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Reposted by Chiraag Bains

The Last Mile with USAID @thelastmileusaid.bsky.social · 9d

A portrait of Justice Sonia Sotomayor seated at a polished table, hands folded, her gaze steady and unsentimental. To the left of her face, in stark white type, a passage from her dissent warns against a country where appearance, language, and work mark a person for government seizure. The words conclude with her blunt refusal: “I dissent.” The composition is plain, direct, the language and her expression carrying the weight rather than any ornament.

Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 16d

This framing by the Washington Post... Trump hasn’t chipped away at the wall between DOJ and the White House on enforcement actions — he bulldozed it. And early on. We’re just seeing it in its fullness now because he put it on social media.

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Reposted by Chiraag Bains

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 21d

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Charlie Kirk’s record.

archive.ph/2025.09.16-2...

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 22d

Also, for context, it’s worth noting that Biden invested $17 billion in HBCUs

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 22d

See the forest. Per new @brookings.edu analysis yesterday, "The Trump administration’s broader economic agenda threatens to drastically reduce the financial capacity of Black students to attend college." www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

Trump Redirects Millions to Historically Black Colleges, Charter Schools

www.nytimes.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 22d

Yes, this is unconstitutional. It’s also legal malpractice: the Attorney General just served up smoking gun evidence that the enforcement actions DOJ is about to take are in direct violation of the First Amendment.

Expect these words to be quoted repeatedly in motions and briefs

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 23d

Attorney General Pam Bondi: "There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society...We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech."

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 23d

This 1863 photograph of Peter Gordon's back rebutted the lie that slavery was a "benign institution." It galvanized public support for the Union cause.

Slavery's defenders understood the photo's power. They tried to slow its circulation, calling it fake.

In 2025, another attempt to hide the truth

Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 23d

Trump is scrubbing national parks of material demonstrating "corrosive ideology" like... "how bad slavery was"

If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.

National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars

The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 23d

Trump is scrubbing national parks of material demonstrating "corrosive ideology" like... "how bad slavery was"

If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.

National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars

The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Chiraag Bains

Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 24d

Pay attention. Something dark might be coming.

The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.

1/ Here's what's happening.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 26d

Stephen Miller: "The last message that Charlie Kirk gave to me before he joined his creator in heaven was he said that we have to dismantle and take on the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence. That was the last message that he sent me ... we are gonna do that."

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · 28d

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is utterly reprehensible. All political violence -- which this looks very likely to be -- should be stridently condemned.

Anyone celebrating the killing -- and any opportunists using it to stoke a war on "the left" -- should also be condemned.

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Aug 26

It’s transparently pretextual

Transforming the Fed from a sober, data-driven, independent entity into another servile mouthpiece for Trump will not work out well for us

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · Aug 26

It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this is - for the economy (ours and globally), for the rule of law, and for the proper and efficient function of government.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Trump Administration Live Updates: President Says He Is Removing Lisa Cook From Federal Reserve Board

www.nytimes.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Aug 11

Trump never cared about safety in our city. He pardoned 1600 January 6 rioters, including many who brutalized police officers. This is an attack on DC’s right to self-rule and a desperate attempt to distract from the Epstein files and his job-killing, price-spiking tariffs.

Janeese4DC @janeese4dc.bsky.social · Aug 11

The District of Columbia is under attack today — not from violent gangs or thieves, but by the President of the United States.

The President's weaponization of the Home Rule Act is a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of DC and we will not stand for it.

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Jul 25

This stay stops a badly wrong turn in the Eighth Circuit, which departed from decades of case law in ruling that voters can’t sue under the core of the Voting Rights Act (…even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly heard such cases)

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · Jul 24

Over public dissents by Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, #SCOTUS freezes Eighth Circuit ruling that had barred private enforcement of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act while the plaintiffs appeal that decision. Private suits to enforce § 2 of the VRA can go ahead for now.

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Jul 3

Understand how calamitous this is. Given that Trump controls DOJ—the only entity the 8th Circuit says can file Section 2 lawsuits—this means the core of the Voting Rights Act is effectively dead in 7 states.

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · Jul 3

Big defeat for voting rights: the full 8th circuit refused to* reconsider a panel ruling that said individuals & groups cannot sue over VRA violations, only the DOJ can. www.npr.org/2025/05/14/n...

Bolts reported the case is huge loss for tribes in North Dakota, leaving them unable to seek justice:

“A Law Without a Way to Enforce It” - Bolts

In North Dakota as elsewhere, Native voters face a triple threat: judges targeting the VRA, Trump officials hostile to discrimination laws, and a funding crunch depleting their work.

boltsmag.org

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Jul 2

“As violence erupted, his charging document said, he told other rioters who were attacking law enforcement officers, ‘Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!’”

Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept.

www.nytimes.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · Jun 2

This has to stop. The point of these increasingly public attacks is to terrorize and intimidate. We’ve got to collectively condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate fueled violence.

Attack in Boulder, Colorado, burns 8 people at march for Israeli hostages, officials say; suspect in custody

A suspect is in custody after what authorities call a "targeted act of violence" at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado. Witnesses said he threw Molotov cocktails at a march supporting Israeli host...

www.cbsnews.com

Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 30

A new State Department politburo is yanking Fulbright grant offers from people whose projects involve diversity or climate change.

Who is behind this? Undersecretary for public diplomacy Darren Beattie, who posted on X in Oct. "competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."

Fulbright Applicants Rejected Over “DEI” Research Proposals

The Trump administration staged an unprecedented intervention in this year’s Fulbright selection process, rejecting finalists whose research deals with race, gender or climate change.

www.insidehighered.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 30

Powerful article from @danfarbman.bsky.social on what we can learn from those who resisted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 @lpeblog.bsky.social

Outrage and Resistance: Abolitionist Lessons for the Present Crisis

The Trump Administration’s open rejection of due process and equal protection echoes some of the darkest aspects of antebellum America, when black Americans were frequently kidnapped and disappeared…

lpeproject.org

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Reposted by Chiraag Bains

Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · May 29

In its first major voting lawsuit Trump DOJ resurrected claims Republican judicial candidate used to try to overturn Democratic victory in NC Supreme Court race. This is extremely dangerous & shows how Trump weaponizing DOJ to advance his voter suppression plans

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump Is Weaponizing the Justice Department to Advance His Voter Suppression Plans

The DOJ’s new lawsuit against North Carolina is a troubling sign of what’s to come.

www.motherjones.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 29

This is not the way to restore confidence in government
www.notus.org/health-scien...

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 29

I discussed the 8th Cir’s radical ruling that there’s no private right of action under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act—meaning only DOJ can sue over racial voter suppression. Plaintiffs just sought rehearing by the full 8th Circuit. H/t @democracydocket.com : www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/u...

www.democracydocket.com

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 28

ICYMI: @vera.org & other grantees are now suing the Trump admin over DOJ's abrupt cancellation of funding for victim services, gun violence prevention, and other public safety programs. Represented by @democracyforward.org and Perry Law. More here: www.vera.org/news/were-su...

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 27

80% of Americans want the U.S. to be made up of people from all over the world

86% think schools "should teach American history that includes both our best achievements and our worst mistakes"

from PRRI survey, per @axios.com : www.axios.com/newsletters/...

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Chiraag Bains @chiraagbains.bsky.social · May 27

I wrote this analysis for @justsecurity.org on the Trump Admin's retreat from voting rights enforcement and its efforts to restrict access to the ballot.

The piece details 8 cases DOJ has dropped. It also discusses a new legal strategy to undermine the Voting Rights Act.

Just Security @justsecurity.org · May 27

DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has dropped major voting rights cases, reassigned its staff, and rebranded its mission.

@chiraagbains.bsky.social explains what just happened—and who’s left to protect the right to vote.👇

www.justsecurity.org/113745/wjh-t...

What Just Happened: The Trump Administration’s Dismissal of Voting Rights Lawsuits

Retreat from voting rights enforcement and efforts to tighten access to the ballot mark a rupture with the Civil Rights Division’s traditional role.

www.justsecurity.org

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Reposted by Chiraag Bains

New America @newamerica.org · May 21

In the latest edition of The Rooftop, @NewAmerica.org 's @ypanfil.bsky.social speaks w/ former White House aide @chiraagbains.bsky.social on housing antidiscrimination protections that have been rolled back by the Trump administration.

🏠 go.newamerica.org/the-future-o...

The Future of Fair Housing in America: A Q&A with Chiraag Bains

Yuliya Panfil spoke with former White House aide Chiraag Bains on housing antidiscrimination protections gutted by the Trump administration.

go.newamerica.org

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