ICYMI: Over the Weekend, White House Escalates Agenda to Punish Dissent
White House Border Czar Tom Homan Says That Protesting ICE Could Be Defined as “Domestic Terrorism”
JD Vance Announces New DOJ Official Will Report Directly to White House in Blatant Political Move
White House to Investigate Fed Chair Powell After Refusing to Follow Trump’s Orders on Interest Rates
Washington, D.C. – In the last few days, the White House has ramped up its agenda to punish dissent and silence opposition with a stunning series of statements and actions targeting political enemies, independent agencies, and peaceful protestors.
"Over the last year, the Administration has turned the tools of government into weapons against its critics, and that agenda has only ramped up over the last week. The Trump Administration is using a whole-of-government approach to punish opponents - from conflating peaceful protest with domestic terrorism to investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell because he hasn’t cut rates fast enough for the president’s liking,” Cole Leiter, Executive Director of Americans Against Government Censorship (AAGC). “These moves make it clear: government power is being used not to serve the public, but to intimidate the president’s critics and consolidate political control."
The Trump administration is executing a clear strategy to weaponize the federal government against dissent—pursuing criminal investigations of political opponents, bending the Justice Department to political ends, and unleashing federal forces on peaceful protesters, among other actions.
Homan Says Peaceful Protestors Could Be Defined as Terrorists
In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Homan claimed that people protesting ICE could fall within the definition of terrorism. He also doubled down on the White House’s unsubstantiated claims that Renee Good, a mother of three, was a domestic terrorist - while failing to share any evidence that corroborates this claim.
A reminder: the Trump Administration has repeatedly called perceived political enemies and dissenters domestic terrorists - without legitimate evidence.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell Investigated for “Fraud” After Maintaining Agency Independence Against Trump’s Wishes
Federal prosecutors announced they have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who has refused to manipulate interest rates for political purposes despite a “year-long pressure campaign” from Trump. Powell called out this weaponization of the law, saying, “the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”
Vance Announces New DOJ Official Investigating “Fraud” Will Report to White House, Dismantling Agency Independence & Serving as a Tool to Punish Political Opponents
Vice President JD Vance announced the creation of a new assistant attorney general that will report to the White House despite being a Department of Justice official. Importantly, the DOJ already has a division charged with investigating fraud, which the Trump Administration has sought to undermine by pushing out members of the staff. In addition, assistant attorneys general must be confirmed by Congress, which the White House appears to have ignored.
