This week's essential facts, organized by topic, with sources from trusted journalists on the frontlines. Facts you can use in conversations, organizing, and making rally and protest signs. Each fact links directly to the original reporting.
Federal Power Grabs covers the most urgent threats to democratic institutions - essential reading regardless of your policy focus. Use the table of contents to jump to your other areas of interest, or skim everything to learn the breadth of current developments affecting our democracy.
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Trump's AG Pam Bondi is now "taking command" of DC's local police department. Federal officials now control the capital's cops. Local democracy just died in Washington. Your city could be next. #FederalTakeover #LocalControl Read More: CNBC
While Trump claims DC crime is "out of control," violent crime in the capital is actually at a 30-year LOW according to the Justice Department. Don't let fear-mongering override facts. Read more: CNBC
Trump now wants Congress to give him "long-term extensions" for federal control of DC police - far beyond the original 30-day limit. "You can't have 30 days," he said. This is how temporary "emergency" powers become permanent authoritarian control. Read more: Reuters
National Guard troops rehearsed multiple times for a "show of force" operation at MacArthur Park targeting undocumented immigrants and protesters, with 4,700 armed forces deployed to LA in what's being challenged as a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. Read more: AP
Illinois judge blocks Texas AG Ken Paxton's attempt to arrest Democrats resisting Republican redistricting scheme designed to create 5 additional GOP House seats at Trump's urging. Judge ruled Texas has no jurisdiction. Read more: UPI
Appeals court panel lets Trump administration proceed with mass firing at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Obama-appointed judge wrote 60-page dissent saying Trump "emphatically" cannot abolish an agency Congress created - only Congress can repeal the law that established it. Read more: Raw Story
Texas Democrats are ending their out-of-state standoff, clearing the way for Republicans to pass aggressive gerrymandering that could net five more GOP House seats in the midterms. California's counter-punch redistricting effort faces multiple hurdles and remains an open question. Read more: The Hill
DC Police Chief Pamela Smith says Trump's installation of a DEA head over local police creates the "greatest threat to law and order" she's seen in 30 years of law enforcement. "There is no greater risk to public safety than to not know who is in command." Read more: The Hill
National Guard troops in DC have been told to prepare to carry weapons despite previous administration assurances they would be unarmed. This escalates Trump's federal takeover of the capital while crime is at 30-year lows. "Weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armory." Read more: Newsweek
White House is dispatching social media teams with FBI agents to film arrests in DC for promotional videos. Legal experts say this violates Justice Department norms, constitutional privacy rights, and could undermine prosecutions. "Political media influencers" documenting arrests "for a political agenda." Read more: Reuters
Black mayors report dramatic crime reductions - Chicago down 30% in homicides, Oakland down 21%, Baltimore at historic lows - just as Trump threatens federal takeovers of their cities. "It was not lost on any member that the mayors either were Black or Democrats." Read more: Spectrum News
CIVIL RIGHTS & DEI
Federal judge refuses to block Alabama law banning DEI programs and teaching "divisive concepts" in public schools and universities. Professors argued the law violates First Amendment rights but case continues with ban in place. Read more: The Hill
Trump's Education Department launched federal investigations into four Kansas school districts over transgender student policies, following complaints from Attorney General Kris Kobach. The investigations could result in withholding federal funds from schools that protect transgender students. Read more: Topeka Capital-Journal
Trump plans to cut teachers, nurses, and social workers from student loan forgiveness if their employers help immigrants or transgender youth. The Ed. Secretary gets final say on what counts as "illegal activity." Read more: Associated Press
Air Force removes peer review hearings for transgender troops, automatically discharging anyone with gender dysphoria diagnosis. Military lawyers call it "unlawful" - boards that retain people with DUIs and domestic violence "must recommend separation" for being transgender. Read more: Associated Press
VOTING & ELECTIONS
Democrats face massive fundraising gap with only $15 million compared to Republicans' $80 million ahead of 2026 midterms. Major donors withholding contributions as party struggles with messaging and fighting Trump's agenda. Only 47 donors gave maximum contributions vs 130 in 2021. Read more: Independent
Trump claimed the US is "the only country in the world" that uses mail-in voting after Putin told him elections were "rigged" because of it. Actually, 34 countries allow postal voting - Australia has used it for over a century, all Canadians can vote by mail. PolitiFact rates this False. Read more: PolitiFact
IMMIGRATION
ICE deported a 4-year-old US citizen with stage IV kidney cancer to Honduras, disrupting his life-saving treatment. This occurred despite his citizenship and ongoing medical needs at a New Orleans children's hospital. Read more: Newsweek
Federal judge blocks Trump from sharing Medicaid patient data with ICE for immigration enforcement. The data transfer violated longstanding policies protecting healthcare privacy and occurred without proper legal process. Medicaid officials tried to stop it but were overruled by RFK Jr.'s advisers. Read more: The Hill
LA federal judge rejected Trump's bid to terminate the Flores agreement protecting immigrant children from prolonged detention. The 28-year-old settlement requires kids be held in appropriate facilities and released to family quickly. Trump wanted to "detain children for as long as it wishes." Read more: MyNewsLA
ICE detention centers are filling up despite adding four new facilities with nicknames like "Alligator Alcatraz," "Deportation Depot," and "Speedway Slammer." Nearly 60,000 detainees now in custody - the highest since 2019. Trump's funding bill provided $45 billion for expansion. Read more: NewsNation
Masked federal agents shot at a car with three people inside during an immigration enforcement operation in San Bernardino. Family says agents refused to identify themselves, broke windows, and punched the driver before opening fire. No one was hit but the car has multiple bullet holes. Read more: KCAL News
State Department revoked over 6,000 international student visas for violations including assault, DUI, and broadly defined "support for terrorism." Trump administration has targeted students protesting for Palestine under antisemitism claims. Social media accounts now monitored for "hostility" toward US institutions. Read more: BBC
ECONOMIC POLICY
Trump wants to turn the mortgage companies that back YOUR home loan into a "MAGA" stock ticker. This is turning critical financial infrastructure into personal branding for his political cult. When everything becomes a Trump product, America loses. Read more: The Hill
Trump plans to hand $7 TRILLION in taxpayer-owned mortgages to Wall Street investors. YOU bailed out these companies in 2008. YOU own them. Now Trump wants to give that value to his wealthy donors for profit. Read more: The Hill
SSA Secretary sent letter claiming Trump's bill 'eliminated federal income taxes on Social Security for most beneficiaries.' False - it only provides a $6,000 deduction that applies to 50% of seniors. Sources: SSA Letter and OBBBA
Pentagon canceled $800 million in nearly completed software projects to steer new contracts to companies like Palantir and Salesforce. This happened days after Palantir's CEO spoke at House Speaker Mike Johnson's big-donor retreat in Wyoming. "Reeks of corruption," says Senator. Read more: U.S. News
FOREIGN POLICY & SECURITY
Vance threatens to cut Ukraine funding while excluding them from "peace" talks with Putin. This isn't neutrality, it's forcing a victim to negotiate at gunpoint while their attacker gets everything they want. Russia wins without firing another shot. #UkraineBetrayal Read more: The Hill
Appeals court lets Trump freeze billions in congressionally appropriated foreign aid. Two judges ruled aid recipients can't challenge the freeze in court - without deciding if Trump actually has the constitutional power to override Congress's spending decisions. Read more: AP
Trump cold-called Norway's Finance Minister during official trade talks to lobby for a Nobel Peace Prize. Norwegian officials confirmed this wasn't the first time he's mixed personal ambitions with state business. Read more: Politico
Government documents detailing Trump's Putin summit - including seating charts, meeting times, phone numbers, and Trump's gift of an "American Bald Eagle Desk Statue" to Putin - were accidentally left on a hotel printer in Anchorage. White House calls it just a "lunch menu." Read more: USA TODAY
SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY
Surveillance company Flock now uses AI to analyze your driving patterns and automatically report you to police as "suspicious" - even if you've done nothing wrong. Their algorithms could flag you just for your daily commute or travel routes. ACLU
HEALTHCARE
Health Secretary RFK Jr. is using his government position to demand a medical journal RETRACT peer-reviewed vaccine research that doesn't support his anti-vax agenda. This is how science dies under authoritarianism. Read more: The Epoch Times
CBO confirms Trump's budget law will trigger automatic Medicare cuts of $536 billion through 2034, starting with $45 billion next year. The cuts are required under pay-as-you-go rules after Republicans gave tax breaks to billionaires. Trump promised not to touch Medicare during his campaign. Read more: AlterNet
SOCIAL POLICY
Trump just announced homeless people in DC must "move out IMMEDIATELY" to government housing "FAR from the Capital." Forcing vulnerable Americans out of sight instead of addressing root causes. #HomelessCrisis #HumanRights Read more: CNBC
Trump deploys National Guard to D.C., threatens homeless with jail time if they refuse shelters. White House broke up 70 homeless camps since March despite violent crime at 30-year low in the city. Read more: NPR
Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops to clear homeless encampments in DC while crime is at 30-year lows. A 67-year-old man waved goodbye to his belongings as they were thrown in a garbage truck. "You have to move because you're in eyesight of the president." Read more: Associated Press
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Trump eliminates environmental reviews and licensing regulations for commercial rocket launches, directly benefiting Musk's SpaceX despite their public feud. Environmental groups call the move "reckless" and dangerous to wildlife. Read more: The Hill
Justice Department sued California to prevent the state from enforcing its own emission standards for heavy trucks, joining four manufacturers who say they're "caught in crossfire between two sovereigns openly hostile to one another." Part of Trump's effort to end EV mandates. Read more: Jurist
ENERGY POLICY
Trump's Energy Department fast-tracks 10 companies to build nuclear reactors outside government oversight, aiming for 3 operational by July 4th 2026. Program bypasses traditional safety protocols to power AI datacenters. Read more: The Register
Trump ordered Treasury to tighten tax credit rules that could kill 2,500 announced wind and solar projects across the US. Projects that developers thought were safe under new tax law now face cancellation. "Projects will get canceled," says energy CEO. Read more: Financial Post
BIGLY EGO/TINY HANDS ESCAPADES
The ultimate in pettiness. Obama, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. portraits hung in Trump's hidden staircase Raw Story
Trump announced he'll host the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony because "you'll get much higher ratings." He selected the honorees himself, rejecting "wokesters," and said he might give himself an honor next year since he "waited and waited" to be chosen. Read more: Deadline
Trump and Putin found common ground blaming Biden for the Ukraine war - despite Putin being the one who ordered the invasion. Putin also reportedly endorsed Trump's 2020 election lies behind closed doors, playing to Trump's ego while getting diplomatic rehabilitation. Read more: Political Wire
Trump cited Putin's agreement that mail-in voting is risky for honest elections, saying "Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can't have an honest election with mail-in voting." This from the dictator who won with 87% of the vote after his main opponent died in prison. Read more: Reuters
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This content curates facts from independent journalists and credible news sources. All facts link directly to original reporting. Readers are encouraged to read the full source material and verify information independently. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Views expressed are those of the author.
