Written by 🏛️ THE REPUBLIC REPORT 🏛️
MIDDAY BRIEFING • SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 • DEFENDING DEMOCRACY
⚖️ JUDICIAL UPDATES
Supreme Court Poised to Gut Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais
Source: The Guardian | Time: 3 hours ago
According to The Guardian, Louisiana v. Callais represents “a major challenge to what remains of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and could radically rework the structure of political representation in the United States.” Legal scholar Leah Litman from the University of Michigan warns that “a successful challenge to the VRA would allow the Republican party to further cheat democracy by engaging in even more partisan gerrymandering and erasing several legislative districts held by Democratic officials, many of whom are racial minorities.” The case challenges Louisiana’s congressional redistricting maps that lower courts found violated Section 2 of the VRA by diluting Black voting power. As reported by The Guardian, “Louisiana has six congressional representatives in a state that is about one-third Black, but drew maps that allowed Black voters to select only one-sixth of the state’s representatives.”
Justice Thomas Signals Aggressive Precedent Overturning Ahead
Source: The Guardian, ABC News | Time: 9 hours ago
Justice Clarence Thomas declared that “settled legal precedent in the US is not ‘gospel'” and should not determine upcoming Supreme Court cases, as reported by The Guardian. According to ABC News, Thomas stated that “the Supreme Court should take a more critical approach to settled precedent,” signaling potential major constitutional reversals. The Daily Beast reports that Thomas is “finding increasingly creative ways to justify reshaping long-standing laws” during a Catholic University appearance. Constitutional experts warn this represents a fundamental threat to legal stability and the rule of law, with Thomas previously calling for reconsideration of landmark privacy and civil rights decisions in his Dobbs concurrence.
🏢 FEDERAL ACTIONS
Trump Reverses Course on Shutdown Meeting as Deadline Looms
Source: The Guardian, CNN, NBC News | Time: 1-3 hours ago
President Trump has “reversed course and is purportedly planning to host a bipartisan gathering of the top four US congressional leaders at the White House on Monday afternoon in a last-ditch effort to avoid a looming government shutdown,” according to The Guardian. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed the 2pm ET meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. However, CBS News reports that Trump “is not hopeful the meeting will lead to an agreement” and that “a government shutdown looks likely at this point.” According to CBS correspondent Robert Costa, “Inside the White House, sources are saying president Trump actually welcomes a shutdown in the sense that he believes he can wield executive power to get rid of what he calls waste, fraud and abuse.”
📜 LEGISLATIVE WATCH
Healthcare Protections at Center of Shutdown Standoff
Source: CNN, The Guardian | Time: 1-2 hours ago
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned CNN that “if we don’t extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, more than 20 million Americans are going to experience dramatically increased premiums, copays, deductibles, in an environment where the cost of living in America is already too high.” Democrats have made extending expiring healthcare protections a condition for supporting the Republican continuing resolution. According to The Guardian, Republicans passed “a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution earlier in September that would keep the government funded for seven weeks – but it faces opposition in the Senate, where it needs the support of at least eight Democrats to pass.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune blamed Democrats, stating “the ball is in their court,” while Democrats maintain Republicans are holding “the federal government as a hostage.”
🇺🇸 DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
MAGA Movement Shows Signs of Internal Fracturing
Source: The New York Times, Newsbreak | Time: 9-10 hours ago
The New York Times reports that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene “did not appreciate being threatened by the White House” and is now “straying from Trump,” reflecting “an emerging MAGA split.” According to Newsbreak, Greene is “now openly breaking with” President Trump after being “among President Donald Trump’s most loyal and vociferous backers.” This development suggests potential fractures within the Trump coalition that could impact legislative unity and the administration’s ability to maintain party discipline. Constitutional scholars note that internal party divisions can serve as a check on executive power when legislative majorities become less reliable.
Constitutional Crisis Warnings from Legal Experts
Source: The Guardian, CNN, Bloomberg | Time: 6-8 hours ago
The Guardian’s analysis warns that “the US government is facing a crisis of legitimacy” as “the constitutional order frays.” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria argues that current developments are “eroding America’s system of checks and balances” and “showing the weaknesses of America’s constitutional system.” Bloomberg Opinion warns that “global democracy is failing” and questions whether “the US will save it or kill it.” Legal scholars point to the Supreme Court’s shadow docket decisions that have “blocked lower federal court rulings” and allowed the executive branch unprecedented authority. According to The Guardian’s constitutional analysis, the current situation represents “a broad effort to not only reinterpret the Reconstruction amendments” but also “to weaponize them against democracy and civil rights.”
🗽 Vigilance is the price of liberty • Keeping watch over our republic 🗽
This report monitors the health of American democratic institutions
