Wednesday, March 5

SCOTUS denies Trump’s request to lift order requiring release of $1.5 billion in foreign aid

• The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to block the release of over $1.5 billion in USAID funding for nonprofits and government partners. The lower court’s order to release the funds remains in effect.

Election officials say cuts to CISA are already affecting operations

• State and local election officials said cuts to the nation’s cybersecurity agency, CISA, are already affecting their operations.

  
  

• “Right now, we are effectively flying blind,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) to Democracy Docket. “And it's just bonkers that the administration wants to stop doing the things that we were doing to protect against foreign interference and these purposeful, targeted, intentional attacks against our democracy.”

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

• The Trump administration is giving DOGE unrestricted access to Americans’

  personal data, including our finances, health records, and social security data.

  
  

• This leaves every one of us vulnerable to data breaches, mass

  surveillance, politically motivated attacks, and worse. Join the ACLU in demanding that Congress act now to stop DOGE from violating our privacy.

Federal protections board orders USDA to reinstate 5k workers

• A board that protects the rights of federal employees ordered the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reinstate over 5,000 probationary workers who were fired by the Trump administration.

  
  

• The stay specifically requires USDA to rescind the terminations for 45 days. It’s a significant, though temporary, win for the thousands of probationary federal workers who have been fired as a result of President Donald Trump’s campaign to disembowel the federal government.

  
  

Groups continue to hold Trump accountable via lawsuits

• The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that it is unlawfully withholding more than $200 million of NED’s congressionally appropriated funding.

  
  

• Campaign Legal Center filed a new lawsuit challenging the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). They claimed Elon Musk’s and DOGE’s actions are unconstitutional.

  
  

Judge rules Maryland election board's voter list restriction violates NVRA

• A federal judge said a rule from the Maryland State Board of Elections, which limits how people can use voter lists, conflicts with the National Voter Registration Act. Plaintiffs wanted to use voter lists to go door-to-door to verify information in the voter records. However, the state’s rule banned using these records for such "investigations."

  
  

• The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but only for this issue. Litigation remains ongoing on the other claims related to the constitution and the state board’s authority.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

The so called Department of Government Efficiency is composed of unvetted outsiders who have forced their way into the government’s most protected systems without care or consideration for the safeguards created by Congress to keep our data safe. Join the ACLU in calling on Congress to step up and check the president’s violations of our rights.

Federal court allows intervention in Georgia redistricting case

• In a local redistricting lawsuit in Houston County, Georgia filed by the Biden Justice Department, a federal court allowed Black voters to intervene after they cited concerns that the Trump Justice Department might change positions and oppose voters.

  
  

Hearing coming up tomorrow

• A federal judge in Washington, D.C. will consider whether to issue a long-term block on Trump's executive order halting foreign aid. The judge already ordered the government to resume payments.

…and one more thing — Democracy Docket turns 5 years old today!

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