Pushing Back Against Trump/Musk
Standing Up for Our Democracy
In every strategic way, with every tool possible, I continue to push back hard against the Trump/Musk rampage that is taking a wrecking ball to our economy and our democracy. I support the impeachment of Trump, just as I have voted to do twice previously and for which I have reiterated support at town halls. Now, however, with their House majority control, Republicans will deny us an opportunity to even hold an investigatory hearing on impeachment and certainly will block its consideration by the entire House. But I am REFUSING to be part of BUSINESS AS USUAL. I am taking every opportunity to refocus on the subject they want to ignore – the very real attack on democracy. All of us are against waste, fraud and abuse, but achieving governmental efficiency should not require trampling on individual privacy as DOGE is doing. And there should be no “Elon Musk exception” to conflict of interest rules and the laws that govern handling highly private personal information. The information all of us taxpayers submit to the IRS in annual filings has been some of the most highly protected and confidential data the federal government maintains.
DOGE has nothing to do with efficiency. Mass firings and layoffs – including Trump firing more military veterans than any president in history -- is undermining Social Security, threatening veterans’ healthcare, hollowing out science, and encouraging tax evasion. I serve on a newly-created House Democratic Litigation Working Group & Rapid Response Task Force. With hundreds of lawsuits already filed, dozens of court orders have at least temporarily restrained or reversed Trump/Musk wrongdoing.
It is unacceptable that no explanation has been given as to why DOGE needs access to our tax, banking, Social Security, health records and who knows what else. To penetrate the secrecy and to determine the extent of the Administration’s invasion of our individual privacy, I introduced a rarely used tool -- a formal Resolution of Inquiry -- to get answers that the Trump/Musk administration has refused to provide. I will keep working to find creative ways to push back.
We will overcome
Ultimately, to restrain the wrongdoing, public sentiment must change. Abraham Lincoln is oft quoted as saying that “Public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces judicial decisions.” Helping mold public sentiment and holding all of our public officials accountable will help secure progress. Surrendering to cynicism and defeatism means tyranny wins. With informed, engaged, energized citizens, we can achieve the progress we seek.