December 4, 2024

Confronting Trump's plans for the military and Social Security, votes on the Gaetz report, getting involved with our libraries, and more!

Contact all members of Congress:

• By phone: (202) 224-3121

• By email: Congress.gov

• By US mail: Representatives / Senators

• By fax: Representatives / Senators

• By Resistbot: Resist.bot

Contact White House or other federal agencies:

• usa.gov/federal-agencies

• THE FUTURE OF THE MILITARY UNDER TRUMP

  Yesterday, the president of South Korea attempted a coup, declaring martial law and ordering the military to arrest legislative leaders. His efforts were thwarted by a combination of immediate street protests, a parliament that acted quickly to overturn his orders and security forces that ultimately stood down and followed the Constitution. This act of democratic resilience suggests some important lessons for us as we enter Trump’s presidency and confront his threats to purge and misuse the military. Let’s take this moment to contact our members of Congress and ask them what they intend to do to resist the removal of senior military officers for purely political reasons, and what their plan is in the event Trump abuses the military for political purposes.

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• PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY FROM THE MAGA AGENDA

  This week Republicans have repeatedly let slip that their true intentions are to tear up our social safety net. On Monday, Senator Mike Lee released on social media a blueprint for destroying Social Security which was quickly amplified by Elon Musk. Then yesterday, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) suggested on Fox News that hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were on the table. Similar views have previously been endorsed by Trump himself and House Speaker Mike Johnson, along with much of the House GOP caucus. We need to draw a clear, bright line, and we need to start now. Let’s contact our members of Congress and tell them we want to them to loudly and explicitly condemn these threats to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and publicly commit to opposing cuts.

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• TELL THE HOUSE TO RELEASE THE GAETZ REPORT
  The House Ethics Committee meets tomorrow and is likely to discuss whether to release the report on possible violations by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) related to allegations he is a sex trafficker and statutory rapist. We are also set to see a vote today or tomorrow by the full House on a privileged resolution by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) to force the Committee to make it public regardless of what it decides in this meeting. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the possibility Gaetz will run for public office again or be considered for another position in the Trump Administration, he should not be able to simply hush things up and move on. We have a right to know. Let’s call the Ethics Committee at 202-225-7103 and demand they release the report. We can also ask all our reps to support Rep. Casten’s resolution. Finally, we can urge individual Democrats on the Committee to make the report public regardless of GOP obstruction by reading it into the congressional record or leaking it to the press. We can reach them here:

  • Rep. Susan Wild (PA, Ranking Member) - 202-225-6411

  • Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA) - 202-225-2095

  • Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX) - 202-225-4831

  • Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD) - 202-225-8699

  • Rep. Deborah Ross (NC) - 202-225-3032

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• GET INVOLVED WITH OUR LIBRARIES – VIRTUAL MEETING TOMORROW

  The right is currently reaping the benefits of years of slow takeovers of institutions at all levels of our society. To build a more progressive nation in the long run, we would be wise to do the same. One area of opportunity is our libraries, where more engagement can position us to resist book bans, defend freedom of speech, allow people to learn things that contradict the MAGA view of the world and build community. Activists with For The People are working to get more people with left-wing values on library boards across the country, and they are currently assembling their new cohort of candidates for board seats. They’ll be holding an online open house TOMORROW, DECEMBER 5th at 6:00 PM Eastern for folks who are interested in becoming candidates or want to learn more about they can get involved as Library Defenders. Let’s considering signing up for this meeting here, and check out their brief guide on how to make a difference for local libraries here.

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• SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
  The American Federation of Teachers has put together a brief and comprehensive one-pager for students, parents, and teachers that outlines the rights of immigrants during a potential ICE raid, along with a second one-page document in English and Spanish that helps families develop an immigration raid emergency plan. If we work in education, let’s make sure to familiarize ourselves with this information and let’s disseminate it to everyone we know who works in school settings, as well as to others who are immigrants or are likely to come into contact with them. (We can also go a step further and join the Detention Watch Network for a webinar on building rapid response capacity to deportations TODAY at 3:00 PM Eastern here.)

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