🔥 What’s Happening This Week as we Resist Trump and Republican Fuckery
Journalists shut out of the White House. Foreign money reaching the president’s family. Voter investigations raising alarm. Courts pushing back on deportation powers. And billions in medical research facing new political scrutiny.
This week, Resist Trump and Republican Fuckery follows the money, the decisions, and what all of it means for our everyday lives.
💰 A Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch Helped Pay for Trump Jr.’s Wedding
Records reviewed by reporters show Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr.’s May wedding, including the rental of a private island where guests stayed and celebrated and other major expenses. Trump Jr. and his wife later confirmed Kremlev helped host two nights of festivities and described him as a friend.
Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association, which has received financing from Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, and he has met with Vladimir Putin. There is no evidence the payments were exchanged for official action. ProPublica
Why this deserves attention: When a wealthy foreign figure with ties to an adversarial government spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on the president’s family, Americans have every reason to ask who paid, what relationships exist, and whether those relationships intersect with public policy or private business.
📰 Don’t Like the Coverage? Take Away the Press Pass
Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico would no longer be allowed into the White House. The following day, reporters from all three organizations were turned away and had their press passes confiscated.
Trump accused the outlets of publishing “fake news” and suggested additional organizations could face similar treatment. News organizations targeted by previous White House credential restrictions have successfully challenged some of those actions in federal court. Reuters
Why this matters: Presidents can criticize journalists all they want. Using government access as punishment for coverage officials dislike raises a different question: whether public power is being used to retaliate against the press.
🗳️ A Two-Hour Crash Course to Police America’s Voter Rolls?
A federal whistleblower alleges that employees assigned to a Department of Homeland Security program called the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” received minimal training and were expected to investigate as many as 40 suspected noncitizen voters each day.
The disclosure also alleges employees were instructed to access state voter systems in ways that could require misrepresenting their identities and warns that mismatched federal and state records could wrongly implicate U.S. citizens. DHS disputes the allegations and says the program lawfully checks voter information against federal immigration records. Associated Press
Key Takeaways: The government is dealing with something as fundamental as the right to vote. When federal workers are searching voter rolls, accuracy, training, legal authority, and safeguards against falsely flagging eligible citizens are not minor details.
⚖️ Court: You Cannot Just Drop People in Another Country Without Meaningful Due Process
A unanimous federal appeals court ruled that the government must give immigrants meaningful notice and an opportunity to object before deporting them to countries where they have no ties, largely upholding a lower court ruling against the administration’s third-country removal policy.
The First Circuit said a person’s right to raise fears of persecution or torture means little if the government does not tell them where they are being sent or give them a meaningful opportunity to challenge the destination. Further litigation is expected. Politico
Why this warrants consideration: Immigration enforcement does not erase due process. The government may have broad enforcement powers, but courts still determine whether those powers are being exercised within the law.
🧬 Now the White House Wants Another Look at Who Gets Medical Research Money
White House budget director Russ Vought pushed for greater scrutiny of National Institutes of Health grants during an Oval Office meeting, arguing that some research remained inconsistent with Trump administration priorities and suggesting a presidential commission review grant decisions.
NIH administers roughly $47 billion in health research funding. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya defended the agency’s grant-making process, and an agency spokesperson said existing appropriated grant money would still be spent. The Washington Post
The significance of this: Billions of taxpayer dollars for cancer research, infectious disease, Alzheimer’s, rare diseases, and other medical research move through NIH. Any proposal that gives political officials a larger role in deciding which science gets funded deserves very close public scrutiny.
🔍 Follow the Power
Put these stories together and a pattern emerges.
A foreign oligarch helps pay for a presidential family celebration. The White House blocks journalists from three news organizations. A whistleblower raises questions about a federal voter investigation. An appeals court says the administration’s third-country deportation policy violates due process. And the White House is considering greater control over NIH research grants.
These are different stories, but they raise the same questions: Who has the power, what limits apply, and who is watching?
That is why independent journalism, whistleblowers, courts, congressional oversight, and public records matter.
📣 Turn the News Into Civic Action
💰 Follow the money. Look at financial disclosures, gifts, business relationships, and who benefits.
📰 Watch the press bans. Pay attention to legal challenges and whether White House access is restored.
🗳️ Check your voter registration. Make sure your information is accurate through your official state or local election office.
🔎 Demand the receipts. Court rulings, whistleblower disclosures, financial records, and congressional oversight help us separate claims from facts.
💙 One Thing to Carry With Us
Power is easier to abuse when no one is watching.
That is why journalists investigate. Whistleblowers speak up. Courts review government actions. And citizens keep asking questions.
Read. Question. Verify. Demand answers.
Because public power deserves public accountability.
Truth. Accountability. Action. People power. Let’s go.
Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait
People Power United believes that an informed, organized community is the most powerful force for democracy. Every time you read, share, call your representatives, or show up — you are actively resisting Project 2025, and Trump and Republican Fuckery. Together, we are overcoming the fear they want us to live in, reclaiming the rights and freedoms they want us to abandon, and defending the rule of law they want to destroy.
💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today
Take Action» Tell Congress: get foreign money out of U.S. elections.
Tell Congress: Disabled Veterans Are Not Budget Bargaining Chips
📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you or 🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event
🪶 Take Action Now» Respect Tribal Sovereignty and demand the USDA keep the Roadless Rule protections in place.
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