration is still defending in court for bigger federal cuts to Planned Parenthood that Congress approved last summer, the release of the Title X funds gives the clinics a crucial lifeline. It is also likely to inflame existing tensions between the administration and anti-abortion conservatives who will rally in Washington later this month for the annual March for Life."
Trump administration drops fight to tie transportation funding to immigration
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/13/trump-transportation-funding-immigration-00725406
Comment: "The Trump administration on Tuesday dropped its appeal of a November court decision that blocked it from withholding transportation funding to states that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement."
"The Department of Transportation filed a motion to dismiss its appeal on Tuesday, ahead of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issuing a decision."
“ 'I am pleased that the Trump Administration has accepted defeat and agreed to drop its appeal of this decision,' said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led 21 other states in challenging DOT’s funding conditions."
"The administration’s retreat from the case represents a significant victory for blue states, which have faced a barrage of DOT attacks related to immigration."
Judge blocks White House bid to revoke whistleblower lawyer’s security clearance
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/trump-mark-zaid-restore-clearance
Comment: "Mark Zaid, a national security attorney, regains access to classified material after accusing White House of retaliation"
Senator Mark Kelly sues Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over attempted demotion
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j31728187o
Mass exodus hits Justice Department's Civil Rights Division amid lack of action in Minneapolis, sources say
Comment: "Several career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced they are leaving the department, shortly after they learned there would be no civil rights probe into the fatal shootig of a Minneapolis woman by a federal immigration agent, according to six sources briefed on the matter."
"At least six prosecutors, most of whom are supervisors in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section, will be leaving their jobs. Their decision to depart was announced in a meeting to staff on Monday, the sources told CBS News."
"The announcement came after CBS News reported on Friday that career prosecutors in the section had offered to drop all of their work to help investigate the Minneapolis shooting, but they were told there would be no criminal civil rights investigation."
Comment: "Although the Justice Department contemplated treating the investigation as a 'color of law' civil rights investigation into the excessive use of force, it later changed course, two different sources briefed on the matter told CBS."
"Now, the investigation is being treated as an assault on a federal officer, in which Ross, as opposed to Good, is seen as the victim of a crime, the sources added."
Video: Enten: ‘Trump is losing the political fight to Jerome Powell’ - January 12, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGVm3l7KM3A
Video Segment: "Harry Enten looks at Americans’ support for an independent Federal Reserve"
Video Segment: "Jerome Powell’s approval rating vs. President Trump’s"
Video Segment: "Trump’s approval rating on the economy "
Video Segment: "Inside Politics panel discussion on Trump’s pressure campaign against Powell"
Video Segment: "Joint statement from former Fed chairs criticizing Trump’s treatment of Powell"
Federal prosecutor in Virginia fired, unwilling to take on Comey prosecution: Sources
Comment: "A senior Justice Department prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia has been fired over his unwillingness to take on the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News."
"Robert McBride, an experienced prosecutor, was recently brought to the office from Kentucky to serve as the top deputy to U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan."
"Halligan's role as the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia has been disputed after the case against Comey was dismissed last November."
Comment: Federal prosecutors are willing to risk their jobs, rather than betray their ethical responsibility and pursue bogus prosecutions to satisfy Trump's retribution campaign.
Federal judge orders HHS to restore $12m in funding to American Academy of Pediatrics
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5684666-aarp-lawsuit-grants-restored/
US judge blocks Trump administration from canceling pediatrics group's grants
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-judge-blocks-trump-administration-145407654.html
Comment: "A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from terminating nearly $12 million in grant funding awarded to the American Academy of Pediatrics that was canceled after the medical group clashed with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over changes to vaccine policy."
"U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction late on Sunday after finding the medical group was likely to prevail on its claim that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services retaliated against it because of its advocacy in violation of its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment."
"She said 'pejorative' statements HHS officials had made attacking AAP because of its support of childhood vaccinations and gender-affirming care indicated they had 'clear animus' toward the group when its grants were terminated."
Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government to stop the immigration crackdown
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/crowd-yells-cowards-federal-agents-202525891.html
Minnesota sues Trump administration to end "dangerous, illegal" ICE "invasion"
https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2026/01/12/minnesota-ice-enforcement-block-lawsuit
In photos: A week of protests against ICE
Judge blocks HHS from freezing $10 billion in social services funding to 5 states
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-blocks-hhs-freezing-10-004540430.html
Comment: "A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from halting around $10 billion in social services funding to multiple Democratic states, a move the agency argued was necessary to crack down on fraud — but the states called unconstitutional."
"The states covered by the decision are California, New York, Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado."
"HHS announced plans to freeze the funding earlier this week. The move would cut off some $7 billion from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, $2.4 billion from the Child Care Development Fund and $870 million in social services grants."
"U.S. District Judge Arun Submaranian on Friday granted a request by the states for a temporary restraining order halting the funding freeze. The order will last for 14 days, while the court considers a request for a longer-term order."
More than 1,000 events planned in US after ICE shooting in Minneapolis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/10/ice-out-for-good-protests
Comment: "For the ICE Out for Good weekend of action, events are planned in nearly every corner of every state, from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, to Machias in eastern Maine. Indivisible, one of the groups behind last year’s No Kings protests, is continuously updating its online tracker to note every vigil, rally and protest. Other coordinating groups include the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the 50501 movement."
" 'We demand justice for Renee, ICE out of our communities and action from our elected leaders,' said Greenberg. 'Enough is enough.' "
Washington National Opera leaves Kennedy Center, joining slew of artist exits
Judge to temporarily block effort to end protections for relatives of citizens, green card holders
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-temporarily-block-effort-end-202921525.html
Comment: "A federal judge said Friday that she expects to temporarily block efforts by the Trump administration to end a program that offered temporary legal protections for more than 10,000 family members of citizens and green card holders."
"U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said at a hearing that she planned to issue a temporary restraining order but did not say when it would be issued. This case is part of a broader effort by the administration to end temporary legal protection for numerous groups and comes just over a week since another judge ruled that hundreds of people from South Sudan may live and work in the United States legally."
" 'The government, having invited people to apply, is now laying traps between those people and getting the green card,' Justin Cox, an attorney who works with Justice Action Center and who argued the case for the plaintiffs, said. 'That is incredibly inequitable.' "
Newsom calls for Noem’s resignation
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5681783-newsom-noem-resignation-ice-shooting/
Judge blocks Trump effort to pull election funding for states that don’t adjust voting forms
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/09/election-trump-order-ruling-00721151
Comment: "A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from threatening to withhold federal election funding for states that refuse to alter their voter registration forms or voting systems to President Donald Trump’s liking."
"U.S. District Judge John Chun ruled Friday that Trump’s threat to pull Election Assistance Commission funds was an attempt to put unconstitutional pressure on states even though the president — by design — has no formal power to determine how states administer elections."
" 'The President has no authority to unilaterally impose new conditions on federal funds,' Chun wrote in a 75-page ruling."
"Chun, a Seattle-based Biden appointee, is the third federal judge to block large portions of Trump's March 25 Executive Order purporting to require states to alter their election processes. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Washington, D.C.-based Obama appointee, in April blocked portions of the order forcing states to adopt new standards for voters’ proof of citizenship and a series of enforcement mechanisms. And U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, a Massachusetts-based Obama appointee, in June blocked provisions seeking to punish states that count ballots that arrive after Election Day."
Video: Judge says Trump administration can’t block child care funds - January 9, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FUzROWBrHCM
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting needy children and their families from flowing to five Democratic-led states for now."
Democratic states file lawsuit to halt Trump freeze of social assistance and child care funds
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/politics/child-care-funding-freeze-halt-lawsuit
Judge disqualifies US attorney in New York, tosses Letitia James subpoenas - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/08/john-sarcone-ruling-us-attorney-00716067
Comment: "A federal judge on Thursday disqualified the Trump loyalist top prosecutor in upstate New York and tossed subpoenas his office has issued to state Attorney General Letitia James."
"It’s the latest in a wave of rulings that have rejected the administration’s effort to install U.S. attorneys while sidestepping the Senate confirmation process."
"U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield, appointed by President Barack Obama, wrote in a 24-page opinion that John Sarcone III has been unlawfully serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York."
" 'When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations,' she wrote, 'it acts without lawful authority'."
Judge orders Lindsey Halligan to explain why she's using U.S. attorney title
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/07/lindsey-halligan-virginia-trump-judge-justice-department
Comment: "A federal judge ordered Trump ally Lindsey Halligan to explain why she's identifying herself as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia despite a court ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the role."
Comment: "U.S. District Judge David Novak in his order giving Halligan seven days to respond asked her to explain why her actions do not constitute 'a false or misleading statement,' which the Trump-appointed Richmond judge suggested could potentially result in disciplinary proceedings."
Trump’s plan to own the Western Hemisphere and Greenland is not what Americans want | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/politics/trump-western-hemisphere-americans-polling
Judge voids decision to end legal status of 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-temporary-protected-status-honduras-nepal-nicaragua/
Comment: "A federal judge in California on Wednesday voided the Trump administration's move to terminate the Temporary Protected Status of roughly 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, calling it a 'pre-ordained decision'."
"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of the TPS programs for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua in June and July, saying the three countries had recovered from the environmental disasters that prompted the U.S. government to grant their nationals temporary legal refuge."
"Created by Congress in 1990, the TPS policy allows the U.S. government to give certain foreigners deportation protections and work permits, temporarily, if their native countries are facing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or another emergency that makes their return unsafe."
NC sues Trump administration over $50 million in cuts to rural or low-income schools
AP News: Kennedy Center renaming prompts new round of cancellations from artists
https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-center-new-years-eve-canceled-db4bc44f0d95cb40f794f2cb737562a3
Kennedy Center exodus: The 11 acts, creators pulling out amid Trump takeover
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/30/new-years-2026-trump-kennedy-center
Video: Harry Enten: Donald Trump is far underwater with independent voters - December 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_rhNgOuM0s
Inflatable frogs and ice scrapers: nine innovative ways Americans protested against Trump in 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/27/inflatable-frogs-ad-campaign-trump-protest-methods
Comment: "Federal agents in military fatigues carrying assault rifles in major cities. Huge cuts to healthcare, science and the US’s largest anti-hunger program. Immigrants dragged from cars and courthouse hallways. Rising authoritarianism, corruption and anti-democratic behavior. These are just some of the reasons pushback against the Trump administration is growing with each passing day."
"While traditional marches such as the massive No Kings protests are a critical part of any resistance movement, sociologist Doug McAdam has shown how tactical innovation – the introduction of creative or novel protest methods – was a key part of the success of the civil rights movement in the US. Historically, when organizers established new tactics, movement activity peaked."
"From coordinated boycotts and block parties to noisy disruptions and an ad campaign that encourages non-cooperation from ICE agents, 2025 has seen a torrent of new, innovative and highly effective protest tactics employed against Donald Trump and his administration. These nine forms of non-violent protest – happening in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Memphis, Washington DC and beyond – have engaged countless everyday Americans to exercise their first amendment rights."
Video: The top Trump administration legal battles of 2025 - December 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3eJQTdUsy8
Comment: "This video summary cover many topics, but it is by no means comprehensive. Because it is a summary, it is unable to address the issues in any detail. However, the summary serves as a reminder of some major Trump related legal battles events. Once the viewer is reminded of the 2025 battles, he/she can use the articles and videos presented in our news article section (presented in reverse chronological order) to explore the facts and issues associated with those battles in greater detail. These articles/videos are provided under many of the news subpage topics, for example "The 2nd Trump Administration," "More Outrages From GOP." "Resistance to Trump Agenda," the "US Congress, etc."
The protesters showing up every week to shut down ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: ‘We will end this’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/26/alligator-alcatraz-protests-florida-immigration
US labor unions gear up to fight against Trump’s ‘Billionaire First’ agenda
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/25/trump-labor-unions-afl-cio
Comment: " 'Donald Trump has staged a year of “unrelenting attacks on working people,' according to the head of the largest federation of the labor unions in the US. Now they’re preparing to fight back."
"Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said it was gearing up to challenge the US president’s 'Billionaire First”'agenda in 2026 – and drive candidates in key elections to stand up for 'struggling' Americans."
"In an interview with the Guardian, she described how the federation has pushed to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers, and filed lawsuits against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken unions and worker protections. 'People were pissed,' said Shuler. "
"The House of Representatives passed a bill on 11 December that would restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers in response to Trump’s executive orders that stripped the rights from more than 1 million federal government employees."
" 'It was through a lot of good old-fashioned organizing,' said Shuler, who accused the president of overseeing 'the biggest attack on unions in our history' by moving to eliminate collective bargaining for federal workers. "
"The AFL-CIO is now steeling itself for a fight to pass the bill in the Senate in January, kicking off what it likely to be another hectic year. The threat of another government shutdown looms at the end of January. The fight over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies is far from over."
Comment: " 'When I’m out on the road talking to people, housing and healthcare are two issues everybody is feeling. And that is not on the ‘Billionaire First’ agenda.' "
"Trump is 'rewarding the big corporations and the rich' while many Americans are 'actually struggling', she added. 'I think that’s going to come into sharper focus as we go on into 2026. And that is what the labor movement is going to be very clear on. What are workers’ demands? Who is standing with us when it comes to candidates, and elected officials? And which side are you on?' "
Comment: " 'This strike has really brought it in sharp focus, this divide that we’re seeing of an economy that’s working for the very rich, for the billionaires, the corporations and working people are piecing it together,' said Shuler. 'They’re often working two or three jobs just to get by.' "
" 'The future of this economy is absolutely in peril, if you think about how inequality is rampant, but also AI and advanced technology is going to continue to create this divide between the ultra rich and everyday people just trying to make a living."
" 'It’s only going to get worse if we don’t get the guardrails in place, have more power for working people to negotiate what they need and bring some balance back into our economy.' "
Kennedy Center Christmas Eve jazz concert canceled after Trump name added to building
Democratic lawmaker files lawsuit challenging the renaming of the Kennedy Center
Video: More legal challenges expected against Trump's White House ballroom project - December 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHZIkAiBGE
Judge blocks Trump effort to yank whistleblower attorney's security clearance
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/24/trump-whistleblower-attorney-security-clearance-blocked
Comment: "A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's effort to strip whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid's security clearance."
"Zaid, who represented a whistleblower whose complaint led to Trump's first impeachment, is one of dozens of people from whom the administration has yanked security clearances in a broader retribution campaign."
" 'This is not just a victory for me, it's an indictment of the Trump administration's attempts to intimidate and silence the legal community, especially lawyers who represent people who dare to question or hold this government accountable,' Zaid said in a statement given to Axios."
"Trump ordered for Zaid's clearance to be revoked in March — along with that of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and several other prominent politicians and attorneys."
"The president's memo read that it was 'no longer in the national interest' for those individuals 'to access classified information.' Zaid subsequently sued in May over what his complaint called 'improper political retribution'."
Comment: "U.S. District Judge Amir Ali wrote in a Tuesday order granting Zaid's request for a preliminary injunction that Zaid is likely to succeed on First Amendment, procedural due process and right-to-counsel grounds."
Comment: "Trump has also used the restriction of government access to squeeze private practice law firms and former officials, including 51 individuals who signed a 2020 letter that said emails from Hunter Biden's laptop carried 'classic earmarks of a Russian information operation'."
"Zaid's complaint against the government said he had represented clients across the political spectrum for more than 30 years."
" '"I will not be intimidated and look forward to continuing to defend the brave men and women who stand up to the unlawful retaliation of the Trump administration,' Zaid said in his statement."
Federal judge blocks White House’s reductions of homeland security funding to states
Washington wins suit against Trump administration’s ‘politically motivated’ DHS cuts
Comment: "Attorney General Nick Brown and a coalition of attorneys general won a lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration’s “politically motivated” funding cuts under the Department of Homeland Security."
"The lawsuit aimed to stop the Trump administration from unlawfully reallocating DHS funding away from states 'based on their compliance with the administration’s political agenda,' Washington Attorney General Brown’s office said."
" 'Protecting Americans from acts of terrorism should not be political,' Brown said. 'Sadly, this administration has no problem putting people’s safety at risk in order to punish states that don’t embrace his political agenda.' "
Comment: "The case goes back to September 27, when DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency cut funding to states that were unwilling to divert law enforcement from core public safety services to instead enforce federal immigration law, the attorneys general explained."
Federal judge says Trump administration must restore disaster money to Democratic states
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-sanctuary-city-trump-fema-9c441d9cbe953a8ecd78123f0fe8a64e
Comment: "A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement."
"U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling on Monday solidified a win for the coalition of 12 attorneys general that sued the administration earlier this year after being alerted that their states would receive drastically reduced federal grants due to their 'sanctuary' jurisdictions."
Have the American Pope and the American administration fallen out?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg1361d32ro
Comment: "With one in five Americans identifying as Catholic, the Church plays an important role in American life - and politics."
"Catholics like Vice President JD Vance, and influential legal activist Leonard Leo, were an important part of Donald Trump's electoral success. They are at the heart of the cabinet too, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon holding key offices."
"But the issue of immigration has become a faultline between Church leadership and the government, as well as amongst parishioners themselves."
Comment: "Pope Leo XIV has spoken repeatedly about his concerns over how migrants are treated in the US, calling for 'deep reflection' on the matter in November. The pontiff evoked the gospel of Matthew, adding that 'Jesus says very clearly, at the end of the world, we're going to be asked, 'How did you receive the foreigner?' "
"A week later the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a rare 'Special Message' voicing their 'concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States'."
"The bishops said they were 'disturbed' at what they called 'a climate of fear and anxiety'. They added that they 'oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people' and 'pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence'."
"It was a significant intervention, the first time the USCCB had used such a communique in a dozen years. It was backed by the Pope, who called the statement 'very important' and urged all Catholics and 'people of goodwill, to listen carefully' to it."
Video: Can local officials stop ICE operations? - December 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgeJr5KG8g
Judge orders administration to submit plans for return of migrants deported to El Salvador prison under AEA
Comment: "U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Monday ordered the Trump administration to submit plans to return or otherwise provide hearings for over 200 migrants who were deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison in March."
"Boasberg has certified a class representing all migrants sent to the prison and says the government must submit its plans to allow them to contest their designation under the Alien Enemies Act by Jan. 5."
"The Trump administration in March invoked the AEA -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the El Salvador prison by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a 'hybrid criminal state' that is invading the United States."
21 Democratic-led states sue White House over consumer protection bureau funding
Comment: "A coalition of 21 attorneys general from Democratic-led states sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director, Russell Vought, on Monday, asserting that the White House’s argument to withhold funds from the consumer protection agency is unconstitutional."
"The lawsuit has to do with the Trump administration’s argument that the CFPB can only be funded by the Federal Reserve’s profits. The Federal Reserve has been running a loss since 2022, a side effect of the Fed raising interest rates sharply to combat inflation, because it holds bonds that pay low interest from the pandemic but it needs to pay out higher amounts of interest to the banks that hold their deposits with the bank."
"The White House has argued for several months that the CFPB cannot lawfully draw funds to fund its operations from the Fed if the Fed does not have 'combined earnings' to allocate to the bureau. Without additional funds, the CFPB is expected to deplete its operating funds completely in January."
Comment: "The Democratic AGs argue that the CFPB was lawfully created by Congress and the White House cannot pick and choose which parts of the government it wishes to fund or not. Further, the CFPB is required to provide consumer complaint information to the individual states to stop bad actors, and if the CFPB is not operating, it cannot meet its statutory requirements."
‘No Sleep for ICE’: Inside the Protest Movement Keeping Immigration Agents Awake at Night
https://time.com/7341833/no-sleep-for-ice-protests-hotels/
Video: 'We Will Protect It': Andy Beshear Pushes Back Against DOJ's Request For State Driver's License Data - December 18, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxhwU3pYW0A
ICE meets snow as midwesterners fight back against Trump immigration raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/snow-midwest-ice-raids-trump
Judge blocks ICE from requiring members of Congress to provide prior notice before detention center visits
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-blocks-ice-congress-prior-notice-detention-center-visits/
Judge lifts Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits to ICE jails
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/17/ice-lawmaker-visits-policy-ruling-00695801
US appeals court tosses decision allowing Trump mass firings at consumer bureau
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-appeals-court-tosses-decision-211326467.html
Ex-Trump voters swung hard to Democrats over costs in NJ & VA, new research shows
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/16/economy-voters-new-jersey-virginia-midterms-trump-00693015
Democratic-led states sue Trump administration over $100K H-1B visa fee
Comment: "Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) on Friday led a group of 18 Democratic states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa application fee."
"Collectively, the attorneys general argued that the new price tag attached to foreign visas will pose a barrier to U.S. employers seeking to hire highly skilled foreign national workers to alleviate nationwide labor shortages."
Comment: You can be sure that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall didn't join this lawsuit, despite the fact that high-tech companies in Huntsville and medical facilities, like UAB hospital, will likely be adversely impacted by the $100K H-1B visa fee.
Trump's approval rating on the economy hits record low 31%
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/trump-economy-inflation-affordability
CNN: Trump sued over East Wing demolition
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/politics/white-house-ballroom-trump-preservation-group-lawsuit
Video: Lawsuit from historic preservation group aims to stop construction on White House ballroom - December 12, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxZB8C7l24
Video: National Trust for Historic Preservation sues to try to stop White House ballroom construction - December 12, 2025
The Fed just ‘Trump-proofed’ itself with a unanimous move to preempt a potential leadership shake-up
The lawyer behind Vought’s bureaucracy crackdown
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/12/the-lawyer-behind-voughts-bureaucracy-crackdown-00689831
Comment: "If Russ Vought sees his quest to dismantle the federal bureaucracy as a race against time, his lawyer sidekick Mark Paoletta is holding the stopwatch."
Comment: "Vought, the point man for the administration’s efforts to slash the federal bureaucracy, has spent months assembling a team of legal, budget and political operatives who share his view that the administrative state is less a governing structure than an obstacle course."
"Paoletta is at the center of that team, paving the legal road for just about every major action Vought has taken, from withholding congressionally appropriated funds to yanking back pay from furloughed workers – not to mention Trump passion projects like the construction of the Trumphiant Arch, according to public letters and four current and former officials who have worked with Paoletta. Like others in this story, they were granted anonymity to speak candidly."
"In addition to being OMB’s general counsel, Paoletta also performs the duties of the administrator of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs – a powerful perch from which each federal regulation is shaped before it is finalized. In an unusual dual arrangement, Paoletta is also the chief legal officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."
Republican-led House votes to overturn Trump executive order on bargaining rights
Comment: "The House approved a measure Thursday to reinstate collective bargaining rights to federal workers, a step toward restoring labor union protections for nearly 1 million federal employees."
"The rare bipartisan vote, 231-195, marks the first time the House has voted to nullify an executive order from President Donald Trump this term."
"Twenty Republicans voted with Democrats in supporting the bill, which was introduced by Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, a Democrat, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, a Republican. The bill now heads to the Senate."
Comment: "Fitzpatrick wrote Thursday on X that the measure 'restores something fundamental: the right of public servants to be heard, respected, and represented in their workplace,' and urged the Senate to 'finish the job'."
"The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether he plans to bring the bill to a vote in the Senate."
CNN: The deeply personal reasons why many Indiana Senate Republicans said no to Trump
Indiana Republicans block new congressional map in rare break with Trump
Indiana GOP rejects Trump’s map in major blow to his gerrymandering push
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/11/indiana-republicans-redistricting-vote-trump-00687714
Comment: "Indiana Republicans withstood immense pressure from President Donald Trump, ignoring anonymous threats on their lives as they defeated his plan to redraw the state’s congressional map and dealt him one of his most significant political setbacks since his return to the White House."
"The GOP-controlled state Senate on Thursday voted down 31 to 19 the map that would have gerrymandered two more safe red seats, imperiling the party’s chances at holding control of Congress next November."
"The failed vote is the culmination of a brass-knuckled, four-month pressure campaign from the White House on recalcitrant Indiana Republicans that included private meetings and public shaming from Trump, multiple visits to the Hoosier State from Vice President JD Vance, whip calls from Speaker Mike Johnson and veiled threats of withheld federal funds. The hesitant local lawmakers held out in spite of pipe bomb threats, unsolicited pizza deliveries to their personal addresses and swattings of their homes."
Federal judge orders FEMA to restore billions in canceled disaster mitigation funding
ABC News: 2nd grand jury refuses to indict New York AG Letitia James: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/2nd-time-grand-jury-refuses-indict-new-york/story?id=128279779
Iowa, Ohio latest states to flip negative on Trump approval ratings
Comment: "Ohio and Iowa, which were considered Republican strongholds in the 2024 election, were the two states where Trump lost his standing with voters, according to Morning Consult. The pollster also found Trump's disapproval grew to second-term highs in these 2024 swing states: Arizona (51%), Georgia (50%), Michigan and North Carolina (52% each) and Wisconsin (54%). His approval rating is negative in all the swing states."
Judge blocks Trump's National Guard deployment in LA with sharp rebuke
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/nx-s1-5639822/national-guard-la-court-judge-trump
About face: Lawsuit targets plan to put Trump's image on popular national parks pass
https://abcnews.go.com/US/face-lawsuit-targets-plan-put-trumps-image-popular/story?id=128292660
Comment: "Federal law requires the pass to use the winning photo from an annual contest."
Comment: Just how narcissistic can Trump be?
Video: Dems celebrate two overnight election wins as GOP works on affordability messaging - December 10, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXFKiNtunEk
Miami elects first woman mayor, marking first win by Democrat in 28 years
Comment: "The defeat of the Republican in the race, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, gives added momentum to Democrats heading into the 2026 midterms."
Comment: "Democrats can now add a major city in Donald Trump’s home state — and one set to host his future presidential library — to its list of off-cycle election wins."
"In a Tuesday runoff, Miamians elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first woman in the city’s history to hold the job and the first Democrat in 28 years. Higgins, a former county commissioner, defeated Republican Emilio González, an ex-city manager who had the endorsement of Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 60 percent of the vote."
" 'Miami chose a new direction,' Higgins said during her victory speech at the Miami Woman’s Club. 'You chose competence over chaos, results over excuses and a city government that finally works for you.' "
"Though the race and the job of mayor are nominally nonpartisan, the election generated sizable interest from national Democrats and Republicans. Higgins’ win adds to the slew of victories and close calls Democrats have seen this year, including last week’s strong performance in a House special election in Tennessee."
Organizers submit enough signatures to block gerrymandered Missouri map
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/09/missouri-map-gerrymandering
Comment: "Organizers challenging Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map say they turned in enough signatures on Tuesday to block the map from going into effect and to force a referendum on the map next year."
"People not Politicians, the main organization behind the effort, said they submitted more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office, nearly triple the number required to block the map from going into effect. Missouri’s Republican secretary of state now needs to review the signatures."
" 'The citizens of Missouri have spoken loudly and clearly: they deserve fair maps, not partisan manipulation,' Richard von Glahn, the executive director of People Not Politicians, said in statement. 'We are submitting a record number of signatures to shut down any doubt that Missouri voters want a say.' "
"Missouri Republicans approved a new map in September that eliminates the Kansas City-based district of Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, and replaces it with a Republican one. It’s part of a nationwide push by Donald Trump to redraw Republican-friendly congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans are expected to lose their razor-thin majority in Congress."
Ex-employees of US Justice Department blast 'destruction' of civil rights unit
Comment: "More than 200 former employees of the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday criticized what they called the ongoing 'destruction' of its Civil Rights Division, saying President Donald Trump's administration has abandoned the agency's mission of protecting vulnerable Americans."
"In an open letter on the 68th anniversary of the division's creation, they alleged that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have killed important cases intended to protect people from sexual harassment and assault, police brutality and voting inequities. They also accused leadership of changing how civil rights investigations are conducted by demanding they 'find facts to fit the Administration's pre-determined outcomes'."
Illinois Governor Signs Bill Imposing New Limits on Immigration Enforcement
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/illinois-immigration-legislation-pritzker.html
Comment: "Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat, signed into law on Tuesday a measure that restricts immigration enforcement outside state courthouses and that makes it easier to sue immigration agents if residents believe their rights have been violated."
"The Democratic-backed legislation was approved by lawmakers in October in the midst of a federal crackdown on illegal immigration in the Chicago area that has led to thousands of arrests and repeated clashes between agents and residents."
"Supporters said the measure was a necessary response to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. The new law also limits the information that hospitals, day care centers and colleges in Illinois can provide to immigration agents."
" 'Residents should be able to go to court, take their kid to day care and have access to the university they attend without fear they will be kidnapped off the street,' State Representative Lilian Jiménez, a Democrat from Chicago, said in a statement when the bill passed."
Trump ban on wind energy permits 'unlawful', court rules
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7k6p6k5x5o
Justice Department faces call for internal probe into legal opinion on Venezuelan boat strikes
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-venezuela-boat-strikes-office-of-legal-counsel/
Comment: "A bipartisan group of former federal ethics officials is asking for an internal Justice Department investigation into the legal opinion justifying U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-running boats in the waters off South America."
"The ex-officials sent a request Tuesday to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility calling for an 'immediate investigation into whether members of the [Justice Department's] Office of Legal Counsel violated their professional legal responsibilities in preparing legal guidance that justified the unilateral use of lethal force against civilian foreign nationals, including alleged drug smugglers.' "
"The group includes Norm Eisen, Richard Painter and Virginia Canter, who served as ethics counsels for Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Their letter cited a Nov. 12 report in the Washington Post, which said the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel authored a still-classified opinion finding that 'personnel taking part in military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in Latin America would not be exposed to future prosecution.' "
"The group's request for a formal inquiry said: 'The result of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel's opinion — free rein for the government to murder and assassinate foreign civilians — is shocking and certainly raises the most profound legal ethics concerns.' "
Comment: " 'We have legal authority. We're allowed to do that,' President Trump told reporters on Oct. 22. 'They killed 300,000 people last year. Drugs, these drugs coming in. They killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority.' "
"Legal experts have cast doubt on the administration's argument, telling CBS News previously that the claim of a 'non-international armed conflict' is flawed because drug cartels are not considered organized armed groups under the law of armed conflict."
"In their request for a formal Justice Department internal review, the group of former ethics officials also questioned the administration's determination that the U.S. is in armed conflict with the suspected drug cartels."
Federal judge throws out Trump order blocking development of wind energy
ICEBlock app sues Trump administration for censorship and 'unlawful threats'
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/08/nx-s1-5631826/iceblock-app-lawsuit-trump-bondi
Comment: "The developer of ICEBlock, an iPhone app that anonymously tracks the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, has sued the Trump administration for free speech violations after Apple removed the service from its app store under demands from the White House."
"The suit, filed on Monday in federal court in Washington, asks a judge to declare that the administration violated the First Amendment when it threatened to criminally prosecute the app's developer and pressured Apple to make the app unavailable for download, which the tech company did in October."
Video: Gov. Andy Beshear asked if he's running for president at meeting of Democratic governors - December 08, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOVBAAdU_2U
Kentucky's Andy Beshear takes on national role as Democrats eye governors as their way back to the White House
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andy-beshear-democrats-governors-association-white-house-2028/
Anti-Trump former Republicans have a multimillion-dollar plan to save House Democrats
Comment: "Anti-Trump former Republicans think Democrats are squandering their chance to flip the House — and they have a $100 million plan to save them."
"On the heels of overperformances up and down the ballot this year, the Save America Movement, co-founded by former Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt, wants to pour up to $100 million into as many as 60 GOP-controlled House seats ahead of the midterms."
"The ambitious strategy for the Democrat-aligned group, shared first with POLITICO, is the group’s first foray into electoral politics after it has spent significant capital protesting President Donald Trump’s return to office, which it deems a fundamental threat to American freedoms."
" 'The Save America Movement was started with the express mission of defeating MAGA, but the electoral side, particularly the 2026 elections, are absolutely critical to that mission,' said Mary Corcoran, co-founder and executive director of SAM."
"While its plans are big, SAM is starting small, identifying 10 Republican-controlled House seats it will focus on, spanning Alaska to Florida, according to an internal memo shared with POLITICO."
Comment: "The high-dollar goal of $50 to $100 million is no easy fundraising task. Asked whether the group would have trouble meeting the figure, Corcoran said 'what I can tell you is that the response from donors has been very positive.' "
Comment: " 'We can’t truly break the MAGA movement until these Republican members of Congress are more afraid of their own voters than they are of Donald Trump,' said Brandon Hall, a political adviser for the group."
Comment: "The DCCC welcomed SAM’s commitment to broadening the House map while defending its 'expansive' list of target seats. 'The DCCC is on offense, with more pick up opportunities in 2026 than last cycle,' spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement. 'As [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] always says, more is more. We welcome anyone and everyone to help get the People’s House back to work on behalf of everyday Americans, not the billionaires.' "
CNN: Judge expands criminal contempt probe over deportation flights, saying Kristi Noem failed to provide answers
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/08/politics/kristi-noem-deportation-flights-contempt
Boasberg escalates contempt inquiry over Alien Enemies Act deportations
Comment: "A federal judge is escalating his inquiry into whether Trump administration officials deliberately flouted his March 15 order to prevent immigration officials from delivering more than 100 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador."
"James Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, said Monday that it’s “premature” to recommend criminal prosecution of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who revealed last month that she gave the order to turn over the men to Salvadoran authorities on the advice of administration lawyers."
"Boasberg is now demanding that two of the top Justice Department lawyers involved in the March deportation operation — including one who has since been fired for resisting some of the administration’s moves — appear for questioning next week."
Video: Trump promises to help oust Republicans who oppose redistricting plan - December 08, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcO8b6n_ULw
Comment: Much of the video talks about the resistance from some Republicans in the Indiana state senate to redraw the congressional district maps to satisfy Trump.
Indiana Republicans threaten to thwart Trump's redistricting onslaught
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/08/trump-indiana-senate-republicans-redistricting-00680141
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s maximalist, command-and-control approach to the GOP faces one of its most significant tests yet, as a band of stubborn Indiana state Senate Republicans threatens his mid-cycle redistricting scheme when it is expected to come to a vote this week."
CNN: Why Indiana GOP voters want their senators to defy Trump’s threats
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/politics/indiana-redistricting-republican-voters
Comment: Republicans in Indiana want their state Senators to defy Trump and resist the redrawing of Indiana's U.S. congressional districts.
Video: ‘Wrong and illegal’: Dem AGs slam Trump’s Agriculture Dept for SNAP cut threat - December 07, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiZUNjIsMQU
Video: Fired immigration judge sues Trump admin: 'They fired me for protected class' - December 05, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar4zPNCPPz4
Video: The New York Times sues the Pentagon over Pete Hegseth's media rules - December 04, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FfTbc-RAU4
Judge blocks widespread immigration arrests in DC made without warrants or probable cause
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/immigration-arrests-washington-dc
Comment: "A federal judge late on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from making widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that the person would be an imminent flight risk."
"The US district judge Beryl Howell in Washington granted a preliminary injunction sought by civil liberties and immigrants’ rights groups in a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security."
"The lawsuit alleged that since Donald Trump declared an emergency in Washington in August, there has been a pattern of widespread, unlawful immigration arrests. Community members have reported living in fear of being stopped while driving or walking through their neighborhoods and many have avoided going to work, walking children to school or other daily activities in an attempt to avoid checkpoints and immigration enforcement agents."
"Officers making civil immigration arrests generally have to have an administrative warrant. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, they may make arrests without a warrant only if they have probable cause to believe the person is in the US illegally and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained, according to Howell’s ruling."
"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that federal officers were frequently patrolling and setting up checkpoints in Washington DC neighborhoods with large numbers of Latino immigrants and then stopping and arresting people indiscriminately."
Judge blocks Trump from cutting Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood in 22 states
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/02/trump-planned-parenthood-medicaid-funding
Comment: "A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing in 22 states a provision of Donald Trump’s signature tax and domestic policy bill that would deprive Planned Parenthood and local affiliates that perform abortions of Medicaid funding."
"US district court judge Indira Talwani in Boston said a group of Democratic state attorneys general who had challenged the provision were likely to succeed in establishing that the law constitutes an unconstitutional retroactive condition on their participation in the Medicaid healthcare program. The judge, who was appointed by the Democratic president Barack Obama, put her preliminary injunction on hold for seven days to allow the administration to appeal."
Appeals Court Says Alina Habba Is Unlawful U.S. Attorney
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/nyregion/alina-habba-unlawful.html
Comment: "A federal appeals court said on Monday that Alina Habba had been serving unlawfully as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, dealing a blow to the Trump administration and most likely setting up a showdown at the Supreme Court."
"Ms. Habba is one of a number of U.S. attorneys whom the Trump administration has sought to keep in power through a series of unusual maneuvers even though she was neither confirmed by the Senate nor appointed by district trial court judges — the two traditional pathways. Defendants in New Jersey had challenged her authority as U.S. attorney, leading to Monday’s decision."
"In its ruling, the three-judge panel, based in Philadelphia, affirmed an earlier ruling by a Federal District Court judge. The court said that the government’s tactics had violated the law as written and concluded that, overall, the Trump administration appeared to have become frustrated by legal and political barriers to placing its favored U.S. attorneys in charge."
More than 220 judges have now rejected the Trump admin’s mass detention policy
Comment: "The Trump administration’s bid to systematically lock up nearly all immigrants facing deportation proceedings has led to a fierce — and mounting — rejection by courts across the country."
"That effort, which began with an abrupt policy change by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 8, has led to a tidal wave of emergency lawsuits after ICE’s targets were arrested at workplaces, courthouses or check-ins with immigration officers. Many have lived in the U.S. for years, and sometimes decades, without incident and have been pursuing asylum or other forms of legal status."
"At least 225 judges have ruled in more than 700 cases that the administration’s new policy, which also deprives people of an opportunity to seek release from an immigration court, is a likely violation of law and the right to due process. Those judges were appointed by all modern presidents — including 23 by Trump himself — and hail from at least 35 states, according to a POLITICO analysis of thousands of recent cases. The number of judges opposing the administration’s position has more than doubled in less than a month."
"In contrast, only eight judges nationwide, including six appointed by Trump, have sided with the administration's new mass detention policy."
21 states sue Trump admin over changes to immigrants’ SNAP eligibility
Comment: "Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Wednesday over guidance that they say unlawfully blocks certain groups of legal immigrants from accessing food aid."
"The GOP’s tax and spending package, which was signed into law in July, narrows some immigrants’ eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative. Green-card holders, however, can apply for benefits after a five-year waiting period."
"In their lawsuit, state officials allege USDA issued guidance on Oct. 31 incorrectly declaring that legal permanent residents, including those who came to the U.S. as refugees and asylum seekers, are permanently ineligible for SNAP. They are asking the judge to bar USDA from implementing the guidance."
Trump push for new congressional maps meets resistance – from both parties
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/26/us-politics-redistricting-trump-maps
Appeals court upholds $1M penalty against Trump over 'frivolous' Hillary Clinton lawsuit
Comment: "The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Trump and his attorneys had engaged in 'sanctionable conduct' with their suit against Clinton and others."
" 'Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer. He knew full well the impact of his actions,' Middlebrooks wrote, finding that 'sanctions should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Habba.' "
Comment: Please note that Trump has recently named his former lawyer, Alina Habba, as Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Majority of Latino voters disapprove of Trump, Pew study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/24/trump-latino-voters-pew
Comment: "Research shows 70% disapprove of job US president – who won backing of nearly half of Latino voters in 2024 – is doing"
"Fear is the tool of a tyrant": Exiting Justice Department workers sound alarms
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/24/doj-resignation-letters-page-trump-administration-firings
Comment: "An exodus of Justice Department employees has left behind a trail of emotional farewell notes warning that agency values are eroding."
Comment: "The writers, who are among the thousands who have departed the DOJ under Trump 2.0, did not mince words about 'potentially irreversible damage,' a retreat from ethics, a 'toxic work environment' and potential harm to vulnerable groups.' "
"Quite frankly I was pissed off!" Growing online page chronicles Trump Justice Dept. resignation letters
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-justice-dept-resignation-letters-chronicled/
Comment: "Amid a growing wave of firings, resignations and retirements from the Justice Department, some former agency officials are curating a public online display of the farewell messages of ousted employees. Some of the letters from purged non-political career Justice Department attorneys warn of a threat to democracy and a crumbling of the norms and standards in federal prosecutions."
"Justice Connection, a group of former Justice Department employees, has organized and posted the online page of goodbye messages. The organization's executive director and founder, Stacey Young, a former civil division attorney for the Justice Department, said the Justice Department purge has now eclipsed 5,000 employees since January, including resignations, firings and retirements."
"Some of those ousted have included high-profile department leaders, who wrote farewell messages expressing their fears about the trajectory of the Justice Department as agency employees have been purged."
Comment: "One of the messages posted was written by Maurene Comey, a former New York-based federal prosecutor, who is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, and previously handled part of the criminal case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. When she was fired this year, Maureen Comey wrote, 'If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. . . . Do not let that happen.' "
" 'Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought,' she continued. 'Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place.'"
Video: Federal judge blocks data sharing deal that would give ICE taxpayer information - November 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r6jjqp9NCQ
Charlotte activists met the immigration crackdown with ‘bless your heart’ resistance
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/activists-immigration-charlotte-north-carolina
Comment: "The reaction to immigration enforcement surges varies with the character of the communities. Los Angeles raged against the machine. Portland staged street theater. Washington DC jurors refused to convict people charged with crimes of resistance."
"Charlotte has engaged in a bless-their-hearts approach to the surge befitting a city full of bankers who want results while minimizing risks. 'Bless your heart' sounds nice, often said in complete sincerity, but widely understood by southerners to be a quiet way to tell someone they’re an idiot when offered in the right context."
"People outside of Charlotte’s political power structure have led the resistance in a grassroots movement that left little for Donald Trump to latch on to for formal reprisal. Activists focused on intensifying the discomfort of the agents while mobilizing a wide-ranging early-warning system for their targets that spanned from Tryon Street downtown to the mountain towns of western North Carolina."
Mamdani reiterates Trump is a ‘fascist’ just days after cordial meeting
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/mamdani-trump-fascist
Comment: "Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the New York City mayor-elect was asked if he still considered Trump a threat to democracy. 'Everything that I’ve said in the past I continue to believe,' Mamdani replied. 'I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.' "
"In his victory speech on 4 November, Mamdani said New York had demonstrated it could be the 'light' in a 'moment of political darkness', taking aim at the president. 'If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power,' Mamdani said. 'So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up.' "
Comment: The article headline is a little misleading. Mamdani didn't explicitly call Trump a "fascist" again. He just refused to retract or disavow statements he had made in the past.
‘Horribly wrong’: US veterans condemn Trump’s politicization of military
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/22/trump-military-veterans
Comment: "Veterans have condemned the politicization of the military after Donald Trump accused Democratic lawmakers of 'sedition, punishable by death' after a small group of them released a video in which they urged US soldiers not to follow any 'unlawful' orders."
Comment: " 'He uses sedition and treason very broadly and inappropriately,' said David Frakt, a retired air force officer and attorney in the judge advocate general (JAG) corps, the military justice branch. 'The irony is that if anyone committed sedition or treason, it was the people that he urged to overthrow the government on January 6 [2021] – and you know, he pardoned all of those people and calls them patriots and martyrs and all the rest.' "
Comment: "A duty to disobey illegal orders is not new: it 'has always been the law, said Coretta Johnson Gray, a former air force attorney. What is unusual now is the heightened anxiety among service members who normally operate without questioning the legality of typical orders."
Comment: "Facing a questionable order, a service member’s first responsibility is to get clarification from their chain of command, she said. Following that, they should seek guidance from a military chaplain or a member of the judge advocate general’s corps."
"However, given that one of the first acts of incoming secretary of defense Pete Hegseth was to fire or demoting legal advisors to the service branches, there are concerns that the JAG corps is becoming politicized, too."
"Gray further expressed alarm that many military lawyers are quitting the service. 'It’s important to have good people who have integrity in these positions, because if you get rid of everybody who could even question, you really got a problem.' "
Judges block Trump from cutting hundreds of millions in grants to cities, counties
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/22/politics/judges-block-trump-cutting-grants-cities-counties-hnk
RFK Jr. Blasted by Brother for ‘Betraying’ Father’s Legacy
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-blasted-by-brother-for-betraying-fathers-legacy/
Video: DeSantis, Democrats, environmentalists join forces to oppose new Gulf drilling - November 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ8n76DUoQI
Judge halts IRS sharing of taxpayer info for immigration crackdown
Comment: "A federal judge on Friday barred the IRS from sharing tax return information that immigration officials aimed to use to deport undocumented immigrants, saying the practice violated a taxpayer confidentiality law."
"U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Washington-based Clinton appointee, ordered the tax agency not to disclose the confidential address information of tens of thousands of undocumented taxpayers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement until the court can review the case further."
Comment: "On August 7, under a controversial agreement between Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the IRS disclosed confidential address information for about 47,000 taxpayers to ICE to aid in the Trump administration’s deportation agenda. The Center for Taxpayer Rights, joined by several other groups, has sued to halt the exchange of information, saying it violated a federal law that heavily limits taxpayer data sharing except when it’s necessary for a non-tax federal criminal investigation or proceeding in which a federal agency has obtained approval from a court or agency head."
CNN: Federal judge blocks IRS from sharing information to help ICE with deportations
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/politics/irs-ice-data-sharing-ruling
The Coast Guard planned to change how it described swastikas and nooses. Then came the outcry and an updated policy
Comment: "The U.S. Coast Guard has released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just hours after it was publicly revealed that it made plans to describe them as 'potentially divisive' — a term that prompted outcry from lawmakers and advocates."
" 'Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,' the latest Coast Guard policy, released late Thursday, declared before adding that this category included 'a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.' "
Comment: "The late-night change came on the same day that media outlets, led by The Washington Post, discovered that the Coast Guard had written a policy earlier this month that called those same symbols 'potentially divisive.' The term was a shift from a years-long policy, first rolled out in 2019, that said symbols like swastikas and nooses were 'widely identified with oppression or hatred' and called their display 'a potential hate incident'."
Judge orders Trump to end ‘illegal’ National Guard deployment in DC but troops aren’t going home yet
Comment" "A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to end a monthslong deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital."
"President Donald Trump's military takeover in Washington, D.C., illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the district, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded."
"However, she put her order on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal."
Judge Boasberg to resume contempt proceedings over Alien Enemies Act deportations
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/19/james-boasberg-deportation-flights-case-00659973
Comment: "A federal judge said Wednesday he plans to revive long-stalled criminal contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials who authorized deportation flights to land in El Salvador in March even after the judge ordered them to turn the planes around."
"U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, whose initial contempt proceedings were stymied for seven months by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, said he had the green light to resume after the appellate court lifted the hold on his case last week."
" 'Justice requires me to move promptly on this,' Boasberg said during a hearing on a lawsuit brought on behalf of men deported under President Donald Trump’s unprecedented peacetime invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. 'I will be going forward with it.' "
"The move by Boasberg, the chief federal district court judge in Washington, reopens one of the most fraught chapters of Trump’s second term: the president’s extraordinary invocation of wartime powers to summarily deport 137 Venezuelans to a notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. Trump labeled the men members of Tren de Aragua, a violent transnational gang, which his administration labeled a terrorist organization."
"Boasberg, who learned of the deportation flights while they were in progress on March 15, ordered the administration to halt the flights, finding that the administration likely violated the due process of the people on the planes, many of whom contested the claim that they belonged to Tren de Aragua."
"Boasberg said he intends to receive testimony from former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who was fired in April and has since accused his superiors of flouting court orders related to the deportation flights. He also said he wants to hear from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign, who represented the Justice Department during the March 15 proceedings and told Boasberg he wasn’t aware of any plans for deportation flights — even as the planes were in the air or about to take off."
" 'I certainly intend to find out what happened that day,' Boasberg said, 'and the government can assist me to whatever degree it wishes.' "
Judge rejects ‘racially gerrymandered’ maps in Texas that gave Republicans extra districts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/18/texas-congressional-redistricting-maps
Comment: "Federal judge instructed state to use older maps, with Republicans likely to appeal decision"
Update: Supreme Court temporarily reinstates Texas Republicans' redrawn congressional map
Comment: "The move will, for now, allow Texas to use the new district lines that a federal court blocked earlier this week as the Supreme Court reviews the case."
Trump-Appointed Judge Rebukes President’s Power Grab in Scathing Ruling
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-appointed-judge-rebukes-his-power-grab-in-scathing-ruling/
Comment: "President Donald Trump has suffered a new blow in his effort to hold on to the Republican House majority and avoid becoming a lame-duck president."
"A panel of federal judges blocked Texas from using its new GOP-friendly congressional map in the 2026 midterms in a 2-1 ruling Tuesday."
"The map was drawn at Trump’s behest and signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in August. It was projected to net the GOP five seats in the House of Representatives, which the party controls by the slimmest of margins."
"Trump-appointed Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote in the decision that 'substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map,' and slammed the Trump administration for pushing the gerrymandering effort."
"The court ordered Texas to use its previous map that was drawn in 2021 instead. Republicans currently hold 25 of Texas’ 38 House seats."
"Brown called the Justice Department’s claim that the 2021 map was unconstitutional, outlined in a July letter to Texas lawmakers, a 'legally incorrect assertion.' "
Update: Supreme Court temporarily reinstates Texas Republicans' redrawn congressional map
Comment: "The move will, for now, allow Texas to use the new district lines that a federal court blocked earlier this week as the Supreme Court reviews the case."
Trump approval sinks to second-term low of 38 percent: Reuters/Ipsos poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5611791-trump-approval-rating-decline/
Epstein survivors speak out ahead of House vote, take aim at Trump
Comment: "One called Trump's handling of the Epstein saga 'a national embarrassment'."
Video: Protesters rally in Jemison after ICE sets up checkpoints - November 18, 2025
https://www.wkrg.com/video/protesters-rally-in-jemison-after-ice-sets-up-checkpoints/11276807/
Comment: "Dozens of protesters gathered outside Jemison City Hall on Tuesday night after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up checkpoints in Chilton County and used the city’s auditorium as a processing center."
Comment: Jemison, AL
AP News: Tennessee judge blocks Trump's use of National Guard in Memphis but gives time for government appeal
https://apnews.com/article/memphis-national-guard-trump-88524219125b811fe6f558cdbc870dee
Tennessee Judge Temporarily Blocks National Guard Deployment in Memphis
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/us/politics/national-guard-memphis-ruling.html
Even Joe Rogan is calling out Trump’s election lies
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5606665-trump-election-integrity-threat/
Bipartisan House Coalition Hits 218 Signatures to Force Vote Protecting Federal Workers’ Union Rights
‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/15/christian-democrat-candidates-trump-republicans
Comment: "From Texas and Iowa to Arkansas, faith leaders are wading into politics to counter the rise of Christian nationalism"
Republicans have lost ground with Latino voters after Trump’s 2024 gains | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/politics/trump-latino-voters
New prosecutor takes on the Georgia election case against Trump and others
Comment: "A longtime prosecutor announced he will take over the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the case and no one else wanted the job."
"The nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia was tasked with replacing Willis after she was disqualified over an 'appearance of impropriety' created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she’d chosen to lead the case. The organization’s executive director, Pete Skandalakis, said Friday that he would take the case on himself."
" 'Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,' Skandalakis said in an emailed statement."
"Legal action against Trump is unlikely to proceed while he is president. However, 14 other defendants still face charges, among them former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani as well as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows."
"Trump earlier this week announced pardons for people accused of backing his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election — including those charged in Georgia — but Skandalakis has said that has no bearing on these state charges."
Court blocks new Transportation Department rules targeting immigrant commercial drivers
Comment: "The Transportation Department’s new restrictions that would severely limit which immigrants can get commercial driver’s licenses to drive a semitrailer truck or bus have been put on hold by a federal appeals court."
Comment: "The court said the federal government didn’t follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and failed to 'articulate a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.' The court said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own data shows that immigrants who hold these licenses account for roughly 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses but only about 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said."
Most oppose Trump's military strikes against alleged drug boats: poll
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/14/trump-drug-boat-strikes-venezuela-military
These Reagan-appointed judges have had it with Trump
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/14/donald-trump-judges-00652762
Comment: "In a year full of judicial rebukes for the president — often followed by vindication for Trump at the Supreme Court — these judges’ fierce and direct assessments of the president have stood out. But there’s more than lofty rhetoric that binds them. All were appointed to the bench decades ago by the same president: Ronald Reagan."
"Now a fourth member of the Reagan-era fraternity has joined them: U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, who took the bench in Massachusetts 40 years ago on the same day as Young. Wolf resigned his senior judgeship last week with the sole purpose of speaking out against what he sees as Trump’s incursion on the rule of law and the high court’s acquiescence to it."
"It’s not an accident. Not only do these Reagan-appointed judges wield their seniority as a weapon, but their legal and judicial careers were all forged in the embers of Watergate, when a president’s assertion of vast, unprecedented power threatened to topple the justice system. They all worked and clerked for attorneys and judges tasked with rebuilding confidence in the federal government after Richard Nixon’s resignation and saw in it a vindication of principled appeals to impartial justice."
"In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO, Wolf said his own upbringing as a public corruption prosecutor during that moment of rebuilding is what has contributed to his alarm today. He sees echoes of that era in Trump’s second term but is worried that Americans — who would not have tolerated such behavior in the Watergate era, he says — may be too conditioned to view the world through partisan lenses to respond similarly today."
Comment: "Wolf cited the case of Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, and reports that he accepted $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent as part of a potential payoff for his work in a future Trump administration. The Trump administration has said federal authorities conducted a probe but that there was no 'credible evidence' of criminal wrongdoing. Homan has denied that he took the money."
"Wolf said now that the case is closed, he’s surprised there isn’t a louder public outcry — including from Republicans — to see the evidence."
" 'If there’s uninvestigated possible criminal activity by Mr. Homan, I think that should be a matter of significant public concern. And if the tape recordings and other evidence indicate that he did not engage in any illegal conduct, I think he deserves to be exonerated in the court of public opinion,' Wolf said. 'I don’t know why Republicans in Congress, as well as Democrats, don’t ask for that.' "
CNN: Judge bars Trump from immediately cutting funding to the University of California
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/politics/trump-colleges-california-funding-hnk
Judge blocks Trump administration push to fine UCLA $1.2 billion for alleged antisemitism
Republicans increasingly oppose Trump's government management: Poll
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/12/trump-approval-managing-government-republicans-drop
Comment: "Fewer Republicans and independents approve of President Trump's management of the federal government than earlier in his term, according to an AP-NORC poll of 1,143 adults published Wednesday."
Comment: "An overall dip in approval is driven largely by declines among Republicans and independents."
"Democrats remain as opposed as ever to Trump's management of government, with 5% approving as of November, down from 9% in March."
Comment: "As of November, 68% of Republicans said they approve of how Trump is managing the federal government."
"That figure was 81% in March."
"Among independents, approval dropped from 38% to 25%."
More Americans are unhappy with the way Trump is managing the government, AP-NORC poll shows
Watchdog group files bar complaint against prosecutor Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases
Comment: "The Justice Department prosecutor handpicked by President Donald Trump to lead the criminal cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey is now the subject of a bar complaint that alleges she is unfit to be an attorney and that her actions constitute an 'abuse of power'."
"The progressive watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint against Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan on Tuesday and requested that the state bars in Florida and Virginia initiate investigations into her conduct."
"The complaint alleges that Halligan repeatedly violated the professional and ethical rules that govern the legal profession, including by making false statements and by bringing cases that are unsupported by probable cause."
" 'Weaponizing the DOJ to prosecute the president's enemies could destroy the democratic principles at the foundation of our Constitution,' the complaint said. 'Ms. Halligan's active participation in this course of action is an abuse of her governmental authority and is prejudicial to the administration of justice, adversely reflecting on her fitness as a lawyer.' "
Utah judge denies GOP-passed congressional map
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/11/utah-judge-denies-gop-passed-congressional-map-00646183
Comment: "A Utah judge on Monday rejected a Republican-passed redistricting plan that created two more-competitive districts in the state — a win for Democrats who thought the map did not go far enough."
"In denying the new map, the judge put in place one of two options offered by plaintiffs that creates a solidly-Democratic district that covers Salt Lake City, giving the party its second win in the redistricting wars that have swept the nation ahead of the midterms."
Comment: "Several Utah Democrats are inching toward entering the race. Former Rep. Ben McAdams is expected to announce his candidacy soon, according to three people with direct knowledge of his thinking. He has already garnered support from Welcome PAC, a national group which backs more moderate candidates over progressives."
"A Democrat has not represented Utah in Congress since 2021, when McAdams left office."
Trump booed as he becomes the first sitting US president at a regular-season NFL game since Carter
https://apnews.com/article/trump-nfl-lions-commanders-c2c6e511052653e74be0ad77eb51cd64
Federal Judge, Warning of ‘Existential Threat’ to Democracy, Resigns - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/us/politics/mark-wolf-federal-judge-resigns.html
Comment: "A federal judge warned of an 'existential threat to democracy' in a searing first-person essay published on Sunday, saying he had stepped down from the bench to speak out against President Trump. He accused Mr. Trump of 'using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment.' "
"The judge, Mark L. Wolf, wrote in The Atlantic magazine that Mr. Trump’s actions were 'contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench.' "
"The publication of the essay by Judge Wolf, 78, came two days after an announcement by the Federal District Court for Massachusetts that he was leaving his post as a senior-status judge."
"An appointee of President Ronald Reagan who also served in the Justice Department during the Ford administration, Judge Wolf offered one of the most explicit expressions of concern for the rule of law to come from a member of the federal judiciary amid Mr. Trump’s efforts to vastly expand the scope of presidential power."
Comment: "In a phone interview, Judge Wolf said he had resigned not only to speak more freely about his own views, but also those of colleagues who were still on the bench. 'I hope to be a spokesperson for embattled judges who, consistent with the code of conduct, feel they cannot speak candidly to the American people,' he said."
Trump administration again asks Supreme Court intervene on order for full SNAP benefits
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/09/nx-s1-5603417/full-snap-benefits-trump-states-order
Judge blocks enforcement of USDA memo that instructed states to 'undo' efforts to disburse full November SNAP benefits
Comment: "
Democrats seize on Trump administration’s efforts to fight food stamp payments
https://apnews.com/article/trump-snap-food-stamps-court-8bdaf319f25ea0854abb3bbd494b7f90
Comment: This action by the Trump administration illustrates just how far Republicans will go to win a government shutdown battle. To stop the ACA (Obamacare) subsidies they were willing to fire large portions of the federal workforce and then starve their own constituents (most SNAP recipients were in Republican held states/districts). How is it possible for more reasonable Democrats to outlast such a heartless group of politicians? They don't give a d**n about the people they are supposed to represent.
Comment: The only way to combat this outrageous callousness is to get rid of the congressional perpetrators in November 2026.
CNN: Biden says Trump has ‘taken a wrecking ball’ to democracy in sharp criticism
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/08/politics/biden-democracy-wrecking-ball-trump
Video: Biden slams Trump for putting Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg over Americans - November 8, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrfzuadjnA
Partisan shutdown emails violated Education Dept workers' rights, judge rules
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/08/government-shutdown-trump-federal-employees
Editing federal employees’ emails to blame Democrats for shutdown violated their First Amendment rights, judge says | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/politics/emails-blaming-democrats-shutdown-violate-first-amendment
Obama applauds Democrats’ election wins but says ‘we’ve got a lot of work to do’ | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/politics/obama-celebrates-democrats-election
Poll: More than 4 in 10 voters support 'No Kings' movement amid high, early interest in the next election
Comment: "Two findings from the latest national NBC News poll, which shows Trump’s approval rating down from March, help explain not only Tuesday’s results but how a fired-up Democratic Party base is engaging with politics right now. The large 'No Kings' protest movement has mobilized those strongly opposed to Trump, and interest in the 2026 election is already at a historically high point, according to the poll."
"More than 4 in 10 registered voters (43%) say they support No Kings, a larger share than some past political protest movements measured by NBC News polling, and about the same size as the Black Lives Matter movement was in April 2023."
Comment: "The protests are not the only sign that, like in his first term, Trump is energizing his own opposition. A year out from the 2026 midterm elections, voters are fired up. On a scale of 1 to 10, more than 65% of voters said they’re a '9' or a '10' — very interested in next November’s midterms."
"That number is on par with typical voter enthusiasm right before each of the last five midterms, which makes it extraordinarily high at this point in the race, with one year still to go."
Dems' resistance stymies DOJ in Stephen Miller doxxing case
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/07/democrats-resistance-doj-stephen-miller-doxxing
Judge permanently blocks deployment of National Guard to Portland, saying Trump exceeded his authority
Jeff Flake: GOP ‘migration’ away from Trump has started
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5594031-gop-dissent-growing-trump/
Comment: If this true, it is good news for the country. However, it means that Democrats must work harder to show that the so called 'migration' is merely GOP window dressing in response to growing voter dissatisfaction to Trump and show that it is not a true change of heart. Republicans in Congress have surrendered their responsibility and authority to Trump and have blindly accepted the disastrous course he has put us on. Now, as Trump's popularity may be waning, Republicans are starting to jump ship like cowards, rather than steering the country onto the correct course. A cowardly crew that has been unwilling to question an inept captain cannot be trusted to do so in the future. It's time to first replace the cowardly crew in 2026 and then replace the inept captain when the opportunity arises.
Latino voter shifts in Tuesday's elections alarm some Republicans
Comment: Given the recent actions of ICE and CBP, should this be a surprise to anyone?
Voters voiced dissatisfaction, anger as they turned out to vote in this week's elections
Comment: " 'Angry' and 'dissatisfied' were the words to describe the feelings of many in New Jersey, Virginia, and California, where Democrats made huge gains in state and local elections."
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/dc-sandwich-guy-verdict-rcna242142
Comment: "Sean Dunn faced a single misdemeanor after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors."
"Jurors showed no appetite for the Justice Department's case against 'sandwich guy,' the D.C. resident who chucked a Subway sandwich at the chest of a federal officer, finding him not guilty Thursday after several hours of deliberations."
Comment: "The resident, Sean Dunn, a former Justice Department paralegal, faced a single misdemeanor count after a federal grand jury rejected more serious charges over the encounter, which took place in the nightlife area of U Street in August."
"Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore received two 'gag gifts' related to the incident — a plush sandwich and a patch featuring a cartoon of Dunn throwing the sandwich with the words 'Felony Footlong' — which the defense team argued showed this was not a serious event in his life."
Comment: "Images of Dunn became a symbol of resistance to the Trump administration in Washington, with murals popping up on walls depicting a man throwing a sandwich, and with people placing sandwiches in the hands of giant skeletons for Halloween."
"Sean Dunn told NBC News it was 'heartening' to get so much support from his fellow Washingtonians, but that he’s 'not comfortable' with the 'hero' narrative. Asked if he thought residents — who lack full representation in Congress — were registering their dissent to the federal takeover of the city in finding him not guilty, he said, 'Perhaps'. "
"Grand jurors in Washington have rejected several cases against defendants that were brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which under the Trump administration has been run by two Trump loyalists: first Ed Martin and now Jeanine Pirro."
Comment: The charge, especially the initial felony charge, is laughable, except for the fact that it illustrates how far the Trump administration will go in its attempt to quash dissent. Thank goodness we still have trial by the jury in our judicial system.
White House sued over its "loyalist" hiring policy
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/06/trump-white-house-loyalist-hiring-policy-lawsuit
Comment: "A coalition of unions representing federal workers filed a lawsuit against the White House Thursday over the inclusion of what they say is a partisan loyalty question included in the Trump administration's 'merit-based' hiring plan.
"The hiring plan is one piece of the White House's massive overhaul of the civil service — and plaintiffs say it amounts to a partisan loyalty tests that is unlawful and violates the principles of a nonpartisan civil service."
Comment: "The Trump administration included four open-ended essay questions that could be used to evaluate candidates. Some relate to job performance like work ethic or efficiency."
Comment: "One question was widely criticized: 'How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?' The question asked candidates to identify 'Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.' "
Bolstered by big wins, Dems eye out-of-reach Senate races
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/06/democrats-senate-house-races-2025-wins-00639344
Comment: "The leader of a Democratic donor network fielded excited calls Tuesday night from donors looking to help expand the party’s chances of winning seats in Texas and Florida. Progressive candidate recruitment group Run For Something saw spikes in sign-ups in the last 24 hours. And Senate Democrats are eying Ohio, Iowa and Alaska — states Trump won by double digits — as battlegrounds."
"In the wake of Democrats’ resounding electoral wins this week, party candidates and strategists are strategizing how to expand their electoral opportunities in even the reddest of states in 2026, when President Donald Trump won’t be on the ballot and Republicans will face the traditional headwinds of a midterm cycle."
Comment: " 'The margins from last night reflect what we’ve been seeing on the ground here in Iowa, and my hope is that national observers will start to make the connection between the dots,' said state Sen. Zach Wahls, who’s running in the Iowa Senate primary for the open seat that Republicans are favored to win."
" 'There is real excitement and energy in the state,' Wahls added, 'and fundamentally, we have to win Iowa in order to flip the Senate.' "
"Wahls said his campaign had its best fundraising day of the quarter after Tuesday’s elections."
"Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called the off-year success a 'sign of a really systemic sea change,' adding, “[when] you see the swing with independent voters, it starts to give us even more opportunities.' "
"House Majority PAC, the flagship Democratic-aligned super PAC, said it is 'expanding the map deeper into GOP territory' and name-checked a trio of seats in North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia that it plans to seriously contest for the first time in nearly a decade."
Comment: " 'The Senate map doesn’t look great, but if there’s any hope of winning, we have to be aggressive and fight in places that are not traditional Democratic targets,' said Brendan McPhillips, a Democratic consultant based in Pennsylvania and working with a pro-Osborn group. 'Some of this is backlash to Trump, but it’s also about candidate quality, who inspires people, people who fit their races.' "
Comment: "But Democrats’ victories spanned the ideological spectrum, as Mamdani quoted socialist Eugene Debs in his victory speech, while Spanberger, who won by 14-points, made headlines in 2020 by urging her party 'to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again.' "
"Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Penn.) said that gulf captured the 'big tent' of his party."
" 'The reality of how you win and who might win in Pennsylvania might look different than Virginia or New Jersey or California, and that’s okay,' Deluzio said. 'I think we have got to be the party that is building out our appeal and attracting more people in, and again, that’s going to take some ideological diversity.' "
Comment: The recent election results should give some hope for Democratic candidates running in Alabama. While we're still considered by many to be a solidly "red state," the popularity of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans is trending downward, especially among Independent voters needed by Alabama Democrats to help win elections. However, without Democratic candidates on the ballot in county and certain state races, there is no way for Alabama voters to express their dissatisfaction for the right-wing MAGA agenda that extends down into the Alabama GOP. If Alabama GOP politicians only have to worry about their primary election, they will pander to their ideological right-wing base and ignore the interests of the majority of Alabamians. On the other hand, if Democratic leaning citizens step up and challenge Republicans up and down the ballot, the Democratic party can make inroads here, build for the future, and change the political conversation. At this point, it would be naïve to guarantee victory for Alabama Democratic candidates, but recent election results give us hope to build upon the success we already have in certain geographic areas of the state. Please support those Democratic candidates who are willing to accept the challenge of running. If they win that is great, but even if they just make a strong showing, that will illustrate that Alabama races are winnable in the future. As Alabama transitions from a "red state" to a "purple state" (toss up), voters will be energized and Democratic campaign funds from outside Alabama will become more available. Success breeds future success. That is a reason to be optimistic.
Mississippi Democrats appear to break Republican supermajority in state Senate
Comment: "The Democratic gains in Mississippi were part of strong performance Tuesday in statehouse elections, as Democrats also expanded their majorities in both the New Jersey Assembly and Virginia House."
"The victories would mean Republicans no longer have a two-thirds majority in the Mississippi Senate when the new lawmakers take office."
" 'Mississippi voters reminded us that change is possible when we show up together,' Mississippi Democratic Party Vice Chair Jodie Brown wrote in a statement. 'Breaking the supermajority means restoring checks and balances — and ensuring that every Mississippian’s voice counts in their state government.' "
Pope Leo offers his strongest criticism of Trump yet
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lq751964mo
Trump may become the face of economic discontent, a year after such worries helped him win big
Comment: "President Donald Trump got a serious warning from voters that he’s out of touch with their fears about a deteriorating U.S. economy."
"Democrats cruised in key races across the country Tuesday by harnessing some of the same populist fervor that helped get Trump reelected a year ago — but also by focusing on the kitchen table issues the Republican had vowed to fix. Now, as the incumbent, fears about the economy have made Trump the face of much of the public’s discontent."
" 'We learned a lot.' Trump acknowledged Wednesday. In a Fox News Channel interview, he said his party wasn’t doing enough to spread the word about the country’s economic progress."
Comment: The economic reality is starting to become clear to the public. However, Trump continues to claim the public's "economic discontent" is just a problem of messaging. Trump's primary messaging problem is the public realization that he has not been telling them the truth.
Democrats didn’t just rebound. They dominated.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/05/democrats-2025-win-midterms-virginia-new-jersey-00637057
Comment: "For Democrats, Tuesday night felt like 2017 all over again."
"All across the country, Democrats won big, from the marquee races to the down-ballot contests. Counties that had shifted right a year ago veered back to the left, and the suburbs that powered Democrats’ massive wins in the first Trump administration came roaring back. Exit Polls even showed Democrats improved their margins with non-college educated voters."
"The strength of the wins hints at Democrats’ appetite to take on Trump as he ends his first year in office and voters’ concerns about cost of living."
"Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill cruised to double-digit victories in Virginia and New Jersey. Two Georgia Democrats flipped seats on the state’s Public Service Commission, the first non-federal statewide wins for a Democrat in nearly two decades. Democrats flipped a pair of Republican-held state Senate seats in Mississippi, cracking the GOP supermajority in a deep-red state. And a successful California ballot measure delivered five additional seats for the party’s House margins ahead of the 2026 midterms, offsetting Texas’ redistricting push."
Comment: While it's OK to celebrate for a day or so, and be encouraged and motivated for the future, we cannot rest. Trump and the GOP will learn from their mistakes, adapt their messaging, and unfairly attack us with lies and half truths. We have to work even harder to build upon our recent successes and expand them into new geographic areas, like rural Alabama.
Democrats sweep key races in 2025 elections in early referendum on Trump
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/election-day-2025-voting-results/
Democrats flip two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission
Comment: These 2 upset PSC wins in Georgia should give encouragement to Democratic PSC candidates here in Alabama. Alabama's cost per kWh of electricity in Alabama is higher than it is in Georgia.
CNN: Takeaways from Tuesday’s elections: Democrats win across the spectrum as voters reject Trump
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/04/politics/election-takeaways-new-york-new-jersey-virginia
CNN exit polls find voters in key races dissatisfied with Trump, concerned with economy | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/04/politics/exit-polls-nyc-nj-virginia-california-elections
Video: Maddow: Chicagoland sets the example for countering Trump's abuses - November 4, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnFINw4KgB8
"Erratic and arbitrary retribution": FBI agents rip Kash Patel's firings
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/04/kash-patel-fbi-firings-agents-respond
Comment: "The FBI Agents Association issued a scathing rebuke against Director Kash Patel on Tuesday, calling his recent firings and reinstatements of several agents 'erratic and arbitrary retribution'."
Comment: "The association — which represents 14,000 agents, including over 90% of all active agents — joined a long list of federal personnel condemning the Justice Departments' ongoing personnel purge as the administration seeks to target President Trump's perceived enemies.
Comment: "An association spokesperson told Axios that the bureau's decision to fire, reinstate, and then once again fire agents Tuesday 'highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored'."
" 'An Agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination,' the association said in an emailed statement."
" 'Director Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution. FBI Agents deal in facts, and we urge Director Patel to do the same.' "
" 'When leadership abandons due process, it doesn't just erode trust — it makes the American public less safe. FBI Agents must be free to focus on protecting the American people, not fear losing their jobs over third party social media posts.' "
Trump approval rating falls to second-term low of 37%
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/03/trump-approval-rating
Comment: "When asked how things are going in the US, today, a majority of Americans, 68%, said 'pretty/very badly', while 32% said 'very/fairly well'."
"The survey, conducted as the federal government appears to enter what will be the longest shutdown in American history, also found that 47% of Americans view the economy and cost of living as the most important issue facing the country."
"Coming in second is the state of American democracy, indicated by 26% of Americans. By comparison, only 10% cited immigration as a top concern, even though the issue continues to be a major focus of Trump’s administration, marked by intensified ICE raids, steep cuts to refugee admissions and ongoing immigration battles in federal courts."
"Other issues lower on the list include crime and safety, cited as a concern by only 7% of Americans, despite Trump’s vow to rid major American cities – which he has called 'hellhole' and 'war-ravaged' – of 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam'."
"Among those surveyed, only 27% said they believe Trump’s policies improved the nation’s economic conditions. In contrast, 61% think his policies made the economy worse while 12% believe they had no effect. The survey comes amid growing concern in rural Republican towns where Trump’s tariffs have driven factory layoffs and production slowdowns across various industries."
"In regards to foreign policy, 32% said they believe Trump’s decisions helped the US’s global standing. By contrast, 56% believe that he hurt the US’s standing in the world while 12% said he made no difference at all. These results follow repeated White House claims that Trump has ended eight wars in eight months of his presidency."
"Moreover, the survey found that a majority of Americans, 61%, believe Trump has gone too far in using his presidential powers. Meanwhile, 31% say his use of power has been about right, and 9% believe he has not gone far enough."
CNN: Democrats are more enthusiastic about the midterms as Trump’s approval hits a second-term low, CNN poll finds
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/03/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-trump-midterms
Video: Gavin Newsom says Trump ‘rigging the game’ with redistricting push: Full interview - November 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYmtpdK_XQ
Comment: In this lengthy interview, Gavin Newsom does a good job of describing the serious threat that Trump and MAGA Republicans pose to our country. He describes what Democrats, and the public at large, are currently doing to fight Trump and his policies. He also describes what needs to be done in the near future, focusing on the 2026 midterm elections. Newsome comes across as being frank and sincere. Please consider watching the interview.
Judge extends block on National Guard deployment into Portland
https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-extends-block-national-guard-deployment-portland/story?id=127122338
Majority of voters blame Trump and GOP for shutdown: Poll
Most Americans say country is on the wrong track, blame Trump for inflation: Poll
Obama criticizes Trump and Republican policy in stump speech for Abigail Spanberger
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/01/obama-virginia-abigail-spanberger
Roll Call: Federal judge thanks Trump, orders him to make SNAP payments
https://rollcall.com/2025/11/01/federal-judge-thanks-trump-orders-him-to-make-snap-payments/
Comment: "A federal judge in Rhode Island followed up his Friday oral ruling with a written order Saturday requiring President Donald Trump’s Agriculture Department to make full food stamp payments no later than end of day Monday, or alternatively, partial payments by the end of day Wednesday."
"Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island was responding to the administration’s request for a written order, as well as Trump’s Friday night social media post asking the court for clarity as to how USDA could legally make the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments."
" 'I do not want Americans to go hungry,' Trump wrote on Truth Social after McConnell’s earlier ruling from the bench on Friday afternoon. '[I] ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. . . . If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.' "
"In his seven-page order Saturday, McConnell acknowledged the president’s social media post and wrote in a footnote: 'The Court greatly appreciates the President’s quick and definitive response to this Court’s Order and his desire to provide the necessary SNAP funding.' "
Comment: Do you think there may have been a bit of sarcasm in the judge's expression of gratitude to Trump, or do you think he was sincere? In any event, his message setting deadlines for food stamp payments was quite clear.
Comment: The judge also suggested means for the Trump administration to come up with the needed funds.
Comment: "Separately, a Massachusetts federal judge said Friday she’d likely order benefit payments to go out if USDA hasn’t acted accordingly by Monday."
For News Articles links from before November 1st, 2025, please go to one of the following, depending on the article date:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/old3-resistance-to-trump-agenda
OR
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-resistance-to-trump-agenda
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to November 1, 2025. The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Topic Initialization - April 30, 2025)
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