Protecting Our Democracy Act

Summary

Requires the Justice Department to give congressional leaders investigative and prosecutorial materials after certain presidential pardons, creates a new civil enforcement path for Congress to force subpoena compliance, and expands transparency and accountability across multiple executive-branch processes. It also tightens limits on presidential emergency powers, increases whistleblower and Hatch Act protections and penalties, requires public access to certain OLC opinions, adds foreign-contact reporting for campaign committees and candidates, and restricts some political hiring moves into excepted service schedules. Overall, the measure changes how pardons, subpoenas, executive legal opinions, inspector general access, political activity rules, and campaign foreign contacts are handled — adding disclosure deadlines, new penalties, procedural pathways for enforcement, and multiple reporting requirements affecting federal agencies, officials, candidates, and political committees.

• Attorney General must give congressional committee leaders prosecutorial and investigative materials within 30 days after certain presidential pardons; grand-jury secrecy cannot block those disclosures.
• Creates a federal civil cause of action allowing Houses or committees to sue to enforce congressional subpoenas with expedited procedures and potential monetary penalties for noncompliance.
• Requires public posting and bulk access to specified DOJ Office of Legal Counsel opinions on budgeting and appropriations matters.
• Tightens law on national emergencies by requiring published proclamations, specifying statutory authorities used, and restricting certain re-declarations or uses.
• Strengthens federal whistleblower protections and accelerates Special Counsel notifications to Inspectors General for certain referrals.
• Adds criminal penalties for knowing Hatch Act violations, requires training after first violations, and mandates public disclosure and congressional reporting of final Special Counsel determinations.
• Adds mandatory reporting for certain foreign contacts by political committees and candidates, with short deadlines to notify the FEC and FBI.
• Restricts agency ability to move positions into excepted service schedules or into Schedule C without OPM approval and caps transfers from competitive to excepted service.
• Authorizes audits and reporting requirements for the EOP Inspector General, while giving the President limited authority to block IG access to highly sensitive matters with required notice to Congress.
• Prohibits national party presidential/vice‑presidential nominating conventions on federal property and creates civil and criminal penalties for violations.