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The Venn Diagram of Trump’s Authoritarian Actions

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Kottke.org:  Professor Christina Pagel of University College London has mapped the actions of the Trump administration’s first few weeks into a Venn diagram (above) with “five broad domains that correspond to features of proto-authoritarian states”:

  • Undermining Democratic Institutions & Rule of Law; Dismantling federal government
  • Dismantling Social Protections & Rights; Enrichment & Corruption
  • Suppressing Dissent & Controlling Information
  • Attacking Science, Environment, Health, Arts & Education
  • Aggressive Foreign Policy & Global Destabilization

This diagram is available as a PDF and the information is also contained in this categorized table. Links and commentary from Pagel can be found on Bluesky as well. Also very helpful is this list of authoritarian actions that the Trump administration has taken, each with a link to the relevant news story. I will be referring back to this list often in the coming weeks.”

How Trump Could Remake the Supreme Court for a Generation

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The Nation: Donald Trump is poised to become the first president since FDR to have appointed the majority of high-court justices. His potential picks are terrifying.This article appears in the March 2025 issue, with the headline “The Supreme Trump Court.” Donald Trump’s first term as president gave the republicans control over the most dangerous body… Continue Reading

Don’t let Donald Trump and Elon Musk talk us out of democracy

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Law Dork – “President Donald Trump and shadow-president Elon Musk are losing. When Justice Department lawyers go to court, trying to defend many of Trump and Musk’s actions, DOJ has regularly lost — and often face tense moments in court before being dealt those losses. On Monday, for example, Judge John Bates, a George W.… Continue Reading

All the ways Elon Musk is breaking the law, explained by a law professor

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Vox [unpaywalled]- “There are a lot of them. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is moving fast and breaking the law — lots of laws. The scope of Trump and Musk’s sweeping effort to purge the federal workforce and slash government spending has shocked the political world — in part for its ambition, but also… Continue Reading

Searchable Full Project 2025 Text: Mandate for Leadership

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“Project 2025 – the extreme political right’s plans to dismantle the U.S. federal government and put all power in the hands of the Executive.” One of the primary authors is Russell Vought who was confirmed as the head of OMB and promptly named himself Acting Director of the Consumer Finance Protect Bureau (CFPB), whose work… Continue Reading

DOGE Emails Went Out to Federal Judges by Mistake

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As if we have not been in a lessons not learned class since noon on January 20, 2025 today Newsweek reported: “One of the people who received an email from allies of Elon Musk was a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at blocking these messages. “I, like probably every other judge in the country,… Continue Reading

Millions of federal workers face Feb. 6 deadline over whether to resign

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CBS News: “More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight Eastern time on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a “deferred resignation” offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for… Continue Reading

Personal Discretion Over the Treasury’s Payments System Means the End of Democracy

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Liberal Currents – Elizabeth Popp Berman: “On Friday night [January 31, 2025], Elon Musk’s team gained access to the Department of Treasury’s payments system, which processes the federal spending that makes up more than a fifth of the U.S. economy. Social Security, Medicare, agricultural supports, the National Parks—a large majority of government spending flows through… Continue Reading

DOJ Jan 6 deleted info on all prosecutions from website

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Scott MacFarlane‬ ‪@macfarlanenews.bsky.social‬ – Though the Justice Dept has deleted information about its Jan 6 prosecutions from its website, a federal judge has issued an order listing and chronicling all of the cases and prison terms. The information is Here: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.231933/gov.uscourts.dcd.231933.176.0_1.pdf Continue Reading

Trump firings tee up broader legal clash over congressional power

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Roll Call: “President Donald Trump’s firing of inspectors general and independent agency board members in the last week sets up another major legal clash over Congress’ power to put limits on the removal of federal officials, experts said. Since Friday, Trump removed more than a dozen inspectors general and Democratic members of the Equal Employment… Continue Reading