This was yet another week where the news was hard to miss. Another Democrat was manhandled and arrested, this time New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander. The Supreme Court continued to churn out the last opinions of the term as it aims to wrap up next week. An appeals court upheld Trump’s unlawful control of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
This was yet another week where the news was hard to miss. Another Democrat was manhandled and arrested, this time New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander. The Supreme Court continued to churn out the last opinions of the term as it aims to wrap up next week. An appeals court upheld Trump’s unlawful control of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
Yet, if you looked beyond the legacy media and behind the headlines, there was still more happening to democracy — and while the weather (at least in the northeast) is begging you to forget the news and hit the beach — I can’t allow you to do that just yet.
In between attacks on democracy, Republicans found time to impose voting restrictions and begin sowing election denialism for 2026. I know a lot has been going on, but grab a cup of coffee and read on!
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In recent cycles, we’ve seen Republicans impose sweeping, high-profile voting restrictions in large, closely-divided states, generating national attention and pushback. This year, it’s been a little different: A handful of mostly smaller red states, including Indiana, Utah, Kansas, Wyoming, and North Dakota, have passed new, targeted assaults on voting. These laws have largely flown below the radar of the national media — but Democracy Docket’s Jen Rice and Yunior Rivas dug into the details to sound the alarm. After all, we think attempts to make voting harder deserve attention no matter where they take place.
Democracy Docket is tracking the far-right anti-democracy movement on a level you won’t find from other news outlets. The latest news, reported by Matt Cohen: Jeff Clark, a DOJ lawyer who had a starring role in Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election, addressed anti-voting activists in a video recorded from the White House complex, where he now leads an important executive branch agency. It’s a stark reminder of how key figures in the 2020 plot have avoided consequences — or even assumed new positions of power.
Jacob Knutson explains how Trump’s sweeping new order to target America’s largest cities for immigration crackdowns represents perhaps his most dangerous effort yet to wield the massive power of the federal government to punish his political opponents. Trump also made clear how his assaults on immigrants and on voting are inextricably linked, falsely accusing Democratic-led cities of using “Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base” and to “cheat in Elections.”
False election claims continue to thrive at the state level, too. Matt details how one GOP lawmaker in Michigan has engineered a “parade of election deniers” to testify at government hearings, and has launched a “conspiracy-driven, partisan effort to discredit” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D). For all of Trump’s menace, the fight for fair elections in 2026 and 2028 won’t play out only in Washington, D.C. — what happens in key states like Michigan and others will be just as crucial.
Another story you likely haven’t heard much about from the national media: Trump pardoned a corrupt MAGA sheriff who was facing ten years in prison for accepting over $75,000 in bribes. Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Virginia, gave “auxiliary deputy” badges to unqualified people, allowing them to skirt gun regulations and evade traffic tickets. Democracy Docket contributor Jessica Pishko has made covering the far-right sheriff movement her beat, and she explains how the Jenkins pardon represents Trump’s latest anti-democratic scheme to use presidential power to advance his political interests.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Much more is coming, and soon the Supreme Court term will come to an end. With your support, we’re able to report on the important news that matters to you and our democracy. Consider becoming a premium member today.
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