6/23/26 - More on the new DOJ move, and another threat to voting accessibility

Andrew Pulrang

23 Jun 2026 • 5 min read

Good afternoon!

It really does seem like disabled Americans' basic rights are suddenly taking a series of major hits. These are substantive, structural, and ideological attacks, not just budget cuts and the return of the most vulgar forms of ableism. Anyway, that's what today's links are about. I will try to share something less dire tomorrow. In the meantime ...

In June and July, annual paid memberships are discounted at $40. It's a great time to support Disability Thinking Weekday. Just click the "Subscribe or Upgrade" button below to get started.

Subscribe or Upgrade

Make a one-time donation

The Executive Branch’s Assault on the Integration Mandate

Jim Ward, ADA Watch / Coalition for Disability Rights & Justice (CDRJ) - June 18, 2026

"Let us be absolutely clear: this is not a court ruling. It does not overturn Olmstead. It does not change the law today. The regulations remain in force. People can still bring Olmstead claims. What the opinion does is hand the executive branch a legal pretext — its own lawyers’ permission slip — to rescind those regulations, pull back the guidance, and abandon enforcement. The opinion itself concedes that its reading runs against how nearly every federal appeals court has understood Olmstead, and that any formal rollback would still have to survive public rulemaking and the courts ... In other words, this is the opening move, not the final judgment. And an opening move is something you can fight."

Trump DOJ Outlines Dubious Path to Force People Into Psychiatric Institutions

Julia Métraux, Mother Jones - June 18, 2026

"Bagenstos describes the White House move as 'part of the incredibly punitive approach toward homelessness and mental illness that Trump has taken from the beginning of his administration,' including a July executive order that called for unhoused people with mental health conditions to be forced into long-term care settings in contravention of Olmstead and disability civil rights laws ... 'Their interpretation is completely inconsistent with virtually all courts,' says Barkoff, a DOJ special counsel on Olmstead enforcement during the Obama administration."

There is probably more than one reason for the Trump administration to try undermining the Olmstead decision. The most immediate and practical motive, as these articles suggest, is most likely that they want to make it easier to institutionalize people with mental illness. They may say it's necessary to ensure that mentally ill and homeless people are "cared for." But, it's more likely a part of their general "law and order" social agenda. Certain kinds of disabled people are difficult for them to tolerate out and about in society. It's the same, or similar impulse that was behind early 20th century eugenics and "ugly laws" that kept disabled people hidden away, out from under foot, and off the table as a group of people who need consideration in everyday life. For those of us with any kind of disability, it's impossible to accept this as anything but a hostile move. Meanwhile, weakening or overturning Olmstead would also be a gift to some state-level bureaucrats, agency planners, and "old school" social worker types who have never been comfortable with the requirement to offer us support services out in the community, rather than in facilities they can more easily understand and control. As all of the coverage of this effort has emphasized, drafting a legal opinion doesn't change anything. But it's a warning shot we all need to heed.

Action Alert: Protect Vote By Mail, Submit a Comment to the United States Postal Service (USPS)

American Association of People with Disabilities - June 22, 2026

"Eligible voters could lose their access to vote by mail because of technical errors. The new voter list requirements and verification processes create more opportunities for mistakes that could prevent ballots from being mailed or delivered, even when voters have done everything correctly ... People with disabilities and older adults will be disproportionately harmed by any policy that makes voting by mail more difficult. Voters with disabilities and older adults are more likely to vote by mail, and for many it is their only option to cast a ballot."

The option to vote by mail is probably the most important key to ensuring free and accessible political participation for Americans with disabilities. Anything that threatens that option is a threat to disabled people's full citizenship.

I will add this action alert as a Take Action item tomorrow.

Tell Congress to Stop the Dismantling of the Department of Education and Protect Students with Disabilities - American Association of People with Disabilities

Tell Congress: Protect Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services with The Arc

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.