Active
TERM 2
March 20 2025 · 531 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
A March 2025 memorandum established new standards for evaluating federal employee suitability and fitness for duty. The directive implements stricter vetting and performance criteria across the federal workforce. This could impact job security, hiring practices, and workplace standards for millions of federal employees.
Active
TERM 2
March 2025 · 536 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
The Department of Homeland Security circulated a nationwide 'Be on the Lookout' (Bolo) alert targeting Ben Palmer, a Nashville-based comedian who created a parody anti-immigration tip website and produced viral videos. The action chills free speech and satirical commentary on government immigration enforcement by treating a comedian as a law enforcement priority.
Active
TERM 2
March 14 2025 · 537 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
President Trump signed Executive Order 14236 rescinding additional executive orders and actions from previous administrations. The order reverses policies deemed harmful by the Trump administration. The direct impact includes elimination of specific regulatory frameworks and policy directives affecting federal agencies and potentially American citizens across multiple sectors.
Active
TERM 2
March 2025 · 547 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
A settlement between President Trump and the IRS expanded a previously agreed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund to permanently bar the agency from conducting any tax investigations or prosecutions involving Trump, his family, and his businesses. The one-page agreement states the IRS is "forever barred and precluded" from pursuing related claims, raising concerns about selective enforcement and presidential self-dealing.
Active
TERM 2
March 2025 · 550 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter that President Trump can fire leaders of independent agencies and commissions, overturning 90 years of precedent protecting executive independence. The decision eliminates statutory removal protections for agency heads like Federal Trade Commission members. Millions of Americans relying on independent regulatory oversight now face agencies led by officials directly accountable only to the president.
Active
TERM 2
February 17 2025 · 562 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
A Department of Homeland Security shutdown beginning in mid-February 2025 resulted in more than 1,000 Transportation Security Administration officers departing their positions. TSA officers were forced to leave due to lack of funding during the shutdown. This directly impacts airport security operations and passenger screening across the United States.
Active
TERM 2
February 2025 · 564 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
President Trump and the Office of Management and Budget are attempting to unilaterally withhold funds that Congress specifically appropriated, bypassing legislative authority. The action violates the separation of powers by allowing the executive branch to override congressional spending decisions. Federal agencies and their programs face funding cuts that were never authorized by elected representatives.
Active
TERM 2
February 2025 · 564 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
The Pentagon appointed Elias Irizarry, convicted for his role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection, to a sensitive counter-terrorism position within the Department of Defense that manages highly classified military operations. The appointment overrode internal security concerns and established precedent for placing individuals with insurrection involvement in national security roles. The action raises alarm among Pentagon officials and ethics experts regarding security clearance standards and vetting procedures for sensitive defense positions.
In the Courts
TERM 2
February 2025 · 565 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
A federal judge blocked U.S. Postal Service proposals responding to Trump's order that would have restricted mail-in ballot delivery in states refusing to turn over voter lists to the federal government. The ruling prevents the administration from weaponizing postal service operations to suppress voting access. The decision protects voting rights for millions of Americans who rely on mail-in ballots.
Active
TERM 2
February 2025 · 566 days ago
🗳️ Democracy
The Department of Justice removed press releases related to January 6 Capitol attack prosecutions from its website, justifying the deletion as clearing 'partisan propaganda.' This action follows Trump's mass pardons of nearly all Jan. 6 defendants and represents a systematic effort to erase the federal government's official record of charges and convictions related to the attack on Congress.