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Trump Tyranny Tracker | Day 610-612: Sept. 25-27, 2026
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A general view of the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, on the first day of the court’s new term, October 5, 2026. Jonathan Ernst/ReutersWelcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker…
Trump expanding federal control over voter data ahead of the midterms, taxpayer-funded ads promoting his propaganda, and growing military tensions involving Iran and Cuba are among this weekend’s top stories.
This Weekend at a Glance
Trump expands federal voter screening ahead of the midterms as eligible U.S. citizens are wrongly flagged as noncitizens.
Taxpayer-funded television ads promoting Trump and his political agenda expand to more networks.
FBI breach exposes sensitive medical records and personal information of agents working on Russia, China and other intelligence operations.
What We Need to Pay Attention To
Supreme Court lets Trump administration use revamped federal voter eligibility database for now
What Happened: The Supreme Court temporarily allowed states to use Trump’s expanded SAVE database to check voter eligibility ahead of the midterms, overturning a lower court restriction. The system uses federal data to identify potential noncitizens but has already wrongly flagged eligible U.S. citizens.
Why It Matters: The Supreme Court handed Trump another win and a federal tool to challenge voter registrations weeks before the midterms. SAVE has already wrongly identified U.S. citizens as potential noncitizens, putting eligible voters at risk of being flagged or removed from voter rolls.
Source: Associated Press
Corruption
RFK Jr received $4m in book advances from Maha allies over past year
What Happened: RFK Jr. received $4 million in book advances over the past year from Skyhorse Publishing, owned by Tony Lyons, president of the MAHA Center. Kennedy’s disclosures also show nearly $142,000 in free flights and housing from longtime ally and political donor Gavin de Becker. His wife received $210,000 in consulting fees from another Lyons-led MAHA group.
Source: The Guardian
Democrats press RFK Jr. on an ethics agreement change involving law firm fees
What Happened: RFK Jr. told senators before his confirmation that he would transfer his financial interest in vaccine-related litigation to his adult son. Democratic senators say he instead changed his ethics disclosures after the hearings and transferred the interest to his former law firm without explaining the change to Congress.
Why It Matters: Kennedy told senators he would handle a financial conflict one way before they voted on his confirmation, then changed the arrangement afterward without telling them. Senators are now questioning whether he complied with federal ethics requirements.
Source: Associated Press
Power Consolidation
Trump allies could use midterms ‘counting window’ to disrupt results, experts warn
What Happened: Election experts warn that Trump and his allies could use the days after the midterms, while ballots are still being counted, to challenge results and amplify false claims of fraud or foreign interference. Former officials warned that claims of foreign interference could also be used to justify attempts to seize ballots or voting equipment.
Why It Matters: Legitimate vote counting can take days after polls close. Trump’s lies of fraud or foreign interference during that window could be used to undermine the results or justify attempts to seize ballots and voting equipment.
Source: The Guardian
Trump continues voter data push despite repeated setbacks
What Happened: Trump is pushing ahead with plans for DHS to compile lists of Americans eligible to vote using data from across the federal government and share them with states. His Justice Department has lost 25 lawsuits seeking state voter rolls, but DHS has already obtained voter data from at least 47 states.
Source: Reuters
Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress
What Happened: Trump moved to cancel nearly $1 billion in spending already approved by Congress, using a rarely invoked “pocket rescission” five days before the fiscal year ended. The cuts target immigrant services, minority business programs, housing counseling and other domestic programs.
Source: ABC News
Weaponization of Institutions
City council candidate faces ‘riot participation’ charge for ICE shooting protest
What Happened: Austin city council candidate Misael Ramos was arrested on a misdemeanor “riot participation” charge after protesting the ICE shooting of Venezuelan asylum seeker Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. Authorities accuse Ramos of moving barricades and other objects to obstruct traffic; Ramos denies wrongdoing.
Source: ABC News and Associated Press
Nearly 200 people wrongly identified on Nevada’s voter rolls as non-citizens
What Happened: DHS identified 185 people on Nevada’s voter rolls as potential noncitizens after Trump claimed thousands of noncitizens could be registered in the state. Nevada officials reviewed the records and found they belonged to U.S. citizens, while DHS has not provided information needed to substantiate its claims.
Why It Matters: This is exactly the danger of using federal databases to police voter eligibility. DHS falsely identified 185 U.S. citizens as potential noncitizens weeks before the midterms, putting legitimate voters at risk of being wrongly targeted or removed from voter rolls.
Source: The Guardian
Media Suppression & Authoritarian Tactics
Taxpayer-funded pro-Trump TV ad campaign grows with new spot, wider reach
What Happened: The U.S. government is paying for television ads promoting Trump and his political agenda, with two ads airing in three days and at least $443,000 spent on the first. The ads are labeled “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” while the White House calls them public service announcements.
Why It Matters: Taxpayer money is being used to promote Trump and his propaganda weeks before the election. Russia does the same thing, using state resources to push Putin’s propaganda.
Source: Washington Post
White House blocks CNN from covering Trump’s Tennessee trip
What Happened: The White House removed CNN from the press pool traveling with Trump to Tennessee after the network had been scheduled to cover the trip on behalf of the major television networks. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News had briefly stopped participating in the pool earlier in the week after Trump barred CNN from taking its scheduled turns.
Source: NBC News
Human & Civil Rights Abuses
DOJ says it has ended more than 50 decades-old school desegregation cases
What Happened: Trump’s Education Department ended rules allowing schools to identify discrimination through racial disparities and warned schools against considering race when addressing discipline. His Justice Department has also ended more than 50 longstanding school desegregation cases, removing federal court oversight established to prevent racial discrimination.
Why It Matters: Trump is dismantling decades of federal civil rights protections in public schools. Schools will have fewer tools to identify racial discrimination, while dozens of districts with histories of segregation will no longer face federal court oversight.
Source: CBS News and Associated Press
Government Disruption
‘Extremely sensitive medical data’ for FBI agents among hacked records: Report
What Happened: Data stolen in the FBI breach reportedly includes home addresses, relatives’ information, intelligence assignments and sensitive medical records for thousands of special agents, including blood and urine test results. Exposed employees include personnel working on Russia, China, electronic surveillance, FISA, and the FBI’s secretive hacking unit.
Source: ABC News
CDC vaccine policy recommendations grind to a halt under Health Secretary Kennedy
What Happened: The CDC has stopped issuing recommendations on new vaccines after RFK Jr. purged its longtime vaccine advisory committee and replaced it with a panel that was later blocked by a federal judge. Doctors’ groups and insurers are now developing vaccine guidance outside the federal system.
Why It Matters: Kennedy dismantled a 60-year federal process for reviewing vaccines and providing guidance to doctors and patients. America is now left without a functioning national system for updating vaccine recommendations.
Source: Associated Press
US immigration crackdown hits Kansas, disrupts beef processing
What Happened: ICE operations across southwest Kansas kept workers away from meatpacking plants, feedlots and dairies, slowing beef production and delaying thousands of cattle shipments.
Source: Reuters
The Education Dept. hasn’t been dismantled. It’s become more inefficient, staff say
What Happened: Trump’s effort to dismantle the Education Department has scattered employees across at least nine federal buildings and shifted major education programs into agencies whose systems were not designed to administer them. Attempts to move billions of dollars in education grants through other agencies have already run into technical and staffing problems.
Why It Matters: Trump is dismantling the Education Department without a functioning replacement. Programs serving low-income students and children with disabilities are being shifted to agencies that are not equipped to handle them, putting billions in federal education funding at risk.
Source: NPR
Trump administration guts data collection on US education as math and reading scores plummet
What Happened: Trump’s cuts reduced the National Center for Education Statistics from about 100 employees to 12 and eliminated or scaled back much of its research and data collection. DOGE canceled nearly $900 million in Education Department contracts, including studies tracking student performance, school safety and college costs.
Why It Matters: Reading and math scores are at their lowest levels in 25 years while Trump is gutting the systems that track them. Suppressing unfavorable data is a common authoritarian tactic to hide government failures.
Source: The Guardian
Imperial & Geopolitical Watch
Trump Rejects Iranian Proposal for Cease-Fire and Opening of Strait
What Happened: Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and restarted nuclear negotiations. Iran sought the release of at least $12 billion in frozen assets, an oil sanctions waiver and an end to the U.S. naval blockade.
Source: New York Times
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba
What Happened: The Army Reserve is assessing whether military police, medical, engineering, and logistics units could be available within 90–120 days for U.S. Southern Command. U.S. officials said the planning is connected to Cuba, although no deployment orders have been issued.
Why It Matters: Trump has already dragged the U.S. into a costly war with Iran while the military is now preparing for possible action involving Cuba. Trump is risking pulling the U.S. into another war before his first one is over.
Source: CBS News
Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
Unmasking RussiaRussia Is “Grateful” as Trump Invites Putin to the G20 in MiamiIn his latest effort to whitewash and normalize Russia, Trump has invited war criminal Putin to the G20 summit in Miami this December. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the invitation yesterday after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, saying Trump hopes Putin accepts…Read more12 days ago · 66 likes · 11 comments · Olga LautmanEconomic News
Consumer confidence dips in September amid inflation concerns
What Happened: U.S. consumer sentiment fell 7% in September to a four-month low as Americans grew more concerned about inflation and the cost of living. Gas has reached a national average of $4.49 a gallon and diesel $6.50 as the Iran war disrupts global oil supplies.
Source: The Hill
Resistance
Check out 50501 for local and nationwide events…
Source: 50501
By the Numbers
$185 — U.S. citizens wrongly flagged by DHS as potential noncitizens on Nevada’s voter rolls
$4 million — Book advances RFK Jr. received from a publisher that also monetized the MAHA movement
47 — States whose voter data DHS has already obtained
$1 billion — Spending already approved by Congress that Trump moved to cancel
$900 million — Education Department contracts canceled by DOGE
$443,000 — At least spent on the first taxpayer-funded television ad promoting Trump
12 — Employees remaining at the National Center for Education Statistics, down from about 100
$4.49 — National average price for a gallon of gas
$6.50 — National average price for a gallon of diesel
What to Watch Next
Trump is expanding federal control over voter eligibility weeks before the midterms — How many eligible Americans will be wrongly flagged as states begin using the expanded SAVE database?
Trump and his allies are already laying the groundwork to challenge the midterm results — What happens during the days after the election while ballots are still being counted?
The U.S. is already at war with Iran while the military prepares options involving Cuba — Is Trump preparing to pull the United States into another conflict war the first one is over?
Key Takeaways
Rising Costs — The Iran war is pushing fuel prices higher while Trump’s immigration crackdown disrupts U.S. beef production.
Election Interference — Trump is expanding federal voter screening ahead of the midterms while DHS has already wrongly flagged U.S. citizens as potential noncitizens.
State Propaganda — Taxpayer-funded television ads promoting Trump and his political agenda are expanding weeks before the election.
Government Breakdown — Trump’s dismantling of federal agencies is disrupting vaccine guidance, education funding and the collection of basic government data.
Call to Action
Document Everything: Document purges, corruption, and power grabs. Share credible information with journalists, watchdogs, and legal experts. Silence enables authoritarianism—see something, say something.
Defend Press Freedom: Support independent journalism by subscribing to and sharing reporting that challenges Trump’s power grab.
Contact Lawmakers: Demand accountability for Trump’s unchecked power and war on oversight.
Mobilize for Action: Organize or join legal efforts and resistance movements to protect democracy and human and civil rights.
Support Whistleblowers: Encourage legal defense funds for government workers facing retaliation for exposing corruption.
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Putin’s Pawns takes you on a journey from the earliest days of the Cold War and Soviet KGB active measures through Russia’s attacks on Western elections, the rise of the far right, Trump and Russia, the genocidal war against Ukraine, influence operations across Europe, and the shadow war unfolding today.
It is the story of how Moscow spent decades learning to exploit the weaknesses of democracies and how those tactics brought us to this moment.
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