Capitulation
Week of March 21-27, 2025
Welcome to TRACKING THE CRISIS, a weekly round-up from The Democracy Collaborative tracking the administrative, legislative, and other actions of the new Trump Administration as well as the many forms of legal and movement response from across a broad range of social, political, and economic actors. TDC is providing this service for collective informational purposes, as a tool for understanding the times during a period of disorientingly rapid flux and change in the U.S. political economy. TDC should not be understood as endorsing or otherwise any of the specific content of the information round-up.
TRUMP TRACKER: Administration actions
Columbia University capitulates to Trump Administration demands, with far-reaching implications for free speech, academic freedom, and democracy. On Friday, March 21, Columbia University conceded to a list of demands from the Trump Administration in hopes of restoring $400 million in frozen federal funding. The university’s capitulation was widely criticized as a dangerous precedent for academic freedom in general. The restoration of federal funding has still not been guaranteed by the Administration, which said the concessions were just a ‘first step’; on Monday, March 24, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia was ‘on track’ to regain funding, and on Tuesday, Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong was ‘pushed’ by the Trump Administration to publicly reaffirm the university’s commitment to fulfilling the Administration’s demands. Throughout the week, many academics and commentators decried Columbia’s decision, accusing the university of ‘empowering Trump’ by agreeing to its $400 million ‘ransom note’ and citing the far-reaching implications of Columbia’s capitulation for universities under an increasingly authoritarian regime. Columbia’s faculty have voiced numerous objections in closed-door meetings and through public statements; faculty rallied to protest the concessions on Tuesday and some filed suit this week against the Trump Administration. Former Columbia president Lee Bollinger questioned the legality of the Trump Administration’s funding threat, calling the strong-arming of the university an “existential threat” to academic freedom. Earlier last week, Columbia had issued a warning to foreign students against publishing any content on Gaza, Ukraine or Mahmoud Khalil, and removed admissions guidance for undocumented students from the university’s website. Under the looming threat of investigations and funding freezes to their institutions, other universities are already following suit to appease the Trump agenda; the University of California has dropped diversity statements in hiring, and students in Colorado protesting the appearance of a white supremacist speaker were told by faculty advisors to “just let it go.” The American Association of University Professors has published an article discussing the crisis in higher education precipitated by the Trump Administration’s executive orders; Columbia professor Joseph Howley spoke to the CBC about the tense atmosphere on campus; Foreign Policy discusses the dangers of Trump’s war on higher education; and Slate details the impact Columbia’s capitulation will have on smaller regional universities struggling to survive. Jason Stanley, a Yale professor whose scholarship focuses on fascism and authoritarianism, has announced this week he is leaving the United States for a position in Canada in the wake of Columbia’s concession, due to fears that the country is “tilting towards a fascist dictatorship.”
Major law firm targeted by Trump executive order capitulates to Administration pressure, causing dismay amongst the legal profession. Last Friday, March 21, Democratic-leaning law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP stunned the legal community by agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono legal services to the Trump Administration and right-wing causes in exchange for the repeal of a Trump executive order targeting the firm’s security clearances. The executive order was one of a series Trump has signed in the last few weeks targeting high-powered law firms that have been involved in some of Trump’s personal legal battles over the last several years. The agreement was heavily criticized by the American Bar Association and other lawyers’ groups as an attack on lawyers that dare to challenge the Administration on the unconstitutionality of its actions as well as an authoritarian assault on the rule of law itself. The orders have already had a chilling effect on the legal industry as law firms refrain from speaking out against the Administration out of fear of being targeted. One associate lawyer at top firm Skadden Arps resigned in protest after news that her firm was in talks to make a conciliatory deal with the Administration. In a recent podcast, Michael Tomasky, editor at the New Republic, discusses the implications of Trump’s law firm “shakedown” not only for the legal profession, but also for the media and any attempts to challenge the Administration through the courts. The Revolving Door Project has published a running list of firms, universities, and other institutions who have capitulated to the Trump Administration’s pressure campaigns.
Trump signs executive order placing restrictions on voting rights. On the heels of a Supreme Court challenge to the Voting Rights Act, Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, March 25 to overhaul the federal elections process, a move staff secretary Will Scharf called “the farthest reaching executive action taken” in U.S. history. The order introduces sweeping changes to election systems overseen by states via Constitutional authority, including requiring proof of citizenship at voter registration, as well as modifying mail-in ballot rules, empowering DOGE to review state voter rolls, and withholding federal funding from states that do not comply with the new rules. The order drew intense criticism from voting rights groups across the political spectrum as an “unprecedented voter suppression” effort and an “authoritarian power grab” representing a “direct threat to the fundamental right to vote,” citing that the new rules could disenfranchise millions of legitimate American voters, including and especially Black voters; many observers claim that the order can be seen as an attempt by the Administration to rig the midterm elections in 2026. The Washington Post explains how many U.S. citizens will find it costly and difficult to obtain the necessary documents to retain their right to vote. Election experts denounced the order as unlawful and likely to run into legal challenges; several voting rights advocacy groups sent a letter to the Election Assistance Commission pointing out that the agency is “not authorized to implement” an illegal executive order.
More student protestors targeted, detained by ICE for pro-Palestinian views. Following the ICE arrest and detention of pro-Palestine student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a number of other student activists were targeted and/or arrested this week in what critics describe as a “witch hunt” that could potentially be “worse than McCarthyism.” As the Trump Administration levied new charges against Khalil, ICE agents pursued fellow Columbia student Yunseo Chung, who had also participated in pro-Palestine campus demonstrations last year. Chung, a legal permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old, sued the Trump Administration to halt the extensive efforts made by ICE to deport her. On Tuesday, March 25, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring ICE from taking the 21-year old student, alleviating her “constant dread” of deportation threats from ICE. Late Tuesday in Boston, Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested outside her apartment as she headed to meet friends for iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast). Ozturk had written an op-ed for the university newspaper in March 2024 advocating for the Palestinian cause and urging Tufts to divest from Israeli businesses. Street cam footage of Ozturk’s arrest by six masked plainclothes officers went viral on social media Wednesday, where bystanders can be heard describing the incident as a “kidnapping.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims Ozturk’s valid F-1 student visa was revoked for “activities…[with] potentially serious foreign policy consequences,” the same provision that was used to arrest Khalil two weeks ago; the Washington Post has noted that use of the provision by the State Department was once struck down as unconstitutional by Trump’s sister in a 1996 ruling. Despite a federal judge’s order barring transfer without notice, Ozturk was sent to a notorious ICE detention facility in Louisiana; Rep. Ayanna Pressley is fighting for her release, calling her a “political prisoner” of the Trump Administration. Also on Tuesday, University of Alabama doctoral student Alireza Doroudi was arrested by ICE at his home; as of this writing, his whereabouts are unknown. It is also unclear why Doroudi was detained by ICE; members of Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Alabama claim that he was not involved in any pro-Palestinian activism that they were aware of. At Cornell, another activist student, Momodou Taal, has had his visa revoked and is facing deportation by ICE; he has sued the Trump Administration on First Amendment grounds in an attempt to block his detainment. This week, the Trump Administration stepped up its pursuit of student activists by directing federal civil rights attorneys to make colleges give up the names and nationalities of student protestors, a move which critics say is a ‘chilling’ abuse of state power against free speech.
Kristi Noem releases video with imprisoned Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador as legal status for Latin American refugees is revoked. On Wednesday, March 26, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem filmed a video at the El Salvador prison where hundreds of Venezuelan migrants were detained and crammed into a cell shown behind her. The video prompted outrage from observers and migrant advocates as “truly sick”, with some comparing the visuals to “Gestapo” images of Jewish detainees crammed into cells during the Holocaust. TIME Magazine reports on the conditions Venezuelan migrants endured once they landed at El Salvador’s notorious megaprison; Mother Jones details the numerous human rights abuses attributed to the prison system in El Salvador. Trump officials continue to invoke ‘state secrets’ privilege in refusing to release details of the Venezuelan migrants’ condition or status, even as families search for answers on relatives they say were not gang members, but were deported simply for having tattoos. As Noem threatened to send more Venezuelans to El Salvador, Venezuelan detainees at an ICE facility in Texas shared a video showing bruises from ‘beatings’ they received at the facility. On Monday, March 24, a federal appeals court heard the Trump Administration’s arguments for invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants; on Wednesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to uphold Judge Boasberg’s restraining order blocking the Administration from deporting any more migrants under the Alien Enemies Act. On Tuesday, March 25, the Trump Administration gave a 30-day notice revoking the legal status of over half a million refugees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, throwing thousands of asylum seekers into ‘uncertainty’ and ‘desperation’ as they await the expiration of their status in April. Immigrant rights advocates asked a San Francisco federal judge this week to block the Administration’s planned status revocation; although no ruling was issued, the judge said the Administration’s order “may have been motivated by racism.”
More legal immigrants arrested; detainees describe horrific conditions in ICE detention centers. On Tuesday, March 25, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced that it would stop processing green card applications in order to ‘do some more vetting’ of immigrants taking a legal route to residency; as Trump announced he would be demanding access to the social media accounts of any immigrant seeking legal status or citizenship. This week, ICE arrested Seattle-based farmworker and union leader Alfredo Juarez Zeferino, known as ‘Lelo’, and several other migrant workers. Community members say Lelo has no criminal record and was ‘targeted because of his activism.’ Also in Washington state, UW lab technician Llewelyn Dixon was detained by ICE after returning from a visit to her native Philippines, despite having held legal residency in the United States for 50 years. In Georgia, barber Rodney Taylor was arrested by ICE and faces deportation to Liberia, despite having lived in the U.S. since the age of 2. This week, a viral video surfaced showing harrowing conditions inside the Krome Detention Center in Florida, where detainees described ‘having little to no food’ and intensely overcrowded conditions for thousands of detainees at a facility designed to hold only 600 inmates. Advocates and families are also demanding answers from Krome where at least three migrants have died in custody over the last few months; a number of women detained at the facility have described the conditions as “hell on earth.” In the sanctuary city of Boston, border czar Tom Homan conducted a series of ICE raids resulting in the arrest of over 370 migrants; many of them had no criminal record and were described as “collateral” arrests. ProPublica reports that ICE is quietly pushing legal boundaries with these warrantless “collateral” arrests; and NBC News reports that ICE has been flouting civil liberties for years before Trump. Seven countries have now issued travel advisories for the United States citing unsafe conditions for travelers, including risks for border agents to search electronic devices as well as the risk of being detained upon entry.
Signal chats detailing Yemen war plans accidentally leaked to Atlantic editor-in-chief sparking national security concerns. On Monday, March 24, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that he had been ‘accidentally’ included in a private Signal chat amongst Trump officials planning strikes on Yemen. The news caused an uproar in Congress, with both Democrats and Republicans demanding accountability and safeguards against future breaches of sensitive or classified information. Security experts weighed in on the vulnerabilities of Signal, as the NSA had warned against using the app about a month before the chat occurred; insiders also discussed Trump’s history of ‘sloppy’ security protocols. Trump officials laid the blame on national security adviser Mike Waltz, then Defense Secretary Paul Hesgeth as Republican senators and Congressional Democrats demanded answers; while a new lawsuit alleged violations of the Federal Records Act. The New York Times has provided an annotated transcript of the leaked chat, a primer on key actors in the fiasco, and takeaways from the fallout surrounding the security leak. Besides the national security concerns, commentators have also pointed out the 10-year history of unconstitutional military strikes on Yemen, and the fact that included in the chat were instructions to target residential structures and remarks celebrating the destruction of civilian targets, which qualifies as a war crime.
Future of Social Security uncertain as DOGE cuts, planned service rollbacks impact seniors, disabled people, and caregivers. Millions of Americans dependent on Social Security faced a rollercoaster of uncertainty this week as DOGE and the Trump Administration went back and forth on planned cuts to a federal benefit long considered to be the ‘third rail’ of American politics. On Friday, March 21, SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek threatened to shut down Social Security in response to a federal judge’s ruling blocking DOGE access to Americans’ sensitive data; Dudek later walked back his threat as the judge pushed back on Dudek’s assertions. Also on Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick remarked that “only fraudsters” would protest cuts to Social Security, citing that his 94-year-old mother in law “wouldn’t complain” about missing her Social Security check; Lutnick, as Bloomberg points out, has a personal net worth of over $2 billion. On Monday, March 24, Dudek announced that the SSA would be cutting off phone services in as little as two weeks’ time, thereby requiring thousands of applicants to apply in person to verify their eligibility. DOGE cuts have already thrown the Social Security system into turmoil, as the website reportedly crashed four times this week and understaffed call centers have been overwhelmed with questions from beneficiaries. On Tuesday, March 25, Democratic senators grilled SSA nominee Frank Bisignano on his support for DOGE cuts, citing the numerous customer service problems already caused by mass layoffs of staff. Despite the drastic measures taken to root out ‘fraud’ in Social Security, the Washington Post reports that DOGE has struggled to find actual fraud in the system, as formal audits have found less than 1 percent of Social Security payments to be improper. On Wednesday, March 26, DOGE announced that it would be marking over seven million people in the Social Security database as ‘deceased,’ despite having made inaccurate claims of ‘dead’ recipients in the recent past. Also on Wednesday, the Trump Administration announced an end to paper checks from Social Security, a change that is estimated to affect over half a million beneficiaries. By Wednesday, the Social Security Administration had walked back its plans to cut phone service and relaxed planned identity verification protocols, postponing the changes to April 14. Social Security advocates continue to fight the changes, seeing the cuts as a ‘prelude to privatization’ as DOGE and Dudek court private equity interests.
Trump sends J.D. and Usha Vance to Greenland as U.S. angles for economic influence over Ukraine, highlighting imperial ambitions as trade partners seek alternative alliances. Last Friday, March 21, Foreign Affairs magazine declared that “Conquest is Back” as the Trump Administration continued negotiations over a potential Russia-Ukraine ceasefire in the Black Sea. Although Ukrainian President Zelenskyy pushed back on Trump’s bid to take over a key nuclear power plant under Russian control, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, March 27 on a leaked draft agreement that would give the United States the “right of first offer” on all investments in infrastructure and natural resource extraction in Ukraine, ‘squeezing out’ EU influence in Ukraine’s economy. The proposed deal would represent an unprecedented expansion of U.S. economic influence in the region, at a time when chilled relations between the United States and European Union sparked by Trump’s trade war have prompted the EU to seek economic and military cooperation with China, Taiwan, India, Egypt, and Canada as a way to hedge against the U.S.’s ‘shifting priorities.’ On Thursday, Trump lashed out on social media against a potential alliance between the EU and Canada, threatening ‘large-scale tariffs’ in retaliation for any ‘economic harm’ to the U.S. As Canada headed into a snap election this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that Trump’s threats to use the tariff war to annex Canada were ‘serious,’ claiming that Trump “wants to break us so that America can own us.” The Washington Post has published a discussion on the possible reasons why Trump is going after Canada so aggressively. On Monday, March 24, the Trump Administration reiterated its claims to Greenland and announced that Second Lady Usha Vance and National Security adviser Mike Waltz would be visiting Greenland this week, inciting anger among the island’s officials accusing the U.S. of ‘foreign interference’ through this “highly aggressive” diplomatic move. Trump has claimed that he wants to ‘buy’ Greenland in order to protect U.S. security interests against Russia and China, as he claims Denmark “isn’t doing enough” to protect the Arctic territory. On Tuesday, March 25, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredricksen denounced the planned visit as “unacceptable,” saying “we will resist” any provocation from the Trump Administration. By Wednesday, Vance and Waltz had announced that their visit would be limited to just a tour of the American military base on the island, placating Denmark and Greenland to an extent. Commentators continue to speculate on Trump’s ambitions to annex Canada and Greenland, as the Wall Street Journal describes the “makings of a mining boom” in mineral-rich Greenland; the Guardian reflects on how Trump’s expansionist ambitions represent a shift from the ‘order’ among advanced capitalist nations since the Second World War.
Tracking the Money: conflicts of interest and privatization in the Trump Administration. Trump’s announcement this week that the White House would be seeking corporate sponsors for its annual Easter Egg Roll is, according to the New Republic, just the most trivial of the Trump Administration’s close relationship with large corporate donors. Robert Reich notes that while poor and working-class Americans will bear the brunt of high tariffs, Trump’s planned tax cuts will represent an unprecedented transfer of wealth to the top 1 percent. While the White House claims that Elon Musk has ‘committed’ to handling conflicts of interest appropriately, the New Republic exposes how Tesla’s wealth has long been dependent on public money through regulatory credits. The New York Times reports this week on how SpaceX stands to make billions from government contracts thanks to Trump/Musk allies in key government positions, saving Musk’s personal wealth portfolio as Tesla shares tank. As Trump and the Pentagon walked back its offer to share China war plans with Musk last week, ProPublica reports on the secret flow of Chinese investment to SpaceX through shell companies in the Cayman Islands. Reuters reports this week on how the SEC voted in January to sue Musk over violations of securities disclosure laws, with the single dissenting vote belonging to now-acting SEC chief Mark Uyeda. CNN reported this week on the ‘swift’ rewards Trump has bestowed on large donors who supported his 2024 campaign. The Lever exposes the conservative ‘dark money’ network pushing the Supreme Court to roll back consumer financial protections. On Wednesday, March 26, acting CFPB head Russ Vought announced that it would be ‘paying back’ a six-figure penalty to Townstone, a housing firm that had been fined for racially-motivated ‘redlining’ practices in violation of the Fair Housing Act. ProPublica outlines two housing discrimination cases in Texas that were arbitrarily dropped once the Trump Administration took over HUD. The group Citizens for Ethics & Responsibility in Washington reports on the nineteen Trump-branded real estate projects slated for development in foreign countries during Trump’s term as President. As Republican lawmakers work to finalize the budget bill, Americans for Tax Fairness released a study showing how planned rollbacks to the estate tax would net Trump and Musk heirs over $100 billion. The website Accountable.us has a running tracker of Trump Administration actions and how they benefit corporate special interests.
MOVEMENT TRACKER
Trump Administration and ICE actions to chill campus speech galvanize campus protests. Last week, the ACLU released a letter from detained activist Mahmoud Khalil detailing the circumstances of his arrest and urging students everywhere to continue to “defend the right to protest for Palestine.” On Monday, March 24, Columbia professors rallied outside the university gates, blasting Columbia’s administration for capitulating to Trump. The protest follows on the heels of an open letter signed by members of the Columbia History department urging resistance to Trump actions, and a boycott effort against Columbia supported by nearly 1,000 teachers, academics, and organizations. Middle East Eye notes that Columbia faculty protests highlight threats to free speech while sidelining the underlying issue of Palestine; an off-campus action mounted on Thursday by Columbia student workers marched to free Palestine and Mahmoud Khalil as well as reinstate students and union leaders who were expelled for supporting pro-Palestine protests. Less than 24 hours after Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested by ICE, over 2,000 students and local activists rallied at Powder House Park to demand the release and safe return of Ozturk and commit to protecting vulnerable members of the community; a dispatch from the protest can be read here. On Thursday, March 27, activists rallied at Boston’s City Hall protesting Ozturk’s detainment, including a moment of silence for the dead in Gaza and those disappeared by ICE. At Cornell, targeted student Momodou Taal released a statement on The Intercept encouraging activists to “escalate for Palestine.” As Penn State faces a $175 million funding freeze from the Trump Administration, campus unions urged the university to fight back against the freeze and protect its DEI programs. The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article this week detailing lessons learned from Hungarian universities’ fightback against Viktor Orban’s authoritarian attempts at repression.
Democratic leaders fear ‘Tea Party-style’ revolt from progressive, liberal base as anger grows over inaction. As Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew record crowds for their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour this past weekend, Democratic leaders worried about facing a ‘Tea Party-style’ revolt from both progressive and liberal rank and file constituents who are growing ever angrier over leaders’ lack of resolve in resisting Trump and Musk’s actions to gut the federal government. As calls grew for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to step down after his capitulation over the budget bill, some House Democrats have tried harnessing the base’s populist anger to ‘appeal to working people over economic issues.’ Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, eyeing a Senate seat in 2026, started a group this week called the ‘Dignity for Work Institute’ to “illustrate the plight of workers in a country where both major parties have forgotten their concerns.” As House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries struggled to weigh his strategic options, moderate House Dems are bracing for a “tsunami of primary challenges” from younger, more economically progressive candidates who are preparing to challenge traditional leadership. Meanwhile, in Florida’s special election to replace Reps. Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz who have taken positions in the Trump Administration, Democratic challengers in these two ‘deep-red’ districts are out-fundraising the GOP favorites in an election widely believed to be a referendum on ‘buyers’ remorse’ among Trump voters. The New York Times reports that Progressive Caucus member Ro Khanna is challenging JD Vance directly in a series of talks scheduled for April.
Tesla Takedown protests continue to grow despite FBI crackdown, MAGA opposition; global day of action planned for March 29. Protests against Elon Musk and DOGE continued at Tesla showrooms across the country for a sixth straight week as organizers claim the movement is “bigger than ever” amid escalating threats from the Trump Administration. Tesla owners are trading in their cars at record rates to disassociate themselves from Elon Musk, leading to a collapse in resale prices in a parallel slide to Tesla’s cratering stock price. Despite Attorney General Pam Bondi’s threat of ‘severe consequences’ to protest organizers for ‘domestic terrorist’ acts of vandalism at Tesla dealerships, federal law enforcement experts find no connection between the incidences of vandalism, determining the culprits to be “lone offenders.” So far, three people have been charged with vandalism at Tesla dealerships. Meanwhile, MAGA supporters have begun counterprotesting at several locations; a pardoned January 6th rioter has been “standing guard” over Tesla vehicles in Tennessee, and a Florida man faces charges for attempting to drive his SUV into Tesla protestors. Despite the opposition from the Trump Administration and its supporters, Tesla Takedown organizers are pushing ahead with plans for a Global Day of Action at 500+ Tesla locations worldwide on March 29th; a map of local protests can be found at this link.
Constituents in Republican districts hold ‘empty chair’ townhalls to air grievances in the absence of their Representatives. Despite instructions from Republican leadership to cancel Congressional townhalls amid growing constituent anger, voters in red districts are holding “empty chair” townhalls to air their grievances publicly. Over 900 people showed up in Kentucky in an ‘empty chair’ townhall meeting to express frustration at Rep. Andy Barr, refuting Barr’s claims that the crowd was made up of ‘paid protestors.’ 1,400 constituents packed an ‘empty chair’ townhall in Ohio, where organizers directed questions to ChatGPT in lieu of the two Republican lawmakers who were invited to attend. Over 2,000 signatures were delivered to Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett demanding a townhall as staffers locked the office to keep out protestors. In Little Rock, nearly 800 constituents filled a local venue to capacity as Rep. Tom Cotton skipped the event to attend a $7,000 per plate fundraiser instead. GOP lawmakers who did hold townhalls faced fierce confrontations from constituents angry about the direction the Trump Administration and DOGE has taken against federal services. Two GOP representatives in Utah faced calls of ‘shame’ and ‘do your job’; Iowa Rep. Chuck Grassley faced down shouts from elderly constituents angry about Social Security cuts; and Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman fielded angry questions from veterans. Democrats were not immune from constituent anger; several hecklers were removed from a Colorado town hall with Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Brittany Petersen after shouting that the Dems were not doing enough to protect the environment and stand up to Trump. Rep. Ro Khanna visited several California red districts this week in an attempt to connect with Republican voters frustrated at their party’s collusion with the Trump Administration and DOGE. Alternet reports on the overall atmosphere of voter frustration surrounding townhall events.
National data shows a surge of grassroots and local protests across the country, supplanting large centralized actions as a characteristic of Trump Resistance 2.0. A group of Harvard researchers analyzing protest data have shown that although attendance at individual protests is smaller than during the first Trump Administration, the cumulative number of localized protests this year have more than doubled the protest count at the same point in 2017. Analyses have shown that protests under Trump 2.0 are far more diverse in tactics, and growing in number and impact as activists focus on local actions and community defense. The Conversation discusses the lasting impact of protests from the first Trump Administration as a way of giving hope to today’s protestors. The New Republic has published a guide for fledgling protest organizers, as Indivisible maintains a running calendar of local actions and volunteer opportunities.
Federal Worker & Labor actions. Postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers mounted demonstrations this week against privatization of the U.S. Postal Service, promising to “fight like hell” against proposed cuts to the agency. On Tuesday, March 25, federal workers rallied in Chicago against DOGE’s job cuts to the EPA. In response to Trump’s executive order dismantling the Department of Education, Sunrise Movement activists held a ‘study-in’ protest at the Department’s D.C. headquarters, while a coalition of teachers unions, school districts, and other educators united to challenge Trump’s order in court. AFGE members rallied in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, March 21 to protest the Trump Administration’s attack on federal workers. Federal workers rallied in Iowa City this past weekend to protest layoffs at the VA, where many employees remain out of work despite a federal judge’s order to reinstate them. Canadian MP Charlie Angus posted photos from a rally at the American consulate in Toronto to protest Trump’s annexation ambitions and express solidarity with federal workers. Senate Democrats have launched a whistleblower portal where federal workers can securely submit information about DOGE’s actions at federal agencies. Fired workers from the federal government’s 18F tech division have been posting blogs outlining what their work has done to help Americans access federal services. Former Department of Health and Human Services workers have launched a new website to collect information about the impact of cuts to HHS services and staff. The federal worker-led Save Our Services campaign has organized a rapid response network with a website where workers can sign up for local actions and organizing opportunities.
Upcoming protest actions and events.
Saturday, March 29: information on Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action local protests can be found here.
Sunday, March 30: Several cities will be holding rallies for Trans Day of Visibility in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities.
Monday, March 31: United Farm Workers, SEIU California, and the California Federation of Labor Unions will be holding a mass march in Delano, CA in honor of Cesar Chavez Day and to defend immigrant workers against the Trump Administration’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Monday, March 31: The group We Rise United is calling for a ‘Cyber Blackout Monday’ to boycott online retailers tied to tech billionaires.
Tuesday, April 1: The science and education-oriented group Kill the Cuts will be holding a mass organizing call over Zoom to prepare for an April 8th Day of Action against the Trump Administration’s cuts to research and education.
Saturday, April 5: Indivisible and the 50501 Movement is organizing a National Day of Action for ‘Hands Off 2025’. Details on the mass action in Washington DC can be found at this link; and information on local protests can be found on the event calendar.
May 1st: Socialist Alternative has called for mass actions around the country to protest Trump and Musk and demand an end to imperialist wars. The May Day Detroit Coalition has posted local plans on its website.
Lawsuit updates.
A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order blocking Perkins Coie law firm employees from entering government buildings, stating that the order is “retaliatory in nature” given that the firm worked with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016.
On Monday, March 24th, several teachers’ unions and school districts filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s order to lay off over 1,300 workers from the Department of Education.
On Monday, March 24th, a Republican-appointed federal judge ruled against Texas A&M’s decision to shut down a student group’s “Draggieland” drag show on First Amendment grounds; the show will proceed on Thursday.
On Monday, March 24th, a federal judge barred DOGE from accessing student loan information and other sensitive data from the Department of Education.
On Tuesday, March 25th, several civil rights and immigration service groups filed a motion to temporarily block the order to freeze Homeland Security grants and provide emergency relief to organizations affected by the funding freeze.
On Tuesday, March 25th, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for threatening to defund Columbia University and restrict academic freedom.
On Wednesday, March 26th, DC ACLU and Democracy Forward filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump Administration on behalf of federal workers who were targeted for their participation in DEI programs.
On Wednesday, March 26th, the Public Citizen Litigation group and several immigrant rights organizations filed a lawsuit against a Trump Administration plan to share private information from the IRS with ICE in an attempt to identify immigrants for deportation.
