Executive Branch

“We’re not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think.” 

These were the words of Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan after the Trump administration violated multiple court orders and deported people without due process. Are we in a constitutional crisis yet? (Yes, and this is not the first time Trump officials have refused to obey the courts; we are tracking these violations here.)

The Democratic Party could spell this out clearly and consistently for voters.

The public and the courts alike need to know that the U.S. Congress does not accept Donald Trump and Elon Musk shredding the core precepts of our Constitution’s separation of powers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the backbone of climate and weather research and information in the United States. Its annual budget is under $7 billion, and the value of the weather information that it shares with the public is estimated to be over $100 billion annually. That means the American taxpayer gets a more than fourteen-fold return on investment. (Now that’s government efficiency, contrary to the claims of DOGE and its sympathizers about eliminating government bloat.)

Hearings, investigations, letters, and longshots: Four ways the Democrats can conduct Congressional Oversight as the minority party.

The Senate confirmations process continues apace with Linda McMahon’s floor vote expected in the near future. McMahon is likely to be confirmed as Secretary of Education—this would be her second executive branch assignment following her spell as Administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. Despite the reputation as a middle of the road pick for a Party that now unabashedly champions neo-Nazis, McMahon still holds numerous worrisome education policy positions. 

Week 4 of Trump’s presidency proves yet again that Trump is only in it for his billionaire buddies. This past week, Trump and Musk repeatedly reminded us that the federal government is ready to serve the interests of their wealthy friends. In fact, in one case, Trump managed to pair this ongoing corruption with another core theme of his administration: demonization of immigrants. As our Jeff Hauser noted, by reassigning Internal Revenue Service agents to the immigration crackdown, Trump has essentially granted billionaires a “get out of taxes free card.”Let’s take a look at some other recipients of Trumpworld’s largesse (Spoiler alert: The biggest is of course Elon Musk):

With rumors growing that Trump plans to sign an executive order which would effectively dismantle the Department of Education, this factsheet highlights the likely deleterious effects for millions of students across the country.

Outgoing Biden officials, members of Congress, and political staffers are all up for grabs by industries looking for their own roster of influence peddlers.

On January 27 the Trump administration issued a memo ordering a freeze of federal grants and loans, which crippled critical services across the country. Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island have since blocked the spending pause from going into effect, but there are still numerous examples of shuttered programs and services. We are tracking notable examples.