News

D21 On House GOP Effort To Restrict Enforcement Of Court Contempt Citations Against Trump & His Officials

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The provision in the House Republicans’ reconciliation bill to restrict the ability of the federal courts to enforce their decisions through contempt of court findings is an outrageous attack on the judiciary and our constitutional system of government. It is a blatant power grab. With the cooperation of […]

The Resistance Is Strong & Growing

On the other side of President Donald Trump’s governing approach of doing whatever the hell he wants, are three potent forces pushing back: passionate citizens, courageous lawyers, and rule-of-law judges. The Resistance is strong and growing. When you ask, “What can be done?” look to these role models. ➡️ Passionate Citizens Resistance to Trump’s authoritarian […]

A $400-Million Problem: How To Close The Presidential Gift Ban Exemption

President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he intends to accept the gift of a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, dubbed a “Palace in the Sky” and reportedly worth $400 million, from the ruling family of Qatar. Trump said Qatar is making a gift of the luxury jet to the United States to be used by […]

D21 Joins In Statement Standing In Solidarity With Harvard

More than 300 organizations, including Democracy 21 Education Fund, have joined together in a statement against the government’s attack on Harvard University and improper efforts to remove its tax-exempt status. In recent weeks, President Trump has repeatedly called for Harvard’s tax-exempt status to be revoked. According to the statement: When the federal government tries to […]

Two American Princelings

In China, “Princelings” are the children and other relatives of powerful government leaders who amass enormous wealth by trading on their family relationships. As Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump rack up huge financial deals around the world for the Trump business portfolio, they have become America’s own Princelings. A New York Times investigation, detailed a list of new […]

From Watergate To Today

On Wednesday, April 30, Democracy 21 President Wertheimer received the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for 2025. Previous recipients of the nonpartisan award include President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Senator John McCain, and Representatives John Lewis and Liz Cheney. The following are excerpts from Fred’s remarks at the […]

Remarks Of D21 President Fred Wertheimer, Recipient Of The Paul H. Douglas Award For Ethics In Government

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Democracy 21 President Wertheimer received the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for 2025. Previous recipients of the nonpartisan award include President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Senator John McCain, and Representatives John Lewis and Liz Cheney. The following are Wertheimer’s remarks at the award […]

Governing By Executive Order

President Donald Trump started governing the country by executive order from Day One of his second term. Since January 20, Trump has issued 137 executive orders. This compares with 162 executive orders issued by President Joe Biden over his entire four-year term and the 276 orders issued over eight years by President Barack Obama. In issuing this explosion […]

D21 Joins In Urging House Leaders To Approve OCC Board Overseeing House Ethics

Democracy 21 joined with Campaign Legal Center and 18 other good government partners to urge U.S. Representatives to approve the board of the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) so that the House of Representatives can conduct investigations and review allegations of misconduct. As Roll Call recently pointed out, House leaders have yet to appoint members […]

How SCOTUS Opened The Door To The Musk Era

It took Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, to illustrate to Americans just how dangerous our corrupt campaign finance system can be. This system allowed Musk to contribute more than $250 million to help elect Donald Trump in 2024, making him Trump’s single biggest financial supporter. In turn, President Trump made Musk his governing partner. Following […]