Education

ACLU: Dismantling of Core Civil Rights 

and Education Offices is Violation of Laws 

Only Congress Can Change

    WASHINGTON – (ACLU) -- 11/20/2025 -- The U.S. Department of Education announced on Nov. 18 that it will transfer critical work to other federal agencies — an unprecedented move that undermines the department’s core mission and threatens students’ civil rights. This action represents a deliberate attempt to dismantle the agency from within, despite the fact that only Congress has authority over the department.

    “The Trump administration claims core education programs can be carried out elsewhere, yet it has offered no explanation for how agencies like Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, or State will uphold the education access requirements Congress explicitly entrusted to the Department of Education,” said ReNika Moore, director, ACLU Racial Justice Program. “Federal law requires these programs to remain within the Department of Education, and transferring them through interagency agreements violates that mandate.”

    These offices, staffed by career professionals with deep knowledge of how to best serve students and educators, are responsible for administering K-12 and higher education programs, supporting Native students, and safeguarding the rights of students with disabilities.

    Although the plan calls for Labor to administer K-12 programs that are “better aligned with workforce and college programs,” it is silent concerning the continued administration of congressionally mandated funding programs for school districts to develop high quality curriculum, provide accommodations and services for children with disabilities, help children meet state academic content and performance standards, provide before- and after-school programs, reduce class sizes, improve graduation rates, expand the availability of pre-schools, provide mental health supports, implement language instruction to assist English learners, and provide education to migratory students.

    The removal of these critical offices from the department guts the structure Congress established in 1979 to guarantee that students, regardless of race, national origin, sex, or disability, receive fair and equitable opportunities to learn.

    “Secretary McMahon is violating laws that only Congress can change. By transferring these offices across agencies that lack the expertise to lead education policy, the administration is breaking the law, eliminating academic supports to close education achievement gaps, deliberately weakening civil rights oversight, and putting millions of students at risk,” said Kimberly Conway, ACLU senior policy counsel and former attorney advisor with Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. “Congress must immediately intervene to halt this unlawful restructuring, safeguard the integrity of the department’s civil rights and education offices, and demand that the department comply with the law and keep its central role in ensuring equal educational opportunity for every student."

Democracy

Watchdog Group Releases 

2024 Democracy Scorecard

Members With Perfect Scores Up 15% From 2022

    Washington — 10/9/2024 - Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog, recently released its 2024 “Democracy Scorecard,” recording every member of Congress’ support for voting rights, Supreme Court ethics, and other reforms.  

    “Our 2024 Democracy Scorecard shows a surge of support in Congress for reforms that strengthen the right to vote, take back the Supreme Court, and break big money’s grip on our politics,” said , Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said. “The number of members of Congress with perfect scores increased more than 100 percent from 2020, with 58 members in our 2020 Scorecard to 117 in this year’s Scorecard. As we see the wealthy and well-connected try to influence our politics and our very livelihoods, we must demand our leaders deliver on the people’s pro-democracy agenda.”   

    Since 2016, Common Cause has tracked support and co-sponsorship of democracy related legislation. This year’s scorecard includes ten legislative items in the U.S. Senate and 13 in U.S. House, including the Freedom to Vote Act, John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, and more.  

    “The 2024 Democracy Scorecard empowers voters with information to hold their leaders in Washington accountable for a government that works for all,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause. “Six of Washington’s members of Congress earned a perfect score or near perfect score for their support for pro-democracy legislation. With this year’s pivotal election, we must drive these key reforms to the top of the agenda so everyone is afforded an accountable government, no matter what state we call home.” 

    Washington members of Congress with perfect or near perfect scores:  

• Senator Patty Murray: 10/10 

• Representative Suzan DelBene: 13/13 

• Representative Pramila Jayapal: 13/13 

• Representative Adam Smith: 13/13 

• Representative Marilyn Strickland: 13/13 

• Representative Derek Kilmer: 12/13 

    Washington members of Congress with low scores 

• Representative Cathy Rodgers: 0/13 

• Representative Dan Newhouse: 2/13 

    Common Cause is a nonpartisan organization and does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office.

To view the 2024 Democracy Scorecard, click here. 

Law and Democracy

Common Cause Scorecard 

Charts Lawmaker Support 

for Pro-Democracy Bills

    Washington D.C. - (Common Cause) - 9/6/2022 - As the January 6 Select Committee is reportedly set to hold more hearings this month, and less than two years since January 6, Common Cause is releasing its 2022 Democracy Scorecard, which tracks the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy during the 117 Congress. Throughout this Congress, members of the House and Senate were notified that various votes on key democracy issues – including many related to January 6^th and its aftermath – would be counted in the Scorecard, which will be distributed to our 1.5 million members, as well as to state and national media.

    “Americans expect and deserve legislation to strengthen and protect our democracy so that our nation can live up to its ideals – especially in the wake of January 6. At Common Cause we keep close track of what members of Congress have done on these issues. Our Democracy Scorecard lets constituents know where their representatives stand,” said Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn. “At the very start of the 117th Congress, Members were besieged in the U.S. Capitol by a violent, armed, insurrectionist mob intent on overturning the 2020 presidential election. Members of Congress were then faced with a series of choices in the months following to take steps that would strengthen democracy. Too many Members chose fealty to former-President Trump over the oath of office they swore to protect the nation.”

    “As we face unprecedented attacks on our democracy, protecting and strengthening our freedom to vote are paramount,” said Aaron Scherb, Common Cause’s senior director of legislative affairs. “After we witnessed the former president try to overturn our votes in a free election, it’s imperative for Congress to establish fair national voting standards, despite continued filibusters by Senate Republicans. Congress would be wise to take heed of the voting rights bills, and the wave of other popular pro-democracy reforms, that are being passed at the state and local level while Republicans in Congress blockade them at the federal level. This Scorecard is a resource for all constituents to evaluate which members of Congress are working to strengthen our freedom to vote and which ones are trying to make it harder for Americans to vote.

    Some highlights and trends from the 2022 Democracy Scorecard include:

• Most of the included bills would’ve become law if the legislative filibuster didn’t exist, as many of them have majority support in Congress

• 101 members of Congress had a perfect score on this year’s Scorecard, a more than 70% increase over the number of members who had perfect scores (58) in 2020

• California has the highest number of members of Congress (19) with perfect scores

• Vermont is the only state with every member of its delegation (3) earning a perfect score

• 7 states have both U.S. Senators earning a perfect score: Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont

    A subset of votes and bills in this year’s Scorecard include:

Votes

• Impeachment and conviction of former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection

• For the People Act

• DC Statehood

• Independent commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection and a resolution creating the January 6th Select Committee

• John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

• Steve Bannon criminal contempt resolution

• Protecting Our Democracy Act

• Mark Meadows criminal contempt resolution

• Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act

Bills to cosponsor

• DISCLOSE Act

• Supreme Court Ethics Act

• Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act

• Democracy for All Amendment

    The Scorecard does not ‘rate’ candidates. Instead, it spotlights the votes and co-sponsors of legislation that would protect our elections, elevate the voices of all Americans in politics and government, make voting more accessible, end racial and partisan gerrymandering so that every American has a fair chance to elect representatives of their choice, and promote high ethical standards for elected and appointed officials.

    Common Cause previously issued Democracy Scorecards in 2016, 2018, and 2020 based on the votes and cosponsorship of between 15-18 key democracy reform bills.

     To view the full 2022 Democracy Scorecard, click here.

Politics and Corruption

Trump White House Official 

Peter Navarro Indicted 

For Contempt of Congress

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (Common Cause) - 6/3/2022 - The Justice Department indicted former Trump White House official Peter Navarro today for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the January 6th Select Committee. The former trade adviser was a leader in the Trump White House effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In April, Common Cause urged House Members to vote to certify criminal contempt citations against Navarro and fellow White House official Dan Scavino.

Statement of Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause President

    Americans expect and deserve to know the full truth about the insurrection on January 6th. And they expect and deserve to see justice served to those responsible for unleashing the violent, racist mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election. The forces that sought to overturn the election are still present today and the threat to democracy is ongoing.

    Although some witnesses like Peter Navarro have failed to comply with duly-issued subpoenas, the Select Committee will begin sharing its findings with the public in its historic hearings that begin on June 9. The Committee has conducted more than a thousand interviews and depositions and collected more than 140,000 documents as part of its bipartisan investigation.

    Today’s indictment of Peter Navarro will help ensure that Congress is able to learn the full truth behind the White House attempts to steal the election that Donald Trump lost. This indictment has been slow to come, but we sincerely hope it is the first of many to come from the Justice Department.

    There must be consequences for those who brought about the insurrection and there must be consequences for those who refuse to comply with Congressional subpoenas. Congress has the power and responsibility of oversight and its subpoenas cannot be ignored without repercussions or else our system of checks and balances will break down. Today’s indictment is a victory for the American people and a victory for the rule of law.

Election Trends

Democrats Gain Ground In Race

For Control of U.S. House

By Steve Rensberry

srensberry@rensberrypublishing.com

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EDWARDSVILLE, IL - July 8, 2020 -- All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for election on Nov. 3, with most forecasts showing a tight battle in many states, while leaning toward continued control by the Democrats. Significant uncertainty remains, however, with a full 118 days left until the big day.

The 2020 Consensus map compiled each election by the site 270toWin shows, as of June 2, the Democrats with a likely 223 seats and the Republicans with 193, with 19 seats forecast as “toss-ups.”

Of the 223 forecast for the Democrats, 181 are designated at “safe,” 27 are designated “likely,” and 15 are designated as “leaning.” Of the 193 forecast for the Republicans, 158 are designed “safe,” 21 as “likely,” and 14 as “leaning.” The Democrat currently control the house and will need to win 218 seats to maintain that advantage.

Rachel Bitecofer of the Washington D.C. Niskanent Center posted an update of the center's projections on June 7, speculating that the Democrats would capture 50 Senate seats to the Republican's 47, with three considered toss-ups. In the House, the Niskanen projects the Democrats will capture 241 seats to the Republican's 182.

“Whatever 2020 turnout is, barring something extraordinary that disrupts the election, if more Democrats and left-leaning independents vote than did so in 2016 and pure independents break against Trump and congressional Republicans, Democrats will not only hold their 2018 House gains — they are poised to expand on their House majority and are competitive to take control of the Senate,” Biecofer stated in her report.

She cited the rising Covid-19 death toll, a leveled economy, and the significant impact polarization is having on the process. She draws an interesting parallel with Jimmy Carer's reelection campaign in 1980, not facing a polarized nation did face an economy in a downward spiral from oil shortages, inflation and unemployment, then was hit with the Iranian hostage crisis.

“Sound familiar? It should, because in the electoral bloodbath that followed, down-ticket Republicans flipped control of the Senate from Democrats for the first time in 25 years. They also used the chaos to remake the American economy, but that is a story for another day,” Bitecofer stated.

For a look at the full Niskanent Center update and report, see Negative Partisanship and the 2020 Congressional Elections.

Race for the Senate

Senate Election Consensus Map

Cites 18 As Contested

By Steve Rensberry

srensberry@rensberrypublishing.com

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EDWARDSVILLE, IL - July 2, 2020 -- The latest U.S Senate Election Map produced by the site 270toWin rates four senate seats as being toss-ups in the upcoming election in November, those being seats held by Martha McSally in Arizona (R), Corey Gardner in Colorado (R), Thom Tillis in North Carolina (R), and Susan Collins in Maine (R).

Of the total 35 seats up for election, the report rates 18 as contested and 17 as “safe for the incumbent party.” This includes special elections in Arizona and Georgia.

As of June 18, the date of the report, the consensus forecast shows the Democrats with 46 seats, the Republicans with 50, with the 4 toss-ups uncalled. In other words, it's going to be very close.

The Republicans currently control 53 seats and the Democrats 47 (two are independent). “Democrats will need to gain three or four seats to take control,” the site states.

Contested races

Republican: Dan Sullivan (AK), Martha McSally (AZ), Cory Gardner (CO), Kelly Loeffler (GA), David Perdue (GA), Joni Ernst (IA), Pat Roberts, incumbent (KS), Mitch McConnell (R), Susan Collins (ME), Steve Daines (MT), Thom Tillis (NC), Lindsey Graham (SC), John Cornyn (TX).

Democrat: Doug Jones (AL), Gary Peters (MI), Tina Smith (MN), Jeanne Shaheen, Tom Udall.

Races rated safe for the incumbent party

Republican: Tom Cotton (AR), Jim Risch (ID), Bill Cassidy (LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), Ben Sasse (NE), Jim Inhofe (OK), Mike Rounds (SD), Lamar Alexander (TN), Shelley Capito (WV), Mike Enzi.

Democrat: Christopher Coons (DE), Dick Durbin (IL), Ed Markey (MA), Cory Booker (NJ), Jeff Merkley (OR), Jack Reed (RI), Mark Warner, not running in 2020 (VA). 

See: 2020 Senate Election Map