The Legal Firewall Didn't Burn Us—Yet
Republicans dropped the bond provision—but quietly funded a scheme to surveil judges who restrain government abuse. Project 2025 is just getting started.
Back in June, I published two articles warning about this very issue.
On June 18, in They're Hiding an Authoritarian Power Grab in the Budget Bill, I revealed a provision in the House budget bill that would have required massive financial bonds from anyone seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) or injunction against the government.
Then, on June 25, in Project 2025's Legal Firewall Struck Down—But Could Return! I explained that the Senate Parliamentarian had removed it—but warned it might resurface in another form.
It didn’t—but something subtler and just as dangerous made it through. What the Final Law Actually Includes
After scrutinizing the final version of H.R. 1—the misleadingly titled One Big Beautiful Bill Act—passed by Congress and signed by Trump on July 4, one fact stands clear:
The bond requirement was not reinserted.
Instead, Republicans quietly slipped in a provision under Section 100101 allocating millions to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to closely track judicial decisions against the government.
In plain English:
Congress will now track how often judges intervene to stop government abuses—and calculate exactly how much those injunctions ‘cost’ taxpayers when courts impose financial bonds.
Why do they want this data?
Why Vigilance Still Matters
Republicans initially tried to ram through a measure explicitly designed to cripple judicial oversight. They failed—this time. But this new measure sets a dangerous precedent.
I haven’t seen any media outlets or Substack posts talking about it! Read it here first!
It’s not neutral research; it’s preparation. Project 2025 seeks not just to diminish judicial checks but to build a narrative that courts protecting our rights are costly, burdensome, and disruptive to governance. History tells us exactly where this goes.
Authoritarian Echoes: Data as a Weapon
This isn’t new—it’s a tested authoritarian tactic. Nazi Germany, Erdoğan’s Turkey, Orbán’s Hungary, and Putin’s Russia all used ‘cost and efficiency’ studies as preludes to dismantling independent judiciaries.
They began with innocuous-seeming research and ended with courts stripped of their power to hold governments accountable:
Nazi Germany: Efficiency audits justified dismantling judicial independence.
Turkey under Erdoğan: Judicial reforms paved the way for judicial purges.
Hungary under Orbán: Cost studies justified early retirements of independent judges.
Russia under Putin: Judicial metrics became a tool to consolidate courts.
Each regime framed their power grabs as fiscally responsible—until judicial independence was destroyed.
What You Can Do Now
Call your Representatives and Senators (Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121)
Demand they resist all future measures targeting judicial independence.
Demand Senate Judiciary Committee oversight
Ensure these “studies” don’t become tools for authoritarian power consolidation.
Spread the word
Most Americans are unaware of this stealthy move.
Support judicial watchdogs and civil liberties groups
ACLU, Earthjustice, and Protect Democracy are crucial.
Conclusion
We dodged a bullet, but don’t mistake this for victory. This funding isn’t about fiscal transparency; it’s about building the case for future authoritarian power grabs.
The architects of Project 2025, Russell Vought and Steven Miller, have methodically worked to enact The Heritage Foundation’s authoritarian agenda even before Trump’s inauguration. They’re expanding power every day—through stealth legislation, through quiet funding schemes, and through a Supreme Court deliberately stacked with Heritage-approved justices. Six of our current SCOTUS justices were chosen precisely to reinforce Project 2025’s mandates, and their recent rulings continue to grant Trump unprecedented and unchecked executive authority.
Our democracy is simply not safe under Trump’s Administration or the Christian Nationalist Republicans who currently control Congress. The firewall didn’t burn us this time—but vigilance remains our only protection against their next assault.
Sources::
Sec. 100101.Appropriation to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
Law and Justice in the Third Reich
Turkey’s Judiciary: From Protector to Enabler of Authoritarianism
Hungary’s Latest Assault on the Judiciary - Human Rights Watch