Thursday, September 11

The Supreme Court this week continued to issue important rulings in President Donald Trump’s favor without offering a word of explanation for why — even after lower court judges in rare remarks criticized the court for refusing to explain itself.

Trump also launched his expected immigration ‘blitz’ against Chicago, with state and city leaders warning that he may seek to provoke unrest in the city to justify sending in the National Guard.

So far, Chicagoans aren’t taking the bait.

Thank you again for your support. Please send your thoughts and concerns to me at knutson@democracydocket.com and I will respond as soon as possible.

Jacob Knutson, reporter

The Supreme Court's actions speak louder than its words

In its latest unexplained order, the Supreme Court continued to show unflinching regard for Trump, this time allowing his administration to resume indiscriminate immigration stops in Los Angeles.
By letting federal immigration enforcement agents resume detaining people solely on their appearance, the language they speak or their occupation, the Supreme Court all but ensured that Latino Americans and legal residents will continue to be swept up in Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Through administrative stays, the court allowed Trump to for now withhold nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid and fire the last Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) without cause.
In staying a lower court ruling reinstating the FTC commissioner, the court’s conservative majority again indicated it may overturn a nearly century-old court precedent that protects independent agencies from undue presidential influence.
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear lawsuits against Trump’s global tariffs on an expedited basis, though legal experts noted that the court pausing a lower court order against the president’s foreign aid pause is an ominous sign for the parties challenging the tariffs.
Lower court judges have lately voiced frustration and concern over the Supreme Court’s recent practice of granting Trump unprecedented relief while offering little to no legal explanation. The court’s radio silence is undermining the judiciary’s ability to uphold the rule of law, the judges warned.

Read more ➪

Trump launches ‘blitz’ against Chicago

The Trump administration began its expected immigration crackdown against Chicago this week. Dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” the operations have been seen by state and city officials as Trump’s attempt to foment unrest and chaos in the city to create a pretext for deploying troops.
Chicagoans so far have responded by organizing peaceful protests throughout the city.
The operation began days after Trump threatened in a social media post to wage “WAR” against Chicago. He accompanied the post with an AI-generated image of himself in a Civil War-era military hat, evoking the film “Apocalypse Now.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said he believes Chicago has yet to see the full extent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operation and has warned that federal agents may target Mexican Independence Day celebrations in the city next week.

Democracy Docket is tracking the 71 most important Trump accountability lawsuits fighting the administration’s power grabs. Click here to find out which ones have succeeded so far.

‘Little Trump’s’ hypocrisy laid bare

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has quickly become one of Trump’s leading attack dogs — he’s accused several of the president’s political enemies of committing mortgage fraud by claiming multiple homes as primary residences.
Pulte, who’s also known as “Little Trump,” has done so while other Trump cabinet officials and Pulte’s own family members have declared the same status on their properties, ProPublica and Reuters investigations found.
The revelations underscore that Pulte, despite claiming the issue “is a big deal,” is less concerned about stamping out mortgage fraud and is instead more focused on using his relatively minor federal perch to spawn investigations into Trump’s enemies.
The nonprofit watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, demanded that the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is investigating Trump’s enemies for mortgage fraud, also probe Trump officials and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over similar allegations.

Judge blocks Trump’s Fed takeover, for now

Speaking of the FHFA director, a federal judge ruled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role, finding that Trump improperly attempted to fire her based on Pulte’s mortgage fraud allegations.
U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb said the allegations against Cook did not meet the threshold for sufficient cause, in part because the alleged conduct occurred before her tenure as a Fed governor began. Cobb also found that Cook’s due process rights under the Fifth Amendment were likely violated because she was given no notice or hearing before being stripped of her office.
Shortly after Cobb issued her order, the Trump administration appealed to the D.C. Court of Appeals.
Trump’s attempt to dismiss Cook is part of his larger effort to take control of the Federal Reserve.

Read more ➪

Dive Deeper: The Trump administration wants your voter registration data. Why?

The DOJ in recent weeks has ordered states to turn over troves of private voter data or face legal action. While making these demands, the department has not disclosed what exactly it intends to do with the data.

Election officials and legal experts recently told Democracy Docket’s Matt Cohen that they fear the DOJ intends to use the data to increase the executive branch’s control over elections and to undermine future elections.

Some worry the data, taken out of context, could offer a goldmine of misleading evidence to allow the Trump administration to super-charge its false narrative about rampant illegal voting.
Others are concerned the administration could use it to build a national registration database and effectively take control of election administration — or to target people based on their political affiliation.
Some also warn that the DOJ simply doesn’t have the systems in place to securely store voter information from all 50 states — raising the threat of a massive data breach.

Read more about the DOJ’s effort here.

To do list

To mark Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, Not Above the Law is hosting a virtual discussion next Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. ET with former congressman Dick Gephardt and four retired federal judges about the judiciary’s critical role in upholding the Constitution during this pivotal moment. RSVP here.
The No Kings Coalition is gearing up for more nationwide protests next month. Sign up here to join its virtual mobilization kick-off event next Thursday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. ET.
Also next Thursday, the Brennan Center for Justice will hold a virtual discussion with experts at 3 p.m. ET about the Trump administration’s coordinated strategy to meddle with midterms next year and ways to protect the integrity of the vote. RSVP here.

Odds and ends

Secret grant between El Salvador and U.S. revealed: Through legal proceedings, Democracy Forward obtained a previously secret grant agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador for holding hundreds of Venezuelans removed under the Alien Enemies Act in CECOT. The agreement shows that the Trump administration paid El Salvador at least $4.76 million.
CBS News’ death knell: The new owners of CBS News said they selected Kenneth Weinstein, a right-wing think-tanker with no newsroom experience, to scrutinize the legacy broadcast company’s coverage of the president. The owners are also weighing giving Bari Weiss, a former New York Times reporter turned anti-woke warrior, a prominent role at CBS News.
Trump raid roils relations with South Korea: The Trump administration strained relations with another U.S. ally by arresting around 300 South Korean nationals during an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia.

Quote of the week

In The Atlantic this week, Gisela Salim-Peyer considered what a democracy falling under authoritarianism looks and feels like. While she focused on Venezuela and the rise of Hugo Chávez, her reflections will likely resonate with many Americans right now.

“The disintegration of a democracy is a deceptively quiet affair. For a while, everything looks the same. Each authoritarian milestone—the first political prisoner, the first closure of an opposition media outlet—is anticipated with fear. Then the milestone goes by, and after a brief period of outrage, life continues as before. You begin to wonder if things will be so bad after all.”

“There is a lag in time between the abstract threat of authoritarianism and its concrete realization, between hoping that your fears are mere paranoia and seeing them fulfilled.”