The U.S. Office of Personnel Management cannot force federal job applicants to profess loyalty to President Donald Trump on employment applications as a lawsuit against the practice proceeds, a federal judge ruled recently. “Requiring federal job applicants to answer politically…
Trump appeals to Supreme Court to control voter database
The Trump administration appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court Sept. 8 seeking clearance to implement a database it wants to use to purge voter rolls leading into the midterm elections. The move came just four days after a federal…
Perryman’s book an instant bestseller with advice for saving democracy
It’s time to pick up a shovel and stop complaining about the impending death of democracy in America, according to Skye Perryman. The president of Democracy Forward in Washington, D.C., is well known to BNG readers because she is frequently…
Court overrules Trump ban on visas based on nationality
The Trump administration broke U.S. law with a policy denying visas to people based on nationality, a federal court has ruled. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in New York held Aug. 21 that the 75-nation ban exceeded U.S. Secretary of…
Undercover ICE agent spies on Baptist church
Leaders and members of a Minnesota Baptist church were stunned and angered to learn recently that an undercover immigration agent entered their facilities to spy on the congregation in May. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer reportedly entered University Baptist…
Courts disagree on states’ access to national voter database
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift a previous ruling barring use of a voter database designed to investigate and potentially purge U.S. citizens from voter rolls across the country. However, the ruling…
Religious liberty ‘is not a sword to harm others,’ Laser says
Religious freedom is a radical invention that allows all Americans to believe or not believe as they choose, but on the condition that others are not harmed, said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State….
Democracy Forward files suit to stop Trump’s slush fund
Democracy Forward has filed a lawsuit on behalf of multiple plaintiffs seeking to block a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund President Donald Trump created to reimburse ideological allies who claim to be victims of politically motivated litigation and prosecutions. The…
Inquiry asked into feds cancelling $11 million grant to Catholic Charities
Democracy Forward wants to know if the Trump administration’s cancellation of an $11 million grant to a Catholic organization resulted from the president’s spat with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war. Critics of the president believe the award was…
Judge says Trump may continue to target Somalis
A federal court ruled the Trump administration may continue to prioritize Somali asylum seekers for deportation while a lawsuit against the practice continues. Plaintiffs Hines Immigration Law and The Advocates for Human Rights expressed deep disappointment in the April 10…
Court again limits HUD changes on care for homeless
The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling temporarily blocking the federal government from limiting the scope of subsidized housing grants designed to help cities and states address homelessness. “As the Trump-Vance administration continues to weaponize…
BNG, AWAB and GFM collaborate to present Skye Perryman
Skye Perryman will keynote a breakfast meeting at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly sponsored by Baptist News Global, Good Faith Media and Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, is a leading national voice in…