Trump Expands War Powers as Political Retaliation, ICE Abuses and Civil Rights Threats Escalate
Today’s major news reveals an administration expanding presidential power across nearly every part of American life. Congress is enabling a widening war with Iran, the Pentagon is preparing for additional military operations, and Trump officials are considering opening another front in Mali. At home, federal agencies face serious questions about political retaliation, misconduct, discrimination, reproductive freedom and the erosion of civil rights protections.
Key Developments
- House Republicans referred former special counsel Jack Smith for a criminal investigation, accusing him of making false statements about records obtained during his investigation of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Smith’s attorneys and committee Democrats describe the referral as a baseless act of political retaliation.
- Silicon Valley is helping create a powerful military technology complex as technology companies secure expanding Pentagon contracts and gain greater influence over American defense policy, military procurement and the development of artificial intelligence for warfare.
- The White House is refusing to explain what happened to an estimated $13 billion in Venezuelan oil revenue controlled by the United States following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. The report also examines concerns about Trump’s sleep schedule, Ken Paxton’s finances and weakening support for the war with Iran.
- FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly planning to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on October 14 and 15, only weeks before the midterm elections. His expected host is reportedly Russia’s FSB, creating serious counterintelligence and election security concerns.
- Representative Chuck Edwards allegedly gave personalized handguns to two young female staffers while facing a House Ethics Committee review involving allegations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Edwards acknowledges providing firearms to staff members but denies inappropriate conduct.
- Trump’s 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow connected him with Russian oligarchs and prospective business partners. The historical account documents his relationship with Aras and Emin Agalarov, his pursuit of Moscow real estate projects and his efforts to gain Vladimir Putin’s attention.
- Alan Dershowitz failed to appear for a scheduled House Oversight Committee interview concerning Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chair James Comer called the absence unacceptable after Dershowitz previously said he wanted to testify openly and under oath.
- Todd Blanche has rejected the traditional principle that the Justice Department should operate independently, reinforcing concerns that federal law enforcement is being converted into an instrument of presidential power and political retaliation.
- Five House Democrats joined Republicans in supporting restrictions on transgender military health care. The amendments would restrict gender affirming care through TRICARE and prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at military operated schools.
- Congress has authorized billions in additional funding connected to Trump’s war with Iran, deepening American involvement while avoiding a meaningful public debate about long term costs, constitutional war powers and the risk of further regional escalation.
- The Iran war is expanding across the region, with reports of Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers, American strikes near Tehran and Iranian attacks against United States military installations. Commercial vessels are already changing course to avoid threatened shipping routes.
- Live Action is openly describing certain forms of contraception as abortion, exposing how the anti abortion movement could extend its campaign beyond abortion care and target access to commonly used birth control.
- America’s public lands and national parks face growing danger as political leaders pursue policies that could weaken environmental safeguards, reduce public oversight and expose protected land to expanded commercial exploitation.
- A new report alleges a disturbing increase in sexual and violent misconduct involving immigration officers. The reporting links the pattern to rapid hiring, weakened vetting standards and a federal immigration enforcement system operating with inadequate accountability.
- The Pentagon is reportedly repositioning American bombers, raising concerns that the administration is preparing for another escalation in the widening conflict with Iran without transparent public debate or clear congressional limits.
- Trump has created another political crisis for Senator Susan Collins following the fatal shooting of a Colombian immigrant by a federal immigration agent in Maine. The case places renewed pressure on Collins to confront the administration’s immigration enforcement practices.
- The 50501 Movement identifies seven ways people can resist ICE from home, including challenging government contracts, exposing corporate cooperation, pressuring local officials and documenting the systems that allow immigration raids to continue.
- A federal judge is questioning the contradiction between Pete Hegseth’s testosterone program and Trump’s transgender military ban. The court has ordered the administration to explain why hormone treatment is promoted for some service members while being used to justify excluding transgender personnel.
- The Trump administration is considering military strikes against JNIM in Mali, an operation that could open an eighth national front for the United States. American forces could enter a conflict involving jihadist expansion, military rule and Russian troops supporting Mali’s government.
- Activists are organizing against Amazon’s expanding political and economic power, while also demanding accountability for ICE abuses and defending civil rights threatened by federal enforcement policies.
- An investigation examines a diploma mill and the institutions that enabled it, raising broader questions about weak oversight, questionable credentials and systems that allow unaccredited or misleading educational operations to attract students.
- Disability advocates warn that the Justice Department is retreating from the Olmstead decision. A new department interpretation could weaken federal enforcement of community based care protections and increase the risk that people with disabilities will once again be unnecessarily institutionalized.
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What We Are Watching Today
- 3:49 AM EDT
Secy. of State Rubio Speaks to Reporters Following Meeting with Southeast Asian Foreign Ministers - 9:48 AM EDT
Senate Health Committee Votes on CDC Director Nomination - 10:00 AM EDT
CFPB and Commerce Dept. Nominees Testify at Senate Banking Confirmation Hearing Live - 10:00 AM EDT
U.S. Senate Live - 10:15 AM EDT
Senate Judiciary Committee Meets to Consider Todd Blanche AG Nomination Live - 10:30 AM EDT
Maine Democratic Party Holds News Conference Live - 11:00 AM EDT
House Democratic Leaders Hold News Conference Live - 11:00 AM EDT
White House Press Secretary Holds Briefing on Pres. Trump’s Agenda Live - 11:15 AM EDT
Senate Minority Leader Schumer Holds News Conference on IVF Access
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Sign the petition to the U.S. Senate: Reject the Save America Act and protect every eligible American’s right to vote.
- Sign the petition to tell Congress: Put a stop DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s election threats, investigate DHS intimidation of election officials, and defend free and fair elections now.
- Add your name to the petition thanking NBC, ABC and CNN for refusing to air Trump’s speech on Thursday, just like our petition asked.
- Sign the petition if you agree: Congress must investigate the FBI’s Georgia 2020 election “probe.”
- Sign the petition: Congress must reject the $1,000,000,000+ Republican military budget. This is a 20-25% increase from last year, and over four times the proposed increase to social spending.
- Sign the petition: Congress needs to strike a deal that will put an end to Donald Trump’s war on renewable energy projects, and help bring down energy costs for everyone. Congress went around Donald Trump to pass landmark legislation to lower the cost of buying a home. Now, they need to do the same for energy prices.
- Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass legislation to END tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations.
- Sign the petition: Legally block Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “weaponization” compensation fund for his political allies. Todd Blanche’s promise that the fund is dead is not enough.
- Hold your lawmaker accountable: Tell Rep. Castor that you condemn their vote to send $3.3 billion more to Israel’s military.
- Sign the petition to the Treasury Department: Keep Donald Trump’s signature and likeness off our money.
- Sign the petition: Stephen Miller needs to resign or be fired.
- Sign the petition denouncing the Trump administration for proposing a new rule that could kick millions of Americans off Medicaid, most because of added paperwork.
- Sign the petition to Congress: Keep up the pressure on Pete Hegseth until he comes clean about the circumstances which resulted in the bombing of an elementary school in Iran that killed over 160 people, mostly children.
- Sign the petition to the U.S. Senate: Reject the Save America Act and protect every eligible American’s right to vote.
- Sign the petition: Congress must reject the $1,000,000,000+ Republican military budget. This is a 20-25% increase from last year, and over four times the proposed increase to social spending.
- Sign if you agree: Congress needs to strike a deal that puts an end to Donald Trump’s war on renewable energy projects and helps bring down energy costs for everyone in the process. Congress went around Donald Trump to pass landmark legislation to lower the cost of buying a home. Now, they need to do the same for energy prices.
3. Verify your voter registration status and help at least one other person check theirs
4. Save contact information for local legal aid and voting support organizations
5. Attend an Event
- Attend ACLU Florida Poll Monitor Training: Learn how to protect voters, document problems, and serve as a nonpartisan poll monitor during Florida’s 2026 elections on Wednesday, July 29, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Register here.
- Attend the Repro Freedom Tournament of Facts on Thursday, July 23, at 7:00 PM Eastern. Test your reproductive freedom knowledge during a virtual trivia competition hosted by Reproductive Freedom for All.
- Join the July Georgia Member Meeting on Thursday, July 23, at 7:00 PM Eastern. Meet fellow volunteers, receive campaign updates and help plan upcoming reproductive freedom actions.
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Call Congress About Secret Deportation Proceedings: “Hello, my name is [Name], and I am a constituent from [City and ZIP Code]. I am calling to demand hearings into the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. No one should be deported using secret evidence they cannot review or challenge. Please defend due process and oppose secret deportation proceedings. Thank you.”
- Call Congress About ICE Body Cameras: “Hello, my name is [Name], and I am a constituent from [City and ZIP Code]. I am calling to demand mandatory body cameras for every ICE enforcement operation. Congress must require independent investigations and consequences when agents fail to record encounters involving force. Thank you.”
- Call Congress About the Abuse of Terrorism Powers: “Hello, my name is [Name], and I am a constituent from [City and ZIP Code]. I am calling to oppose using terrorism authorities against activists, journalists, immigrants, or government critics. Please protect lawful dissent, defend the First Amendment, and demand immediate congressional oversight. Thank you.”
7. Boycott Fascist Businesses
Let’s Roll!
The pattern across these stories is unmistakable. Military power is expanding abroad while political retaliation, discriminatory policy and weakened federal oversight spread at home. Protecting democracy now requires close attention not only to Trump’s public declarations, but also to congressional votes, military movements, agency memoranda, government contracts and the quieter policy changes that can dismantle rights before most Americans realize what has happened.
