Lauren Miller Karalunas
@lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
270 followers 66 following 13 posts
Counsel, Democracy Program at Brennan Center for Justice
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lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
TLDR: the administration's attempt to freeze billions of dollars in nearly all federal financial assistance is not over yet, and these harms should be top of mind as courts consider the freeze on appeal.
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
And this brief from housing advocates highlights the impact of freezing funds intended to respond to the affordable housing crisis, i.e. shrinking the nation's affordable housing stock when it already faces a 4 million unit shortage www.brennancenter.org/sites/defaul...
www.brennancenter.org
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
This brief from the U.S. Conference of Mayors highlights the billions of dollars in local govt. projects under threat if the freeze goes into effect, i.e. projects that monitor air quality, protect drinking water, and improve public health outcomes www.brennancenter.org/media/14512/...
www.brennancenter.org
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
Amidst many funding cases, it's easy to forget that challenges to the administration's attempted funding freeze are still working their way through the courts. Two amicus briefs filed this week in one of those cases, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, highlight the enormity of what's at stake:
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
In a single paragraph, SCOTUS allowed the executive branch to withhold $4 billion in funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid. Make no mistake: this is a major assault on Congress's power of the purse and yet another step towards giving the president king-like power to defy the legislature.
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
As I wrote earlier this year, states have a critical opportunity to combat exactly this type of certification threat before the midterms -- simple, commonsense safeguards can go a long way in helping them meet this moment. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/pol...
Election Certification
Stronger safeguards can ensure that the process cannot be exploited to disrupt elections.
www.brennancenter.org
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
A reminder that election certification law is already very clear: it's a mandatory legal duty, and county officials in Arizona (and across the country) have no discretion to refuse to certify final election results.
jenafifield.bsky.social
In Arizona, Cochise County supervisors plan to try to test the boundaries of state election laws, saying they want to ditch machines and hand-count ballots, and believe they supervisors should have a choice on whether to certify results. Full story: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...
Arizona county known for election turmoil is ready to stir things up again before 2026
New Cochise County supervisors say they want more clarity on the laws — even if it means inviting a court battle with the state.
www.votebeat.org
Reposted by Lauren Miller Karalunas
seanmorales-doyle.bsky.social
The NDNY US Attorney has reportedly issued 2 subpoenas to NY AG Letitia James's office under a 150-yr-old civil rights law in an investigation into whether the office violated Trump's civil rights or the NRA's in successful lawsuits vs each of them. Seems like a page straight out of Project 2025...
Justice Dept. Abruptly Escalates Pressure Campaign on a Trump Adversary
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Lauren Miller Karalunas
tomtmwolf.bsky.social
Late yesterday, a strong slate of amicus briefs was filed in support of the New York AG's challenge to the Trump Administration's across-the-board freeze of federal funding. Former federal agency officials, scholars, and lawmakers among them! Here are some of the highlights... 🧵⬇️ @brennancenter.org
Reposted by Lauren Miller Karalunas
aliciabannon.bsky.social
SCOTUS's expanded use of the shadow docket to halt lower court orders against the administration is a huge story. The emergency docket used to be just that - for emergencies. Its expansion has allowed SCOTUS to accrete more power to itself & expand executive power...often without any explanation.
stevenmazie.bsky.social
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with the Trump
administration in yet another emergency plea. This one involves mass layoffs at the Department of Education. The three liberal justices vigorously dissent, accusing the majority of sanctioning “lawlessness“.
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
And it's part of the administration's ongoing attempt to use legal challenges to seize authority that the Constitution explicitly gives Congress, not the president. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
www.brennancenter.org
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
Today's order is just the latest in a series of decisions that have facilitated unprecedented, and increasingly unchecked, executive power this term. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
www.supremecourt.gov
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
Even if the Court later invalidates the administration's actions on the merits, it has once again used the shadow docket to allow the executive branch to enact sweeping harms that simply cannot be undone after the fact.
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
In an unsigned and unexplained order issued this afternoon, SCOTUS effectively greenlit the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education while the case plays out in lower courts.
stevevladeck.bsky.social
Here we go again: Over an acerbic dissenting opinion by Justice Sotomayor (joined in full by Justices Kagan and Jackson), #SCOTUS, with no explanation, grants a stay in the Department of Education RIFs case—effectively clearing the way for the Trump administration to dismantle much of the agency:
www.supremecourt.gov
Reposted by Lauren Miller Karalunas
sam-breidbart.bsky.social
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Trump v. CASA changes NOTHING about the fact that President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.
lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social
Very excited to share this new white paper on election certification! States have a critical opportunity to strengthen their certification frameworks before the midterms - the reforms outlined in the paper will help them meet this moment. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/pol... @brennancenter.org
Election Certification
Stronger safeguards can ensure that the process cannot be exploited to disrupt elections.
www.brennancenter.org
Reposted by Lauren Miller Karalunas
statecourtreport.org
NEW: Next week, a NJ appellate panel will hear oral arguments in "In re Tom Malinowski," a case challenging the state's ban on fusion voting. @lmillerkaralunas.bsky.social breaks down the role of the contested practice in US electoral history and the impact of the case on its future.
New Jersey Considers Challenge to its Ban on Fusion Voting
The practice, which allows multiple political parties to nominate the same candidate for the same office, ensures third parties can meaningfully participate in the electoral process.
statecourtreport.org