New Year, New Accountability

In the wake of the 2016 election, it was clear that the number and severity of threats to democracy, social progress, and the rule of law would be unprecedented.

So a dedicated and spirited group of people left coveted jobs and beloved colleagues to build something new: Democracy Forward.

 We created an innovative legal team that took the Trump administration to court more than 100 times, successfully challenging bad actors and their unlawful policies, shutting down corrupt committees created for special interests, and exposing unfair, unreasonable policies that stripped vulnerable communities of crucial protections.
 We and our clients secured victories that stopped abuses of power and improved the lives of millions. We filled critical gaps in the legal and regulatory infrastructure and developed a successful model for impact.

Our work challenging Trump-era policies prepared us for this moment and the long road ahead.

On January 6, 2021, violent rioters and insurrectionists executed a planned siege on our nation’s Capitol.

Beyond that horrific day—in statehouses, courtrooms, and communities across the country—we began to see threats to democracy and the wellbeing of Americans.

More than one hundred of the country’s leading political scientists have declared that “our entire democracy is at risk,” given the movement in many state legislatures.

A highly resourced and coordinated group of far-right legal organizations are continuing to engage in their multi-decade campaign to roll back the rights of the American people and undermine our basic democratic institutions.

Now that those figures who were responsible for January 6th and authored Project 2025 have returned to power at the national level, our team at Democracy Forward has once again stepped up to defend our democracy.