Protect Democracy

In many ways, this is the story of the Trump era. The attempted politicization of everyone in government, from statisticians to judges to civil servants to air traffic controllers, is perhaps the single biggest way this administration has reshaped American democracy.

Trump's politicizing of *everything* across our government is aimed at breaching the largest barrier to authoritarian consolidation: the separation of political government functions from administrative ones. We offer a 3-step plan for how to respond. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-big-un...

Challenging politically-driven attacks on science and medical research - Protect Democracy Protect Democracy is challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful termination of $400 million in federal funding.

We’re committed to defending science, public health, and the researchers who help power America’s innovation. Learn more about our challenge with partners @cspinet.org, @aclum.bsky.social, @aclu.org
protectdemocracy.org/work/challen...

The faces of the NIH cuts What sort of research is being slashed?

If granted, the admin’s request would halt critical research, disrupting breakthroughs in mental health, diabetes, cancer, chronic illness treatments, putting researchers’ careers & patients’ lives at risk—setting progress in science & public health back yrs. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-faces-...

The Trump admin asked SCOTUS to greenlight NIH’s purge of lifesaving research after a district court found NIH’s efforts were “breathtakingly arbitrary and capricious” and unlawful in our successful case against the purge. We’re urging SCOTUS to deny the admin’s request: protdem.org/4mmFgA7

Protect Democracy and @principlesfirst.bsky.social recently convened legal, judicial, & law enforcement experts like Judge Jeremy Fogel for a discussion about threats to the rule of law, the independent judiciary, and the legal profession. Watch and read our 4 takeaways: 🔗 protdem.org/40L3ITx

Dear Civil Servant | If you can keep it | Protect Democracy | Substack The latest news, resources, and analysis of the Trump Administration's attacks on nonpartisan civil service. Click to read If you can keep it, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of…

For more on the latest news, resources, and analysis of the Trump administration's attacks on a nonpartisan civil service, read and subscribe to our Dear Civil Servant newsletter series ⬇️
www.ifyoucankeepit.org/s/dear-civil...

To the victor goes the spoils system? Schedule G and the consequences of Trump’s “Fire and Fill” strategy

In our latest edition of Dear Civil Servant, we cover how the Trump administration’s Schedule G provides a quick and easy way to flood the federal bureaucracy with political loyalists. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/to-the-vic...

The Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism's “Liberalism for the 21st Century” conference gathers a community to—among many things—develop an intellectual framework for democratic resilience. @ianbassin.bsky.social & Drew Penrose attended last yr's convening. conference.ismaglobal.org

August 1, 2025 The big undercurrent of the Trump era What to do about the politicization of *everything*

🚨Trump just announced he is attempting to fire the BLS Commissioner because of the disappointing jobs report. This is just the latest in a much larger pattern — the politicization of *everything.*

Here’s what to do about it: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-big-un...

The Trump admin has asked SCOTUS to greenlight NIH’s purge of critical medical research on cancer, Alzheimer's disease, veterans' health, diabetes & more. We're fighting back to protect science & public health—and urging SCOTUS to deny that request.

Read our filing: protdem.org/4mmFgA7

Nonprofit Toolkit: Resources for organizations facing government investigations On this page, you’ll find short topic-specific primers that build on our full-length guide, Protecting Civic Space.

Attn Nonprofit org leaders: What if your organization is the subject of a congressional investigation? We published short topic-specific primers and other resources to equip nonprofits navigating politicized government investigations. Explore the resource hub here:

4 Questions to ask of your media diet

How’s your media diet? Now more than ever, it’s challenging to know if we are consuming trustworthy or accurate information. We put together some guidance to help you evaluate your media diet here: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/are-report...

Nonprofit Toolkit: Resources for organizations facing government investigations

Nonprofits are increasingly under threat from gov officials seeking to score political points and silence checks on their power. This toolkit offers best practices for responding to politicized gov investigations so that orgs can keep doing lawful, mission-based work. protdem.org/NonprofitInv...

To the victor goes the spoils system? Schedule G and the consequences of Trump’s “Fire and Fill” strategy

NEW in our Dear Civil Servant series, we cover “Schedule G” and how it threatens to take our merit-based civil service back to a spoils system.

The Authoritarian Playbook - Protect Democracy Today’s authoritarian playbook is a process that happens piecemeal and is hard to distinguish from normal political jockeying.

Aggrandizing executive power through tactics like abusing emergency powers is part of the authoritarian playbook, with long lasting consequences for our civil liberties and democracy. Learn more about this playbook tactic: protectdemocracy.org/work/the-aut...

Trump has invented a fake foreign trade emergency to impose tariffs and pursue his policy priorities without being accountable to Congress or the American public. This governing-by-emergency is a dangerous abuse and expansion of executive power.

Protect Democracy Files Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to Trump's Use of Emergency Power in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump - Protect Democracy Protect Democracy argues the executive actions imposing the tariffs raise virtually every red flag about how emergency powers may be abused to undermine democracy.

We just filed an amicus brief supporting a challenge to Trump's misuse of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs. We argue he's usurping Congress's powers by manufacturing an emergency as pretext to pursue his policy goals, and it's Americans who will pay the price. protdem.org/4mqjXOi

Restoring Transparency to OMB Apportionment Decisions - Protect Democracy Protect Democracy is suing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for violating a law that requires public disclosure of “apportionments."

Transparency and obeying our system of checks and balances are non-negotiable for a healthy democracy. Read more about our suit against OMB here: protectdemocracy.org/work/restori...

Reportedly, NIH research funding has since been released, but the bottom line is decisions to spend federal funds are up to Congress, not the Trump admin’s whims and taxpayers have a legal right to see how their money is being spent by the federal government.

On Tues, OMB informed NIH officials *via apportionment footnote* that ~$15b in fed funds would be halted. This unlawful withholding is why we sued OMB to post apportionments online. Without the required transparency, we don’t know how many other agencies received similar footnotes. bit.ly/47dpt22

Opinion | You May Not Be Trump’s Target This Time. But You Could Be Next. Trump’s actions against civil society harm us all.

"This campaign against nonprofits will affect all of us...These organizations — which are nonpartisan, nonviolent and charitable in purpose — play a vital role in a vibrant society...we must support them," says former Department of Justice official Vanita Gupta. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...

We covered the dangerous precedent set by Columbia Univ after announcing they had struck a “deal” with the Trump administration. This capitulation threatens all of higher education nationwide, is likely to prove naïve and only invite more extortion. Read more: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/i/169185470/...

What we're reading: This chilling piece from a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman. "I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

Trump Administration Civil and Human Rights Rollbacks: By Issue Area Documenting the Trump administration’s across-the-board assault on civil and human rights.

Resource: @civilrightsorg.bsky.social has a useful tracker of all the administration’s rights rollbacks across different issue areas. Find it here: civilrights.org/trump-rollba...

Court to OMB: Stop the cover-up The White House needs to come clean with Congress and the public about how it’s spending taxpayer dollars

ICYMI: A federal court ordered the Trump administration to stop covering up how it’s spending taxpayer money. Cerin Lindgrensavage explains the backstory: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/court-to-o...

Federal Efforts to Expand Access to Data from State-Run Programs In this explainer, we highlight the potential harms associated with the federal government’s unprecedented efforts to access state administrative data

The privacy of highly sensitive personal info of millions who receive public benefits from programs like Medicaid and Unemployment Insurance is now under threat. Read more about the Trump admin's efforts to gain access to data from state benefits programs: protectdemocracy.org/work/federal...

Strict Scrutiny host Kate Shaw and Ian Bassin (Exec. Dir. Protect Democracy) discuss what it’s like to work for the White House Counsel’s Office, what the normal operations of lawyering should look… Inside 2025: Lawyering in the White House w. Kate Shaw & Ian Bassin

“The role of the lawyers in the Executive Branch was...to make sure that the system of the three branches worked together as intended.” @ianbassin.bsky.social discusses White House Counsel norms and obligations with @kateshaw.bsky.social. youtu.be/nwg8vLcCCf8

For more visit crooked.com/friends

"Authoritarianism thrives when eligible voters lose access to the ballot box. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act lays out a critical framework to keep our democracy in the hands of the people, not in the grip of those who fear free and fair elections." - Justin Florence, Managing Director, Protect Democracy

Today, senators introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, updating the mechanisms for targeting and correcting discriminatory practices thus reanimating the Voting Rights Act.

Protect Democracy added our voice to the long list of supporters for this important bill. ⬇️

It’s hard to see how immigration courts will have enough resources to address the current backlog and process new cases in a timely manner. ICE will likely argue prolonged detentions are caused by immigration courts’ inability to keep pace.

Ansley Skipper dives deep into the rapid increase in detention resources as increases in the judicial capacity aren’t set to keep pace, risking prolonged detention and the creation of a parallel carceral system altogether. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/ice-may-be...

Federal Efforts to Expand Access to Data from State-Run Programs In this explainer, we highlight the potential harms associated with the federal government’s unprecedented efforts to access state administrative data

Alongside our partners at @cdt.org + @civilrightsorg.bsky.social, we published an explainer on recent efforts by the federal gov to gain unprecedented access to state administrative data and what it means for the privacy and security of Americans’ personal info. protectdemocracy.org/work/federal...