Democracy Forward

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Looks like they are doing good work.

Skye Perryman: CEO and founder of Democracy Forward

Quotes from the interview with Skye Perryman

  • Admin’s loss rate in court > 85%
  • Pressure works
  • Get all the liars in the same room.

Democracy Forward’s 2025 Impact Report

2025 Impact Report

The report details their litigation activity, including the 150+ lawsuits filed, 250+ investigations launched, and nearly 100 positive court rulings secured during 2025.

About Skye Perryman and Democracy Forward

Skye Perryman is a lawyer who serves as President and CEO of Democracy Forward.

Perryman’s background includes:

  • A Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy magna cum laude from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor with honors from Georgetown University Law Center.
  • Litigation roles at two global law firms (WilmerHale and Covington & Burling), and experience as a general counsel and chief legal officer.
  • She was previously a member of Democracy Forward’s founding legal team before becoming CEO.
  • She took the helm at Democracy Forward a few months after January 6, 2021, in the midst of rising extremism in communities and courts across the country.

Democracy Forward is a nonpartisan, national legal organization that promotes democracy and progress through litigation, regulatory engagement, communications, policy education, and research.

The organization’s work includes:

  • Taking the Trump Administration to court more than 100 times during the first term, stopping harmful policies and improving the lives of millions.
  • Since January 2025, Democracy Forward has played a leading role in protecting the American people from harmful and unlawful federal executive action, filing hundreds of legal actions and launching hundreds of investigations.
  • Through its Democracy 2025 initiative, it has organized what has been described as the largest, most successful affirmative litigation effort against executive branch excesses in United States history.
  • Work to halt or slow executive overreach, protect the legal profession, support the non-partisan civil service, safeguard education, civil rights and healthcare, reinstate funding for critical community programs, and promote the free press.

Perryman has testified before Congress and is a frequent media presence on issues of constitutional law and government accountability.

Democracy Forward has been extremely active in litigation during 2025. According to their impact report, they have filed more than 150 lawsuits against the executive branch, launched more than 250 investigations, and submitted more than 1,500 detailed records demands across federal agencies, securing nearly 100 positive court rulings.

Here are some of the major recent cases:

Federal Funding Freeze In January 2025, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo halting all federal financial assistance. Democracy Forward, representing the National Council of Nonprofits, American Public Health Association, and SAGE, sued to block this freeze. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to block the freeze after the plaintiffs showed the impact on housing assistance, public health programs, small businesses, and elder care.

DOGE and Government Transparency Democracy Forward filed suit against the Departments of Treasury, Education, and the Small Business Administration for failing to comply with FOIA requests about Elon Musk’s DOGE and its influence on federal decision making, including changes to government payment systems.

Public Safety Grants The organization sued the DOJ and FBI for withholding records about politically driven cancellation of more than 375 multi-year cooperative agreements and grants through the Office of Justice Programs. News reporting suggested a DOGE staffer played a central role in identifying which grants to terminate.

SNAP/Food Security A coalition filed suit challenging the administration’s unlawful suspension of SNAP benefits, which could affect more than 42 million people. The case challenges USDA’s refusal to use available funds during a government shutdown and abrupt termination of work requirement waivers.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Democracy Forward sued FHFA seeking records about whether the agency was used as a political weapon, including communications about criminal referrals made by Trump appointee William Pulte against officials like Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

$230 Million Payout Scheme In December 2025, Democracy Forward sued DOJ and Treasury for records related to President Trump’s effort to obtain a $230 million taxpayer-funded payout for investigations into his own misconduct.

Key Wins (from the 2025 Impact Report) They stopped the administration’s unlawful $100,000 fee on each H-1B visa application, secured Supreme Court opinions affirming due process for deportations, protected freedom of association by blocking ICE activities in certain houses of worship, secured the first federal court order recognizing that anti-DEI executive orders violate the First Amendment, blocked DOJ retaliation against the American Bar Association, and secured court orders blocking shutdown of Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcast Network.