A lot has happened. Here are some things. This is TPM's morning note.
“The President does not appear at all”
IN resolution Friday by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the District of Columbia. forever banned President Trump has refused to require proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms.
Trump tried to force the Election Assistance Commission to impose a proof of citizenship requirement as part of his sweeping executive order on voting. The President has no legal role in US federal elections, and the March elections decree Many believed Trump was testing how far he could go in asserting power over the election administration.
Kollar-Kotelly had already temporarily blocked proof of citizenship back in April, and a federal judge in Massachusetts similarly blocked other elements of the order.
In making her ban permanent, Kollar-Kotelly noted the president's lack of role in elections:
The Court pauses to note the apparent lack of legal and historical context presented thus far. States have the original authority to regulate elections. Congress has oversight authority over compliance with these rules. The President does not appear at all.
The case, which combined three lawsuits by Democratic Party and voting rights groups, was the first test of whether courts would resist sweeping claims of presidential power in areas where there was no clear legal authority or historical custom or tradition for the presidency.
Proof of citizenship to register to vote has been a Republican obsession for years, driven by a combination of xenophobia and political self-preservation. Trump and the GOP have greatly exaggerated the prevalence of illegal voting, but additional barriers to voting—such as requiring proof of citizenship—could make it difficult for immigrant communities and marginalized potential voters to register. Many Americans do not have direct access to proof of their citizenship.
“This measure was intended to suppress voter participation in elections; solution in search of a problem” writes Joyce Vance, former US Attorney for Alabama. “This is similar to the poll taxes that were used in the South before the Supreme Court ended them.”
Quote of the day
“Everything they are doing now is a repeat of the events of 2020. They are trying to discredit the entire election system in the United States of America so that Donald Trump can finally say, “See, the system was corrupt. My lies were actually true.” “-Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D)
Good reading
The NYT's Alan Feuer lays out well why DCUS prosecutors epicenter for President Trump's politicization of the Justice Department.
Signal problem Lindsey Halligan
Judge overseeing criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered The Department of Justice will preserve all communications that may be relevant to her defense. The judge stopped short of ruling that the confusing Signal messages sent by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan to Lawfare reporter Anna Bauer are discoverable (he has not yet been asked to rule on the matter), but wants them and other messages preserved in case he is asked to rule on their discovery later.
Judge orders emergency funding for SNAP
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ordered The Trump Administration will use emergency funds to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through November. Funding for a critical anti-hunger program ran out at the end of October due to the government shutdown.
Judge signals outcome of Oregon National Guard case
Following a three-day trial last week over the legality of President Trump's order to deploy the National Guard to Oregon, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut of Portland published A preliminary injunction continuing to block the rollout until she makes a final decision this Friday.
While Immergut stressed that this was a preliminary ruling as she continues to evaluate testimony and exhibits at trial, the preliminary injunction strongly suggests that she intends to rule against the administration on both the deployment and federalization of the National Guard. Immergut has already issued a temporary ban on the deployment of forces.
Monitoring external relations
- DESTRUCTION: “The Trump administration has begun detailed planning for a new mission to send U.S. troops and intelligence officers to Mexico to fight drug cartels, according to two U.S. officials and two former senior U.S. officials familiar with the mission.” NBC News reports.
- The United States carried out its 15th strike against suspected drug smugglers on Saturday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. announced. Three people died as a result of the attack.
- Mexico claims it was I can't find it survivor of one of the US attacks on the high seas last Monday and called off the search.
- The Trump Justice Department's legal counsel told some lawmakers behind closed doors that the administration does not consider itself border under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and will not seek congressional authorization to continue hostilities in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The 60-day period the resolution gives the president from the start of hostilities to obtain congressional approval. expires Today.
- Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, warning about the breadth of the Trump administration's claims that it could carry out deadly attacks on people simply “associated” with groups it has designated as “narco-terrorists.” In theory, this could go beyond whether they are actually moving drugs.”
Corruption: Ballroom Edition
Although the Trump White House published list of donors to his pet ballroom project and hosted a dinner for many of them, he did not divulge the names of some of the sponsors and did not divulge the names of everyone who attended the dinner, reports the New York Times.
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