Trump’s first legal step in meddling with the 2026 elections

ALSO INSIDE: Lawsuit naming Musk as illegal actor moves forward

May 28, 2025

Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.

I’m taking a few days off starting tomorrow, so this is the only edition of Below the Beltway this week. I’ll be back at it Monday, so you can expect your regular daily from me to start back up again on June 2.

Have a great week!

What Happened

In a very short span of time, the President of the United States has told military graduates not to marry trophy wives, admitted to providing cover for a foreign dictator, pardoned reality TV stars, and asked Canada to give up its sovereignty and join the United States in a mob-like offer of “protection.”

But what his administration has been working on in a small courtroom in Raleigh, North Carolina, is what could possibly have the most serious long-term implications. I’ve written a little about Republicans’ failed effort to overturn election results in North Carolina—and our Michael McElroy, political correspondent at Cardinal & Pine, has covered it extensively. Essentially, the Trump administration is now using this failure on the part of NC Republicans to lay the groundwork to implement Trump’s executive order on elections.

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued North Carolina over its handling of voter records, a matter already considered settled after state Republicans tried to challenge 60,000 votes in order to hand November’s state Supreme Court election to their preferred candidate. The accusation of poorly-maintained voter records was ultimately thrown out by state courts, but Trump’s lawsuit is now in federal courts, where he’s been known to shop around for friendly judges.

Trump’s lawsuit specifically cites his own executive order, which he signed in March, as legal justification for these claims, and if judges agree with Trump and his DOJ, it would give his order—which would require onsite voter ID, put vote certification under federal authority, and hand voter data to DOGE—legitimacy and the legal precedent to be carried out in full.

Attempts to Sanewash

Far-Right Spin

Musk ensnared in DOGE-related legal trouble

Despite his best efforts, Elon Musk has been unable to feign defeat and leave the public spotlight while also reaping the benefits of his entanglements with the Trump administration.

A judge on Tuesday denied requests by Trump to dismiss a lawsuit against DOGE that accuses Musk of acting illegally and unconstitutionally when he rammed his way through as many government agencies as he could find. Specifically, District Court Judge Tanya Chutkin believes the claim that Musk is responsible for misuse of federal funds and unauthorized access to private and sensitive data has merit, and the courts should decide if—and how—he will be held accountable.

“I’m proud to have brought this case on behalf of Arizonans, their personal privacy, and our constitutional system,” said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We will keep fighting Elon Musk and DOGE to ensure the Trump Administration follows the law.”

In her opinion, Chutkin also pointed out that:

Despite his and Trump’s claims, Musk’s role was not as an advisor. He was acting as a principal officer in the administration without an interim appointment or Senate confirmation, which is illegal.
As an unlawful actor, Musk’s orders to obtain sensitive data, halt payments, cancel contracts, and prevent other agencies from doing their federally mandated requirements without the statutory authority to do so.

And all of this, according to Chutkin, with “virtually unchecked power across the entire Executive Branch.”

The next step will be discovery, where—thanks to the 15 attorneys general who filed this suit—DOGE will be required to open its books and provide transparency into the full scope of its role in the Trump administration.

US Rep. Michelle Fischbach, Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District

Since taking office in 2021, Rep. Fischbach has:

Seen her net worth increase from $140,000 to $769,000
Sponsored 57 bills
Authored 4 bills that have been signed into law, all to rename post offices
Tried to block the ethics investigation into former US Rep. Matt Gaetz from being released to the public
Received over $40,000 from billionaires after refusing to certify the 2020 election
Shielded Elon Musk and Signalgate participants from congressional oversight

Fun Facts

In 2018, Rep. Fischbach was serving as Minnesota’s Senate President. A string of resignations and appointments initiated by Al Franken resulted in her appointment as the state’s lieutenant governor. Republicans in the Minnesota Senate only had a one-seat majority, however, so Fischbach came up with a simple solution to save their majority: she’d do both jobs!

But that was (probably) illegal, and her announcement was met with several legal threats. After spending months trying to convince people her promotion was “purely ceremonial,” she finally resigned from the state Senate.

Beto O’Rourke holds rallies across Texas

@couriertexas Watch as Beto O’Rourke urges Texans to stand with children and their parents swept up in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. “If we don’t hang together, we are going to swing alone,” O’Rourke, a former US House member and statewide candidate, told a town hall in Garland on May 19.

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Former US Rep. Beto O’Rourke is on the road, doing what most Texas’ current representatives won’t: meeting with voters.

O’Rourke has held seven rallies in the Lone Star State in recent months, drawing smaller crowds than Bernie and AOC, but much larger than US Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who hasn’t held any public, in-person town halls this year. O’Rourke has taken up a number of different topics while rallying people opposed to the Trump administration’s policies into action, encouraging them to stay active and find ways to help those being harmed by Trump’s harmful rhetoric and policies.

Our reporters at Courier Texas have been on the scene, talking with voters and covering topics they’ve brought up, like what to do about children being deported, or what school vouchers are really doing to our education system. Make sure to check out their reporting on Instagram and TikTok!

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