Trump Accidentally Defunds GOP Abstinence Programs

A federal appeals court blocked Trump's White House ballroom, a Trump-endorsed congressman lost his GOP primary, and Trump has lost 75 of 93 First Amendment cases since January 2025

Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America.

I’ve got something special for you this fine Friday evening: all of the stories I found are positive. After cutting millions from teen pregnancy programs, the Trump administration accidentally gutted abstinence-only Christian groups Republicans built. A federal appeals court just blocked Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom. Andy Ogles, a Trump-endorsed congressman, lost his GOP primary on Thursday. And the Trump administration has lost 75 of 93 First Amendment challenges in federal district courts since January 2025.

Before we get to the news, a brief ask: AlterNet America was launched as a direct response to MAGA billionaires buying up networks like CBS and newspapers like the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. We’re going all-in on the bet that reader-supported journalism can compete directly with the billionaires by being the one thing they can’t buy.

We’re incredibly grateful to all the free subscribers who have signed up to receive our newsletters in recent weeks. But if you’ve been thinking about making the leap to become a paying subscriber, this is the time when it matters the most. Please upgrade today.

Trump Accidentally Defunds GOP’s Abstinence-Only Sex Ed. Programs

Abstinence-only education doesn’t work, but leave it to the Trump administration to find an even dumber reason to get rid of it.

Earlier this summer, the Trump administration terminated tens of millions in funding from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Some of the cuts landed where you would expect, like Planned Parenthood chapters and health departments in blue states.

But the termination letters also went out to conservative Christian groups in Texas, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi that only teach about abstinence. HHS accused them of “normalizing sexual activity for minors.”

Rena Dixon runs Fact Forward, a South Carolina nonprofit that lost more than $1.6 million in annual funding. The letter accused her group of showing children a video that “depicted youth engaging in sexual activity,” but Dixon said the video was two girls talking on a train about the consequences of having sex.

The cut came three years into a five-year grant, forcing her to lay off half her staff and leaving fall programming for thousands of students in limbo.

An anonymous HHS employee summed it up plainly. “They just stabbed abstinence educators in the back,” the employee said. “They labeled all these abstinence-only programs ‘sexually explicit,’ and the abstinence-only developers were completely blindsided.”

Federal Court Blocks Trump’s $400 Million Ballroom

Apparently, you do need a permit for that.

On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld an injunction ordering the administration to stop construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation had brought the case after the administration tore down the East Wing and broke ground without congressional authorization, and District Judge Richard Leon ruled that no federal statute “comes close to giving the President” the authority to do it alone.

In a rant on Truth Social reacting to the ruling, Trump called the project “desperately needed” and “totally secure.” He claimed the court “refused to acknowledge” that the ballroom “is a gift from President Trump and Great Patriots of the United States of America.” He then demanded the Supreme Court overturn the decision “in its entirety.”

Trump insists there will be “no expense to the American taxpayer.” Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have sought $1 billion in taxpayer funding for security upgrades to the ballroom and the structures beneath it.

The administration’s lawyer argued the courts have no role in a privately funded project and that national security demanded the demolition. The preservation group’s lawyer had a simpler read. “They just don’t want to go to Congress,” he said.

Trump-Endorsed Congressman Loses GOP Primary

If you’re too bigoted for Tennessee Republicans, you might want to take a minute and reflect.

Former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher ousted Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles in the 5th District GOP primary Thursday, despite a last-minute push from Trump and Mike Johnson to save him. Hatcher had won a late endorsement from GOP Gov. Bill Lee, and benefited from a flood of outside money.

Ogles has a history of racist and homophobic comments, and has been under federal investigation since 2024. He deleted a social media post in June claiming “homosexuality has no place in America” after it was denounced by his own party. He also posted that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”

In 2024, the FBI searched his phone during an investigation into his campaign finance records, after a watchdog group filed an ethics complaint. In 2023, he faced scrutiny for false claims about his resume.

Republicans redrew the seat to favor Trump by 23 points after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act this year. This is only made slightly less embarrassing by the fact that his loss actually makes him the second Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week. The first fell in Michigan to a challenger who had already dropped out.

Trump Has Lost 75 Free Speech Cases and Counting

Trump is batting .193 against the First Amendment, which wouldn’t even get you on a high school team roster.

A review of court cases found that the Trump administration has faced 93 First Amendment challenges since his second term began. Of those, 75 resulted in rulings against the White House.

For reference, the entire four years of the Biden administration drew 27 First Amendment challenges at the district level, and only 13 went against it. Trump has already lost nearly six times as many cases in a fraction of the time.

The administration has appealed some of the losses, managing to get 15 of the 75 reversed or paused with a temporary injunction. That still leaves 60 challenges standing, all of them saying the government broke the same amendment Trump swore to defend.

The cases spanned free speech, religious freedom, and press protections, including the high-profile case in which Trump’s Justice Department examined the phone records of journalists and their family members.

The Constitution says Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. And friendly reminder that a president can’t make laws at all.

Nobody Owns This Newsletter but You

There is a reason the stories above may not reach you through your television. Too many media outlets are being hollowed out from within by billionaire owners who want to censor journalism to curry favor with the administration. Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post. The LA Times is owned by a MAGA billionaire. But AlterNet America remains committed to calling it like it is.

This is all because we’re entirely funded by readers. We don’t have an owner to please, advertisers who get spooked when we show a spine, or an FCC license to maintain. But we’re behind on our fundraising numbers.

If just one in 20 people who read this become paying subscribers, we can fund our entire reporting budget. Will you be one of the five percent?

Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.

(MORE) POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

Sanders Introduces a Bill to Guarantee Two Weeks of Paid Vacation. Sen. Bernie Sanders reintroduced the Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act on August 6, legislation that would give every full-time worker in America at least two weeks of paid vacation per year. Workers would accrue at least one hour of paid leave for every 25 hours worked, usable for any reason, and protected from retaliation. The bill is endorsed by the UAW, SEIU, NEA, National Nurses United and dozens of other groups. A recent poll found 79% of Americans support it. The United States is currently the only major economy on Earth that guarantees its workers no paid vacation at all.

Appeals Court Says E.P.A. Cannot Block Billions in Climate Grants. Lee Zeldin tried to claw back $20 billion in Biden-era clean energy grants because they didn’t “align with EPA priorities.” A federal appeals court told him he can’t do that in a 6-4 ruling that found the EPA had no legal basis to terminate grants Congress already authorized just because the new administration doesn’t like what they’re for. Zeldin’s argument boiled down to “policy disagreement,” which the court did not find particularly compelling when the money was already sitting in a Citibank account earmarked for clean energy loans in underserved communities.

California Court Shuts Down GOP Bid to Sanitize Anti-Voting Measure. California Republicans put a voter ID measure on the ballot and then sued to change its official description because they didn’t like how honest it was. The attorney general’s language said Proposition 39 “prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.” Republicans wanted it replaced with something softer about “additional verification requirements.” Their legal argument was that the measure doesn’t technically stop you from voting, it just stops your vote from being counted, and a Sacramento County judge disagreed.

Japan Asks the U.S. Government to Stop Putting Pikachu in Its Memes. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally warned the U.S. government to stop using Pokemon, Mario, Naruto, and other Japanese properties in official social media posts without permission. It has apparently raised the issue with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in April, June, and again in August. The posts include a Department of Homeland Security Pokemon-themed immigration enforcement video, a “Make America Great Again” graphic, and an AI-generated clip depicting Trump as Naruto. The ministry cautioned that even public institutions need the creator’s permission and warned of possible copyright infringement and damage to the franchises’ image.