Demand Total Democratic Opposition on Trump’s Compromised Judges (7/1/26)

Plus last chance to oppose an ICE camp in Maryland, ABC fights back against Brendan Carr, Manny's the man in Colorado, and more

Jul 01, 2026

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☎️ Shifts in Hispanic vote, Paxton corruption have made Texas Senate competitive, new NYT poll has the race in dead heat at 47-47 - take a phonebank shift or postcard to help James Talarico win! ☎️

TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ
Amidst painful end of Supreme Court term, time to insist Democrats stop voting to confirm, move forward Trump judicial picks
FINAL DAY to submit public comments opposing ICE human warehouse in Maryland
Object to the FCC’s attack on free speech at ABC through MONDAY, apply to speak at a public hearing on proposed rollbacks on protections against forever chemicals in drinking water by day’s end TODAY
Help progressive Manny Rutinel win a swing seat in Colorado and other primary results
TONIGHT: Heather Cox Richardson talks about how to reclaim the 250th, Get Free rallies young activists to build on All of U.S. 250 actions

If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!

Donald Trump Lost In 2020. An Alarming Number Of His Nominees Won’t Say So. Dozens of the president’s court picks have refused to say Joe Biden fairly won in 2020. Now his executive nominees are avoiding the question, too. WASHINGTON – It’s a pretty simple question: Did Donald Trump lose the presidential election in 2020? The answer is yes, clearly. Trump lost to Joe Biden. Trump has always, to put it lightly, had difficulty accepting this basic fact. And refusing to acknowledge it now appears to be a basic condition for securing Trump’s appointment to a powerful government post, with dozens of his nominees twisting themselves in knots to avoid saying he lost in 2020. All 40 of his nominees to lifetime federal judgeships so far have given misleading or false responses to questions about the 2020 election in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Demand Justice, a progressive judicial advocacy group, has been analyzing judicial nominees’ written responses to questions from senators on the panel and found they are nearly identical in their strangely worded, evasive characterizations of the election. — This seems like it should disqualify them from a lifetime appointment upholding the law. Especially to a Democratic senator. And yet.

AFTER A DISASTROUS OCTOBER TERM, WE NEED DEMOCRATS TO DRAW A LINE ON THE COURTS

The good news is, we are now safe from this hijacked Supreme Court for a while, with decisions on their final outstanding cases of the October 2025 term all issued yesterday. The bad news is… substantial.

While as expected the justices invalidated Trump’s executive order excluding some children born on American soil from citizenship and upheld birthright citizenship, the vote was a terrifyingly close 6-3 on what should have been an absolute no-brainer, with only the three Democratic appointees, Roberts and Coney Barrett agreeing that the 14th Amendment means what it has the last century and a half. We are a judge away from catastrophe. And this court did in fact give constitutional sanction to the bullying of trans kids and struck down limits on coordinated spending between candidates and political parties in a case that’s already being dubbed “Citizens United 2.0” and a gift to the billionaires.

Not to repeat myself, but we need to fix this court, and we need Democrats to prove they understand that. That can start with refusing to rubber stamp their budget hikes, but there’s in fact an even easier ask: don’t vote yes when Trump tries to stuff the federal judiciary with more reactionary foot soldiers. And alarmingly, some Democratic senators haven’t been clearing the bar.

During this Congress, our senators have asked his nominees some very basic questions, like “did Trump lose the presidential election in 2020?” and “was the U.S. Capitol attacked by a violent mob on January 6, 2021?” Every single one of them has refused to give a straight answer. Most of them have followed the very same script to dodge it. It’s been ugly, and for many of his nominees it’s just the start of what should disqualify them. Yet 19 Democrats (see list from Patrick McNeil) have voted to confirm at least one of them, refusing to draw some very basic lines for folks who will now have lifetime appointments to shape the law as they see fit.

And this failure is getting even more glaring, with some of our electeds even falling short on the blue slip test.

The blue slip process allows any senator to block a nominee for a district court judge filling a vacancy in their state. It is, frankly, an arcane tradition that Democrats should have killed when they controlled the White House and Senate. But they didn’t, letting Republicans prevent Biden from putting dozens of judges on the federal bench, and it seems like a minimal expectation we now put them to the same full use. Last month, for the first time in Trump’s second term, three Democratic senators returned blue slips and allowed Trump judicial nominees for their states to move forward – (surprise surprise) John Fetterman in Pennsylvania and Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan.

We have a long, hard struggle ahead of us to end the right-wing capture of the judicial branch. If we’re going to succeed, we need our electeds to be 100% engaged in the fight, not testing how much surrender they can get away with.

🗣️Let’s reach out to our Democratic senators and let them know we are expecting their total commitment to stopping Trump from stacking the bench with folks with sycophants and extremists – no yes votes on folks who won’t acknowledge reality, no blue slips returned. We can find call scripts and email language here and here, or send this message via Resistbot by texting SIGN PXSAJA to 50409. 🗣️

TAKE BACK THE COURTS, STARTING NOW

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER OPPOSITION TO HUMAN WAREHOUSE IN MARYLAND

The community-by-community fight against the human warehouses is continuing. ICE is still trying to push forward with their plans to cram 1,500 people into a converted industrial site near Williamsport, Maryland, holding more captives than they indicated and increasing the impact on local sewage systems more than they pledged. Right now local activists are working to take advantage of an open public comment period for an environmental assessment to stop them – a period that exists thanks to a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general.

✍🏻 TODAY is the final day to submit our environmental comments to DHS. The great folks at Hagerstown Rapid Response have set up a form to make our voices heard with instructions on how to speak up effectively here and outlined concerns we can raise here - and they’re specifically asking people to speak up from anywhere. Let’s use their tool to register our objections to this ICE camp. ✍🏾

NO ICE CAMP IN WILLIAMSPORT

**PUBLIC COMMENTS TO STOP THE CENSORS AND KEEP OUR DRINKING WATER CLEAN**

ABC is showing some admirable public fight against the Federal Communications Commission’s targeting of the network, explicitly acting in defense of the First Amendment. They’ve issued an urgent call for audiences of their daytime talk show The View to weigh in on Chairman Brendan Carr’s investigation of whether the show should keep its exemption from the equal time rule in the wake of their featuring Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, along with his interference with the broadcaster’s licensing renewals. Disney has petitioned for the administration to recognize The View as a bona fide news interview show that can sit down with the political candidates it deems newsworthy without being required to give their rivals the exact same attention. They’re also working to ensure the licenses for its eight broadcast TV stations aren’t denied – they were ordered to apply for renewal early after Trump got mad at a Jimmy Kimmel joke. ✍🏻 Let’s help them out! We can get more background here, here and here, submit our comments to the FCC about the broadcast renewals through July 29th here and about The View here before the deadline of Monday, July 6th. ✍🏿

COMMENT TO THE FCC ABOUT THE VIEW...

...AND ABOUT ABC'S BROADCAST LICENSES

While we’ve got a longer runway left to weigh in on the proposal to unravel key protections against unsafe levels of forever chemicals in our water, the virtual public hearing on this proposal is coming up fast on July 7th at 11AM ET. 📝 TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY for us to register to attend and comment at this hearing. We can do so here. 📝

We do NOT need to be lawyers or policy experts to have an impact – personal stories and concerns about the harms of PFAS on everyone who would be impacted all matter, and we can read prepared remarks. 💪🏻 Earthjustice has put together a public comment toolkit with tips on how to prepare, guidance on the proposal and how to participate in the hearing here. 💪🏿

TOOLKIT TO TESTIFY

MANNY RUTINEL IS THE PICK IN KEY HOUSE RACE, PLUS OTHER COLORADO RESULTS

If there were any questions about whether the Democratic insurgency was limited to New York City, Colorado provided a firm, clear answer. Incumbent senator and former two-term governor John Hickenlooper was held under 60% of the vote by democratic socialist primary challenger state senator Julie Gonzales. Incumbent senator Michael Bennet lost his gubernatorial primary to AG Phil Weiser. Democratic socialist and attorney Melat Kiros looks to have successfully upset Rep. Diana DeGette, the dean of the delegation. Primary voters are clearly looking for something different.

Hickenlooper, Weiser and Kiros should all sail to victory in November, though. As we’re looking to recapture the House, our spotlight is on the Colorado Eighth District, a swing seat in which Republican Gabe Evans unseated a first-term Democrat in 2024. Progressive State Rep. Manny Rutinel will be the Dem pick to swing it back, having won a fierce primary with a tough-on-ICE message in a district that’s 40% Latino. Rutinel is 31 and someone who knows what it’s like to struggle, having sold his plasma more than 100 times as a teenager to help his single, immigrant mother provide for their family. He’s rejected corporate PAC money and will be going hard after Evans for backing the MAGA murder budget and opposing an extension of the ACA tax credits. This is one of the districts that will decide the majority. 🙋🏽‍♀️ Let’s sign up to volunteer for Manny Rutinel here. 🙋🏻

VOLUNTEER FOR MANNY RUTINEL

We also have our picks in two seats that are a further stretch. Republican Jeff Crank represents the Colorado Springs-based Fifth District, which swung left in the last cycle but Trump still won by nine and has never had a Dem representative. He’ll be up against Democratic challenger Jessica Killin, an Army veteran who worked as Doug Emhoff’s chief of staff. She’s emphasized a career in public service and a strong anti-corruption platform. 🙋🏻 We can find opportunities to volunteer for Jessica here. 🙋🏽‍♀️

VOLUNTEER FOR JESSICA KILLIN

In the Third District, Republican Jeff Hurd may be vulnerable in a district Trump won by 10 after Trump un-endorsed and then re-endorsed him over his vote to block the anti-Canada tariffs. Democrats are putting forward Dwayne Romero, a Bronze Star winning Army veteran, business owner and former city councilor and director of state economic development who ran hard on undoing the billionaire tax cuts and slashing of Medicaid and SNAP in “Big Beautiful Bill” and keeping public lands out of private hands. 🙋🏽‍♀️ We can volunteer to support his campaign here. 🙋🏻

VOLUNTEER FOR DWAYNE ROMERO

TONIGHT: CELEBRATE AMERICA’S 250th ANNIVERSARY WITH HEATHER COX RICHARDSON, TURN ACTION INTO POWER WITH GET FREE

America’s 250th anniversary should be a moment to reflect on our history, celebrate the people who shaped our nation, and honestly acknowledge the work still needed to live up to our founding ideals. Instead, the Trump regime has given us cage fights, embarrassingly empty state fairs and an expensive fiasco at the Reflecting Pool. It’s time to reclaim the 250th and, thanks to Red, Wine and Blue we can do just that.

Let’s join historian and bestselling author (and Rogan’s List recommender!) Heather Cox Richardson for a conversation TONIGHT about celebrating America’s semiquincentennial in a way that honors our full history and helps build a better future for all Americans. She’ll share her own 250 Project, discuss how we counter this administration and protect our democracy, and offer the facts and framing we all need to be sharing with family and friends. America’s story belongs to all of us, together, we can take it back. 🏫 We can join HCR and RWB tonight from 7:30-8:30 PM ET by signing up here. 🏫

TAKING THE 250TH BACK

Get Free and The 50501 Movement have been doing their part, holding their pre-Independence Day All of U.S. 250 mass mobilization in more than 100 cities this weekend to re-commit to the work to ensure liberty and equality for everyone. Now they’re looking to build on their momentum, plugging folks under 35 into their organizing work to fight historical whitewashing on campuses and at the ballot box. 🤜🏻 They’re holding an intro call TONIGHT, also at 7:30 PM ET. Let’s join their work or share this opportunity with Millenials, Gen Zs and Gen Alphas in our lives! 🤛🏿

YOUNG PEOPLE TURN ACTION INTO POWER

👀 KEEPING AN EYE ON… 👀

Find us on Bluesky!

Deepak Puri

Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas voted to ban transgender athletes. How will states enforce this? Genital inspections? Should Justices accused of sexual abuse be making decisions about abortion and bodily rights?

https://thedemlabs.org/2026/05/03/scotus-misconduct-allegations-abortion-pill-ruling-2026/

How billionaires bought the Supreme Court for Trump to pack Federal agencies: Follow the money, gifts, luxury trips…

https://thedemlabs.org/2026/06/29/roberts-court-billionaire-influence-federal-agencies/

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