Another week of resistance, another week of success.
June 21, 2025
[I will host my regular Saturday morning livestream at 9 am PT / Noon ET on June 21, 2025. Open to all on the Substack App on your phone or tablet.]
We lurched to the week’s end with many stories seemingly marking time—an illusion that masks the increasingly unfavorable ratings regarding many of Trump's policies. His cruel policy of using armed thugs to seize productive, peaceful immigrants from workplaces and courthouses has turned popular sentiment against him. (As always, he doesn’t care; those who support him will answer at the ballot box.) MAGA is tearing itself apart over a potential attack on Iran. Red states are waking up to the likelihood that their rural hospitals will close and hundreds of thousands of their residents will lose medical coverage.
The resistance is making a difference, even when it may feel unsuccessful in the short term.
For example, on Thursday, ICE agents attempted to raid Dodger Stadium. The gun-toting, masked agents were turned away at the gates by LAPD. Until that provocation, the Dodgers had remained silent about the military occupation of LA and the militarized ICE raids. On Friday, the Dodgers announced that the organization would contribute $1 million to support immigrant families affected by the ICE raids. See KTLA, L.A. Dodgers pledge $1 million to support immigrant communities after ICE raid backlash.
Approximately 40% of the Dodgers’ fan base is Hispanic. I wish that the Dodgers acted out of concern for the families of their fans, but the sad truth is that the Dodgers were forced to take action by a coalition of Latino organizations. Those organizations--Little Latin America USA, California Rising, El Salvador Corridor Association, CD1 Coalition, and the L.A. Youth & Family Foundation--held a press conference in front of Dodger Stadium earlier this week, demanding that the Dodgers act. The team responded to the pressure.
The Dodger example shows the way forward. Corporations are nervously monitoring events—especially those events that affect their bottom lines. A boycott of Dodger home games by a Latino community fearful of ICE raids would quickly impair the value of the franchise. Just ask Tesla. And Target. And Elon Musk.
Trump knows he is losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people, especially in Los Angeles. Trump sent Vice President J.D. Vance to Los Angeles in hopes of creating raw meat to feed to the grumpy base. Vance failed spectacularly.
Vance is under the misimpression that he has a sense of humor and can tell jokes. He tried to make fun of the arrest of US Senator Alex Padilla for asking a question to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. But Vance referred to Senator Alex Padilla as “Jose Padilla,” because in Vance’s bigoted mind, all Latino males are named “Jose.”
Senator Alex Padilla is an accomplished person of dignity and integrity who is highly regarded by most Californians. Insulting Senator Padilla by resorting to a racist trope will accelerate Trump's unfavorability in the Latino community in California and nationwide.
Equally bad for Vance (and Trump) is Vance’s statement that “[t]he “rioting has gotten a lot better” in Los Angeles since Trump sent in federal troops. Of course, ten million Angelenos can tell you that there is no rioting and hasn’t been for more than a week. Even then, “rioting” is a false characterization of peaceful protests where a few bad actors engaged in a handful of acts of violence and vandalism.
Speaking of “a handful of acts of violence and vandalism,” a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the order of Judge Breyer, holding that Trump must relinquish control of the California National Guard to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In reversing Judge Breyer’s ruling, the three-judge panel ruled that a handful of acts of violence and vandalism constituted the inability of the president to “execute the laws,” justifying the federalization of National Guard troops.
The standard adopted by the three-judge panel is preposterous. It would allow the president to federalize the National Guard any time a fraternity party resulted in drunk undergraduates throwing beer bottles at police. [That was sarcasm, but just barely. The panel did concede that there was a de minimis limit that would not qualify as “inability to execute the laws.”]
Despite the ruling, there is still reason for hope, as explained in Democracy Docket, Appeals Court Upholds Trump’s Control of California National Guard.
First, the panel acknowledged that the president’s federalization of the National Guard is subject to judicial review. Second, the panel’s ruling related only to the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Breyer, but leaves open the possibility of a different result on a factual record developed on the preliminary injunction hearing—including the possibility that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Finally, the ruling is subject to review by the Ninth Circuit in an en banc hearing and by the US Supreme Court.
Trump trashes Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, again
For the second time this week, Trump publicly contradicted Directory of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose job it is to synthesize intelligence reports for Trump. Gabbard told Congress that Iran is not close to having a nuclear weapon—which undermines Trump's rationale for possibly attacking Iran. See Fox News, 'She's wrong': Trump says Tulsi Gabbard incorrect about Iran not having nuclear weapon capabilities
Trump went beyond contradicting Tulsi Gabbard. He rejected the consensus of the entire US intelligence community, saying,
She's wrong. My intelligence community is wrong.
The good news is that a deep divide in the MAGA extremist community is causing Trump to restrain his usual impulsive instincts. See Reuters, Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike.
I have repeatedly noted (because the mainstream press is not) that the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. As with all things, there are nuances and wrinkles that create ambiguity. For a detailed discussion of the various theories under which Trump could unilaterally attack Iran, see Scott R. Anderson in Lawfare, The Law of Going to War with Iran.
As Anderson notes, there are plenty of theories justifying unilateral action by Trump, but
just because the executive branch makes this argument doesn’t mean it’s correct. Legal scholars (including the author) have spilled gallons of ink explaining why reading such extraordinarily broad implied authority to use military force . . .is hard to square with a text that expressly gives Congress, not the president, the authority to “Declare War.”
If you are interested in the legal issues surrounding the use of force against Iran in relation to the Constitution’s grant of authority to “declare war” to Congress, I recommend Anderson’s article.
But the common theme I see in every legal theory justifying unilateral action by Trump is that they assume Congress has the agency of a tub of curdled yogurt. Every theory supporting unilateral action by Trump has an implied clause that says, “And Congress ignores its constitutional role.”
Trump is a menace to democracy because Congress has abdicated its constitutional role across the board. Trump has committed acts that justify impeachment, conviction, and removal many times over.
And yet every day we—and the media—ignore unconstitutional actions by Trump. For example, on Friday, he announced the effective closure of the Voice of America. See CNN, Kari Lake follows through on Trump order, axes most of Voice of America’s staff.
By firing most of the staff of VOA, Trump has effectively closed an agency created and funded by Congress. That action is unconstitutional. The CNN headline should have read, “Trump violates the Constitution in shuttering Voice of America.” But the press normalizes Trump's unconstitutional behavior—even when federal courts have held that shuttering other agencies through layoffs violates the Constitution. See, e.g., Democracy Docket, Federal Judge Stops Trump from Dissolving Education Department, Deals Blow to Executive Overreach.
As Democracy Docket notes in the Department of Education case,
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun ruled that the Trump administration’s effort was not just a government reshuffle but a full-on attempt to dismantle a federal agency — something the president has no power to do on his own.
If it is illegal and unconstitutional for Trump to dismantle the Department of Education by layoffs, the same applies for the VOA. But CNN apparently cannot connect those dots. We must not fall into the same trap. Trump violates the Constitution every day—which is why we must resist every day!
Opportunity for Reader Engagement
Join Purple to Blue and other co-hosting States Project Giving Circles for:
Monday, 6/23, 8pm ET on Zoom:
Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Daniel Squadron, Founder of The States Project —for VIRGINIA!
REGISTER HERE!This is a rare chance to hear two compelling political leaders talk about the current state of our national politics and the importance of states, especially with this year’s critical Statehouse and Governor’s races in Virginia.
This Zoom is sponsored by several Giving Circles and attending is FREE, but raising all important early money to help win a Democratic trifecta in Virginia is keeping us going! We must win a decisive democratic majority in the Virginia House of Delegates in November to send an unmistakable message to Republicans.
And our TSP candidates out knocking on doors and speaking to voters will help get out the vote for Abigail Spanberger for Governor as well. Large margins in VA will put Republicans nationwide on notice for 2026. And if you can’t make it but would like to contribute to a Giving Circle for Virginia, please join ours here: Purple To Blue GC.
Concluding Thoughts.
It’s been a rough week, but we have pushed back at every turn. We must keep it up! Bless everyone who continues to do the hard work of defending democracy!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Sometimes, manual labor is what is needed to take the mind off world affairs. Here are two short videos of my wife and me fighting entropy at our mountain cabin.
Digging for a leak:
Splitting wood:
While the media has moved on from the little attention they gave to the No Kings rallies, I think that corporations have not forgotten. Good for the groups that put pressure on the Dodgers' Executive office, but I think the millions in the streets also got their attention. We need to leverage our power and start demanding more action.
When we meet tomorrow I’d like to know what recourse we have against the atrocities of ICE. Other than more street protests. Thank you.