Representative Jim McGovern

Hello [firstname],

Three weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, and the chaos is exactly what we feared. Nothing to lower prices. Nothing addressing the cost of rent or groceries. Nothing about the egg shortage or inflation. He’s spent this time in office dismantling our democracy and letting his billionaire boss, Elon Musk, steal from the American people. I won’t sugarcoat it—these past few weeks have been bad. But I also want to be clear: We are fighting back and we will win. Democrats have a three part strategy to stand up for our country.

Litigation:

We are engaged in multiple lawsuits to challenge Trump’s devastating executive orders, including those that would end birthright citizenship, unlawfully fire Inspectors General, purge the FBI, and suspend Congressionally appropriated funds. Already, there are more than 20 lawsuits challenging at least 11 of Trump’s unlawful actions—and more are being filed as we speak. Many of these lawsuits have already successfully blocked Trump's unlawful actions, such as:

Blocking implementation of Donald Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order which claimed to end birthright citizenship.

Blocking Donald Trump’s illegal attempt to pause federal funding that has been appropriated by Congress.

Blocking the firing of thousands of USAID workers that Trump and Elon Musk tried to illegally dismiss.

Democrats have established a Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group which I will be joining this week.

Communication:

I am using every platform available to call out Trump’s lies and abuses. I’ve been on the House

floor, on television, in town halls, and in the press making it clear: we will not tolerate this administration undermining our basic freedoms and rights. Raising our voices is taking action.

On the floor, I raised the alarm about Trump and Elon’s unlawful attempts to violate the law.

I rushed to USAID to demand a meeting with the minions that Elon sent to destroy the agency. When we were turned away, we organized a press conference outside to call attention to what was happening inside—putting global media attention on the Trump administration’s lawlessness and corruption.

Trump reversed his federal funding freeze after we channeled our massive public anger into action. Trump was forced to rescind his executive order just minutes before it was set to take effect. He also backtracked his tariffs on Mexico and Canada, getting nothing new in exchange after Democrats successfully highlighted how they would disastrously raise prices across the country.

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Legislation:

We are taking action in Congress to push back against this administration’s extremism. Any bills we introduce in the House will never see the light of day unless we can get 3 Republicans to join. But we can and will use them as vehicles to shine a spotlight on our work to stand up to what we believe in and show how this administration is failing to deliver on their promises to the American people.

Democrats introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to protect confidential Social Security and Medicare recipient data from unlawful access by Trump’s White House. This legislation would also deny information access to special government employees that don't have to disclose conflicts of interest.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are attempting to subpoena Elon Musk to testify before Congress and were blocked by Republicans who don’t want the public – or Congress – to be privy to what Musk is doing behind closed doors to dismantle our democracy.

Democrats are preparing for an upcoming fight where Republicans plan to cut taxes for billionaires and corporations while sticking working Americans with the bill.

I will always be open to working across the aisle on policies that help everyday Americans. If there’s a chance to find common ground, I’ll take it. But right now, we are in a fight for the heart and soul of our country. There is more to come, much of it will require and grow out of grassroots mobilization–boycotts, demonstrations, and solidarity with those groups and those on the frontlines of Trump’s attacks.

This is the work of our generation–to save democracy for those who come next. Trump and those he empowers are trying to destroy our government of, by, and for the people. We must not let them. They want us to feel powerless. We are not. The power of the people is always stronger than the people in power. Together, we can win.

Onward,

James P. McGovern

Member of Congress