It was a Sunday in late October 2024 when Jesus Rodriguez, then 29, voted for the first time.
He voted in person for the presidential and state races, but his polling place wasn’t at a church, school or community center – it was inside the Jefferson county jail in Colorado.
“It will be one of my top five experiences being able to vote,” Rodriguez said in a video the Jefferson county sheriff’s office shared on social media. “I guess one vote means everything, so I would say that it made me feel good to know that my opinion matters.”
The Jefferson county sheriff’s office said about 125 inmates voted in person on the same day as Rodriguez and that the temporary polling place was the result of a state mandate to expand voting access while in confinement.
“George Santos’s Closing Act: A Prison Sentence of More Than 7 Years”
NYT:
George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York whose outlandish fabrications and criminal schemes fueled an unforeseen rise and spectacular fall, was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Friday.
His 87-month sentence was a severe corrective to a turbulent period in which Mr. Santos was catapulted from anonymity to political and pop cultural infamy, a national spotlight that, even when negative, he often relished more than rejected.
Mr. Santos pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He acknowledged his involvement in a variety of other deceptions, including lying to Congress, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and bilking campaign donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Judges Worry Trump Could Tell U.S. Marshals to Stop Protecting Them”
On March 11, about 50 judges gathered in Washington for the biannual meeting of the Judicial Conference, which oversees the administration of the federal courts. It was the first time the conference met since President Trump retook the White House.
In the midst of discussions of staffing levels and long-range planning, the judges’ conversations were focused, to an unusual degree, on rising threats against judges and their security, said several people who attended the gathering.
Behind closed doors at one session, Judge Richard J. Sullivan, the chairman of the conference’s Committee on Judicial Security, raised a scenario that weeks before would have sounded like dystopian fiction, according to three officials familiar with the remarks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations: What if the White House were to withdraw the protections it provides to judges?
“Elon Musk leaves legacy of self-destruction at DOGE”
Elon Musk arrived in Washington as the most powerful political outsider ever, brimming with Silicon Valley swagger and bipartisan buy-in for his goal of streamlining the federal government.
He’s leaving with his reputation wounded, relationships severed, companies in crisis, fortune diminished — and little to show for DOGE but chaos and contested savings.
Why it matters: Musk may not have achieved his audacious goal of cutting $2 trillion from America’s debt, but the disruption he unleashed inside the federal government — for better or for worse — will reverberate for decades.
“The Trump Billionaires Who Run the Economy and the Things They Say”
Sometimes the billionaires running the federal government sound like they’re talking to other billionaires.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” President Trump wrote on social media last week, offering a stock tip that appeared aimed at the investor class rather than ordinary Americans watching their plummeting 401(k)s.
Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, has said his mother-in-law wouldn’t be worried if she didn’t get her monthly Social Security check. Elon Musk, who is slashing the Social Security Administration’s staff, has called it a “Ponzi scheme.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has asserted that Americans aren’t looking at the “day-to-day fluctuations” in their retirement savings.
And if automakers raise their prices because of Mr. Trump’s tariffs? “I couldn’t care less,” the president told Kristen Welker of NBC.
Democrats say the comments show how clueless Mr. Trump and his friends are about the lives of most Americans, and that this is what happens when billionaires run the economy. Republicans counter that highlighting the quotes as unfair cherry picking, and that in the long run everyone will benefit from their policies, even if there’s pain now. Psychologists say that extreme wealth does change people and their views of those who have less.
“These states want to adopt the SAVE Act: How could some married women be impacted?”
Dozens of states across the country are considering their own versions of a federal voting bill critics say could disenfranchise millions of Americans, including many married women.
Republican lawmakers in 24 states introduced measures requiring people to prove their citizenship, using documents such as birth certificates or passports, when they register to vote, according to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab. Three other states – Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming – have enacted similar laws in recent months.
Supporters call the efforts a security measure and say they’re trying to reinforce laws barring noncitizens from voting. But voting rights advocates argue it’s already exceedingly rare for noncitizens to vote – and the laws could make it more difficult for millions of Americans to cast a ballot.
Opponents are particularly concerned the requirements will hit rural communities, military personnel and married women. About 83% of married women changed their name, and for many that means their birth certificates don’t match their current ID.
“DNC steps into voting rights fight in Pennsylvania”
The docket in RNC v. Genser is here. Politico reports on the case here:
The Democratic National Committee is ramping up its fight with the GOP over voting rights, urging the Supreme Court to reject Republicans’ efforts to… Continue reading
“Trump Says He Would Sign Bill Banning Congressional Stock Trades”
Bloomberg:
President Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” sign a bill banning congressional stock trading, saying he was concerned lawmakers could be using insider information for an advantage.
“I would be okay with it,” Trump said in an interview with Time… Continue reading
“Trump store is selling ‘Trump 2028’ hats”
The Hill:
The Trump Organization rolled out “Trump 2028” hats on its website in support of President Trump’s suggestion that he could seek a third term in office.
Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, was spotted wearing the… Continue reading
Round-Up: Partial Injunction Against Trump Elections Executive Order
My Thoughts on the Court Order Enjoining Part of Trump EO on Elections: The district court’s opinion is careful, persuasive, and seems very likely to be upheld on appeal
Travis has the main coverage at ELB, but I’ve posted some additional thoughts at Bluesky (read the whole thread):
The district court's opinion partially & temporarily blocking key parts of Trump's executive order on elections is careful, persuasive, and seems… Continue reading
Breaking: DDC enjoins Part of Trump Elections Executive Order **Updated**
The 120-page opinion is here. The order is here.
The preliminary injunction in LULAC v. Executive Office of the President was issued by Judge Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC). The proceedings… Continue reading
“Trump to target ActBlue in presidential memorandum”
Politico:
In a shot at ActBlue, the left’s major online donation platform, President Donald Trump plans to sign a presidential memorandum on Thursday cracking down on foreign contributions in American elections, according to a person familiar with the policy… Continue reading
“A Subdued Musk Backs Away From Washington, but His Project Remains”
NYT:
As Elon Musk sought to reassure Wall Street analysts on Tuesday that he would soon scale back his work with the federal government, the strain of his situation was audible in his voice.
The world’s richest man said… Continue reading