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This week began with Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell announcing that he’s under investigation by the Department of Justice, drawing alarm and rebukes from senators and other central bankers. Amid this outcry over the Federal Reserve Board’s independence, we learned that multiple longtime prosecutors in Minneapolis resigned, partly in protest over plans to investigate Becca Good, the widow of Renee Nicole Good, rather than the officer who killed her. We then learned that the Department of Justice is also targeting members of Congress who reminded service members of their duty to reject any illegal orders.

In each of these instances, we are seeing the Trump administration build on the criminalization that has fueled both its foreign and domestic policies. From the recent abduction of Maduro under the auspices of executing a criminal warrant to last year’s arrests of officials Rep. LaMonica McIver and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for attempting to monitor detention centers, we have seen an escalation of these repressive actions as the Trump administration has grown more certain that Congress will do nothing to hold it accountable.

While the situation may seem dire, we must also recognize that the administration is resorting to force in response to community-led resistance in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. This past weekend underscored the strength of those opposing Trump’s mass deportation policies, as rapid “ICE Out” protests nationwide followed the killing of Renee Nicole Good. In each of these cities, faith leaders across many traditions have led efforts to protect their neighbors and raise their voices. Although the Justice Department’s actions will be decided in courtrooms and by jurors, every act of resistance and every act of faith offers hope and fuels greater courage moving forward.

Rev. Moya Harris and Chad Stanton, Sojourners

In the News

Here’s a look at what happened this week:

1. The Trump administration continued to display clear signs of government overreach and abuse of power:

Four senior career officials resigned from the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, reportedly in protest of the DOJ’s handling of the investigation into the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross. Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota also resigned this week over the DOJ’s interest in investigating Good’s widow, Becca, allegedly over her ties to activist organizations.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday that the Department of Justice has served the Fed with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment over Powell’s testimony about the Fed’s building renovations. Powell stated that the threat of criminal charges was a clear pretext to undermine the Fed’s independence.
The Trump administration sent hundreds of grant termination letters to organizations that provide mental health and addiction services across the country before reversing course the next day. The total cuts to these services resulting from the sudden grant terminations were estimated at about $2 billion.
FBI agents searched the home of a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the disclosure of classified information. According to The New York Times, “It is exceedingly rare, even in investigations of classified disclosures, for federal agents to search a reporter’s home.”

2. International news continued to be tumultuous and alarming:

Senate Republicans blocked a war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to obtain congressional authorization before launching any further military operations in Venezuela. The resolution was defeated by a 51-50 vote after Vice President J.D. Vance was brought in to break the tie.
Amid President Trump’s escalating rhetoric about acquiring Greenland, Denmark, which controls the semiautonomous territory, is bolstering its military presence on and around the island with support from other NATO allies. The Danish Defense Ministry noted that it also strengthened its presence there last summer with assistance from Germany, France, Sweden and Norway.
As the violent and deadly crackdown against anti-regime protesters continues in Iran, President Trump has signaled that the U.S. may conduct military strikes against the Iranian government at the beginning of the week. The State Department has urged U.S. citizens to “leave Iran now.”
Nearly 17,000 fans canceled their tickets to the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in response to an online campaign to boycott the tournament in protest of the Trump administration’s actions. The cancellations reportedly prompted FIFA to schedule an emergency meeting this week.

3. The Trump administration continued to implement its cruel deportation agenda:

Federal immigration agents have continued to deploy aggressive and violent tactics against observers, protesters, and investigation targets alike in Minnesota and across the country, including but not limited to door-to-door searches; chemical agents like tear gas; chokeholds and other banned moves; violent threats; and excessive force. Trump also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act after ICE shot a Venezuelan man in the leg in Minneapolis, provoking protests on Wednesday night. Four migrant people died in ICE custody during the first 10 days of the new year.
The State Department announced Wednesday that it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries. The stated reason for the pause is to prevent the entry into the U.S. of people who might need public assistance. The countries whose citizens will no longer be able to immigrate are almost entirely lower-income countries.

Take Action

This week, we’re urging the Senate to extend ACA subsidies.
Stand With Minnesota is providing a hub to support the people in Minneapolis currently under occupation by ICE.
Minneapolis labor and economic leaders are calling on people to join a general strike on Jan. 23 in solidarity with the communities currently being targeted.

What We’re Reading

“The God They Preach at the Pentagon” | “Now is the time for Christians to reclaim the message of peace that is at the heart of the gospel, and to resist imperialism.” (by Michael Woolf)

This week, Sojourners released “Light For The Way,” a collection of essays to begin new conversations about faith, justice, and spiritual thriving

Deep Breaths

From Selma to This Moment

Beloved, this weekend is when many of us will honor the work and memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sadly, society often reduces his legacy to the “I Have a Dream” speech, with some hijacking it to benefit unrelated causes.

One of Dr. King’s most significant sermons came on March 25, 1965, in Montgomery, Alabama, after the brutal march from Selma to Montgomery. The entire world was watching after the killing of protestors and the violent resistance to Black voter registration and the freedom struggle. This speech told the history of racism in America, framing the march as part of a long struggle for freedom, from enslavement to Reconstruction to Jim Crow.

It’s important to remember whence we came. It’s important to remember how God has acted on our behalf in the past. Dr. King knew this, walking listeners through each moment, leading them to celebration. He didn’t skip over the hard times. He didn’t sugarcoat anything.

I am mentioning this because we are at a tipping point, with violence being seen on levels many of us have never dared to experience, coming from places our minds couldn’t have imagined. Yet this moment echoes the past as we witness assaults on truth, on bodies, on communities, and on the very right to live and to vote with dignity. Now is a time when we must go inward to deeply encounter God as we decide what to do outwardly.

Dr. King had a prayer life that fortified his soul when his courage wavered. He cultivated spiritual disciplines, sitting at the feet of Howard Thurman. To confront the evil of Jim Crow, he had to draw deeply from God’s well. That is what we must do today.

We must cultivate spiritual practices that strengthen our resolve to confront the evil that is, so that our inner life with God fuels our public witness in the streets, at the polls, and in the halls of power. We must pray, meditate, be still, be silent, sing, dance, weep and laugh. We must be fully human, experiencing all that life presents in healthy ways.

This MLK Weekend, please take a moment to read Dr. King’s sermon at the Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Take it in. Then, after you have read it, listen to the sermon's culmination.

The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff:

President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor
Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson
Digital Content and Community Specialist: Kassandra Tapia
Chief Program and Impact Officer: Bryan Epps
Political Director: Chad V. Stanton
Senior Program Director: Rev. Moya Harris
Digital Education and Outreach Specialist: Cortnie Brooks
Policy and Action Assistant: Trinity Williams
Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims

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