Washington Commandeered

This Week in Democracy

• President Trump took steps to assert control over law enforcement in the District of Columbia, including deploying National Guard troops, directing federal agents to patrol the streets, and claiming command of the city’s police department. Over the course of the week, the administration also attempted to change the department’s policies and replace the chief of police with the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

  D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued in response, asking the court to affirm that the president does not have the power to take full control of local police and replace its chief. The administration’s actions are threatening D.C.’s “right to self-governance and putting the safety of D.C. residents and visitors at risk,” Schwalb said in a statement.

  Though federal law gives the president temporary authority to use D.C.’s police force for federal purposes during emergencies, Schwalb’s suit argues the administration is abusing its limited authority. Law enforcement experts have expressed alarm over the attempt to remove the police chief, explaining that upending the command structure poses a significant public safety risk.

  ➡️ READ: Sharing the Facts About Domestic Military Deployment and State Authority

• Texas leaders said that they would end the legislature’s special session on Friday without having passed new congressional maps and immediately begin a new session with the same agenda. The Democratic lawmakers who left the state to stop the legislature from passing any bills announced that they would return once California began the state redistricting process that Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in response to the efforts in Texas.

  An Illinois judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to enforce the civil arrest warrants issued by Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows against the legislators who left the state in protest. The judge ruled that there was no legal basis for him to order Illinois law enforcement to execute warrants from another state.

• A federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the Trump administration from adding new conditions to grants that fund domestic violence services. The judge wrote in his decision that it “could result in the disruption of important and, in some cases, life-saving services to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.”

  ➡️ READ: Sharing the Facts About Coercive Funding Demands

State of the States

In California, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore some research grants to the University of California, Los Angeles after they were suspended last week. The judge ruled the suspension violated a June order that restored grants from the National Science Foundation.

The Trump administration proposed a $1 billion settlement to fully restore the university’s federal funding.

In Idaho and Nevada, Govs. Brad Little and Joe Lombardo authorized their states’ National Guard troops to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The troops will reportedly be used for administrative support.

In Texas, Secretary of State Jane Nelson received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting a list of the state’s registered voters and information about how the list is managed. Texas is the latest state to receive such a letter.

Each state has its own laws governing whether voter registration information can be made public. Some states have provided the requested information, and others have refused.