How Republicans in Congress Enable Trump’s Tyranny
“This anti-democratic takeover is orchestrated by forum-shopping organizations that repeatedly bring meritless suits, used for fundraising and political grandstanding, without any repercussions when they fail,” the White House complained, without a hint of irony. “Taxpayers are forced not only to cover the costs of their antics when funding and hiring decisions are enjoined, but must needlessly wait for government policies they voted for.”
The House proposal is disturbing in a few ways. For one thing, it effectively punishes Americans for seeking legal redress from the government. The Trump administration framed it as a means of kneecapping liberal public-interest law organizations: Its stated goal, the White House said, was to deter “activist organizations fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations” from “functionally inserting themselves into the executive policymaking process and therefore undermining the democratic process.”
Second, the provision would apply retroactively and to ongoing litigation, not simply to future cases. This is not unconstitutional by itself: The ex post facto clause, which generally bars Congress from passing laws with retroactive effect, only applies to criminal cases and not civil ones. At the same time, it serves only to disrupt and defund litigation that has already succeeded against the government, effectively rewarding acts that have been found to likely be illegal and unconstitutional.
