Dear John,

Our democracy depends on checks and balances, and maintaining that balance requires constant vigilance. Today, we face an executive branch that seeks to upend the balance between coequal branches of government, led by a president who openly questions whether he must uphold the Constitution.

Yes, presidents do have to uphold the Constitution. And Congress and the courts must defend the powers the Constitution gives them — not tepidly surrender them. That’s why we’re defending the Constitution’s core principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and the rule of law. And that’s why every supporter of democracy must do the same.

For 30 years, the Brennan Center has been a leader in defending these principles. We’re not backing down now. John, we were built for this moment. Can you support our fight today?

Your gift today will fund renewed advocacy for strong checks and balances and a more representative and responsive democracy. Here are some of the ways we’re already fighting:

When the president issued an executive order attempting to change voter registration requirements, we sued. The order would have required Americans to produce a passport or other citizenship document to register to vote using the federal form, potentially blocking millions of American citizens from voting. We won an injunction to block this power grab. The president has no right to rewrite the country’s election rules on his own.

We’re supporting litigation challenging the administration’s abuse of emergency powers in court. When President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to carry out deportations, we showed that it was an abuse of the wartime law. When the president implemented worldwide tariffs, we argued that this was also an illegal overreach of emergency powers. We submitted multiple friend-of-the-court briefs in both of these fights.

President Trump also issued an executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. That is illegal and a clear violation of the 14th Amendment. We’ve worked with historians to submit briefs debunking the administration’s ahistorical case. The president cannot simply bypass Congress and get rid of a constitutional right.

There is much more work to do. With your support, we’ll continue to advocate against these abuses of power. All donations will be matched dollar for dollar through the end of the month, doubling your donation.

Thank you for standing with us, Michael Waldman
The Brennan Center for Justice