Saturday, September 6, 2025

Where next?

September 6, 2025

EXECUTIVE POWER GRAB

New names in the hat

President Trump is floating the idea of New Orleans as a potential next target for his administration’s “crime crackdown.” The U.S. map is now littered with such targets. In a press conference earlier this week, the president doubled down on his threats to deploy federal troops to both Baltimore and Chicago. The American people should not be living under the threat of imminent military occupation in their own cities, by their own government. The egregious and dangerous power grab must be stopped by Congress immediately. If your representatives fail to act, it becomes so much easier for the administration to replicate what it is doing in Washington everywhere.

ACT NOW Tell Congress to protect the American people from President Trump's authoritarian power grab. Ask your friends and family to do the same.

“The administration is clearly exceeding its constitutional limits by treating the National Guard as its personal standing army,” says POGO’s David Janovsky in a new statement.

And “personal standing army” is not hyperbole: The Pentagon’s plan to create a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” would enable the president to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops into cities in as little as one hour.

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard and Marines as a “national police force” in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act and was illegal.

Washington is suing the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard in the city.

Dig deeper: It's far too easy for presidents to use the military as police — here's one way to fix that.

TODAY: People take to the streets for the We Are All DC Rally

Join the Not Above the Law coalition and dozens of other groups in Washington, DC, TODAY, September 6, to protest the federal government’s power grab and stop this dangerous escalation toward authoritarianism before it spreads to other cities. If you do not live in Washington, there are other ways to make your voice heard — head to our action center to call and email your representatives.

An unmistakable — and unauthorized — act of war

(Illustration: Ren Velez / POGO; Photos: Getty Images)

In a stunning escalation, the U.S. military carried out a strike on a Venezuelan vessel, killing 11 people. The administration alleges that the vessel was a “drug boat” connected to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. President Trump’s comments on Truth Social confirm that this was indeed a premeditated and offensive strike — and it happened without congressional authorization. The power to declare war is Congress’s alone and for good reason. This unauthorized attack brings us all into extremely dangerous territory. A president can only act unilaterally to strike foreign entities in self-defense or to prevent an imminent attack. This strike was unprovoked. Congress must demand answers for this shocking usurpation of its authority, prevent any escalation that would put your safety at risk, and act decisively to reclaim its war powers. This simply cannot happen again.

While it is not uncommon for the military to participate in drug interdiction out at sea, tactics typically involve boarding the vessel, seizing the drugs, and apprehending the traffickers — not firing warheads. These orders to kill noncombatants have “no clear legal precedent or basis.”

This deadly attack comes mere weeks after President Trump secretly ordered the Pentagon to use military force against Latin American drug cartels — an unconstitutional and illegal use of the armed forces. We are witnessing the dangerous consequences of Congress allowing the president to commandeer its authority.

ANALYSIS Congress Must Reclaim and Reassert War Power: Congress, not the president, should be the branch deciding when our nation goes to war, writes POGO’s Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette.

The White House is planning to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War. While it’s unclear clear whether the president can change the name without congressional action, Trump told reporters, "We're just gonna do it."

FOLLOW THE MONEY

This bill could help Congress make amends to you.

A bipartisan group of legislators in the House made good use of their first week back from summer recess by introducing the Restore Trust in Congress Act, a bill that cracks down on the corrupt practice of congressional stock trading. The bill is aptly named. Congress needs to take the public’s crisis of faith in its institution seriously and do everything in its power to restore your trust in its integrity. With a similar bill having advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in July, the time is ripe, and the momentum is building, to actually get this long-overdue ban passed.

STATEMENT Congress Must Urgently Pass the Bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act: POGO applauds this bipartisan coalition. The people deserve a Congress that serves the public, not their stock portfolios.

TAKE ACTION Email your representatives and urge them to pass the bipartisan bill to ban stock trading.

ANALYSIS

Executive Overreach Could Shut Down the Government

(Photos: Getty Images; Illustration: Leslie Garvey / POGO)

So-called “pocket rescissions” could be the final blow to an already-dysfunctional appropriations process, writes POGO’s Faith Williams. Read more on pogo.org.