New Jersey’s newly elected governor, Mikie Sherill, is floating the idea of refusing to send federal tax dollars to the Trump administration. In an interview with Jon Stewart, Sherill said she had often considered withholding payments, calling it a “fantastic idea” if the federal government fails to deliver the services taxpayers fund. Her comments echoed past remarks by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who once explored similar options but admitted the state had little leverage since federal revenues come directly from individual taxpayers.
Meanwhile, a major legal development unfolded in Washington, D.C., where Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the IRS likely violated federal law by sharing confidential taxpayer information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE had initially sought data on more than 7 million individuals before narrowing its request to 1.28 million “immigrant taxpayers” it claimed were under criminal investigation. At least 47,000 records were ultimately disclosed. The judge said the IRS failed to justify its abrupt departure from strict confidentiality rules and criticized ICE’s implausible claim that a single agent was overseeing all 1.28 million investigations. The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Taxpayer Rights, argued that the policy harmed both taxpayers and nonprofit assistance programs.
The decision comes amid broader judicial clashes over immigration enforcement. In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings sided with immigration advocates who argued that more than 3,000 people were unlawfully detained during “Operation Midway Blitz.” His order requires that 615 detainees who are not mandatory-detention cases and pose no significant security risk be granted bond by November 21.