FULL COURT PRESS

Voters across the country are pressuring their elected officials to fight Trump more forcefully. Democratic senators tell What A Day they’ve put their faith in the court system — and pray it won’t fail them.

• President Donald Trump has launched a full-blown assault on American institutions since taking office, making blatantly illegal (or unconstitutional) orders and allowing the world’s richest man to personally dismantle the federal government from the inside out. Elected Democrats lack a coherent plan to counter Trump’s chaos by themselves. The courts are, for now, moving at a snail’s pace to check his power. Trump has solidified control over  the Department of Justice, giving him enormous new legal firepower and the backing of the federal government. Trump’s allies believe he’s got the Supreme Court’s conservative majority in his back pocket, too. The future of democracy is looking grim — despite Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer’s “we will win!” chant.

• “It’s a test,” a rueful-looking Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), seated on a marble staircase inside the Capitol, told What A Day last night. “What we’ve seen now, here in this building, are spines of foam,” he said. Congress has “basically written itself out of the equation … There’s a lot resting upon the judicial branch of government right now.”

• If the courts fail this test, then the U.S. could look more like dictatorial countries, like Belarus or Hungary, Whitehouse said. “We’re three steps in that direction, and now the test is when these FBI agents file their lawsuits, when they argue their case, when they get before judges, what’s the outcome?” Whitehouse said. “Is it Soviet-style kangaroo courts? Or do we get American justice showing up?”

Democrats around the country are calling up lawmakers, telling them to “fight harder” and “blow this place up.” But without power in Congress however, top Democratic lawmakers say the courts are everything.

• Trump’s opponents have notched some early legal victories. Now, the question is whether the legal system can keep up with Trump’s rapid-fire moves, and how it may react if the president ignores the rulings. Today, a U.S. district court in Washington, D.C. put new limits on Elon Musk and his DOGE allies’ ability to access government databases. Judges have slapped down Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, and restrained his spending freeze (after finding his administration didn’t comply with an earlier order). Another judge pushed back the deadline for Trump’s federal worker “buyout” from tonight to this Monday.

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called for coordination with state attorneys general, who are bringing lawsuits against Trump. “We can file briefs and be part of them. I think that’s actually going to make a difference in the courts. I know it’s hard to put your faith in the Supreme Court right now, but I do think that’s part of it,” she told What A Day in a brief interview. The courts are still a functional check on Trump’s power, she said, but “it’s certainly not perfect.”

• Trump has mastered the dark art of slowing down the courts in both civil and criminal procedures. And that’s what he’s still trying to do, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) told What A Day. “We have to understand this is a suspension of the rule of law, not that it goes away completely … We’re going to push back, and we’ll end up winning in the courts.” As the old saying goes: Justice delayed is justice denied.

• But legal scholars aren’t certain about beating Trump in court — in part because the Trump administration gets to nominate judges. “Much of the judiciary — and, in particular, the Supreme Court — is already Trumpified,” Louis Michael Seidman, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown, told What A Day. “As time goes by, he will appoint more and more judges who are sympathetic to him.”

• The Trump administration appears to be deliberately overreaching, while challenging the courts to rein them in, Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, told What A Day. Even if the administration is stopped, it may still score some wins along the way.

Trump’s efforts could backfire if judges decide to box him in, and the Supreme Court backs them up. “But it is also entirely possible that we are seeing the beginning of a successful fascist revolution,” Seidman said. “A lot depends on whether the Democrats can get their act together.”

POLITICO SO…

President Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers are railing on a wonky news outlet after falling for a right-wing conspiracy. Now, Musk’s loyal veep, Vice President Donald Trump, is following their lead.

Yesterday, a right-wing conspiracy theorist posted on X about how Politico has received about $8 million from the U.S. government last year. That’s because people in the government pay for services offered by Politico, not because the government is funding the outlet. Lol.

For those not in the Washington bubble: Politico runs Politico Pro, an extremely wonky subscription service that tracks bills, provides in-depth analysis, and covers niche topics that average people don’t care about. This information, however, is invaluable to major corporations, government contractors, and every office on Capitol Hill — Republicans included. Subscriptions start at about $10,000. It’s an expensive, focused, premium product for people who need specialized information.

Trump doesn’t care about the facts.

“THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY! THE DEMOCRATS CAN’T HIDE FROM THIS ONE. TOO BIG, TOO DIRTY!” Trump spewed on Truth Social this morning.

Politico hit back this afternoon: “Some online voices are deliberately spreading falsehoods. Let’s be clear: POLITICO has no financial dependence on the government and no hidden agenda. We cover politics and policy — that’s our job,” two of its top executives said in a statement.

One reason I understand this: Before joining What A Day, I wrote for Politico and Politico Pro for almost three years. It is absolutely absurd to think that any reporting at the outlet is subsidized by the government. Pro is literally just customers paying for a high-value service, the same as any premium subscription. Don’t fall for this nonsense.

Let’s keep in mind that Musk’s companies have received $15 billion from the federal government over the past decade.

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Before Donald Trump made his pledge to turn Gaza into the “Rivera of the Middle East,” there were no meetings inside the government about the policy. “There was little beyond an idea inside the president’s head,” the New York Times writes. Speak first, think later (or maybe never!) has always been his preferred way of doing things.

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, founded a mobile sports betting company that had “total disregard” for laws meant to protect against money laundering and illegal gambling, according to federal law enforcement officials. No surprise here!

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino lashed out at the Trump administration for spreading “lies and falsehoods” that his country had given U.S. ships permission to cross the Panama Canal for free. Blindsiding your business partners? Another good tactic.

Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the DOJ to investigate and penalize private companies and universities that have diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Weaponizing the federal government against the private sector to root out DEI will surely lower the price of eggs.

The Trump administration is planning to close the Environmental Protection Agency’s office that enforces federal civil rights laws and ensures that communities disproportionately affected by pollution (mostly poor, Black Americans) have access to a healthy environment. More than 100 workers have already been put on administrative leave.

January was the hottest month on record, baffling scientists as global temperature records continue being broken. What a good time to gut the EPA.

Did New York City Mayor Adams get a colonoscopy? That’s the hilariously unfortunate title of a New York Times article detailing the confusion about Adams’s brief disappearance last week, which is now chalked up to him undergoing some medical tests. The man is such a prolific liar and scandal-maker I’ll almost be sad to see him go.

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