Judge orders White House to unblock funding for NIH, others

 

Monday, February 10 Elon Musk wasn’t elected, yet he’s using DOGE to take control of parts of our democracy. Over 20% of the lawsuits Democracy Docket is tracking are challenging DOGE — upgrade to our premium membership for $120/year to get crucial updates and analysis on these cases sent straight to your inbox. Federal judges hold Trump administration accountable A Rhode Island federal judge ruled that the White House violated a previous court order blocking a funding freeze. He ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore federal program payments, warning that further non-compliance could be a crime. The Trump administration appealed today’s order and the original temporary restraining order blocking the freeze. A third federal judge in New Hampshire blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship order, aiming to strip citizenship of some children born in the United States to non-Americans. A federal court blocked the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to the Department of the Treasury’s payment systems. So far there have been three lawsuits to block DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury information. Trump picks Jan. 6 defender to lead agency that investigated insurrection Ed Martin was part of the mob at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now, he’s one of the top attorneys in the country, running the agency that successfully prosecuted over 1,500 insurrectionists. As the head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C., Martin has championed a pro-Trump agenda that includes investigating Jan. 6 prosecutions, firing attorneys who worked on those cases and threatening anyone who targets Musks and his DOGE employees. Jefferson Griffin appealed ruling rejecting his North Carolina ballot challenges North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin (R) appealed the Wake County Superior Court's decision Friday rejecting his challenges to over 60,000 ballots. The case will now go up to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Georgia court rejects GOP candidate’s attempt to overturn election results A Georgia judge upheld state Rep. Mack Jackson's (D) victory, rejecting his Republican rival's attempt to overturn the election for a General Assembly seat. SCOTUS will hear Louisiana redistricting case next month The U.S. Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in the case over Louisiana's congressional map for March 24. White voters are claiming that the state's court-ordered plan with two majority-Black congressional districts is racially gerrymandered and should be struck down. Oral argument coming up tomorrow New York's highest court will hear oral argument over a law that allows some noncitizens living in New York City to vote in local elections. Lower courts struck down the law for violating the state constitution.