Impact Docket – 07/15/26
This week demands action. Here are eight ways you can push back right now:
⚡ Quick Actions
Block Blanche: the confirmation hearing is happening now — keep the pressure on → Get the script and call your senator
Call Congress: Stop OMB's grants power grab → Get the script and switchboard number
Tell the Senate: Reject Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence → Add your name
📩 Short-Term Engagement — Public Comments
Stop new barriers to work permits for immigrants → Use resources (below) to submit a comment by August 4
🛠️ Long-Term Engagement
Volunteer for election protection — the midterms are coming → Fill out our interest form
🤝 Partner Actions
Good Trouble Lives On: find an event near you — July 17-19 → Find your event and RSVP
KANSAS: Vote NO on August 4 to keep politics out of your courts — advance voting begins today → Volunteer or join a virtual phone bank
MISSOURI: Vote NO on Amendment 4 to protect majority rule → Join the campaign
Whether you have 2 minutes or 2 days, join the fight. Keep reading for more context.
🔴 The Moment We're In: "It's Not Dead"
Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing was today — and the fund he built is a reason his nomination is in doubt.
For weeks, Blanche has insisted the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" — the pot of taxpayer money the DOJ created to compensate the president's allies, carved out of a settlement of Trump's own lawsuit against the IRS — is dead. But today, Republican Senator John Cornyn, a key vote on the Judiciary Committee, said Blanche confirmed under questioning that it isn't. "Basically, he confirmed that it's not dead," Cornyn told reporters. The settlement can't be changed without written consent of the parties — and that consent doesn't exist. As a matter of contract, the fund could still be enforced. Senator Thom Tillis said he needs "absolute certainty that the 1776 fund cannot rear its ugly head" before he'll vote yes.
This is the whole case against Blanche in one exchange: a man who used the machinery of the Justice Department to shield the president who appointed him, and who cannot bring himself to unwind it even to save his own confirmation. His nomination now hinges on a handful of Republican votes — which means the pressure this community applies right now matters.
More than 2,600 attorneys signed our open letter opposing Blanche, which we delivered to Senate offices last week. If you've signed, the next most powerful thing you can do today is call your senator — we've built a script with everything you need. And to go deeper on what's at stake, watch the latest episode of Resisting Injustice, L4GG's new video collaboration with Legal AF of MeidasTouch, where our Executive Director Traci Feit Love breaks down the Blanche nomination and the future of the DOJ.
Eight actions. Pick one. Start there.
⚡ QUICK ACTIONS
📞 Call the Senate: Blanche’s Hearing Is Happening Now
Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing is underway today, and he's already facing sharp questions from senators in both parties — including Republicans — over the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, his role shielding Trump and his family from IRS liability, and his handling of the Epstein files. The committee vote and a full Senate vote come next — which means senators need to hear from lawyers right now.
2,600+ attorneys signed our open letter. If you've signed, the next most powerful thing you can do today is pick up the phone. We've built a script with everything you need — the case against Blanche in lawyer-to-lawyer terms and how to reach your senators. Call them today!
📞 Call Congress: Stop OMB's Grants Power Grab
📍 L4GG.org/OMBScript | 5 minutes
The Office of Management and Budget’s proposed rewrite of federal grants rules would hand political appointees unilateral control over $1 trillion+ in federal funding. Thanks to this community, nearly 500,000 comments were filed opposing it before the comment period closed July 13 — a massive show of force. But formal comments aren't the only lever: Congress can still act. Call your senators and representative and tell them to oppose this rule and use every tool at their disposal to hold OMB accountable. Get the script and switchboard number!
📜 Tell the Senate: Reject Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence
A prosecutor who subpoenas journalists to hunt down their sources should never be trusted with America's intelligence agencies. Jay Clayton — currently the temporary U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York — issued grand jury subpoenas to four New York Times journalists at their homes to unmask their sources. His DNI hearing is happening now.
Federal law requires the Director of National Intelligence to have extensive national security expertise. Every one of the last eight people to hold or be nominated for the role had a background in intelligence, the military, diplomacy, or oversight. Clayton has none. He also oversaw a redaction process on the Epstein files that left trafficking victims' explicit photos and email addresses exposed, rolled back whistleblower protections as SEC Chair, and defended the president's $1.776 billion slush fund on national television.
Confirmation takes only a simple majority — every senator's vote counts. Tell the Senate to reject Jay Clayton.
📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT
📋 Submit a Comment: Stop New Barriers to Work Permits for Immigrants — Deadline August 4
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: August 4
A proposed USCIS rule would erect sweeping new barriers to work authorization for people with parole, deferred action, and other forms of lawful presence — including some whose deportation is legally barred. The rule would require applicants to prove "economic necessity" (an undefined standard), mandate employment with an E-Verify employer, cap work permits at one year for many categories, and bar work authorization based on arrests or charges even if sealed or expunged. For many immigrants who are living and working here lawfully, this would mean losing the ability to support themselves and their families.
Read our partners at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project's comment resources to understand the rule.
Submit your comment via Regulations.gov by August 4, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT
🗳️ Volunteer for Election Protection — The Midterms Are Coming
With the midterms approaching, the administration is already laying the groundwork to contest results — dedicating federal agencies to a voter fraud investigation that has produced no evidence, and moving to seize control of mail-in voting. This is when lawyers make the difference. L4GG is partnering with leading voting rights organizations to deploy volunteer attorneys for election protection this fall.
Opportunities include remote misinformation monitoring, multi-state purge chasing in priority states, and in-person poll monitoring and challenger roles. No election law background required — trainings provided. Tell us you're in!
🤝 Partner Actions
✊ Good Trouble Lives On: Find an Event Near You — July 17-19
This weekend, communities across the country will mobilize for the Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action (July 17-19) — a nationwide response honoring John Lewis's legacy and defending voting rights, due process, and the rule of law. Find an event near you, show up, and stand with your community.
Find an event near you and RSVP
⚖️ KANSAS: Vote NO on August 4 — Keep Politics Out of Your Courts
On August 4, Kansas voters will decide whether to replace the state's 70-year-old merit-based system for selecting Supreme Court justices with partisan elections — turning justices into candidates who fundraise, campaign, and answer to donors and political parties. The amendment was pushed by officials who have openly said they want to reverse court decisions on reproductive freedom, school funding, and voting rights. Advance voting begins today.
Kansas lawyers: volunteer to canvass with Kansans United for Impartial Courts and help voters understand what's at stake. Everyone else: spread the word through a virtual phone bank — judicial independence is a national fight.
🗳️ MISSOURI: Vote NO on Amendment 4 — Protect Majority Rule
Also on August 4, Missourians will vote on Amendment 4 — a constitutional amendment that would end majority rule for ballot initiatives. Instead of a simple statewide majority, initiatives would need to pass in a majority of the state's congressional districts, giving a handful of districts veto power over the will of the whole state. It would be the highest vote threshold for citizen initiatives in the country — designed to make it nearly impossible for Missourians to pass reforms their leaders oppose. Sign up to join the campaign against Amendment 4.
📅 Save the Date: L4GG's 10th Anniversary Convening — Feb 2027
The attorneys, advocates, and movement-builders who have shaped L4GG's first ten years are coming together — and we want you in the room. Join us in Washington, D.C. for a landmark convening to celebrate our community and build our next chapter. Sign up to be the first to know when registration opens. Your feedback shapes the programming.
We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here.
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