This Week in Democracy – Week 28: Rewriting History, Science, and Economic Numbers to Please King Trump

Zeteo's project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in Donald Trump's second term.

President Donald Trump in July 2025. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Don’t like reality? If you’re Donald J. Trump, you invent your own.

This week, the Trump administration effectively announced it wants to make climate denial official US policy; another university capitulated to Donald Trump; and we learned conspiracy theorist and Islamophobe Laura Loomer is apparently still Trump’s “loyalty enforcer.”

At the same time, Trump is still trying to distract from calls to release the Jeffrey Epstein files; he fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he was mad about the weak jobs report; and the Smithsonian (the Smithsonian!) pretended Donald Trump wasn’t impeached in 2019 and 2021.

Meanwhile, 17 Democratic senators and all of the Republican senators voted to carry on sending weapons to Israel, even as the Israeli military continues to gun down Palestinians waiting for aid. Less than 24 hours after the vote, another Palestinian-American was killed in an Israeli settler attack.

Below, we’ve documented all that and many, many more of the actions Trump and his allies took that undermine the US Constitution, harm free society, and further underscore the growth of authoritarianism in this country over the last 28 weeks.

Brace yourself, folks, it’s an extremely long list this week:

Saturday, July 26

• On Truth Social, Trump demanded that Kamala Harris, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and Reverend Al Sharpton be prosecuted, baselessly claiming that the Democratic Party paid the celebrities to endorse Harris in the 2024 presidential election. (All of the people he targeted in his post were… Black.)

• Trump also falsely claimed that NBC News and ABC News “are an arm of the Democrat Party, and should be held accountable for that.” In another post, Trump went a step further, saying that “networks aren’t allowed to be political pawns for the Democrat Party” and calling for their broadcasting licenses to be revoked.

• The Washington Post reported that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is relying on an AI tool in an effort to eliminate half of the roughly 200,000 federal regulations by the first anniversary of Trump’s second term. The “DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool” supposedly analyzes whether regulations are required by law, and has already been used to complete “decisions on 1,083 regulatory sections” at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with “100% of deregulations” at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Sunday, July 27

• The New York Times reported that the Trump administration used “inventive” techniques to classify the cost to renovate Trump’s new Air Force One, which was gifted by Qatar. It appears the total was slipped into a $934 million transfer of funds dedicated to modernizing the country’s “ground-based nuclear missiles.”

• A New Jersey man facing drug trafficking and firearms-related charges filed a court motion to dismiss his case, arguing that the appointment of the state’s acting US attorney, Alina Habba, is illegitimate and unlawful. Habba was appointed to her position last week after the Justice Department fired her successor.

• On CNN, White House budget chief Russell Vought said the Trump administration is exploring the use of pocket rescissions to withhold federal funding already allocated by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act allows the White House to temporarily withhold federal funds for 45 days while Congress considers the request, and a pocket rescission would involve the president sending the request within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, leaving the funding to essentially be held until it expires.

• On Fox, CIA Director John Ratcliffe didn’t rule out indictments for treason of former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and Hillary Clinton, in relation to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s incendiary accusations of a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Trump’s first presidency. Brennan later told the New Yorker that he’s “seen reports in the press that I’m under investigation, but I’ve not heard anything” from the DOJ, FBI, CIA, or the office of the Director of National Intelligence. “Why they have resurrected this disinterred it after eight years, I think, is more politically motivated than substantively grounded.”

Monday, July 28

• NOTUS reported that the White House is pushing Republican lawmakers to defund gender-affirming care through the appropriation process, with at least six House appropriation bills for the 2026 fiscal year including provisions to ban federal funds from being used for gender-affirming care.

• Makeup artist Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay asylum seeker from Venezuela who was sent by the US to El Salvador’s megaprison, told NBC News that he was sexually assaulted by prison staff while he was in custody.

• A federal judge blocked a provision of Trump’s tax bill that would have ended Medicaid payments for one year to certain abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, which offers other medical services like contraception, pregnancy tests, and STD testing.

• Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding all recordings and transcripts from his interviews with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, which took place last week. He also demanded that the DOJ commit to offering no pardon or commutation for Maxwell, writing that there are “serious questions about the potential for a corrupt bargain” between her and Trump.

• Meanwhile, Maxwell filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court to hear her pending appeal to overturn her sex-trafficking conviction, claiming she should’ve been shielded from prosecution due to an agreement Epstein made with federal authorities. In the filing, Maxwell’s lawyers wrote, “We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the president himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted.”

• The watchdog organization Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a gun company backed by Donald Trump Jr. to trade publicly, less than two months after the new Trump-appointed chair attended the launch party of another business affiliated with Trump Jr.

• The Trump administration announced that federal employees are allowed to discuss, promote, recruit, and “persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views” in the workplace, citing religious freedoms.

• The New York Times reported that Harvard University has signaled that it’s open to spending as much as $500 million to settle with the Trump administration.

• Meanwhile, the Trump administration launched an investigation into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal over allegations of race-based discrimination and giving preference to Journal editors from minority communities.

• A coalition of 21 states and Washington, DC, sued the US Department of Agriculture to block a directive requiring states to turn over data about applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the last five years, including their names, Social Security numbers, birthdays, addresses, and immigration status.

• ABC News reported that the Trump administration officially accepted the “unconditional donation” of the luxury jumbo jet from Qatar to be used as Trump’s new Air Force One, with no stipulation that the plane will be donated to his presidential library following his term, a move he said would happen “someday.”

• In a court filing, lawyers for Trump requested that Rupert Murdoch be deposed within 15 days in the president’s $10 billion libel lawsuit against him and the Wall Street Journal. The lawyers argue that the deposition should take place as soon as possible because Murdoch is 94, and “has suffered, but thankfully overcome, multiple health issues throughout his life,” and that it would be unlikely that he could appear in person at a trial. Trump’s lawyers are also asking for documents about Murdoch’s involvement in the publishing of the article at the heart of the lawsuit, which reported that Trump wrote a “bawdy” letter and drawing for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

• AP reported that during a court hearing, civil rights lawyers seeking to temporarily block detentions at “Alligator Alcatraz” told a federal judge that detainees have been barred from meeting with their attorneys, are being held without charges, and that a federal immigration court cancelled bond hearings, while over 100 individuals have already been deported from the facility.

• On Twitter, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that her office filed a misconduct complaint against Judge James Boasberg, who oversees the lawsuit against the Trump administration’s removal of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador’s megaprison back in March. Bondi accused Boasberg of making “improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration,” after he allegedly suggested at a meeting of judges in March, which included Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, that the Trump administration might “disregard rulings of federal courts” and trigger “a constitutional crisis.”

• NBC News reported that efforts by House Republicans to rename the Kennedy Center after Trump and its opera house after first lady Melania Trump would violate the law put in place when the center was created.

• Open Secrets reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s failed 2022 congressional campaign committee still owes over $326,000, with most of its debt stemming from illegal and excessive contributions it hasn’t returned to donors.

• The New York Times reported that federal court proceedings in New Jersey were abruptly cancelled, including pretrial conferences, plea hearings, and a grand jury, due to questions about Alina Habba’s authority to serve as acting US attorney. Maria Noto, a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, told the Times, “I’ve never seen anything like this,” and added, “We’re all incredulous.”

Tuesday, July 29

• EPA head Lee Zeldin announced that the Trump administration would revoke the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a declaration that found that greenhouse gas emissions lead to global warming and threaten public health. Zeldin called the move, which would remove the federal government’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the “largest deregulatory action in the history” of the US, if finalized.

• Zeldin’s announcement prompted widespread backlash from environmental groups, the scientific community, and three former EPA leaders. The executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council told AP that the move “boggles the mind and endangers the nation’s safety and welfare” as the US faces deadly floods and heat waves, adding that the council will sue the EPA if “this illegal and cynical approach” is finalized.

• The Washington Post reported that 40-year-old Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a PhD researcher and scientist born in South Korea who has lived in the US since he was 5 and currently holds a green card, was arrested by immigration officials at the San Francisco International Airport last week and remains in custody. His lawyer said the reason for Kim’s detainment hasn’t been explained by the government, and noted that immigration officials have denied Kim access to an attorney.

• The Post also reported that the DOJ sent a letter to George Mason University, notifying the school that it’s reviewing a faculty senate resolution praising the university’s president, who has been targeted by the Trump administration for his diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. In a rare move, the DOJ asked the head of the school’s Board of Visitors to preserve “all written communications,” including emails, texts, and voicemails between Faculty Senate members, the school’s president, and his office staff.

• Reuters reported that the Trump administration cut more than half of its federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in April, terminating 69 out of 145 community violence intervention grants, worth a total of $158 million. A DOJ official said the grants were eliminated because they “no longer effectuate the program’s goals or agency’s priorities.”

• A federal appeals court rejected a challenge by the Trump administration to overturn an emergency pause on the president’s ban on birthright citizenship.

• State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce refused to answer a reporter’s question about whether the US would sanction Israeli human rights organizations, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, after they concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but challenged their findings as “outrageous allegations.”

• A coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general and governors sued the Trump administration to block its efforts to terminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood clinics. During a press conference, California Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that, “The hypocrisy is really hard to ignore: a party that claims to be defenders of free speech only seem to care about it when it aligns with their own agenda.”

• Harvard University said it would provide DHS with employment forms for thousands of staff members, with the exception of students employed in positions only available to students.

• The Washington Post reported that another whistleblower came forward to speak out against the judicial nomination of former Trump attorney and current top Justice Department official Emil Bove, accusing him of misleading lawmakers about his handling of the dismissal of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ criminal case during his confirmation hearing last month.

• The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is now requiring nominees for four-star general positions to meet with Trump before their nominations can be finalized, a move that has raised concerns about the military’s top ranks being politicized by Trump and his administration.

• The Times also reported that the top lawyer for the National Security Agency was fired last week after the right-wing outlet the Daily Wire published a story about her past work for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Democratic staff, and Laura Loomer amplified a a social media post saying “Biden burrowed a far-left Democrat activist into the NSA before he left office.”

• Meanwhile, the top vaccine and gene therapy official at the Food and Drug Administration resigned from his position after a public campaign opposing him, which was also led by Loomer. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the official “did not want to be a distraction” to the agency’s work. Politico later reported that Trump overruled Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and ordered the official’s removal himself.

• On PBS News Hour, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned that the Trump administration is “weaponizing” the commission’s licensing power, saying, “Self-censorship, whether it’s pressured or imposed by the government, is in and of itself a violation of the First Amendment, and I’m concerned that this will breed more corporate capitulation.”

• Aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that his falling out with Epstein happened after the sex trafficker “stole” young female employees from the Mar-a-Lago spa, including the late Virginia Giuffre. In response, Giuffre’s family issued a statement saying Trump’s comments were “shocking,” and adding that “Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life.”

• The House Oversight Committee denied demands by Ghislaine Maxwell to testify in exchange for clemency and immunity from future prosecutions.

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the FBI to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment to determine what risks are posed if a foreign adversary gained access to the Epstein files.

• In a court filing, DOJ officials revealed that the only two witnesses who testified in front of grand juries that indicted Epstein and Maxwell on sex trafficking charges were law enforcement officials – meaning the grand juries didn’t hear directly from victims. The revelation demonstrated just how narrow the scope of Trump’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts is in relation to the reported 100,000 documents in the Epstein files.

• On Truth Social, Trump lashed out at Jessica Tarlov, one of the few regular Democratic Party-supporting personalities on Fox, saying he “can’t stand” her, and calling her a “real loser!!!” after she suggested on ‘The Five’ that stricter gun control laws could have prevented Monday’s deadly mass shooting in New York City.

• Trump also went after Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley over the so-called “blue slip” policy, which allows home state senators to effectively veto Trump’s nominees for their state. Calling for Grassley to get rid of the policy, Trump said he should do so immediately “and not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective.” In response, Grassley noted that he was “offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insult.”

• The Republican-controlled Senate narrowly confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge, despite whistleblower allegations and widespread concerns over his fitness for office, including from over 900 former DOJ attorneys who penned a letter opposing his appointment.

• NBC News reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been having private discussions about possibly running for political office in Tennessee in 2026, a move that would require him to resign from his role in the Trump administration, as the Defense Department prohibits civilian employees from running for office.

• The Trump administration reversed a plan to block billions in federal funding for outside health researchers at the National Institutes of Health following an intervention by senior White House officials. The pause had been reported just hours earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

• Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to the Office of Special Counsel demanding an investigation into potential violations of the Hatch Act by senior Trump appointees for their involvement in efforts to conduct a mid-decade redistricting in Texas and other states to help Republicans maintain control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections. The Hatch Act generally prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity and using their authority or influence to affect election results.

• In court filings, the Trump administration urged two federal judges to publish testimonies presented to a grand jury that indicted Epstein and Maxwell on sex-trafficking charges, which is generally regarded as confidential, writing that unsealing them would be appropriate due to the “abundant public interest” in the case.

• NPR reported that the Trump administration is urging Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to self-deport, despite no regulatory changes being made to the program.

• The DOJ published a memo asking recipients of federal funds to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, in line with Trump’s executive orders to restrict DEI initiatives, activities, and policies.

• Chuck Schumer, along with all seven Democratic senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the Justice Department demanding it turn over the Epstein files, invoking a little-known provision commonly referred to as the “rule of five,” which requires government agencies to provide information if any five members of that oversight committee request it.

Wednesday, July 30

• Wired reported that Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called on the inspector general for DHS to investigate reports of agents at Homeland Security Investigations being reassigned from focusing on crimes like child exploitation and human trafficking to bolster the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In a letter, Wyden wrote, “Instead of locking up rapists, child predators and other violent criminals, Trump appears to be diverting investigators to target cooks, farm workers and students.”

• Texas Republicans released their proposed redistricted congressional map, which targets Democratic districts. Republicans hope the redraw, which Democrats plan to challenge in court, could help them gain five more seats in the 2026 midterm election, per CNN.

• The Treasury Department sanctioned a Brazilian judge overseeing the prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of organizing a military coup to overturn the country’s 2022 election. The move comes after Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil if the charges against Bolsonaro aren’t dismissed. Critics have been surprised at the level of interference in another country’s internal affairs, and the move has taken US-Brazil relations to one of its most delicate moments in history.

• A dozen Democratic members of Congress sued ICE to block its new policy restricting visits to immigration detention facilities by lawmakers, which they say is unlawful.

• ABC News reported that the DOJ designated interim US attorneys for Nevada and Los Angeles as acting US attorneys just before their statutory 120-day terms were set to expire, and district judges would appoint their replacements, the same move the DOJ took to keep Alina Habba in her post in New Jersey.

• One day after Laura Loomer criticized Jen Easterly, an Army veteran who had been offered a job at West Point, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll directed the academy to rescind the offer. Loomer had baselessly accused Easterly, who had served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency under Joe Biden, of working to “silence Trump supporters under Biden.”

• The Republican-controlled Senate voted to confirm conspiracy theorist Joe Kent, who has ties to white nationalists and far-right extremists, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center.

• For the first time, a majority of Democratic senators voted to end certain weapons sales to Israel, but were blocked by 70 senators, including every Republican present.

• Brown University reached a $50 million agreement with the Trump administration to unfreeze more than $500 million in federal research grants and contracts at the school. The agreement, which will see the $50 million provided over 10 years, is slated for state workforce development organizations that comply with anti-discrimination laws.

• Speaking to reporters, Trump called for Rep. Nancy Pelosi to be investigated for insider trading, accusing her of becoming rich “by having inside information” – an allegation she called “ridiculous.”

Thursday, July 31

• The Washington Post reported that the federal government is paying over 154,000 federal employees not to work as part of the deferred resignation program.

• The DC Bar’s board on professional responsibility recommended that former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, who is currently leading a division of the Office of Management and Budget that reviews executive branch regulations, should lose his law license for his involvement in the president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

• After Canada said that it would recognize Palestine as a state in September if certain conditions were met, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the announcement “will make it very hard” for the US to make a trade deal with them.

• The Trump administration sanctioned Palestinian Authority officials and Palestine Liberation Organization members, accusing them of “not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,” with the State Department condemning cases brought against Israel in the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

• A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the heads of two private companies based in the US whose employees have worked at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, expressing concern that the companies are involved with “deadly security operations in Gaza” against civilians. The letter cited reports and firsthand accounts of private security contractors “sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians.”

• ABC News reported that the Pentagon is withdrawing another 1,350 National Guard troops from Los Angeles, leaving 250 members in place.

• The Washington Post reported that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History removed references to Trump’s two first-term impeachments from an exhibit last month. The decision came after the Smithsonian agreed to do a content review under pressure from the White House. After the Post’s reporting, the Smithsonian told the paper that “a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.”

• UCLA’s chancellor, Julio Frenk, said that the Trump administration is cutting certain research funding over alleged antisemitism and bias. Frenk said, “This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.” He added that he recognizes the university can always improve, but it has also “taken robust actions to make our campus a safe and welcoming environment for all students.”

• Trump announced new tariffs on dozens of countries, with most ranging from 10% to 41% – including a rate of 39% on Switzerland, an increased 35% rate for Canada, and a total 50% tariff on Brazil.

• The New York Times reported that information declassified in a Trump-era special counsel that reviewed Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election revealed that a foundational document that Republicans relied on to accuse the Clinton campaign of conspiring to frame Trump for colluding with Russia was likely created by Russian spies.

• A federal judge blocked DHS from terminating temporary protection status for immigrants from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal, writing in a scathing filing, “The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.”

Friday, Aug. 1

• Just hours after the Labor Department reported that job growth had slowed down significantly last month, Trump ordered the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Without providing evidence, Trump claimed Erika McEntarfer “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory." Experts said the disappointing jobs report confirmed what they had been warning for months amid Trump’s erratic tariff policies: that the US economy was headed for a slowdown.

• Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor over Trump’s firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, saying Trump “ought to start governing like a leader, not like someone who imitates authoritarian leaders.”

• Bloomberg reported that the FBI redacted Trump’s name and those of other high-profile individuals from government files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

• On Truth Social, Trump pinned the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on his predecessor: “This is Biden’s War, not ‘TRUMP’s.’ I’m just here to see if I can stop it!”

• Trump announced on Truth Social that he ordered “two nuclear submarines” to be repositioned to “appropriate regions” in response to Russian official Dmitry Medvedev’s tweets from earlier this week. Medvedev had written that Trump’s ultimatum to Russia to end its conflict with Ukraine was a “threat and a step towards war.”

• A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants granted parole at a port of entry, which could prevent the Department of Homeland Security from deporting hundreds of thousands of people.

• The Trump administration froze over $300 million in federal research funds to UCLA, citing claims of antisemitism and discrimination.

• CNN reported that Ghislaine Maxwell was moved from a Florida prison to a lower-security federal prison camp in Texas, despite a Bureau of Prisons designation policy making convicted sex offenders ineligible to be transferred to a minimum security prison camp. The family of Epstein and Maxwell victim Virginia Giuffre panned the transfer, saying, “President Trump has sent a clear message today: Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter.”

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which allocates federal funding for PBS and NPR, announced that it will shut down after Trump signed a law effectively defunding the agency.

• Asked by a reporter whether Hillary Clinton will be investigated for election fraud, Trump replied, “I hope so.”

• US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and special envoy Steve Witkoff took sanitized photos at aid sites of the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)”, where Israeli troops have allegedly killed more than 1,000 people. Huckabee hailed the project as “an incredible feat.” That stands in contrast to what former Green Beret and ex-GHF contractor Anthony Aguilar this week told Zeteo's Prem Thakker: The sites "were“ built as death traps” and featured Palestinians trying to survive “indiscriminate” shooting.

• The New York Post revealed that the Office of Special Counsel has launched a formal investigation into Jack Smith, who oversaw two criminal investigations into Donald Trump, calling it “the first official legal probe into his conduct.” An email reviewed by the Post suggests Smith is being investigated for alleged violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from engaging in partisan political activities.

Did you miss previous weeks? Catch up here.

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