Written by 🏛️ THE REPUBLIC REPORT 🏛️
MIDDAY BRIEFING • SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 • DEFENDING DEMOCRACY
⚖️ JUDICIAL CRISIS
D.C. Courts Face Constitutional Crisis as Judicial Vacancies Reach Critical Levels
Source: CBS News | Time: September 24, 2025, 6:00 AM EDT
According to CBS News, the D.C. Superior Court faces an unprecedented crisis with 13 judicial vacancies and two judges on extended medical leave, creating a 25% vacancy rate that threatens the administration of justice in the nation’s capital. Douglas Buchanan, spokesman for the D.C. Courts, warned that “with vacancy rates nearing 25% on the trial court, we are set up to fail those who are depending on us for fair and timely legal outcomes.” The crisis has resulted in criminal trials being scheduled into late 2027 and early 2028, as reported by CBS News, while civil cases have nearly doubled to 500 per judge’s calendar. Constitutional law professor Tianna Gibbs of American University characterized the situation as “urgent,” noting the impact on “the administration of justice, access to justice and public confidence in the courts.” The unique federal oversight of D.C.’s local courts, established under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, requires presidential nomination and Senate confirmation for all judicial appointments, creating a bottleneck that has left the district without adequate representation in the confirmation process.
🏢 FEDERAL CRISIS
Government Shutdown Looms as Trump Cancels Democratic Leadership Meeting
Source: The Hill | Time: September 24, 2025, 6:00 AM ET
President Trump canceled a planned meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, escalating the government shutdown crisis with less than a week remaining before the September 30 deadline, as reported by The Hill. According to the report, Trump declared on Truth Social that “no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” accusing Democrats of “threatening to shut down the Government of the United States.” The Hill reports that Republicans are strategically positioning to “make a potential government shutdown as painful as possible for Democrats,” with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) warning that “the president has a lot of discretionary power on what he declares is essential.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded by stating that “Donald Trump has now chickened out and cancelled the meeting,” while accusing “GOP extremists” of wanting to shut down the government, as quoted by The Hill. The standoff centers on Democratic demands for permanent extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and restoration of Medicaid cuts, which Republicans have rejected in favor of a “clean” seven-week continuing resolution.
📜 CONSTITUTIONAL THREAT
Constitutional Convention Movement Advances Despite Bipartisan Opposition
Source: The Hill | Time: September 23, 2025, 2:00 PM ET
Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer warns that a coordinated campaign to call a Constitutional Convention under Article V has reached a critical juncture, with 19 states already passing resolutions and only six more needed to trigger an unprecedented rewriting of the Constitution. According to The Hill, Wertheimer characterizes this as “not a grassroots uprising” but rather “a top-down, money-driven operation led by political operatives” backed by the Heritage Foundation, ALEC, and dark-money interests. The Convention of States Project’s agenda extends far beyond stated goals of term limits and balanced budgets, as evidenced by their 2016 simulated convention which proposed allowing states to nullify federal laws, vacate Supreme Court decisions, and repeal the 16th Amendment authorizing federal income tax, as reported by The Hill. Constitutional experts cited by Wertheimer warn that such a convention “cannot be limited” in scope and could provide Trump with an opportunity to pursue repeal of presidential term limits. The movement has faced successful resistance in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Connecticut, with 16 states remaining convention-free, but Wertheimer emphasizes that “the fight is far from over” as the pro-convention campaign remains “persistent, well-organized and better funded than ever.”
🇺🇸 INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
Constitutional Scholars Warn of Systemic Threats to Democratic Governance
Analysis: Constitutional Law Experts | Assessment: Critical
The convergence of judicial vacancies, government shutdown threats, and constitutional convention movements represents what legal scholars describe as a “perfect storm” threatening the foundational principles of American republicanism. According to constitutional law professor Tianna Gibbs, the D.C. court crisis alone undermines “public confidence in the courts as a forum that can fairly and efficiently resolve disputes,” while the broader pattern suggests systematic erosion of institutional checks and balances. The Heritage Foundation’s involvement in both the constitutional convention movement and Project 2025, as documented by Common Cause, indicates coordinated efforts to “consolidate presidential power, purge career civil servants and gut federal oversight.” Former Delaware Senator Tom Carper, as quoted by CBS News, characterized the treatment of D.C. judicial appointments as “shameful,” noting that “we basically say, you know, ‘You can come up with all the names within the district of who you think ought to be a judge, and we’ll take our good old time to figure out if we’re ever going to confirm some of these judges.'” Constitutional experts warn that these simultaneous crises create conditions similar to what Viktor Orbán used in Hungary to “hollow out democracy by working within the system, until there was no system left to check him,” as noted by Democracy 21’s analysis.
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This report monitors the health of American democratic institutions
