Amidst fear and capitulation from big law, big media, and universities, here is the story of ordinary moms and federal employees who are defending their agencies, good government, and American democracy. Meet the people behind Instagram's alt agency accounts: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Remember, Trump can order prosecutions of political opponents—even unlawful ones—thanks to the Supreme Court. “He could use the DOJ to obstruct justice. He could use the DOJ as leverage for extortion.” He could order the fabrication of evidence.

Truly appreciative of the time and care that @motherjones.com and @pemalevy.bsky.social put into this. It’s important.

Exhibit A abcnews.go.com/US/trump-off...

In Alabama, a trans civil rights lawyer is facing criminal charges; three civil rights lawyers are fighting sanctions. I spoke to @chrisgeidner.bsky.social about how federal judges came after a team of civil rights lawyers who challenged a transgender care ban www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

My latest installment in a series I should start calling "Thanks John Roberts" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

After Trump v. US, any attempted oversight or course correction of Trump's politically motivated investigations now runs up against his new exclusive powers. That's because, as @pemalevy.bsky.social writes, the Supreme Court has made clear that no other branch of government may intervene.

How will the court square letting ICE snatch people because of how they look or talk while banning the consideration of race in college admissions and—almost certainly in the coming months—when divvying up political representation? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

SCOTUS allowing ICE to racially profile will embolden Trump to use ICE & military against his political opponents, potentially demanding citizenship checks at polls & intimidating Dem voters in 2026. Already seeing such tactics with occupation of LA, DC & Chicago www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Republicans aren't just using gerrymandering to go after Democratic seats—they're going after Democratic seats held by Black lawmakers. And thanks to the Supreme Court, it's about to get a lot worse. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

An entire news crew working for Al Jazeera was killed by Israel as they sought to bring the world firsthand reporting from #Gaza. Among them was prominent journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who had been previously smeared and threatened by the IDF. #NotATarget Full statement: cpj.org/2025/08/isra...

Don't miss @ariberman.bsky.social on the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act—and the right's plan to repeal it www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The justices are now preparing to take us back to a time when elected officials at all levels of government were white, and the rights of minorities were trampled. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NEW: A whistleblower reveals what's really happening at US-funded Gaza aid sites. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyNu...

An American-funded food distribution network provided Israel with cover as starvation spread, @pemalevy.bsky.social reports. “This is Trump’s famine."

I had the pleasure of collaborating with @pemalevy.bsky.social and @dfriedman.bsky.social on a piece about the Christian Zionists involved with US aid to Gaza, and how their extreme end-times beliefs might influence their work. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump has overseen a disastrous shift in how aid is distributed in Gaza. The US is no longer just a funder and ally to Israel, it is now supporting and carrying out the deadly aid program. The US long decried famine as a tool of war. Now it is implementing it www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Texas AG Ken Paxton hired a former staffer to work on a recent case. As a state employee, her labor would have cost taxpayers $641. As a private attorney, Paxton allowed her to bill $3,780 an hour, so that day of work cost taxpayers $24,570. With @texastribune.org

Tomorrow’s Guardian front page

The U.S. says no one has died due to the dismantling of USAID. So CNN’s Isobel Yeung went to Afghanistan to investigate. Producer: Mick Krever Photojournalist: Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou

Maria Quevedo, the mother of Eddie Adolfo Hurtado Quevedo, told us she was feeling relieved but still scared. “Happy because God gave me the gift of seeing my son free on my birthday. Scared because my son is going to Venezuela, where he was threatened by the [paramilitary group] colectivos.”

From our story in March: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NEW: Of the 230+ Venezuelans deported to El Salvador: • Almost half had immigration cases that were not yet decided • More than 60 had pending asylum claims, some just days away from final hearings These men had followed U.S. immigration procedures. Then Trump changed the rules.

It’s easier to be cruel when the people you are hurting are thousands of miles away. But Senators see @igorbobic.bsky.social every day, and it should be a reminder that the talking points are lies and the harm is real www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

NEW: Federal housing officials spent years investigating cities from Chicago to Memphis to Corpus Christi for putting industrial plants and unwanted facilities in poor, nonwhite neighborhoods. Now, under Trump, the agency plans to drop the cases. By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

SCOOP: As Trump takes a beating from his own MAGA crowd for his handling of the case of Jeffrey Epstein, his State Department pulled a surprising move: It decimated its office combating human trafficking. “Everyone was caught off guard,” an insider told @pemalevy.bsky.social

In the midst of Trump battling his base over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, the State Department gutted its office dedicated to combating human trafficking. State officials said the cuts targeted "outdated" and "parochial interests." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

John Roberts & SCOTUS conservative justices squarely to blame for enabling Trump’s massive power grab in Texas. His scheme to “pick up five seats” through mid-decade redistricting can only succeed because the court greenlit extreme partisan gerrymandering www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Republican appointees of the Supreme Court allowed this to happen. My June 23 headline: “SCOTUS allows Trump admin to deport people to random countries with no notice.” www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-s...

State Department employees are bracing for big cuts eviscerating what’s left of the government’s democracy and human rights work starting tomorrow, after the Supreme Court cleared the way www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

I guess one way to celebrate our declaration from tyranny is for the government to be in court asking a judge to discard the whole due process/liberty thing

With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined.

Who did it better, Trump or King George III? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

343 times what Musk spent to swing the 2024 elections 140 times the cost to make NYC buses free 2,000 Bezos-Sánchez weddings 62.5 times what the US paid in reparations to over 82,000 interned Japanese-Americans 2 times the cost to hire enough teachers + nurses to end both national shortages

Regular decisions from the Supreme Court are benefiting the conservative coalition, as Trump’s power grows on the shadow docket. As @pemalevy.bsky.social writes, both share a disdain for Congress’s role in our government; both prioritize the prerogatives of the president and the wealthy.

My recap of the Supreme Court term: The GOP appointees rewarded the political coalition that created the current court. On the merits docket, they boosted wealthy interests and Christian nationalism. On the shadow docket, they handed Trump more authority. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

1) Today's birthright citizenship/universal injunctions decision reminds me of a point @kimlanelaw.bsky.social made: The Trump admin's goal is not just to win the case, but to move fast and break things; to cause harms that cannot be undone. This is what universal injunctions are meant to stop.

No punches pulled. Justice Jackson warns that the Supreme Court has just put the country on a path to dictatorship. “Eventually, executive power will become completely uncontainable, and our beloved constitutional Republic will be no more.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Maybe Trump will forgive the Federalist Society now. That humble debate club.

So originalism is just recreating monarchy now I guess

Thinking of a high school classmate who died of cervical cancer in her early 30s. Cutting off access to reproductive care kills people. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

At a time when Planned Parenthood faces unprecedented threats to its very survival, the Supreme Court added another one today. The court ruled that if states decide to unilaterally cut off Medicaid funding to a healthcare provider—in this case Planned Parenthood—patients cannot sue to stop them.

ICYMI: WIRED obtained hundreds of 911 calls from inside ICE detention centers. Pregnancy complications, seizures, overdoses, sexual assaults, chest pains, head wounds, and more. Experts say for every 911 call, countless medical emergencies go unreported. The story is free to read:

Supreme Court's GOP appointees just rewarded the Trump administration for defying lower court orders. The decision not only imperils the lives of thousands of immigrants, but signals to the admin that it can keep blowing through lower court orders it dislikes. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Today marks the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. What's happened since? A record number of women have been prosecuted. Pregnancy loss is now considered extremely suspicious, even when it has nothing to do with abortion.

Check out Abby's epic series for @motherjones.com on all the people who make it possible for people to travel out of state to access abortion: Pilots, funders, physicians and more ⬇️

Mother of 2 (including 9-wk-old baby) + wife of US Marine had USCIS interview related to permanent residence status. She'd entered US from Mexico and was legally processed w/ her family about a decade ago. ICE arrested her over 2018 paperwork issue she didn't know about www.wbrz.com/news/ice-age...

Have you noticed that the Supreme Court is turning the president into a king at the same time our elderly presidents are handing off the job to their advisers? The logic of "unitary executive theory" is that one man is in charge. Realistically that's impossible www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Elon might be gone, but the grand alliance he ushered in is stronger than ever: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Decimated