☕ Daily Brief: Dems Sue Trump Over Voter ID

By Upward News | Created at 2025-04-03 13:19:20 | Updated at 2025-04-04 17:50:27 1 day ago

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

🌎 Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on global imports. President Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on all imports and higher targeted rates, including 34 percent on China and 20 percent on the EU. The "Liberation Day" announcement came through emergency powers, bypassing Congress to impose what could be hundreds of billions in annual tariffs. These sweeping changes are expected to upset financial markets, as the president said to be prepared for some short-term pain.

🙅‍♂️ Senate Republicans vote with Democrats to cancel Trump's tariffs. Four GOP senators joined Democrats to advance a resolution undoing Trump's Canada tariffs, with Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitch McConnell (KY), and Rand Paul (KY) breaking ranks to support the 51-48 vote. The White House has promised to veto the resolution. Despite Trump’s undisputed leadership over the Republican Party, his tariff plan is creating stark divisions.

🤐 The FBI silenced an analyst who confirmed the Hunter Biden laptop. Newly obtained FBI logs revealed that they placed a "gag order" on an analyst who tried telling Twitter the Hunter Biden laptop story was authentic in October 2020, despite knowing the laptop was real since November 2019. Chat logs show the analyst was "admonished" by FBI staff who wrote that "he won't shut up" about the laptop's authenticity. This further proves that federal agencies actively suppressed information that could have impacted the 2020 election.

🇨🇳 The US sanctioned Chinese officials over Tibet, Hong Kong. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses, specifically targeting those restricting foreign access to Tibet and using Hong Kong's security law to go after US citizens. This more aggressive approach on human rights is contrasted with the administration’s dealings with Russia, where Trump is more interested in normalizing relations.

INSIDER RADAR

MEMBERS ONLY

Mentioned behind the paywall: Scott Bessent, Mike Pence, Howard Lutnick, Rand Paul, Karoline Leavitt, Elon Musk, Randy Fine, and Candace Owens.

Mentioned behind the paywall: A CNN host’s lie about Elon Musk and entitlements.

QUICK AND IMPORTANT

Mexican President Gloria Sheinbaum announced that Mexico will not impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods but will unveil a "comprehensive program" instead.
A federal judge dismissed corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams "with prejudice," preventing the DOJ from reviving the case.
Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra launched a bid for California governor.
Colorado Democrats advanced legislation to make intentional misgendering and "deadnaming" a form of discrimination and harassment under state law.
The most clicked link in our last newsletter was a Gambian student at Cornell University announcing his self-deportation.

THE MAIN STORY

WHAT’S HAPPENING_

The Democratic National Committee and several advocacy groups filed two separate federal lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump's recent executive order on election integrity. The order requires documentary proof of US citizenship for voter registration and directs states to reject mail ballots received after Election Day.

Led by Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY), the suits argue that Trump has vastly overstepped his constitutional authority by attempting to dictate election rules that should be set by states and Congress. The White House maintains the order is essential to protecting election integrity.

_THE FACTS_

President Trump's executive order directs the Election Assistance Commission to require documentary proof of US citizenship on mail voter registration applications. The current system allows applicants to simply attest to citizenship with a signature.
The order also instructs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cross-reference federal data with state voter rolls to identify non-citizens who may be registered to vote.
The Democratic lawsuit specifically targets the data-sharing requirements, claiming they violate privacy rights.
Both lawsuits cite the Constitution's Elections Clause, which grants the states — not the president — the power to determine the "times, places, and manner" of elections unless superseded by congressional legislation.
Trump’s order also directs the attorney general to prosecute individuals who have illegally registered or voted, and instructs states to reject mail ballots that arrive after Election Day.
Illegal migrants voting in elections does not happen, according to Democrats. But a DOGE worker just confirmed that there are “thousands of them on the voter rolls, and many of them had voted.”
“Democrats are in panic mode because they directly benefit from a system where it’s difficult to stop illegal voting by foreign nationals," said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in a statement to Upward News. "Fortunately, proof of citizenship to vote is widely popular among Americans, and this attempt to sabotage our election integrity will not succeed.”
Recent referendums back up Senator Lee’s claim: this Tuesday, Wisconsinites overwhelmingly backed adding voter ID to their state’s constitution.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also told Upward News that the Democrats were “implementing a plan to allow non-citizens to swing American elections,” but “President Trump and the Republican Congress are blocking that plan.”

_OUR INSIGHTS _

Insights behind the paywall: The SAVE Act and left-wing NGOs facilitating migrant voting.

Mentioned behind the paywall: The New York Times, Axios, The Daily Signal, and The New York Post.

THE DAILY DEBATE

POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY

Do you think the GOP will have trouble in future elections where Trump isn’t on the ballot?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👍 Yes (344)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 👎 No (194)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (170)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (15)

👍 Yes: “Without Trump, electing conservative candidates will become much more difficult for Republicans until they get an excellent ground game and communicate effectively!” — Jim

👎 No: “One man does not make a party. Holding the conservative values that are drawing young people to the party will pull the GOP through.” — Mike

🤔 Unsure: “Too soon to tell. Depends on the economy and employment.” — DJ

💬 Other: “Only where the Democrats control the counting.” — Steve

723 votes

Today’s newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ari David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won’t find in the mainstream media.