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Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

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Anti-Trump conservatives say half of congressional GOP failed to protect democracy

Members of Congress

Sen. Ted Cruz was one of 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, which contributed to his failing grade from the Republican Accountability Project.

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Sara Swann
By Sara SwannApr 28, 2021
Sara Swann

As a staff writer, Sara covers a variety of democracy reform issues, including voting rights, money in politics, gerrymandering and civic education. Prior to joining The Fulcrum in May 2019, Sara reported on local government on Maryland's Eastern Shore for the USA Today network. She is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Syracuse University.

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During the 2020 election, the strength of American democracy was put to the test several times. While democracy ultimately prevailed, many Republicans in Congress failed to support it.

The Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump conservative group, released a report this week analyzing how GOP members acted during crucial moments as the election results were being certified. More than half the Republicans in Congress received failing grades for their actions.

This report highlights the current divide in the Republican Party between those who still support former President Donald Trump and those who do not.

The report evaluated all 50 Republican senators and 211 GOP House members (excluding Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana because she was not in office at the time) based on four criteria:

  • Did they sign on to the amicus brief filed in support of Texas' lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to nullify votes cast in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia?
  • Did they object to the certification of Electoral College votes from at least one state?
  • Did they make public statements that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election?
  • Did they vote to hold Trump accountable via impeachment or conviction?

Only 16 Republicans (seven senators and nine House members) received an A, which the report described as "excellent."

Republican Accountability Project grades for the SenateSource: Republican Accountability Project

Thirteen House members received a B, or an "okay" grade. No senators earned a B.

How Republican House members were graded on democracySource: Republican Accountability Project

Fifty-eight Republicans (30 senators and 28 House members) received a C for "mediocre." This group includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who is ranking member of the Rules and Administration Committee. Both have been instrumental in blocking democracy reform legislation from advancing in the Senate.Thirty-eight Republicans (five senators and 33 House members) received a D for "poor."

While just eight senators were given an F for "very poor," 60 percent of the House GOP (128 members) received a failing grade.

"Our Capitol was attacked by a mob that believed that the 2020 election was being stolen. They were encouraged by the lies and actions of President Trump and many Republican members of Congress," the report says. "In the name of accountability, it's vitally important we remember which Congressional Republicans stood with democracy and the Constitution, and which did not."


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Why Greenland and ICE Could Spell the End of U.S. Empire
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Photo by Morgan Lane on Unsplash

Why Greenland and ICE Could Spell the End of U.S. Empire

Since the late 15th century, the Americas have been colonized by the Spanish, French, British, Portuguese, and the United States, among others. This begs the question: how do we determine the right to citizenship over land that has been stolen or seized? Should we, as United States citizens today, condone the use of violence and force to remove, deport, and detain Indigenous Peoples from the Americas, including Native American and Indigenous Peoples with origins in Latin America? I argue that Greenland and ICE represent the tipping point for the legitimacy of the U.S. as a weakening world power that is losing credibility at home and abroad.

On January 9th, the BBC reported that President Trump, during a press briefing about his desire to “own” Greenland, stated that, “Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland," Trump told reporters on Friday, in response to a question from the BBC. The US will do it "the easy way" or "the hard way", he said. During this same press briefing, Trump stated, “The fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land.”

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Family First: How One Program Is Rebuilding System-Impacted Families

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Family First: How One Program Is Rebuilding System-Impacted Families

“Are you proud of your mother?” Colie Lavar Long, known as Shaka, asked 13-year-old Jade Muñez when he found her waiting at the Georgetown University Law Center. She had come straight from school and was waiting for her mother, Jessica Trejo—who, like Long, is formerly incarcerated—to finish her classes before they would head home together, part of their daily routine.

Muñez said yes, a heartwarming moment for both Long and Trejo, who are friends through their involvement in Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. Trejo recalled that day: “When I came out, [Long] told me, ‘I think it’s awesome that your daughter comes here after school. Any other kid would be like, I'm out of here.’” This mother-daughter bond inspired Long to encourage this kind of family relationship through an initiative he named the Family First program.

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Wisconsin Bill Would Allow DACA Recipients to Apply for Professional Licenses

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Wisconsin Bill Would Allow DACA Recipients to Apply for Professional Licenses

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin lawmakers from both parties are backing legislation that would allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to apply for professional and occupational licenses, a change they say could help address workforce shortages across the state.

The proposal, Assembly Bill 759, is authored by Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay and Democratic Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez of Milwaukee. The bill has a companion measure in the Senate, SB 745. Under current Wisconsin law, DACA recipients, often referred to as Dreamers, are barred from receiving professional and occupational licenses, even though they are authorized to work under federal rules. AB 759 would create a state-level exception allowing DACA recipients to obtain licenses if they meet all other qualifications for a profession.

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Overreach Abroad, Silence at Home
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Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

Overreach Abroad, Silence at Home

In March 2024, the Department of Justice secured a hard-won conviction against Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, for trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States. After years of investigation and months of trial preparation, he was formally sentenced on June 26, 2024. Yet on December 1, 2025 — with a single stroke of a pen, and after receiving a flattering letter from prison — President Trump erased the conviction entirely, issuing a full pardon (Congress.gov).

Defending the pardon, the president dismissed the Hernández prosecution as a politically motivated case pursued by the previous administration. But the evidence presented in court — including years of trafficking and tons of cocaine — was not political. It was factual, documented, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If the president’s goal is truly to rid the country of drugs, the Hernández pardon is impossible to reconcile with that mission. It was not only a contradiction — it was a betrayal of the justice system itself.

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