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Here’s the highlight reel of last week’s posts and events. It was an unusually full week of legal news, extraordinary in many ways, with everything from the firing of an attorney general to oral argument in the birthright citizenship case happening. For those who celebrate, this week also marked Holy Week for Christians and Passover for Jews. So you can be forgiven if you missed a topic or two! Grab a cup of coffee and let’s catch up on anything you may have missed.
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The Week Ahead: We started this week with Trump’s insistence on passing the SAVE Act, to keep Americans, Democrats, from voting. Not too surprisingly, by the middle of the week, we had a new executive order on voting to consider; all part and parcel of this president’s efforts to keep people from voting against him in the midterm elections and beyond.
Realistic Supreme Court Reform: My Brennan Center colleague Jesse Wegman joined me for an in the weeds conversation about the possibilities and their prospects when it comes to Supreme Court reform. Jesse and I are of a similar mind, that the American people, as an institution, are far more powerful than they believe they are, and that we have the ability to insist on change. Jesse is taking on the assignment of regularly reminding us of this in his new newsletter, Major Questions.
Kristi Noem Is Gone. We Can’t Forget What Happened on Her Watch: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Julio Sosa-Celis and Liam Ramos. Americans and immigrants, mistreated and lied about by our government. After reading the stories, no one should be complacent; no one is completely safe. We need to remember so that the administration face accountability for what it has done, even if that takes time. Keep saying their names, every day.
It’s Our House: Whose house? Our house. Not Donald Trump’s house. And now a federal judge has agreed that he has to stop building that damn waste-of-money ballroom.
The Constitution Is Clear on Birthright Citizenship. The Question Is Whether the Court Will Be: Solicitor General John Sauer: “We’re in a new world where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a US citizen.” Chief Justice John Roberts: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” The birthright citizenship case didn’t go well for the government. Maybe that’s why Trump walked out midway through? All the tea from oral argument, spilled here.
Appealing Liam Ramos: The federal government is using its resources to try and send 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos back to detention in a disgustingly inhumane facility that has bugs in the food. Beyond the human cost, there is a cost to tying up investigative and prosecutorial resources in cases like this one. DOJ shuttered 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second administration. The casualties include terrorism, white-collar crime, and drug cases, abandoned so DOJ can pursue Trump’s political immigration agenda. But putting little Liam Ramos back in detention will make us all safe, right?
Pam Bondi Always Knew This Day Was Coming: Trump fired Pam Bondi. But he still has an Epstein problem. Firing Bondi will not make that go away.
Five Questions with Former State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller: Former DOJ (Obama) and State Department (Biden) spokesman Matt Miller joined us to discuss the absence of briefings coming out of the Pentagon while we are at war in Iran. Matt shoots straight on the importance of cooperation—and trust—between the government and the press, and how this administration is doing serious damage in ways that aren’t always apparent to us.
These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake, or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past. You can subscribe to Civil Discourse for free and get clear analysis that helps you see the whole picture, delivered straight to your inbox. If you’re in a position to, your paid subscription helps me devote the time and resources it takes to write the newsletter. That means everyone has access to information they can share with friends and family—a constructive act we can all participate in right now, helping more Americans understand how critical this moment is.
We’re in this together,
Joyce