This Week in Democracy – Week 10: Trump Brags About Institutions 'Bending' to His Will
The Trump-Musk-Vance administration's relentless attacks on democracy show no sign of slowing down.
It’s the 10th installment of ‘This Week in Democracy,’ Zeteo’s ongoing project documenting the growing authoritarianism in the US. And sadly, this might easily be one of the longest lists yet.
From Signalgate to masked ICE agents arresting more international students, here’s a look at how Donald Trump, his administration (ahem, Michael Waltz and Pete Hegseth), and their allies endangered US national security, appeared to have committed a blatant war crime, threatened and weakened democracy, and either violated or undermined the US Constitution:
Saturday, March 22
On Truth Social, Trump demanded a “full throated apology” from Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills, along with a statement that she will “never make such an unlawful challenge to the federal government again” after Mills refused to implement a ban on trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
The Washington Post reported that the IRS is close to making an agreement with ICE to use confidential tax data to locate undocumented immigrants. The move is reported to be “unusual, if not unprecedented” and could “reduce tax collections” if undocumented immigrants fear the IRS will report them to immigration officials.
Reuters reported that thousands of federal agents have been reassigned to crack down on undocumented immigrants, including agents responsible for hunting down child abusers.
Sunday, March 23
In a court filing, the Trump administration added new allegations to its case against Mahmoud Khalil, claiming he willfully engaged in immigration fraud by failing to disclose his membership in several organizations, including the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), in his application to become a permanent US resident. One of Khalil’s attorneys, Marc Van Der Hout, called the allegations "completely meritless” and said Khalil was not a “member” of UNRWA; he simply did one of his three Columbia-approved internships there.
On Truth Social, Trump whined about ‘60 Minutes’ doing a segment on Biden supporter George Clooney, calling the program “highly discredited” and continuing to baselessly claim that the show “fraudulently inserted fake answers” into its 2024 election interview with Kamala Harris.
He also railed against the New York Times, calling chief White House correspondent Peter Baker “Liddle” and a “really bad writer” and saying, “the only two people with less talent” than Baker are his wife and New Yorker staff writer, Susan Glasser, and the Time’s Maggie Haberman, whom he called “Maggot.”
Prominent conservative legal scholar and retired federal appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig penned a damning op-ed in the New York Times, claiming Trump is “declaring war” on the judicial system and provoking “a constitutional crisis.”
After law firm Paul Weiss made an agreement to provide the Trump administration $40 million worth of pro-bono legal services in exchange for the president rescinding an executive order targeting the company, its chairman sent an email to staffers that noted “our firm faced an existential crisis” and that “the executive order could easily have destroyed our firm.”
On Fox, Attorney General Pam Bondi called pro-Palestinian student protesters “domestic terrorists.”
The Daily Beast reported that the Trump administration may soon begin inspecting the social media accounts of green card and citizenship applicants for “hostile attitudes” toward the US or sympathy for terrorists.
Monday, March 24
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published a bombshell article revealing he had been added to a chat group of senior Trump administration officials, including Cabinet members. The Signal group chat focused on highly-sensitive, detailed plans for military strikes in Yemen. National security adviser Mike Waltz later took “full responsibility” for the chat.
Asked by a reporter about the Signal group chat, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “Nobody was texting war plans.” That claim was disputed by the chain of messages later published by The Atlantic, which included the exact timings of the strikes and the planes and drones used – information that was highly classified at the time.
Hegseth also attacked Goldberg, saying, “You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called ‘journalist’ who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.”
As Mehdi pointed out, the Signal chat revealed a blatant war crime committed by the Trump administration in Yemen on March 15.
Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old Columbia University student who has lived in the US since she was 7, filed a lawsuit against Trump and other administration officials after immigration agents tried to arrest and deport her for apparently participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. A federal judge later temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining Chung.
Drop Site reported that the US conducted airstrikes on an oncology hospital under construction in Saada, Yemen.
In a court filing, the Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege in the Alien Enemies Act case, notifying the court that “no further information will be provided.”
During a court hearing, a federal appeals judge told a Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer that “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act” than those sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration.
Court filings revealed that eight women who were sent to El Salvador were returned to the US. One of the returned migrants claimed she was told El Salvador’s president wouldn’t accept women. Another immigrant was returned because they were from Nicaragua, not Venezuela.
On Truth Social, Trump announced Alina Habba as the interim US attorney for the District of New Jersey. Habba, who currently serves as counselor to the president and previously worked as a legal spokesperson for Trump, was threatened with imprisonment by the judge in Trump’s defamation trial for her behavior. She was also sanctioned in the 2022 Clinton conspiracy case. Habba recently came under fire for calling herself a “big fan” of alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate.
Trump also announced that any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela will face a 25% tariff on any trade it does with the US.
The Supreme Court denied a request from Trump ally Steve Wynn to overturn the 1964 ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, which found that public figures must prove “actual malice” in defamation cases.
The Trump administration, in an emergency appeal, asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue its efforts to fire thousands of probationary workers across the federal government.
A federal judge temporarily banned the enforcement of Trump’s executive order barring trans people from the US military.
A federal judge temporarily blocked Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the private data of individuals at several federal agencies.
Fox host Brian Kilmeade called for the end of due process for immigrants, saying “it’s not practical” and that “they don’t deserve it.”
The FBI launched a task force to investigate attacks against Tesla.
A coalition of advocacy groups, including the NAACP, sued the Trump administration in an effort to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education.
After the settlement with Paul Weiss, Trump warned that “law firms have to behave themselves.”
On Fox, AG Bondi warned Rep. Jasmine Crockett to “tread very carefully” with her comments about Musk, claiming that the Texas Democrat is “threatening lives” and calling for “further insurrection” after she said she wants to see Musk “taken down.”
Tuesday, March 25
Trump nominated Leo Brent Bozell III as the US Ambassador to South Africa. Bozell, a conservative activist and writer, once said Barack Obama looks “like a skinny ghetto crackhead.”
A report from the Yemen Data Project found that more civilians were killed in the first week of Trump’s bombing campaign in Yemen than in the 12 months of US-UK strikes conducted under the Biden administration from January 2024 to January 2025.
CBS News reported that the Trump administration quietly paused the processing of green card applications for some individuals, including approved refugees.
In an interview, Trump falsely claimed Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by law enforcement during the Jan. 6 insurrection after attempting to climb through a broken window of the Capitol, was “innocently standing there” and “trying to sort of hold back the crowd.” He added that he would “look into” the Babbitt family’s wrongful death suit.
Trump said he’s considering creating a government “compensation fund” for pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish student at Tufts University who co-wrote an op-ed in a student newspaper criticizing the school’s response to the pro-Palestinian movement, was arrested by plainclothes masked immigration officers in Somerville, Massachusetts, as she was on her way to break her Ramadan fast. She was taken to several detention centers before being flown to a Louisiana ICE facility, despite a court order that said she wasn’t supposed to be taken out of the state without notice.
A federal appeals court ruled the Trump administration can halt the approval of new refugees in the US but it must admit those who were conditionally accepted before the president suspended the country’s refugee admissions system.
A US district judge blocked Kari Lake, Trump’s special adviser to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), and the administration from terminating federal funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
A government watchdog group sued Hegseth and other Trump administration officials, arguing that using Signal to discuss military plans violated federal records laws.
Two faculty and national labor unions sued the Trump administration for cutting $400 million in federal funding for public health research at Columbia University.
House Speaker Mike Johnson floated the possibility of eliminating some federal courts, telling reporters that Congress has the authority to “eliminate an entire district court.” He later clarified it wasn’t meant as a threat.
Trump separately called Goldberg a “sleazebag” and said he’s “basically bad for the country.”
On Fox, Waltz claimed he didn’t know Goldberg, calling him the “bottom scum of journalists” and baselessly suggesting he may have hacked the group chat.
Trump signed an executive order making changes to election laws, including requiring proof of US citizenship on voter registration forms. States that don’t comply with the directive could lose federal funding. The order also directs the attorney general to take action against states that count ballots received after election day in federal elections. The order also gives DOGE access to state voter lists, which could result in voter purges.
He also signed another executive order targeting a law firm that once employed Andrew Weissman, the former deputy to Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. The order suspends security clearances of the firm’s employees, terminates government contracts, and orders a review of the firm’s compliance with civil rights laws against racial bias.
Trump pardoned Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, who testified against the family in a congressional investigation by House Republicans. Archer was convicted in 2022 for defrauding a Native American tribe and sentenced to a year and a day in prison. The pardon means Archer won’t serve any time behind bars and erases tens of millions of dollars in forfeitures and restitution.
Trump said he asked national security adviser Waltz, the same person who added Goldberg to the war plans group chat, to probe the security of Signal. Trump also would not rule out the federal government using the app in the future.
Trump told reporters he would “love” to cut taxpayer funding to NPR and PBS, calling them “very biased.” He reiterated those calls later on Truth Social, urging Congress to defund the networks, baselessly calling them a “giant scam” and “arms of the radical left Democrat Party.”
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it would pull back over $11 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and local public health departments and other health organizations.
HHS hired vaccine skeptic David Geier to lead a federal study about the connection between immunizations and autism. Geier was once disciplined for practicing medicine without a license, and he published papers about scientifically debunked theories claiming vaccines increase the risk of autism.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration plans to freeze tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other family-planning organizations during an examination of their diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Trump hinted that he may sign an executive order ending sanctuary cities “very shortly.”
The Trump administration cut funding for a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and school shootings.
Wednesday, March 26
In a rant on Truth Social, Trump whined about Boasberg being named as the presiding judge over the court case involving the Signal group chat, saying he is “Highly Conflicted” and calling for an “immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late.”
Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported cars and car parts, which is set to take effect on April 3, the day after the president is set to announce a new round of “reciprocal” tariffs – dubbing it “liberation day.” The tariffs are set to focus on the 15% of nations with the highest tariffs and trading volumes with the US.
An appeals court rejected the DOJ’s effort to lift a temporary block on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem threatened to send more immigrants to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.
Another appeals court declined to overturn a federal judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of federal workers who were the subject of mass firings.
Kari Lake told a DC court that the USAGM reinstated a federal grant for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, avoiding a court battle.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is set to cut USAID funding for an organization that provides critical vaccines to poor countries.
A doctoral student at the University of Alabama was detained by immigration officers at home. A student newspaper identified the student as Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian national.
WIRED reported Waltz’s Venmo account was public, with approximately 300 “friends” actively listed on his profile, including several journalists.
Musk announced a Wisconsin voter was awarded $1 million ahead of a fiercely contested state Supreme Court election, a move the Democratic candidate’s campaign called “corrupt.”
The Trump administration is planning to cut funding for the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, which combats child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in dozens of countries.
On Twitter, DHS Secretary Noem shared a dystopian video of her visit to the El Salvador mega-prison holding migrants deported from the US, warning that if others don’t self-deport, they could end up in that facility.
HHS abruptly pulled more than $12 billion in federal grants for state programs that track infectious diseases, mental health services, and addiction treatment.
At a White House event for Women’s History Month, Trump bragged about universities and law firms “bending” to his will.
He also peddled anti-vaccine rhetoric in remarks about rates of autism in children.
Trump referred to the scandal around the Signal group chat as a “witch hunt.”
Thursday, March 27
Axios reported that the Trump administration is considering efforts to block certain colleges and universities from having any international students if it decides too many are “pro-Hamas.”
HuffPost reported that the Trump administration cut funding for a research project to protect pregnant women from domestic violence because it was considered a “DEI” study.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the number of visas his department has revoked “might be more than 300 at this point.”
On Fox News, Musk warned that the Trump administration will “go after” the people “pushing lies” about Tesla.
HHS announced plans to cut 10,000 full-time employees at agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Wall Street Journal reported that among the details shared in the Signal group chat was sensitive intelligence provided by Israel from a source in Yemen on a key Houthi military operative targeted in a US airstrike.
Judge Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to preserve messages from the Signal group chat.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Labor Department from requiring federal contractors and grant recipients to certify they don’t engage in DEI practices.
Trump signed several executive orders, including one targeting another law firm, WilmerHale, where Robert Mueller used to work.
Another directs Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate "improper ideology” and “divisive narratives” from Smithsonian museums and its education and research centers, along with the National Zoo.
Another executive order seeks to end collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.
Friday, March 28
On Twitter, Musk said he will give a talk in Wisconsin on Sunday to those who signed a petition opposing “activist” judges. He added he would give two $1 million checks away in a lottery at the event. The state attorney general later said he would seek a court order to stop the lottery.
The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn Judge Boasberg’s ruling preventing the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants.
Hours later, Boasberg extended a temporary order blocking further deportations under the act.
The State Department formally notified Congress that it is effectively dissolving USAID, with the department set to take over what remains of the agency’s programming.
On Truth Social, Trump announced an agreement with law firm Skadden to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work for clients backed by the administration.
Trump pardoned Trevor Milton, who was convicted by a federal jury in 2022 of securities fraud and wire fraud. Milton’s lawyer, Brad Bondi, is the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to a Trump fundraising committee in October 2024.
During a visit to Greenland, Vance did not rule out using military action for the US to take over the territory, but he urged its citizens to “cut a deal” with the US.
On an MSNBC podcast, Alex Wagner spoke to the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Political Review, who said former students have asked to have their old articles pulled from the website out of fear of retribution from the Trump administration.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the CFPB.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from fast-tracking the deportation of migrants to a country that isn’t their own, without first giving them a “meaningful opportunity” to seek asylum in the US.
Missed previous weeks? Catch up here.
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Cowardly law firms should not be in business. Any lawyer that stays with law firms Paul Weiss and Skadden should be removed from the bar for violating their oath to uphold the law and maintain ethical standards.
Pete Hegseth whisked out of town. JD Vance whisked out of town. Mike Waltz whisked out of town. Need I say more. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/conspiracy-against-us?r=3m1bs