Donald Trump Wins Court Victory Over Veterans' Organization

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on August 20, 2024 at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell, Michigan. Trump is suing to stop a voter registration drive by Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer.

Donald Trump's legal team has won a victory over a progressive veterans' organization.

Trump and the Republican National Committee are suing Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer to stop her expanding voter registration in the crucial swing state.

Vet Voice Foundation, a progressive veterans' organization, had backed Whitmer's efforts to use the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to increase voter registration.

Newsweek sought email comment from Vet Voice Foundation and the Trump campaign on Wednesday.

In 2023, Whitmer issued an executive directive that designated the Detroit VA Medical Center, Saginaw VA Medical Center, and the Michigan Department of Veterans Affairs Detroit office as voter registration agencies. She made the same designation at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Housing Development Authority, among other state agencies.

The case stems from President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14019, which states that each federal agency, "if requested by a State to be designated as a voter registration agency...shall, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, agree to such designation."

Biden's order has been denounced as partisan by both the Trump campaign and the RNC.

Trump's lawsuit filed last month accuses Whitmer of illegally allowing voter registration at places such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and Small Business Administration.

Trump's lawsuit accuses Whitmer of using selective voter registration to influence the 2024 presidential election.

The progressive Vet Voice Foundation had sought to join Whitmer in the case and argued in a motion to intervene that the governor's initiative would make it easier for veterans to vote.

However, in a decision released on Thursday, federal judge Paul L. Maloney said that allowing Vet Voice Foundation to become a party in the case would be "unnecessary and burdensome."

Maloney said the organization should file a friend-of-the-court, amicus curiae, brief instead. An amicus brief is an expert opinion submitted in court to help a judge decide a case.

Trump's lawyers had argued that Vet Voice Foundation was not needed in the case.

They also argued that, if Trump wins the case against Whitmer, "it would simply return things to the status quo prior to December 18, 2023. Put another way, a judgment in Plaintiffs' favor would make registering to vote no harder for veterans than it was for the 93 years between the VA's formation and the Governor's...Executive Directive."

On its website, Vet Voice Foundation states that it wants to help veterans to "stand with their fellow Veterans to help build a larger progressive infrastructure in this country, to address our nation's social and economic problems."

When the federal Veterans Affairs announced it would provide abortion services after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Vet Voice Foundation took a strong stand in support. It said in a statement that the "Pentagon's commitment to addressing these issues is very encouraging."

Its program director, Harrison Tarter, previously worked "in both progressive politics and within the labor movement for an affiliate of the AFL-CIO [American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations]," according to the organization's website.

A Forbes article on August 17 showed that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leads Trump in Michigan by three points, 49 percent to 46 percent with 5 percent of voters undecided. Trump led by two points against Joe Biden in May.

Related Articles

• Texas Election Officials Challenged Over Voter Rolls
• How Harris and Trump Are Playing in the 7 Swing States That Matter
• Kamala Harris Gets Boost in North Carolina as RFK Jr Remains on Ballot
• Florida Women Are Becoming a Problem for Donald Trump

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial