Friday, June 20

Appeals court upholds Trump’s control of California National Guard

A federal appeals court allowed President Donald Trump to maintain control of 4,000 California National Guard troops as legal challenges brought by the state continue.
A three-judge panel unanimously ruled Thursday that a lower court erred last week in issuing a temporary restraining order requiring Trump to return control of the troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

As the decision from the three-judge panel shows, the battle for democracy is in the courts and these lawsuits have real consequences. For deeper analysis on how these legal battles impact you, sign up for a Democracy Docket premium membership for just $120/year today.

Federal judge orders the release of Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of former Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Louisiana. Khalil, a legal permanent resident, was arrested and detained by ICE more than three months ago. During Friday’s court hearing, the judge said the government had “clearly not met” the standards for detaining Khalil.
Khalil’s release comes after several other student-activists were recently released after court orders: Mohsen Mohdawi, another former Palestinian student at Columbia University; Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student; and Badar Khan, a Georgetown University scholar.

The DOJ filed a statement of interest in the ongoing case over Alabama’s racially discriminatory congressional maps. DOJ is opposing an effort by the plaintiffs to put the state under federal supervision for its maps, arguing that Alabama should be left alone because there weren't multiple instances of “pervasive, flagrant, widespread, and rampant" discrimination.
It’s the latest example of the department’s shift from a pro-voting organization that works to protect minority voting rights to an anti-voting one that sides with those accused of racial bias in voting.

Trump recently pardoned a MAGA-loving Virginia ex-sheriff who was convicted of bribery and let donors dodge gun laws and traffic tickets. It's another move by the Trump administration to reward political loyalty at the expense of public trust, Democracy Docket contributor Jessica Pishko writes in her latest piece.

New York City voters registered as Democrats will head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballot in the city’s crowded mayoral primary election. But voters don’t have to pick just one candidate to vote for. Read our explainer from 2021 when NYC used ranked-choice for the first time.