Chiraag Bains
@chiraagbains.bsky.social
Civil rights lawyer • Democracy Fund • Brookings • Fmr Deputy Director, Biden White House Domestic Policy Council | DOJ under Obama | Demos. https://www.brookings.edu/people/chiraag-bains/
Reposted by Chiraag Bains
completely outside of politics, this is so charming
November 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
completely outside of politics, this is so charming
The Federal Government under Trump:
You will be fired for attending a diversity training or having a pride flag in your office
But maybe not for displaying a symbol of racial terror and annihilation
You will be fired for attending a diversity training or having a pride flag in your office
But maybe not for displaying a symbol of racial terror and annihilation
Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:30 AM
The Federal Government under Trump:
You will be fired for attending a diversity training or having a pride flag in your office
But maybe not for displaying a symbol of racial terror and annihilation
You will be fired for attending a diversity training or having a pride flag in your office
But maybe not for displaying a symbol of racial terror and annihilation
The repeated mistakes are egregious, but it's important to understand where they're coming from
It's not just inexperience or incomptence
It's putting the president's personal revenge and power grabs ahead of the facts, the law, and justice
It's not just inexperience or incomptence
It's putting the president's personal revenge and power grabs ahead of the facts, the law, and justice
Trump Loyalists in DOJ Face Criticism as Judges Expose Blunders
Judges’ rebukes this week of blunders by top Justice Department lawyers show the pitfalls of installing President Donald Trump loyalists to their roles, lawyers and scholars said.
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:58 PM
The repeated mistakes are egregious, but it's important to understand where they're coming from
It's not just inexperience or incomptence
It's putting the president's personal revenge and power grabs ahead of the facts, the law, and justice
It's not just inexperience or incomptence
It's putting the president's personal revenge and power grabs ahead of the facts, the law, and justice
A legislature dictating policies to Americans who have no vote in it.
Where have we seen this before...
Where have we seen this before...
After a record-breaking government shutdown that they caused, Trump & Republicans want to spend time micromanaging DC instead of representing their constituents.
If Trump wanted to run DC, he should resign & run for mayor.
I testified in the House Rules Committee to make it clear: hands off DC.
If Trump wanted to run DC, he should resign & run for mayor.
I testified in the House Rules Committee to make it clear: hands off DC.
November 20, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A legislature dictating policies to Americans who have no vote in it.
Where have we seen this before...
Where have we seen this before...
Evidence that there are still sometimes consequences for incredibly bad lawyering
DOJ's Civil Rights Division sought to pressure Texas to redistrict, as the White House wanted. It did so by demanding an obvious racial gerrymander.
DOJ's Civil Rights Division sought to pressure Texas to redistrict, as the White House wanted. It did so by demanding an obvious racial gerrymander.
Court ruled the TX gerrymander is illegal in part bc it was spurred by a letter from Trump's DOJ that demanded a redrawing for explicitly racial reasons.
(First 2 images.)
@mcpli.bsky.social had told Bolts of DOJ letter: "starts to look a lot like intentional racial discrimination."
(3rd image)
(First 2 images.)
@mcpli.bsky.social had told Bolts of DOJ letter: "starts to look a lot like intentional racial discrimination."
(3rd image)
November 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Evidence that there are still sometimes consequences for incredibly bad lawyering
DOJ's Civil Rights Division sought to pressure Texas to redistrict, as the White House wanted. It did so by demanding an obvious racial gerrymander.
DOJ's Civil Rights Division sought to pressure Texas to redistrict, as the White House wanted. It did so by demanding an obvious racial gerrymander.
Reposted by Chiraag Bains
This framing by the Washington Post... Trump hasn’t chipped away at the wall between DOJ and the White House on enforcement actions — he bulldozed it. And early on. We’re just seeing it in its fullness now because he put it on social media.
September 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
This framing by the Washington Post... Trump hasn’t chipped away at the wall between DOJ and the White House on enforcement actions — he bulldozed it. And early on. We’re just seeing it in its fullness now because he put it on social media.
Reposted by Chiraag Bains
September 17, 2025 at 8:35 AM
See the forest. Per new @brookings.edu analysis yesterday, "The Trump administration’s broader economic agenda threatens to drastically reduce the financial capacity of Black students to attend college." www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
Trump Redirects Millions to Historically Black Colleges, Charter Schools
www.nytimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 8:58 PM
See the forest. Per new @brookings.edu analysis yesterday, "The Trump administration’s broader economic agenda threatens to drastically reduce the financial capacity of Black students to attend college." www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
Yes, this is unconstitutional. It’s also legal malpractice: the Attorney General just served up smoking gun evidence that the enforcement actions DOJ is about to take are in direct violation of the First Amendment.
Expect these words to be quoted repeatedly in motions and briefs
Expect these words to be quoted repeatedly in motions and briefs
Attorney General Pam Bondi: "There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society...We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech."
September 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Yes, this is unconstitutional. It’s also legal malpractice: the Attorney General just served up smoking gun evidence that the enforcement actions DOJ is about to take are in direct violation of the First Amendment.
Expect these words to be quoted repeatedly in motions and briefs
Expect these words to be quoted repeatedly in motions and briefs
This 1863 photograph of Peter Gordon's back rebutted the lie that slavery was a "benign institution." It galvanized public support for the Union cause.
Slavery's defenders understood the photo's power. They tried to slow its circulation, calling it fake.
In 2025, another attempt to hide the truth
Slavery's defenders understood the photo's power. They tried to slow its circulation, calling it fake.
In 2025, another attempt to hide the truth
Trump is scrubbing national parks of material demonstrating "corrosive ideology" like... "how bad slavery was"
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars
The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”
www.washingtonpost.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:27 PM
This 1863 photograph of Peter Gordon's back rebutted the lie that slavery was a "benign institution." It galvanized public support for the Union cause.
Slavery's defenders understood the photo's power. They tried to slow its circulation, calling it fake.
In 2025, another attempt to hide the truth
Slavery's defenders understood the photo's power. They tried to slow its circulation, calling it fake.
In 2025, another attempt to hide the truth
Trump is scrubbing national parks of material demonstrating "corrosive ideology" like... "how bad slavery was"
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars
The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”
www.washingtonpost.com
September 15, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Trump is scrubbing national parks of material demonstrating "corrosive ideology" like... "how bad slavery was"
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
If you're surprised, you have not been paying attention.
Reposted by Chiraag Bains
Pay attention. Something dark might be coming.
The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.
1/ Here's what's happening.
The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.
1/ Here's what's happening.
Stephen Miller: "The last message that Charlie Kirk gave to me before he joined his creator in heaven was he said that we have to dismantle and take on the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence. That was the last message that he sent me ... we are gonna do that."
September 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Pay attention. Something dark might be coming.
The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.
1/ Here's what's happening.
The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.
1/ Here's what's happening.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is utterly reprehensible. All political violence -- which this looks very likely to be -- should be stridently condemned.
Anyone celebrating the killing -- and any opportunists using it to stoke a war on "the left" -- should also be condemned.
Anyone celebrating the killing -- and any opportunists using it to stoke a war on "the left" -- should also be condemned.
September 11, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is utterly reprehensible. All political violence -- which this looks very likely to be -- should be stridently condemned.
Anyone celebrating the killing -- and any opportunists using it to stoke a war on "the left" -- should also be condemned.
Anyone celebrating the killing -- and any opportunists using it to stoke a war on "the left" -- should also be condemned.
It’s transparently pretextual
Transforming the Fed from a sober, data-driven, independent entity into another servile mouthpiece for Trump will not work out well for us
Transforming the Fed from a sober, data-driven, independent entity into another servile mouthpiece for Trump will not work out well for us
It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this is - for the economy (ours and globally), for the rule of law, and for the proper and efficient function of government.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Says He Is Removing Lisa Cook From Federal Reserve Board
www.nytimes.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
It’s transparently pretextual
Transforming the Fed from a sober, data-driven, independent entity into another servile mouthpiece for Trump will not work out well for us
Transforming the Fed from a sober, data-driven, independent entity into another servile mouthpiece for Trump will not work out well for us
Trump never cared about safety in our city. He pardoned 1600 January 6 rioters, including many who brutalized police officers. This is an attack on DC’s right to self-rule and a desperate attempt to distract from the Epstein files and his job-killing, price-spiking tariffs.
The District of Columbia is under attack today — not from violent gangs or thieves, but by the President of the United States.
The President's weaponization of the Home Rule Act is a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of DC and we will not stand for it.
The President's weaponization of the Home Rule Act is a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of DC and we will not stand for it.
August 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Trump never cared about safety in our city. He pardoned 1600 January 6 rioters, including many who brutalized police officers. This is an attack on DC’s right to self-rule and a desperate attempt to distract from the Epstein files and his job-killing, price-spiking tariffs.
This stay stops a badly wrong turn in the Eighth Circuit, which departed from decades of case law in ruling that voters can’t sue under the core of the Voting Rights Act (…even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly heard such cases)
Over public dissents by Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, #SCOTUS freezes Eighth Circuit ruling that had barred private enforcement of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act while the plaintiffs appeal that decision. Private suits to enforce § 2 of the VRA can go ahead for now.
July 25, 2025 at 4:11 AM
This stay stops a badly wrong turn in the Eighth Circuit, which departed from decades of case law in ruling that voters can’t sue under the core of the Voting Rights Act (…even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly heard such cases)
Understand how calamitous this is. Given that Trump controls DOJ—the only entity the 8th Circuit says can file Section 2 lawsuits—this means the core of the Voting Rights Act is effectively dead in 7 states.
Big defeat for voting rights: the full 8th circuit refused to* reconsider a panel ruling that said individuals & groups cannot sue over VRA violations, only the DOJ can. www.npr.org/2025/05/14/n...
Bolts reported the case is huge loss for tribes in North Dakota, leaving them unable to seek justice:
Bolts reported the case is huge loss for tribes in North Dakota, leaving them unable to seek justice:
“A Law Without a Way to Enforce It” - Bolts
In North Dakota as elsewhere, Native voters face a triple threat: judges targeting the VRA, Trump officials hostile to discrimination laws, and a funding crunch depleting their work.
boltsmag.org
July 3, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Understand how calamitous this is. Given that Trump controls DOJ—the only entity the 8th Circuit says can file Section 2 lawsuits—this means the core of the Voting Rights Act is effectively dead in 7 states.
“As violence erupted, his charging document said, he told other rioters who were attacking law enforcement officers, ‘Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!’”
Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept.
www.nytimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 4:36 AM
“As violence erupted, his charging document said, he told other rioters who were attacking law enforcement officers, ‘Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!’”
This has to stop. The point of these increasingly public attacks is to terrorize and intimidate. We’ve got to collectively condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate fueled violence.
Attack in Boulder, Colorado, burns 8 people at march for Israeli hostages, officials say; suspect in custody
A suspect is in custody after what authorities call a "targeted act of violence" at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado. Witnesses said he threw Molotov cocktails at a march supporting Israeli host...
www.cbsnews.com
June 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This has to stop. The point of these increasingly public attacks is to terrorize and intimidate. We’ve got to collectively condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate fueled violence.
A new State Department politburo is yanking Fulbright grant offers from people whose projects involve diversity or climate change.
Who is behind this? Undersecretary for public diplomacy Darren Beattie, who posted on X in Oct. "competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."
Who is behind this? Undersecretary for public diplomacy Darren Beattie, who posted on X in Oct. "competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."
Fulbright Applicants Rejected Over “DEI” Research Proposals
The Trump administration staged an unprecedented intervention in this year’s Fulbright selection process, rejecting finalists whose research deals with race, gender or climate change.
www.insidehighered.com
May 30, 2025 at 8:27 PM
A new State Department politburo is yanking Fulbright grant offers from people whose projects involve diversity or climate change.
Who is behind this? Undersecretary for public diplomacy Darren Beattie, who posted on X in Oct. "competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."
Who is behind this? Undersecretary for public diplomacy Darren Beattie, who posted on X in Oct. "competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."
Powerful article from @danfarbman.bsky.social on what we can learn from those who resisted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 @lpeblog.bsky.social
Outrage and Resistance: Abolitionist Lessons for the Present Crisis
The Trump Administration’s open rejection of due process and equal protection echoes some of the darkest aspects of antebellum America, when black Americans were frequently kidnapped and disappeared…
lpeproject.org
May 30, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Powerful article from @danfarbman.bsky.social on what we can learn from those who resisted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 @lpeblog.bsky.social
Reposted by Chiraag Bains
In its first major voting lawsuit Trump DOJ resurrected claims Republican judicial candidate used to try to overturn Democratic victory in NC Supreme Court race. This is extremely dangerous & shows how Trump weaponizing DOJ to advance his voter suppression plans
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Trump Is Weaponizing the Justice Department to Advance His Voter Suppression Plans
The DOJ’s new lawsuit against North Carolina is a troubling sign of what’s to come.
www.motherjones.com
May 29, 2025 at 3:23 PM
In its first major voting lawsuit Trump DOJ resurrected claims Republican judicial candidate used to try to overturn Democratic victory in NC Supreme Court race. This is extremely dangerous & shows how Trump weaponizing DOJ to advance his voter suppression plans
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is not the way to restore confidence in government
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...
May 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
This is not the way to restore confidence in government
www.notus.org/health-scien...
www.notus.org/health-scien...