by WorldTribune Staff, August 18, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
Last week, Judge Indira Talwani issued a nationwide injunction blocking an executive order signed by President Donald Trump which sought to create a federal voter list and utilize the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting.
Judge Indira Talwani
In 2012, while working as a private attorney specializing in labor law, Talwani was honored with the Workers Justice Award by the Boston chapter of the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA). She has historically listed the honor among her professional credentials.
The Boston group has historically sponsored community events alongside the local Chinese consulate, including participating in raising communist Chian’s flag over Boston City Hall.
Talwani, an Obama appointee, ruled in June that Trump’s order did not apply in 20-plus Democratic led states who sued to stop the order. Her latest ruling, the conclusion of a separate lawsuit by the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, nullified the president’s directive nationwide.
The judge granted the League of Women of Voters and other advocacy groups a preliminary injunction, enjoining USPS from implementing the applicable provision of the president’s order.
The order, which Trump first signed in March, gave states until 60 days before the Nov. 3 midterms to notify USPS if they intend to submit a list of eligible voters based on citizenship data. Only then would the service allow the states’ respective residents to receive mail-in or absentee ballots.
But Talwani wrote in her Aug. 11 ruling that the order is “causing confusion” and “threatening both increasing chaos and an erosion of trust in our democracy.”
Critics who say Talwani is a loyal soldier for the Left’s anti-Trump agenda pointed to some of the judge’s previous rulings:
On July 28, 2025, Talwani ordered the Trump administration to continue Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, blocking enforcement of that provision of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed earlier that month.[12] Talwani’s ruling kept Planned Parenthood funded for six weeks, until the 1st Circuit permitted the Trump administration to end Planned Parenthood funding in September.[13]
See also: Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
• On July 28, 2025, Talwani ordered the Trump Administration to continue Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, blocking enforcement of that provision of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed earlier that month. Talwani’s ruling kept Planned Parenthood funded for six weeks, until the 1st Circuit permitted the Trump Administration to end Planned Parenthood funding in September.
• Talwani blocked the Trump Administration from revoking immigration parole by issuing a temporary restraining order that extends the “family reunification parole” status of immigrants who were set to see it expire on Jan. 14, 2026 as part of the administration’s broad crackdown on illegal immigration.
NEW: Obama-appointed Judge Indira Talwani—who just blocked Trump’s mail-voting order nationwide—received a Workers Justice Award from the Chinese Progressive Association, a pro-China “partner of the PRC.”
The group works with the Chinese Consulate, including sponsoring a PRC… pic.twitter.com/A504ctlWp4
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) August 17, 2026
