A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to establish a federal voter list and place restrictions on who would be eligible to receive a mail ballot.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani ruled in favor of a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the order, issuing a summary judgment. The ruling covers the current midterm election cycle.
The two lawsuits, both brought before federal court in Boston, argued that Trump’s executive order was unconstitutional because the authority to set election rules belongs to the states and Congress — not the president.
This marks the second consecutive day that a court has struck down one of Trump’s election-related executive orders. On Wednesday, a separate ruling blocked an order Trump signed last year that would have required proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
In other news, Vice President JD Vance appeared Thursday at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, where he spoke about his new book, “Communion,” and shared his admiration for the 37th president. Vance, widely considered a likely presidential contender in 2028, suggested Nixon’s legacy is experiencing a revival.
Vance drew comparisons between Nixon and Trump, claiming both were targeted by “deep state” forces. “If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said.
He continued: “If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it’s not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”
Separately, the Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing the Trump administration to end temporary legal protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants could have far-reaching consequences. The ruling directly affects approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, but legal experts say it may signal what lies ahead for nearly 1.3 million people from 17 countries currently holding Temporary Protected Status. Many of those individuals have lived and worked in the U.S. for decades and have American-born children.
The decision opens TPS holders from Haiti and Syria to potential detention and deportation and could force hundreds of thousands of others with pending immigration relief claims to leave the country. Dozens of lawsuits filed by people of various nationalities whose TPS was revoked by the Trump administration remain ongoing.
Also this week, a top National Park Service official says a liner at the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was deliberately cut with a sharp knife or razor blade this month, damaging foam sealant that was installed as part of a $16 million restoration project. Deputy Director of Operations Frank Lands disclosed the damage in a court document filed Wednesday as part of a lawsuit by a nonprofit group seeking to halt the administration’s work on the project. Lands’ statement did not specify exactly when the damage occurred, whether it is being treated as vandalism, or identify any suspects.
