This week, democracy won. Americans showed that even when a president and his cronies attempt to steal an election, in a democracy – even one under relentless attacks – the people have the power of the polls.
Now, the real work begins, as Democrats must do something with the power they’ve been given – and seek to hold Donald Trump and his allies accountable for all they’ve done.
That won’t be easy. Even a lame duck Trump will continue harming democracy, undermining the Constitution, and harming societies worldwide. Just three days after American voters sent a clear message that they were not happy with Trump’s policies, he named Stephen Miller – the very architect of those outrageous policies – as his new White House chief of staff.
It’s a sign of what’s to come, and Zeteo will continue to document the growing authoritarianism in Trump’s America, as we’ve done below. From a possible pre-emptive pardon for Elon Musk to the DOJ’s move to vacate Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction, here’s ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 94’:
Saturday, Oct. 31 – DHS Chief Says Agency Investigating Potential Noncitizens
On Fox, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the department has 1,600 active investigations into potential noncitizens voting in U.S. elections, and claimed without evidence that the agency found 300,000 noncitizens on state voter rolls, even though noncitizen voting has already proven exceedingly rare.
Trump’s Justice Department already failed to block the votes of more than 20,000 people accused of being potential noncitizens. An analysis of the DOJ list found that more than 40% of the individuals didn’t even appear in the state’s voter rolls.
Sunday, Nov. 1 – Trump Admin May Have Violated Hatch Act
The New York Times reported that several legal experts have suggested the Trump administration may have violated the Hatch Act, passed in 1939 to limit certain political activities of federal employees.
The violations stem from mass emails sent by the Social Security Administration and the IRS last week praising Trump ahead of Election Day, a move one expert said seemed designed to serve as “propaganda” rather than a public service announcement.
Monday, Nov. 2 – Trump Says He Will Pre-Emptively Pardon Musk and Others
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he would offer a pre-emptive pardon to former adviser Elon Musk if Democrats took control of Congress and began investigating the world’s richest man or his business practices.
His pre-emptive pardons would also extend to aides and allies who could be at risk of probes and prosecutions by Democratic lawmakers, saying, “We just have to protect those people.”
Tuesday, Nov. 3 – No Shortage of Historic Victories in Midterm Elections
A blue tsunami swept across the country, as voters issued a damning rebuke of the Trump administration and gave Democrats control of both the House and the Senate come 2027.
Election night featured a series of historic firsts, including, among others:
Abdul El-Sayed becoming the first Muslim U.S. senator
A record number of women being elected as governors, with Keisha Lance Bottoms and Deb Haaland becoming the first Black and Native American women, respectively, to win a gubernatorial election.
Peggy Flanagan becoming the first Native American woman elected senator
Chris Pappas becoming the first openly gay man in the U.S. Senate.
Read more about the historic victories here.
Wednesday, Nov. 4 – Hegseth Facing Impeachment…or Replacement
Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told CNN he plans to trigger a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when Congress reconvenes next week, a move that multiple GOP sources told the cable network is expected to pass.
But Hegseth may not remain in his role long enough to be impeached, as NBC News reported that Trump is already looking for a possible replacement for the former Fox personality.
Thursday, Nov. 5 – Trump’s DOJ Tries to Toss Bannon Conviction…Again
Trump’s Justice Department once again moved to vacate former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s 2022 conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with a subpoena to appear before the House’s Jan. 6 panel.
The court filing noted that the administration “harbors significant doubts” about the fairness of his trial, and that seeking to affirm Bannon’s conviction “is inconsistent with this Administration’s enforcement priorities.”
Friday, Nov. 6 – Trump Taps Stephen Miller as Chief of Staff
Trump announced he was replacing Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller as his White House chief of staff.
Already seen as Trump’s top domestic policy adviser, Miller has been the architect of some of Trump’s most outrageous policies, including his racist and violent war on immigrants.
Speaking about the Republicans’ catastrophic losses at the polls this week, a GOP operative told Zeteo’s Asawin Suebsaeng and Andrew Perez that Miller “screwed us big time.”
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
Trump's smirk in that photo speaks volumes.