BREAKING: Today a federal court ruled that DHS can't withhold antiterrorism funding to force compliance with the Trump administration's election rules. 1/4 www.brennancenter.org/media/16287/...
Lauren Miller Karalunas
@lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
Senior Counsel at Brennan Center for Justice
Stalled infrastructure, politicized aid payments, and communities left covering the costs of more frequent natural disasters. We document the impacts of the Administration's attempts to work around Congress and unilaterally remake FEMA. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Administration’s Arbitrary, Unlawful Cuts to FEMA Funding and Staff Threaten American Communities
Grant cancellations, staff reductions, and other policy changes far overstep the president’s authority while limiting FEMA’s ability to respond to disasters.
brennancenter.org
And, of course, excluding non-citizens from the census would harm the whole country and break the law. The latest from @lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
Tom “T.M.” Wolf@tomtmwolf.bsky.social · 2w agoLooks like Trump’s plan to rig the 2030 census and skew the congressional reapportionment might backfire: Two recent studies show Texas and Florida losing congressional seats if his plan to exclude millions of non-citizens (for the first time ever) goes into effect.
Very happy to be able to weigh in on this issue -- the president does not, in fact, get to choose who counts for the census.
Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 2w agoThe Constitution does not allow the president to choose who counts.
With November around the corner, folks should expect to see certification back in the news. Look no further than these guides from @brennancenter.org @allvotingislocal.bsky.social @campaignlegal.org & @protectdemocracy.org for all you need to know about it and why attacks on the process won't work.
Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 2mo agoAhead of the midterms, voting experts release updated state election certification guides explaining who certifies election results, what the law requires, and the safeguards that help ensure the process works as intended — including in seven battleground states.
Don't let this report slip through the news cycle unnoticed: federal officials recently admitted that the Trump administration canceled billions in federal grants to states "based solely" on whether they backed the president in the 2024 election. This is a big deal. 🧵1/6
tony romm@tonyromm.bsky.social · 2mo agoNEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Curious about the references to history in today's Slaughter v. Trump oral arguments? We have a guide for that!
Tom “T.M.” Wolf@tomtmwolf.bsky.social · 10mo agoCurious about all the historical research and historical amicus briefs that Justice Kagan referenced at the Slaughter oral arguments? @lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social has you covered with this annotated guide and links to the key historical briefs: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
An excellent thread, as always, from @tomtmwolf.bsky.social on what to watch for in Monday's Trump v. Slaughter oral argument:
Tom “T.M.” Wolf@tomtmwolf.bsky.social · 10mo agoMonday @ 10 AM: SCOTUS holds argument in Trump v. Slaughter. It’s a case about the president’s ability to remove Federal Trade Commissioners from office. It’s also a significant showdown over presidential power more broadly. A 🧵on issues to watch @brennancenter.org
Proud to be a part of this latest SCOTUS filing from @janemanners.bsky.social, who breaks down the history behind when presidents can, and can't, fire agency leaders like FTC Commissioner Slaughter. It's one of several briefs filed by our Historians Council members today - check them out below!
Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 11mo agoBREAKING: @janemanners.bsky.social, a legal historian and member of the Brennan Center’s Historians Council, filed a brief with the Supreme Court in Trump v. Slaughter, a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s attempt to remove a commissioner of the FTC without cause: bit.ly/4nSvm9B
Very excited to join this live event today -- tune in for a discussion that will break down the many different attacks on federal funding with former OMB director Shalanda Young!
Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 11mo agoCongress has the power of the purse, not the president. But Trump has ignored this constitutional framework. Join us on Tues., Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. ET for a live virtual event with former Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young. RSVP: bit.ly/3IRO9Uo
Amidst many funding cases, it's easy to forget that challenges to the administration's attempted funding freeze are still working their way through the courts. Two amicus briefs filed this week in one of those cases, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, highlight the enormity of what's at stake:
In a single paragraph, SCOTUS allowed the executive branch to withhold $4 billion in funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid. Make no mistake: this is a major assault on Congress's power of the purse and yet another step towards giving the president king-like power to defy the legislature.
A reminder that election certification law is already very clear: it's a mandatory legal duty, and county officials in Arizona (and across the country) have no discretion to refuse to certify final election results.
Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social · last yr.In Arizona, Cochise County supervisors plan to try to test the boundaries of state election laws, saying they want to ditch machines and hand-count ballots, and believe they supervisors should have a choice on whether to certify results. Full story: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...
The NDNY US Attorney has reportedly issued 2 subpoenas to NY AG Letitia James's office under a 150-yr-old civil rights law in an investigation into whether the office violated Trump's civil rights or the NRA's in successful lawsuits vs each of them. Seems like a page straight out of Project 2025...
Justice Dept. Abruptly Escalates Pressure Campaign on a Trump Adversary
nytimes.com
Late yesterday, a strong slate of amicus briefs was filed in support of the New York AG's challenge to the Trump Administration's across-the-board freeze of federal funding. Former federal agency officials, scholars, and lawmakers among them! Here are some of the highlights... 🧵⬇️ @brennancenter.org
SCOTUS's expanded use of the shadow docket to halt lower court orders against the administration is a huge story. The emergency docket used to be just that - for emergencies. Its expansion has allowed SCOTUS to accrete more power to itself & expand executive power...often without any explanation.
Steven Mazie@stevenmazie.bsky.social · last yr.BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration in yet another emergency plea. This one involves mass layoffs at the Department of Education. The three liberal justices vigorously dissent, accusing the majority of sanctioning “lawlessness“.
In an unsigned and unexplained order issued this afternoon, SCOTUS effectively greenlit the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education while the case plays out in lower courts.
Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social · last yr.Here we go again: Over an acerbic dissenting opinion by Justice Sotomayor (joined in full by Justices Kagan and Jackson), #SCOTUS, with no explanation, grants a stay in the Department of Education RIFs case—effectively clearing the way for the Trump administration to dismantle much of the agency:
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Trump v. CASA changes NOTHING about the fact that President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.
Very excited to share this new white paper on election certification! States have a critical opportunity to strengthen their certification frameworks before the midterms - the reforms outlined in the paper will help them meet this moment. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/pol... @brennancenter.org
Election Certification
Stronger safeguards can ensure that the process cannot be exploited to disrupt elections.
brennancenter.org
NEW: Next week, a NJ appellate panel will hear oral arguments in "In re Tom Malinowski," a case challenging the state's ban on fusion voting. @lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social breaks down the role of the contested practice in US electoral history and the impact of the case on its future.
New Jersey Considers Challenge to its Ban on Fusion Voting
The practice, which allows multiple political parties to nominate the same candidate for the same office, ensures third parties can meaningfully participate in the electoral process.
statecourtreport.org