Executive Power

When Justice Looks Away On January 7, 2026, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, on a Minneapolis street. The shooting was captured on video. Within days, the Department of Justice announced it would not investigate whether Ross violated Good’s civil rights. Instead, the DOJ launched investigations into Good’s widow, Minnesota’s governor, and the Minneapolis mayor. ...

Democracy Dies in the Shadows The Supreme Court’s “shadow docket”—emergency orders issued without full briefing, oral argument, or signed opinions—has become a weapon for dismantling rights and enabling executive overreach. Between 2017-2021, the Trump administration filed emergency applications at unprecedented rates, and the conservative majority granted them with alarming frequency. ...

Federal Agency or White Nationalist Content Mill? The Department of Homeland Security—the federal agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorism and extremism—has turned its official social media accounts into a distribution network for racist memes, white nationalist imagery, and content celebrated by neo-Nazis. This isn’t hyperbole. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch documented how “the agency and top Trump administration officials have ramped up their promotion of white nationalist or anti-immigrant social media posts” throughout 2024 and 2025. ...

How the Roberts Court Dismantled Accountability in One Term In a single Supreme Court term spanning 2022-2024, six unelected justices fundamentally rewrote the balance of power in American government. Three decisions stand out for their devastating impact on democratic accountability and the rule of law: Trump v. United States (July 2024): Presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (June 2024): Federal agencies can no longer interpret ambiguous statutes—courts will instead New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (June 2022): Gun regulations must match 18th-century historical traditions, not modern public safety needs ...

A Million-Dollar Fast Track to Bypass Congress President Trump launched his “Gold Card” visa program this week, offering foreign nationals expedited permanent residency for a $1 million “gift” to the Department of Commerce—or $2 million if sponsored by a corporation. The program raises a fundamental constitutional question: Can a president simply bypass Congress to rewrite immigration law if you have enough money to pay? ...

“With Fear for Our Democracy, I Dissent” On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most dangerous decisions in American history. In Trump v. United States, the Court’s conservative supermajority ruled that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for their “official acts”—essentially placing them above the law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, reading her dissent from the bench in a rare show of protest, delivered a chilling warning: “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.” ...

Forty Years of Regulatory Protection, Gone Overnight On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered one of its most consequential—and least understood—rulings in decades. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Court’s conservative supermajority overturned the Chevron doctrine, a 40-year-old principle that governed how courts review federal regulations. The case involved fishing companies challenging a rule requiring them to pay for federal observers on their boats. But the stakes were infinitely larger than fishing regulations. ...

Justice Brett Kavanaugh assured Americans that immigration enforcement stops targeting individuals based on their appearance would be brief and harmless—citizens would “promptly” be released after proving their status. A new ProPublica investigation reveals the disturbing reality: more than 170 American citizens have been detained, dragged, beaten, and held for days without access to lawyers or even phone calls during the first nine months of President Trump’s second administration. ...