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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

As always, if you want to help document and understand the ongoing attacks on the rights and infrastructures all Americans depend on, please join us: unbreaking.org/how-to-help/

How to help — Unbreaking

How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

unbreaking.org

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

And finally, the White House fired all but four members of the National Council on the Humanities, saying “The President is hoping to place members on the board who align more closely with his vision.”
thehill.com/homenews/adm...

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

In better layoff news, a judge ordered the Trump administration to reverse layoffs at the agency that oversees Voice of America, a news source funded by the US government. www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1038...

www.courtlistener.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

These workers had opted in to a DOGE-linked deferred resignation program that kept them on payroll through September.
www.npr.org/2025/02/05/n...

What happens after the 'Fork in the Road'? A lawyer for ex-Twitter employees weighs in

Shannon Liss-Riordan, who represents thousands of former Twitter employees suing the company, sees many similarities in the predicament of federal workers today. Here's her advice.

www.npr.org

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

And the government is shrinking: More than 100,000 federal employees formally resigned on Sep 30, the largest mass resignation in US history. www.snopes.com/news/2025/10...

Why 100K US federal workers resigned this week

The departures were planned months ago as part of the Trump administration's effort to reduce the federal workforce.

www.snopes.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

The White House laid the groundwork to take political advantage of the government shutdown before it even started, telling agencies to “use this opportunity” to carry out mass firings in areas “not consistent with the President’s priorities”:
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown

In memo, the Trump administration says the Reduction-in-Force plans would go beyond standard shutdown furloughs.

www.politico.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

The Trump administration has slashed hundreds of thousands of jobs this year, leaving many vital federal functions un- or under-staffed, and they don’t seem to be letting up. We updated our Equality at Work timeline this week, and here’s what we saw: unbreaking.org/issues/equal...

Equality at Work: Timeline — Unbreaking

How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

unbreaking.org

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

And in more encouraging news, as the 2025 fiscal year draws to a close, the NIH is on track to spend its entire $48 billion budget following months of grant obstructions:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NIH races to spend its 2025 grant money — but fewer projects win funding

Despite political obstacles, officials are on track to disburse all of the research funds allocated to US biomedical behemoth.

www.nature.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

Meanwhile, the government shutdown is introducing even more uncertainty for…everything, including medical research. 41% of Health and Human Services employees are on furlough so far. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Travel, national parks and housing: what does the US government shutdown mean for everyday people?

Several thousand federal employees will be furloughed or must do unpaid work. Regular people will feel it differently

www.theguardian.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the “hostile takeover of America’s universities,” vowing to cut state funding from any university that signs Trump’s agreement:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

California vows to ‘instantly’ cut funding to universities that cave to Trump ‘compact’

Governor Gavin Newsom urges schools not to sign ‘radical agreement’ to cuts to departments, students and speech

www.theguardian.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

MIT, the first of the universities to respond, has declined the administration’s offer:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact

MIT is the first institution to reject a proposal by the Trump administration that would trade preferential treatment on federal funding in exchange for far-reaching changes.

www.insidehighered.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

In its latest attack on academic freedom, the administration offered nine universities preferential access to federal funds in exchange for scrapping DEI, capping international student enrollment, and promoting conservative views on campus:
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Exclusive | White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage

An initial round of nine schools, including Dartmouth, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, are being asked to sign a wide-ranging “compact.”

www.wsj.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

Finally, @lwvus.bsky.social and @epic.org filed a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s national databases, arguing the “secretive and unlawful…consolidation of Americans’ personal data is a clear example of the constitutional crisis we are living through.”
www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Trump Administration Sued Over Massive ‘Interagency Database’ of Americans’ Private Information

www.democracydocket.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

In other news, a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee report revealed new details on DOGE’s activities at SSA, GSA, and OPM, as well as agency leaders’ resistance to normal oversight:
www.wired.com/story/armed-...

Armed Guards and Muscle Milk: Senate Investigation Reveals DOGE Takeover Details

A new Senate report claims DOGE put every American's Social Security number at risk—and that officials at federal agencies essentially obstructed an investigation, all but denying DOGE even exists.

www.wired.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

You can see Mikie Sherrill discuss this breach of her personal information in this interview with MSNBC host Rachel @maddow.msnbc.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV0S...

Mikie Sherrill on Rachel Maddow, Monday, September 29th

YouTube video by Mikie Sherrill for New Jersey

www.youtube.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

…and then a very personal data breach in which the National Archives released Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill’s complete military service record to her electoral opponent:
www.cbsnews.com/news/nationa...

Archives released too much of Mikie Sherrill's military record to ally of her opponent in N.J. governor's race

The National Archives admitted a technician had erred in releasing Rep. Mikie Sherill's "entire record."

www.cbsnews.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

We heard of multiple data breaches recently, first a large and dangerous one potentially affecting employee data at FEMA and Customs and Border Protection: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

‘Widespread’ breach let hackers steal employee data from FEMA and CBP

A Citrix vulnerability — suspected to have led to firings of multiple FEMA technology staff — enabled the breach, which let hackers pilfer data from FEMA servers connected to states at the southern bo...

www.nextgov.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

Since our last update, the administration ramped up its quest for voter data, suing six more states that refused to give their voter rolls to the DOJ:
www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

DOJ Sues Six States, Escalating Campaign to Seize Private Voter Data

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

We really appreciate @lawdorknews.bsky.social and @techdirt.com’s coverage of the ruling, and we’re putting both links here even though only one will preview correctly: www.lawdork.com/p/judge-will...
www.techdirt.com/2025/10/01/r...

Judge William Young's ruling against Rubio and Noem is a lesson for all in the Trump era

Young lays bare the unconstitutionality of the Trump administration's student deportation efforts — and issues a challenge to America. Also: More court pushback.

www.lawdork.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

And Judge William Young’s pro–First Amendment ruling was a highlight of this round of news, worth reading in full for the commentary but also for the awful facts established in the case: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

storage.courtlistener.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

We’ll be closely watching the suit brought by Chicago journalists and demonstrators over federal troops’ use of force against people exercising their First Amendment rights: www.aclu-il.org/en/press-rel...

Protesters and Members of the Press Challenge First Amendment Violations by Federal Forces at ICE Facility in Broadview, Illinois

Attorneys for the plaintiffs are petitioning a federal court for an emergency order to stop the government’s illegal and brutal suppression of First Amendment rights.

www.aclu-il.org

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

We also saw lawsuits filed in Chicago and Portland as federal operations grow more aggressive and the National Guard is poised to deploy:

www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

Where things stand with federal law enforcement in Chicago and Portland

Illinois has followed California and Oregon in filing lawsuits to stop President Donald Trump from sending in hundreds of National Guard troops to Democrat-led big cities.

www.pbs.org

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

And the SCOTUS shadow-docket ruling allowing the Trump administration to continue stripping lawful status from hundreds of thousands of US residents:

www.scotusblog.com/2025/10/supr...

Supreme Court allows Trump to remove protected status from Venezuelan nationals

The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon once again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals of their protected status under federal immigration...

www.scotusblog.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

We update every two weeks, and the things that stood out to us the most in this round included the horrific military-style raid on a Chicago apartment building:

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Unbreaking @unbreaking.org · 4d

Our weekly update post (which you can also get as an email if you like emails) has a summary of the situation as we understand it:

unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...

This week at Unbreaking, October 10 — Unbreaking

We have updates on the Trump administration’s actions—and pushback from across US society—in Immigration, Data Security, Medical Research Funding, and Equality at Work.

unbreaking.org

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