Fix The Courts
Oh and Impeach and Remove
Last week, over on ChangeWire I wrote about the so called Big Beautiful Bill.
Basically, what that bill is trying to do— aside from rob all of us non-rich people of simple dignities— is to make it harder for courts to hold Cheeto in check for his reckless disregard for the law.
Here is a snippet of what the piece discusses:
The current president has a knack for TV, marketing, and entertainment. (See: The Apprentice or pretty much everything else he does.) On top of the casual racism, his ability to turn his authoritarian ambitions into marketing ploys has buoyed him and his harmful views back into power.
Remember “I alone can fix it?” Or the infamous “STOP the steal!” Trump uses this much like someone selling snake oil or a used Chevrolet—catchy is what matters, forget facts and all of that. He is back at it again with the newly dubbed “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The problem, however, is this bill is far from beautiful. Most notably, it cuts healthcare for millions, decreases the income of the poorest 10% of Americans, and takes away SNAP benefits for 5.4 million people. All of these cuts are in service of tax breaks for the rich and further widening the income gap.
Overlooked in the discourse about the bill is the sneaky and not-so-subtle attack on the courts. On page 562 of the nearly 1200 page bill the administration has hidden a paragraph to make it harder to hold the President accountable—unless you are rich.
Section 70302 of the bill states
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.”
The bill would bar courts from enforcing contempt citations—that is, punishing someone who violates a court order—if a bond (security) wasn’t paid upfront when the injunction or restraining order was issued.
Under current law (Rule 65(c)), judges can issue emergency protections (like a restraining order or injunction) without requiring the person who filed to pay a bond in certain cases. This is especially common when someone is in urgent danger or doesn’t have money to spare.
This bill would undermine those protections—because unless a bond was posted, the potential violator can’t be held in contempt if they don’t follow orders. The result: court orders lose teeth, and powerful people or institutions can ignore them without consequence.
Think of the current context with unjust immigration raids. Or the illegal disappearing of people without due process. In a scenario where advocates sue DHS and/or ICE for conducting these illegal and racially targeted raids, a court could issue an emergency injunction to halt the actions under the understanding of irreparable harms and due process violations. This would likely be done without a bond being paid by the people filing to stop the action.
Under this “beautiful” bill, DHS or ICE could continue the racist raids and disappearances with little to no punishment for violation. Unless someone with unlimited resources were to file and pay a bond, there is nothing to stop them from doing anything they want.
This bill is dangerous and while the Senate Parliamentarian recently (last night) said this provision cannot go in a reconciliation bill that needs a simple majority— I am skeptical they listen.
This might work out, but we know they don’t actually follow rules.
Laws are for suckers.
Anyway— please read the rest HERE over on ChangeWire and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
PS— I am sorry we live in a country where the dumbest and most inconsiderate and racist among us are running things right now. Bombing Iran to appease Israel is 102394820394802934 levels of disgusting and wrong and I hope enough people here stand up to this nonsense and force a change before it gets worse. If you agree—- head over to https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/ and join the over 700,000 others who know we need to stand up to bullies.