Yes, Virginia, There Is A Resistance
Claire and Neil talk about lawsuits, grassroots, whistleblowers, and which Cabinet member is nicknamed "Ass Rocket"
Image credit: beast01/Shutterstock
Let’s start with a few news items from week 3 of the Trump administration (dear God, is it only week 3?)
The big news this week, of course, is President Donald Trump’s proposal to evict Palestinians from Gaza and transform that strip of land into a “Middle East Riviera.” Claire’s post earlier this week sums up the situation: click here if you missed it.
On Monday, White supremacist Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys organization, who were integral to the January 6 2021 coup attempt and were recently pardoned by Trump, lost the use of their name and logos. A Black church that these upstanding dudes vandalized during a pro-Trump rally in December 2020 was awarded $2.8 million in damages, but the fellas seem not to want to pay it. So, Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia took their brand away, clearing the way for the church to collect any money made in the sale of Proud Boys merch.
In a brilliant display of horseshoe politics, several high-profile guys on the left have declared that they are pleased to see DEI eliminated by Presidential fiat, since in their view, it is a palliative gesture that diverts Americans from class inequality. Because only the history of our entire country is at stake, right?
ABC News reported yesterday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the acting Director of the National Archives, something that apparently happened right after the inauguration, but—to the best of our knowledge—went unreported until this week.
And in our “only the best people” feature, Claire surprises Neil with news that a striptease from Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy’s days as a reality TV star have resurfaced on the internet. The video is one of several outtakes from The Real World: Boston; a second video ends with Duffy farting into the camera, an act that instantly earned him the nickname “Ass Rocket.” from a co-star. In this newsletter, Sean Duffy will be forever known as Secretary Ass Rocket, which is, as Bay-area political comedian Maggie Reed notes, “transportation-themed.”
Claire and Neil then went on to their main topic: the new resistance to MAGA rule.
Melissa Gira Grant reports at The New Republic that an Indivisible organizing call drew 20,000 people last Sunday; apparently, reports about the collapse of “the resistance” were premature. Subsequently, there were days of mass protests in seven major cities.
Indivisible is also providing information and action items to fight what they are calling the “Trump-Musk Coup.” The organization has a very high focus on pressuring Senators and Congressmen with emails, texts, and phone calls, regardless of party; and it is organizing demonstrations daily.
Democrats, progressives, and sympathetic conservatives are mobilizing the courts as a bulwark for democracy. Here is a partial list of executive orders that have been temporarily stayed by the courts: they include EO’s that froze federal spending and ended birthright citizenship, both of which violate the Constitution. There are lawsuits to block fast-track deportation and preserve sanctuary city policies from federal interference. A group of Quakers has sued to protect houses of worship from searches by ICE agents. A transgender woman has sued to prevent transfer to a men’s prison. There are three lawsuits filed against DOGE; and one to block the firing of Inspectors General (which is also illegal, since only Congress can remove IGs for cause.) Here is a litigation tracker compiled by Just Security.
Yesterday, a restraining order restricted DOGE’s access to secure Treasury system; A class action lawsuit from a federal union representing 7.2 million people also alleges violations of the Privacy Act by DOGE.
Some of the main action on the legal front is from state attorneys general who anticipated what was to come and prepared lawsuits well in advance of the 2024 election.
Some states cancelling gender affirming care for minors in advance of a federal directive responding to Donald Trump’s EO, but in New York, AG Letitia James has warned hospitals that denial of care may violate state laws.
There is also a massive amount of leaking coming out of the federal branch.
Your hosts:
Claire Potter is a historian of politics and media, a writer, a podcaster, and the sole author and editor of the Political Junkie Substack. Her most recent book is Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy (Basic Books, 2020), and she is currently writing a biography of feminist journalist Susan Brownmiller.
Neil J. Young is a historian of religion and politics, a journalist, and a former co-host of the Past Present podcast. His most recent book is Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right (University of Chicago Press, 2024).
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