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As GOP Battles Over Blanche, Senate Panel Urged to Block Trump AG Pick
"In the 50 days since Donald Trump nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general," one coalition noted, "a new headline has emerged every single day documenting corruption, self-dealing, or impunity."
Jul 28, 2026
The US Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to approve the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general, but GOP infighting could block the advancement of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, who is fiercely opposed by elected Democrats and pro-democracy advocacy groups.
Following the recent unexpected death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Republicans need complete support on the committee to send Blanche's nomination to the full chamber. However, GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (NC) and John Cornyn (Texas) are posing a potential barrier to getting to a final vote on the acting attorney general.
Tillis, who is retiring after this term, and Cornyn, who lost a May primary to a Trump-backed opponent, want a guarantee that the administration won't revive the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" proposed as part of a settlement to the president's widely criticized lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
After setbacks in court and public backlash to the slush fund—which was expected to benefit Trump allies, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrectionists—Blanche has signaled that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) would no longer pursue its creation, but that's not enough for many of the administration's critics.
"We just need for the documents to conform to what his testimony was at the hearing where he said the weaponization fund is dead, he said the immunity from future audits does not extend to people beyond the parties to the lawsuit, and he said it wasn’t intended to release further actions by other agencies other than the IRS," Cornyn told reporters, according to The Hill.
Addressing the standoff on social media early Tuesday afternoon, Cornyn wrote that "there is no 'deal'" and "they know what they have to do."
University of Michigan law professor and MS NOW legal analyst Barb McQuade said Tuesday that it's "sad that senators develop a backbone only after losing the primary, but better that wisdom come late than not at all. While Blanche should not be confirmed at all, short of that, at least Cornyn is demanding a halt to Trump's hundred million dollar gift from IRS."
As the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called on the Senate to confirm Blanche "without delay," opponents of his confirmation took to social media Tuesday to urge votes against him.
The committee's Democrats ripped Blanche for how he's treated survivors of late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, and posted a letter from some of them encouraging the Senate to reject his nomination.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NY), a committee member, warned that Blanche "will do whatever Trump tells him to do—no matter how illegal or unconstitutional."
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, suggested Americans should call their senators directly at 202-224-3121.
The progressive advocacy group Stand Up America similarly urged voters to take action by texting BLANCHE to 63033.
Stand Up America is part of the Not Above the Law coalition, which on Tuesday highlighted that "in the 50 days since Donald Trump nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general on June 8, 2026, a new headline has emerged every single day documenting corruption, self-dealing, or impunity involving the president, his family, or the Justice Department that Blanche has led on an acting basis."
"This is not a record Blanche has run from—it's the record he's built. And if the Senate confirms him, it's the record he'll be free to expand, with almost no one left to check him," the coalition stressed.
The coalition noted that just days after Blanche's nomination, a federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to pause a ruling to remove Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Later in June, the coalition noted, Bloomberg revealed that after Indian billionaire Gautam Adani met privately with Donald Trump Jr., the DOJ moved to drop bribery charges against him. Earlier this month, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez accused the department of impeding his investigation into Epstein—a former friend of the president—by withholding unredacted files.
"Cabinet nominees are typically counseled to keep a low profile during their confirmation process. Todd Blanche has not followed that playbook, because he hasn't had to," the coalition said. "As acting attorney general, he has led a Department that has already been rebuffed by a judge on the J6 slush fund, been forced to withdraw unlawful subpoenas of journalists, dropped cases against the well-connected while continuing the Epstein cover-up, and shielded the president's family from scrutiny, all without Senate confirmation standing in his way."
"Confirming him doesn't rein that in. It removes the last remaining check," the coalition stressed. "With the Senate Judiciary Committee set to vote as soon as July 30, senators must ask themselves not just what Blanche has done, but what he'll do once there's no confirmation vote left to answer for."
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'Totally Crazy': Trump Holds Bipartisan Housing Bill Hostage to Push Evisceration of Voting Rights
"Trump just threw a tantrum," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "He's refusing to sign bipartisan legislation to make housing more affordable in a bizarre effort to try to rig the elections."
Jun 24, 2026
Congress this week passed a bipartisan bill "to build more housing, lower costs, and stop private equity's housing grab," as US Sen. Elizabeth Warren highlighted after the final vote, but President Donald Trump on Wednesday scrapped his plans to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act over a stalled GOP attack on voting rights.
Trump initially took a swipe at Warren (D-Mass.) on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, writing that "the Elizabeth 'Pocahontas' Warren centric housing bill, which is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about."
"Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF," Trump continued. "The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I'll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!"
Less than an hour later, he added, "Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."
Trump and other backers of the anti-voter bill argue it is needed to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting in US elections—which is already illegal, and research shows is remarkably rare. Critics warn that the legislation would disenfranchise eligible voters who lack access to proof-of-citizenship documents.
While Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded by stressing that he and other Republicans in the House of Representatives support the SAVE America Act, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the canceled ceremony was Trump's "call to make" but expressed hope that he'll "find his way to sign" the housing bill, other lawmakers—including Warren—and supporters of the legislation took aim at the president over his move.
"Congress overwhelmingly passed a housing bill to bring down costs. But Trump just threw a tantrum," Warren wrote on social media. "He's refusing to sign bipartisan legislation to make housing more affordable in a bizarre effort to try to rig the elections. Nope—I'll keep fighting to lower housing costs."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told journalists that "Trump is running away from one of the very few accomplishments that could actually help the American people," and urged the president not to veto the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
Approved by the Senate in an 85-5 vote on Monday and the House in a 358-32 vote on Tuesday, the bill contains dozens of provisions to promote the rebuilding of older homes and development of vacant buildings, encourage local governments to build more housing, streamline regulations for construction, ban corporate investors from buying single-family homes to rent out, and more.
Stressing that the bill passed "overwhelmingly in a bipartisan way," and would "save American families a lot of money when it comes to housing," Sen. Andy Kim (D-Calif.) said that "I honestly can't believe that the president is holding this hostage."
"I hope the American people see this for what it is, which is that he doesn't care at all about the high cost of living that a lot of Americans are struggling with," Kim declared. "He doesn't care about the housing crisis. He is just continuing to push forward on his extreme agenda."
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) replied to the president: "The housing crisis is a national emergency. Do something to make life more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers. Sign the bill."
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) pointed to Trump's campaign pledges, writing: "The president who promised lower costs on Day 1 is refusing to sign the largest housing affordability bill in a generation. It's a slap in the face to millions of Americans struggling to afford a place to live. My Republican colleagues need to find some courage and stand up to this mad king."
In a video, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) warned the public that Trump "is taking away your housing for his personal projects that can never pass and are unconstitutional."
Longtime human rights advocate Kenneth Roth, who's now a visiting professor at Princeton University, similarly summarized: "Trump to America: I [couldn't] care less about affordable housing. So I won't sign a bill to advance it unless Congress endorses my autocratic efforts to restrict the right to vote."
Although Trump has not decisively said whether he will formally block the bill, Roth wondered, "Will the Republicans have the backbone to override his veto?"
Either way, The New York Times noted that "Trump's decision threatened to deprive Republicans, in particular, of an opportunity to showcase a legislative success in a year with very few of them—one that spoke directly to voters' economic concerns."
In a Wednesday statement, Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, looked to the midterm elections, in which Democrats aim to retake majorities in both chambers of Congress.
"Donald Trump has been clear: The SAVE Act is his #1 legislative priority—not lowering costs for working people, creating good-paying jobs, or helping families afford a roof over their heads," said Edkins. "Today, he decided it was more important to help Republicans avoid accountability for the cost-of-living crisis than actually do something about it."
"Trump was born on third base, and it shows. He has no clue what it’s like to struggle to make rent, save for a down payment, pay a mortgage, or worry that your kids will be able to afford a home of their own," he added. "Trump could've signed bipartisan legislation today to help lower housing costs and give Republicans something—anything—to show voters that they deserve reelection this November. Instead, he told working families to screw themselves. It's selfish, petty, and self-defeating."
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Voting Rights Groups Vow to Fight ‘Extreme New Gerrymander’ After Florida Lawmakers Pass DeSantis Map
"If they think they can get away with trampling over the will of the voters and ignoring the state constitution’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, they are sorely mistaken," said one voting rights advocate.
Apr 29, 2026
The Florida state Legislature on Wednesday passed Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposed redrawn congressional map aimed at netting four new seats for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections—but voting rights organizations are vowing to fight back.
As reported by Politico, the map was "approved largely along partisan lines, even though a handful of GOP state senators voted no," while "Democrats maintained the map was illegal because it runs counter to voter-approved, anti-gerrymandering standards in Florida."
However, Politico noted that "the new map is also destined to trigger a messy legal battle that could play out in both state and federal courts," and voting rights groups are ready to put up a fight.
John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), slammed DeSantis for drawing up what he described as an "extreme new gerrymander" that "was drawn behind closed doors because he knows the voters overwhelmingly oppose this partisan power grab."
Just because the map passed the state Legislature, Bisognano added, that doesn't make it a done deal.
"If they think they can get away with trampling over the will of the voters and ignoring the state constitution’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, they are sorely mistaken," he said. "This fight is not over, and Florida Republicans can expect fierce legal challenges against this new gerrymander."
Brad Ashwell, Florida director at All Voting is Local Action, argued that the new map was just the latest example of DeSantis trying to suppress voters in the state.
"DeSantis’ legacy will always be tied to the erosion of voting rights in Florida," he said. "The ridiculous creation of an election police force, the laws that attacked popular voting methods like voting by mail and early voting, and now mid-decade redistricting—all have been used to keep voters from the ballot box and control the results of our elections."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, described the new Florida map as "a desperate attempt to rig the 2026 midterms and protect [President] Donald Trump and his sycophants in Congress," and he warned of political consequences for the GOP.
"While these new maps will make it harder to hold Trump and Congress accountable, in America, power rests with the people," he said, "and the people will not forget this assault on their freedom to vote in November."
Trump in 2025 sparked an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting battle when he pushed Texas to redraw its congressional map to gain extra Republican seats, and GOP-led states North Carolina and Missouri soon followed suit.
However, Democrats in California and Virginia struck back with their own redrawn maps that are backed by those states' voters and projected to nullify the advantage Republicans hoped to gain with their mid-decade gerrymandering gambit.
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DOJ Investigating Omar Called 'Continuation of Trump’s Revenge Campaign'
"Your support is collapsing and you’re panicking," Rep. Ilhan Omar said in response to the president.
Jan 26, 2026
Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday swiftly hit back at President Donald Trump after he announced that the US Department of Justice had launched an investigation into her family's finances.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the DOJ is "looking at" Omar, whom the president described as having "left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars."
A detailed analysis of Omar's financial disclosures published by Snopes last week found that that while Omar's family net worth had jumped since she was first sworn into Congress in 2019, practically all of it was due to business ventures founded by her husband, Tim Mynett.
"The majority of value from the listed assets came from two businesses run by Mynett... and were thus labeled as 'Partnership Income,'" Snopes explained. "Omar's filing valued Mynett's winery, eSt Cru Wines, at about $1 million to $5 million. Mynett's venture capital management company, Rose Lake Capital, was valued between $5 million and $25 million."
Omar responded to Trump's claims of DOJ investigation by accusing him of trying to hide his own failures.
"Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking," the Minnesota Democrat wrote in a social media post. "Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of 'investigations' have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota."
Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America, accused Trump of once again weaponizing the US Department of Justice to target his political opponents.
"The Justice Department’s ‘investigation’ of Representative Omar, a longtime critic of President Trump," Harvey said, "looks suspiciously like a continuation of Trump’s revenge campaign against Minnesota’s elected officials and anyone else who disagrees with him."
Trump last year directly pressured US Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict several political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Comey and James were both subsequently indicted, and the DOJ has since launched criminal probes into other Trump critics, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
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5 Years After Jan. 6 Attack, Trump Assault on Constitution and Democracy Reaches New Heights
"This president's authoritarianism is a real and living threat to our democracy and it demands vigilance, and resistance from us all."
Jan 06, 2026
On the fifth anniversary of President Donald Trump's supporters storming the US Capitol over his reelection loss, and nearly a year after he pardoned those insurrectionists, congressional Democrats and other critics condemned the Republican leader's escalating assault on the country's Constitution and democracy.
"On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 January 6 rioters, including violent criminals who bludgeoned police officers," Christina Harvey, executive director of the progressive group Stand Up America, said in a Tuesday statement.
"The message is unmistakable: Those who break the law for Trump are rewarded with pardons and protection, while those who enforce the law are punished for doing their jobs," she said. "That leaves all of us less safe. The American people deserve better."
Ahead of the anniversary, US House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) released two related reports: Where Are They Now: The Perpetrators of January 6th and the Defenders of Democracy Who Stopped Them, and One Year Later: Assessing the Public Safety Implications of President Trump's Mass Pardons of 1,600 January 6 Rioters and Insurrectionists.
On Jan. 6, 2021, bloody insurrectionary violence interrupted the peaceful transfer of power.Today, America is still caught in an epic struggle between selfish forces of rule-or-ruin autocracy & the unyielding defenders of constitutional democracy all over America.
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— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@raskin.house.gov) January 6, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Raskin—a former constitutional law professor who notably led Trump's historic second impeachment in the wake of the Capitol attack—also penned a Tuesday op-ed in the New York Times, arguing that January 6, 2021 "never ended."
The congressman highlighted that since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has "punished law enforcement officials en masse for doing their jobs," installing "insurrectionists in the highest ranks of the Department of Justice" and conducting a "bureaucratic purge—with firings and permanent demotions—of hundreds" of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and prosecutors.
"These moves at the Justice Department," he wrote, "have cost the government thousands of collective years of investigative and prosecutorial experience, demoralized the civil service, and reduced our government to the moral level of a gangster state."
Raskin further pointed out that the president "granted clemency to dozens of people who had committed or been accused of violent and horrific crimes after January 6, such as plotting the murders of FBI agents, resisting arrest, assault, rape, burglary, stalking, stabbing, possession of child sex abuse materials, and DUI homicide."
Raskin also joined several other House Democrats—including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), who chaired the select committee that investigated the Capitol attack—for an unofficial Tuesday morning hearing that featured testimony from former law enforcement, state officials, and other Americans who witnessed the MAGA mob violence.
Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also plan to mark the anniversary outside the Capitol Tuesday evening. In a morning floor speech, Schumer noted that event, recounted his experience with the "mob of rioters," stressed that "we must never relent on speaking the truth" about the attack, and slammed the pardons as "among the most sickening things Donald Trump has done in office."
"These pardons were an explicit endorsement of using violence to get your way," Schumer said. "That is who Donald Trump is at his core: a man who’s happy to see violence work in his favor, to get what he wants. And in this chamber—especially in the House of Representatives—too many Republicans remain silent in the face of obvious evil."
Separately, Schumer has spoken out against Trump's recent illegal violence abroad: a boat-bombing spree that has killed over 100 alleged drug traffickers in international waters and the weekend abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which resulted in dozens of deaths.
"For two long hours we heard yesterday from the administration, and what we heard was little more than wishful thinking and no real answers," he said Tuesday. "We got no clear answer to any of the four questions I've been asking the administration for days."
"First, how many troops are we going to commit to Venezuela? Are there any limits? No answer," Schumer explained. "Second, for how long will we be committed to running Venezuela? No answer. Third, how much is this all going to cost? They said they had no cost estimate. And fourth, what country is next? Is Colombia on the table? Are we going to invade a NATO ally like Greenland? Where does this belligerence stop? I was very troubled, very troubled by their answer on this as well."
Schumer pledged Monday that this week he and other senators would force a vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution "that will affirm Congress' authority on matters of war and peace when it comes to Venezuela." So far, neither GOP-controlled chamber has been able to pass such a measure related to Trump's march toward war with the South American nation or his boat bombings.
On Saturday, Trump attacked Venezuela. Five years ago Trump attacked our Capitol. If Trump had been held accountable for the Jan 6 attack, there would've been no attack on Venezuela-nor anything else from this second term. My new article deanobeidallah.substack.com/p/the-straig...
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— Dean Obeidallah (@deanobeidallah.bsky.social) January 6, 2026 at 10:04 AM
In a Tuesday statement about the January 6 anniversary, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the advocacy group Public Citizen, pointed to not only Trump's abduction of the Venezuelan leader but also how he's trampled on the rights of Americans, including by trying to deploy the National Guard in various US cities.
"Five years ago, a sitting US president incited violence against our nation in a shameless attempt to overturn a democratically held election. This day must live forever in our memory, so that we continue to seek accountability for the perpetrators and work tirelessly to safeguard our democracy from future lawlessness," Gilbert said. "As we reflect on the solemn anniversary of the insurrection, we must grapple with the reality that the same president is back in office."
"And that his disdain for the rule of law and disregard of the US Constitution are more brazen than ever, amplified by endless incendiary rhetoric and reckless actions," she continued. "From the unwanted and unlawful military deployments of the National Guard to US cities to the indefensible and brazenly unlawful kidnapping of a foreign leader for the benefit of fossil fuel corporations, this president's authoritarianism is a real and living threat to our democracy, and it demands vigilance and resistance from us all."
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Trump Critics Fear 'Presidency Without Limits' as Supreme Court Hears Tariffs Case
One critic warned a Trump win “will cement a precedent that expands his power as executive in a dangerous and unprecedented way.”
Nov 05, 2025
As the US Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing arguments on the sweeping powers claimed by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on foreign goods, many critics warned that the court would create a "presidency without limits" if it ruled in his favor.
In April, Trump unveiled unprecedented tariffs on nearly every nation in the world using powers granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law passed in 1977 that allows the president to regulate international commerce during major emergencies such as wars.
Many Trump critics believe that using this law as the legal foundation of a global tariff regime is a gross abuse of the law's original intent, and are urging the Supreme Court to shut it down.
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, warned that granting the president this level of authority over the taxation of imported goods would "open the door to broader abuses of power" by emboldening Trump to usurp even more authority from the US Congress.
“We’re already dangerously close to a presidency without limits," he said. "It’s time for the right-wing majority on the court to stand up for our Constitution and serve as a check on Trump’s power, starting with this case."
Josh Orton, president of progressive legal advocacy organization Demand Justice, also said that the tariff case before the Supreme Court "is about far more than an economic debate or a trade-law dispute," given its implications for the separation of powers laid out in the US Constitution.
"Trump is demanding that the court hand him raw power over the economy," said Orton. "If Trump wins here, he won’t just raise costs on American families. He will cement a precedent that expands his power as executive in a dangerous and unprecedented way—letting any president unilaterally rewrite trade law, punish certain industries, harm consumers, or leverage international allies for personal gain."
Leor Tal, campaign director at the progressive advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy, argued that the Supreme Court wouldn't even need to hear the case on the Trump tariffs if Congress reasserted its authority given under the US Constitution to levy taxes.
“As the Supreme Court hears a case with implications for whether Americans can afford groceries, school supplies, and more, people will remember that Republicans in Congress could end these disastrous tariffs today and should have done so a long time ago," she said. “These tariffs are nothing more than a tax on working Americans, and Republicans in Congress have voted time and again to keep them in place... Republicans in Congress must act immediately to repeal Trump’s tariffs and finally put working people first."
During Wednesday's hearing on the tariffs case, conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch raised concerns about allowing the president to usurp congressional powers in perpetuity by issuing emergency declarations that Congress must then vote to revoke before it can resume its duties outlined in Article I of the US Constitution.
"So Congress, as a practical matter, can't get this power back once it's handed it over to the president," Gorsuch remarked. "It's a one-way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people's elected representatives."
Sauer tried to counter this by pointing to former President Joe Biden agreeing in 2023 to sign bipartisan legislation ending the national health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gorsuch, however, countered that this only occurred with the president's consent, and that it would otherwise take a supermajority to end a declared emergency if the president elected to veto the congressional resolution.
Gorsuch: So congress as a practical matter, can't get this power back once it's handed it over to the president.. one way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people's elected representatives. pic.twitter.com/secLyWMX7H
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 5, 2025
Justice Sonia Sotomayor also grilled Sauer on concerns about separation of powers, and she noted that the Constitution explicitly delegates taxation powers to Congress.
"It's a congressional power, not a presidential power, to tax," she said. "You want to say tariffs are not taxes, but that's exactly what they are. They're generating money from American citizens, revenue."
Justice Sotomayor asks about tariffs being a kind of tax on Americans and compares President Trump's emergency tariff Executive Orders to President Biden's student loan forgiveness policy and a hypothetical climate emergency. pic.twitter.com/nD0MYgVjv3
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 5, 2025
Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing this week, Trump posted a frantic message on his Truth Social platform warning justices that his power to unilaterally impose tariffs was a matter of "life or death" for the United States.
""With a Victory, we have tremendous, but fair, financial and national security," he claimed. "Without it, we are virtually defenseless against other countries who have, for years, taken advantage of us."
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said on social media Wednesday that "Trump’s tariffs are sending small businesses to an early grave."
"Trade authority begins and ends with Congress," the senator added. "I’ll keep battling to rein in Trump’s tariff madness and protect small businesses, farmers, and families."
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'Partisan Power Grab': Alarm Bells Ring After Missouri GOP Advances Extreme Redistricting Plan
One state Democratic leader accused the GOP of "aiding and abetting the systematic destruction of our democracy by an authoritarian regime."
Sep 10, 2025
The Republican-led Missouri House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would redraw their state's congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and potentially garner an extra seat for the GOP.
As reported by The Missouri Independent, the redrawn map carves up the district currently being represented by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) by placing regions that have traditionally voted for Democrats into districts held by Republicans.
If all goes according to plan, the new map would give Republicans seven seats in the US House of Representatives, up from their current total of six.
Although the map passed with Republican support, not every member of the party was on board. GOP state Rep. Bryant Wolfin, who voted against the measure, told the Independent that his GOP colleagues were showing that they only care about raw political power above all considerations.
"There's certainly nothing conservative about ignoring the moral implications of our actions," he said. "Morality is not defined by what is legal. Morality is not defined by what you can get away with."
Democratic House Minority Leader Ashley Aune was even more scathing in her denunciation of the GOP's power grab, and she accused the party of "aiding and abetting the systematic destruction of our democracy by an authoritarian regime led by geriatric conman who knows the only way he can win is to cheat," referring to President Donald Trump.
Although congressional maps are traditionally redrawn once per decade, Trump has been pressuring Republicans across the country to do a mid-decade gerrymander aimed at helping Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives next year.
Sarah Harris, a Missouri native and managing director of media engagement at Stand Up America, accused Missouri Republicans of doing Trump's bidding while ignoring the pressing needs of their own constituents.
"After pushing through a disgraceful mid-decade redistricting scheme in Texas, Donald Trump has now bullied Missouri Governor [Mike] Kehoe and Republican legislators in Missouri to do his dirty work," she said. "Instead of focusing on rising prices, rural hospital closures, and disaster relief, Missouri politicians are wasting time on a partisan power grab designed to protect corrupt DC politicians."
Even if the redrawn map passes the Missouri State Senate and gets signed into law, however, Missouri residents have a potential tool to block it.
St. Louis Public Radio reports that opponents of the new map can give voters the final say on it by organizing a statewide referendum.
"Any bill that passes out of the legislature can be put up for a statewide vote if opponents gather a certain number of signatures in six out of eight congressional districts," St. Louis Public Radio explains. "According to Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' website, that's a little more than 106,000 signatures."
Getting this many signatures from across the state will be challenging, however, as opponents of the new map will have just 90 days to complete a referendum drive after the end of the current special congressional session.
All the same, a new poll commissioned by Common Cause shows that the mid-decade redistricting push is broadly unpopular among voters, including those who voted for Trump in last year's election.
In all, the poll found that 70% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and 51% of Republicans opposed redrawing congressional maps in the middle of the decade, and that "large majorities" support the US Congress banning mid-decade redistricting.
"This data makes it clear: Republicans and Independents are just as tired of partisan gerrymandering as Democrats," said Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause. "Donald Trump's ask to find five seats with this mid-decade redistricting effort and his ask in 2020 to find him more votes in Georgia are both attempts to take away power from the people."
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Watchdogs Welcome House Introduction of Congressional Stock Trading Ban
"As long as sitting lawmakers are allowed to trade stocks connected to the industries they oversee, the public will question whether they are prioritizing their own personal profits," said one campaigner.
Sep 03, 2025
Government watchdog groups on Wednesday cheered the bipartisan introduction of the Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would ban federal lawmakers, along with their spouses and children, from trading individual stocks.
"The legislation would require lawmakers to sell all individual stocks within 180 days," according to NPR. "Newly elected members of Congress would also have to divest of individual stock holdings before being sworn in. Members who fail to divest would face a fine equivalent to 10% of the value of the stock."
The bill's lead supporters in the House of Representatives span the full ideological spectrum: Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Seth Magaziner (D-Pa.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Chip Roy (R-Texas).
"In a strong display of bipartisanship, leaders from both sides of the aisle in the House have worked together to produce a comprehensive and commonsense legislative measure to ban congressional stock trading," said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist with the group Public Citizen, which is endorsing the bill.
"These members worked for months in drafting a strong consensus bill that addresses all the key elements of an effective ban on congressional stock trading," he continued, welcoming that the prohibition applies to immediate family members and "covers a wide range of investments, including cryptocurrency, and is fortified with strong enforcement measures."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, also applauded the bill, highlighting that "our representatives in Washington have access to an enormous amount of information about our economy that isn't available to the public."
"They should not be allowed to use what they learn in the course of their legislative duties to gain an unfair advantage and enrich themselves," he said. "It's time to ban sitting members of Congress from buying and selling stocks. Members of Congress cannot be trusted to police themselves, and existing ethics laws do not go far enough to prevent members from using their insider knowledge for personal gain."
Lawmakers behind this new proposal have long advocated for a full ban, arguing that existing protections—including those in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012—are inadequate.
Advocacy groups, including the Campaign Legal Center, have also "been fighting for years to improve laws regulating the way members of Congress trade stocks," noted Kedric Payne, CLC's vice president, general counsel, and senior director for ethics.
"As long as sitting lawmakers are allowed to trade stocks connected to the industries they oversee, the public will question whether they are prioritizing their own personal profits over the public interest," Payne said. "We applaud this bipartisan legislation that incorporates the key provisions of stock act reform CLC has fought to advance—a ban on stock ownership that is enforceable and holds lawmakers accountable."
Jamie Neikrie, legislative director at the political reform group Issue One, pointed out Wednesday that "three years have passed since House leadership made a commitment to bring a congressional stock trading ban bill to the floor for a vote."
"It's time to get this much-needed reform across the finish line—no more excuses," Neikrie declared. "Members of Congress have a responsibility to hold themselves to the highest ethical standards, and passing the Restore Trust in Congress Act is how Congress shows it's serious about restoring trust and integrity in government."
"Today is a critical step for a more transparent and stronger institution," he added, urging "leadership in both chambers to seize this moment" and send the bill to President Donald Trump's desk.
Earlier this summer, Trump lashed out at Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who worked with Democrats to advance out of committee a stock trading ban, claiming that "he is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats."
Hawley initially called his proposal the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act—a nod to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose husband's stock trading has drawn scrutiny. After Hawley worked with Democrats on the bill, it was renamed the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act.
After the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's July vote, Pelosi said that "while I appreciate the creativity of my Republican colleagues in drafting legislative acronyms, I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service. The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the president and vice president as well. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the floor of the House."
Meanwhile, Fox News' Jesse Watters at the time asked Hawley about Trump lashing out at him. The Senate Republican responded, "I had a good chat with the president earlier this evening, and he reiterated to me he wants to see a ban on stock trading by people like Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress, which is what we passed today."
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As Abbott Signs Texas Map Rigged for Trump, Missouri GOP Aims to Follow Suit
One critic said Texas Republicans' "reckless, partisan power grab will harm our democracy for years to come."
Aug 29, 2025
Democracy defenders on Friday blasted elected Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, after he signed a new congressional map gerrymandered for the GOP at the request of US President Donald Trump—and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, for launching a copycat effort.
"Gov. Abbott would rather do Trump's dirty work than help the people of Texas," said Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, in a statement.
"For months, he has ignored the real issues affecting Texans, including flood relief, and instead pandered to Trump's demand that he redraw Texas' political maps to rig the 2026 elections and silence communities of color," he continued. "Texas Republicans have started a nationwide redistricting arms race with no end in sight. Their reckless, partisan power grab will harm our democracy for years to come."
Abbott and state lawmakers have been open about aiming to help the GOP retain control of Congress during next year's midterm elections by passing their so-called "One Big Beautiful Map." The governor—who called two special legislative sessions to force through the bill—posted a video of himself signing it on social media and declared that "Texas will be more RED in Congress."
During the first legislative session, dozens of Democrats in the Texas House fled to blue states in a bid to block the map, but they ultimately returned to Austin. After GOP legislators passed the bill, the NAACP and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit over the map.
After the governor signed the bill on Friday, Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said in a statement that "with a stroke of the pen, Greg Abbott and the Republicans have effectively surrendered Texas to Washington, DC."
"They love to boast about how 'Texas Tough' they are, but when Donald Trump made one call, they bent over backwards to prioritize his politics over Texans. Honestly, it's pathetic," he said. "I am proud of the Texas Democrats in the House and Senate who chose to fight, whether by a constitutionally protected quorum break, questioning these mapmakers, trying to pass amendments, or even attempting to filibuster."
"This isn't over—we'll see these clowns in court," he pledged. "We aren't done fighting against these racially discriminatory maps, and fully expect the letter of the law to prevail over these sycophantic Republican politicians who think the rules don't apply to them."
The contested map makes five Texas districts for the US House of Representatives that are currently held by Democrats more favorable to Republicans.
While elected Democrats in states such as California have threatened to fight fire with fire and draw Republican congressional districts out of existence, GOP governors—under pressure from the president—have also moved to follow Texas' lead. For example, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday announced a special legislative session to pass his proposed "Missouri First Map."
Responding in a statement, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said that "another Republican governor just caved to the demands of Donald Trump at the expense of Missouri families and American democracy. Time and time again, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has undermined the voice of Missouri voters."
"Now he is attempting to dilute their power altogether by removing the ability of Missourians to stand up against this power grab," Martin continued. "Make no mistake: This all started because Trump and Republicans passed a historically unpopular budget bill that wrecks the working class to reward billionaires. Now, instead of facing the consequences of their votes, Republicans think they can just choose their voters—that's not how this works."
"As California has shown, Democrats are rising up to protect voters' sacred rights, and we're not pulling our punches," he added. "The DNC will stand with Democrats protecting the rights of all Americans as Donald Trump and spineless Republicans try to rig the game against the will of the people."
John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said that "over the past month, Missourians of all stripes, from proud union members to business leaders, have expressed their opposition to a mid-decade gerrymander, yet Missouri Republicans are choosing to take orders from Washington instead of their constituents."
"Republicans enacted the current congressional map in response to public pressure from Missouri voters," he said. "Their sudden reversal shows that their pursuit of a mid-decade gerrymander is nothing more than a power grab at the expense of the people. Heading into this special session, Missouri Republicans have a choice: They can listen to Missourians, who oppose a mid-decade gerrymander, or they can fold to Donald Trump's demands and face the same level of fierce resistance displayed in Texas."
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Texas Republicans Advance Trump-Backed Plan 'to Rig Our Elections'
"Republican lawmakers in Texas should be ashamed," said one campaigner. "They are to blame for the gerrymandering arms race that we will now see across the country."
Aug 20, 2025
The GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives voted Wednesday in favor of a plan pushed by US President Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional map to create five new Republican districts ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Following seven hours of debate, Texas state lawmakers voted 88-52 to approve a rare mid-decade gerrymandering—redistricting typically occurs after the decennial census—urged by Trump as Republicans cling to just a three-vote margin of power in the US House of Representatives.
While the Republican Party of Texas hailed the House's approval what it called the "Big, Beautiful Map," the Texas Democratic Party lamented that, "at Trump's request, Texas Republicans voted to rig our elections."
"These maps drag us back to the 1950s, stripping minority communities of fair representation. Authoritarianism is here—and we're going to keep fighting like hell for our state and country," the party added.
Wednesday's vote followed a standoff between Texas Democrats who fled the state for two weeks to thwart a vote on the measure and their Republican colleagues, whose congressional allies asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help track down the absconding Democrats and force them back to Austin.
Such an outcome was avoided when the Democratic lawmakers returned to Texas of their own volition. However, the drama didn't end there, as House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) informed the returning Democrats that they could not leave the Texas Capitol building without a law enforcement escort. On Monday, Rep. Nicole Collier (D-95)—who was forced to sleep in the Capitol—filed a lawsuit challenging the Legislature's authority to place lawmakers under police surveillance.
Democracy defenders decried Wednesday's vote, which sends the gerrymandering plan to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass during a Thursday evening session.
"Let's be clear: Today's vote on new congressional maps is nothing more than Texas Republicans openly colluding with President Trump to strip everyday Texans of their voice and representation in government and ensure political gain in the 2026 midterm elections," Taifa Smith Butler, president of the pro-democracy group Dēmos Action, said in a statement.
"Their extreme, divisive, and unprecedented actions have no place in our democracy and should be condemned by all," Smith Butler asserted. "These tactics, likely to spark copycat actions all around the country, should be called out and exposed for the malfeasance, corruption, and theft of the people's choice that they are."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, said the Texas GOP plan "isn't about fair representation, it's about entrenching Republican control for a generation and silencing Texans of color."
"It's a blatant attempt by Donald Trump, [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott, and congressional Republicans to dodge accountability in the midterms for the fallout of their billionaire tax handouts paid for by cuts to Medicaid and other programs Texans rely on," he continued.
"Republican lawmakers in Texas should be ashamed," Edkins added. "They are to blame for the gerrymandering arms race that we will now see across the country."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said: "The Trump gerrymander push is authoritarian, anti-democratic, and yet another tell of a wannabe dictator. We watch Texas today with the clear understanding that this is not an isolated push, but the beginning of a national power grab across multiple states to try and impact the 2026 midterm."
"The immediate impacts in Texas—depriving voters of fair representation, and the disparate impact on voters of color, as districts with majority or large populations of voters of color are broken up—will be mirrored throughout the nation," Gilbert added. "We cannot allow this to proceed. And if needed, California and other states must make offsetting gerrymanders of their own."
Republicans are also weighing plans for congressional redistricting in other states—including Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio—ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Governors and lawmakers in some Democrat-controlled states have vowed to respond in kind, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul saying earlier this month that members of her party should "fight fire with fire." The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced last week that it would proceed with plans for retaliatory redistricting, starting with a special November ballot initiative.
Dēmos Action's Smith Butler also took aim at Republicans' treatment of Collier.
"It is nothing short of a disgrace that Republicans would escalate their reprehensible, anti-democratic actions even further by confining [Collier] in the Capitol," she wrote. "They are weaponizing law enforcement to silence and intimidate Collier, a Black woman leader fighting for her constituents, namely Black and brown voters whose political power is being erased."
"This is not just about intimidating or attacking one legislator; it is a blatant effort to curb Black political power, dismantle democracy, and silence every Texan who believes in justice," Smith Butler added. "Texas Republicans are pushing an extreme mid-decade redistricting that would entrench power at the expense of Black and Latino voters. We must defend Rep. Collier and her constituents, and reject these racist, authoritarian tactics."
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