Procedural Tools for Congress to Slow Down MAGA

Phone scripts and sample language to ask your reps to draw the line

Mar 18, 2025

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

Congress has a terrifying to-do list ahead of it for the American people.

Republicans will aim to continue pushing forward on gutting Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and fund a detention camp archipelago. There’s much more of Project 2025 to implement. And all the while, Trump and Musk are continuing to take a sledgehammer to equality under the law, dismantle services Americans rely on to steal the “savings” and set up a new spoils system.

There will be a lot of fights we cannot win against them, but as MAGA speeds our nation down a dark path it is crucial that we use every tool available to slow them down. And it will be difficult to make it clear to the American public how serious the emergency is without our elected officials acting as though it is an emergency.

In Congress, that means using procedural hardball.

In the Senate, blanket opposition, quorum calls, objecting to unanimous consent, forcing Republicans to object to unanimous consent, demanding recorded votes, refusing to waive rules, fighting adjournments, using Congressional Review Act resolutions to force votes, and holds and demanding individual hearings and votes on nominees.

In the House, calling for recorded votes, motions to recommit, motions to adjourn, privileged resolutions to bring up tough votes, offering endless amendments in committee, or whatever time-consuming measures the rules allow. As House staffers put it in a strategy memo, “Republicans in Congress are surrendering their Constitutional responsibility to check presidential abuses. It is anything but business as usual.”

Although we are starting to Democratic members of Congress get more aggressive, with votes forced on the anti-Canada tariffs and an increasingly large number of nominees being held, there is much more they need to be doing to meet the moment. Let’s contact them and ask them to do so now – and if not now, ask them what line Trump and MAGA would have to cross for them to start.

We can use the scripts and language below, or message our electeds via Resistbot - sending this letter to senators by texting SIGN PPRTNZ to 50409 and this letter to our representatives by texting SIGN PBIAUG to 50409.

4/16 ADDITION: We can particularly ask our House members to follow the recommendations of the “No Business As Usual” memo and be part of the core team required to execute them.

Last updated 6/12/25.

PHONE SCRIPTS

Note you can find numbers for your federal election officials in one place at reps.fyi. And as you are getting responses about public statements, please let us know at roganslisttips@gmail.com.

IF LIVE:

Hi, my name is _________, and I’m a constituent from (city, zip). (If voicemail, leave street address).

I am calling to ask _________ to use all the procedural tools available to them to stall Trump and Musk’s agenda in Congress and force them to negotiate. They’re speeding our country down a dangerous path, and we cannot leave any option to slow them down on the table.

FOR SENATORS:

That means using quorum calls, objecting to unanimous consent, forcing Republicans to object to unanimous consent, demanding recorded votes, refusing to waive rules, fighting adjournments, using Congressional Review Act resolutions to force votes, putting more holds on nominees, and forcing all nominees to get hearings and individual votes. Whatever time-consuming measures the rules allow.

I was very happy to more senators making use of holds, forcing votes on tariffs and returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I think that’s making a difference.

But we can’t stop there. We need you to do everything in your power. Is________ ready to use all these procedural tools?

FOR REPRESENTATIVES:

If the answer is not yes:

What would need to happen for ________ to be willing to use these options? Medicaid and Social Security are under attack, they’re dismantling public services, they’re breaking the law to steal money for billionaires, they’re blatantly violating court orders and our constitutional rights, they’re trying to put your colleagues in prison and deploying Marines against the American people. That’s already happening. So what line would Trump and Musk need to cross before _______ pulls these weapons out of the arsenal?

If no answer:

I would like someone from your office to reach out and tell me, because no answer is not acceptable.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

IF VOICEMAIL:

FOR SENATORS:

I was very happy to more senators making use of holds, forcing votes on tariffs and returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I think that’s making a difference.

But we can’t stop there. We need you to do everything in your power. Is________ ready to use all these procedural tools?

I would like someone from your office to reach out and tell me, because no answer is not acceptable. They are literally trying to imprison your colleagues and deploying the military against our citizens. Where is the line?

FOR REPRESENTATIVES:

I would like to see you follow the recommendations of the “No Business As Usual” memo and join the core team of representatives required to make them effective. Is _______ ready to be part of that effort? If not, I’d like to know what would need to happen for them to be willing to put these options to work. They are literally trying to imprison your colleagues now and deploying the military against the American people. What line would Trump and Musk need to cross that they haven’t already?

I would like someone from your office to reach out and tell me, because no answer is not acceptable.

EMAIL LANGUAGE

We can work off this language and make it our own, or message our electeds via Resistbot - sending this letter to senators by texting SIGN PPRTNZ to 50409 and this letter to our representatives by texting SIGN PBIAUG to 50409.

I am writing to ask _________ to use all the procedural tools available to them to stall Trump and Musk’s agenda in Congress and force them to negotiate. They are speeding our country down a dangerous path, and we cannot leave any option to slow them down on the table.

FOR SENATORS:

I was very happy to more senators making use of holds and forcing votes on tariffs and returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I think that’s making a difference.

But we can’t stop there. We need you to do everything in your power. If _______ is not willing to pull out the procedural stops at this point, when will they be prepared to do so? Right now, Trump and Musk are attacking Medicaid and Social Security, dismantling our public services, breaking the law to steal money for billionaires and violating are basic rights. They are blatantly violating court orders and our constitutional rights. They are trying to imprison your colleagues and deploying the military against the American people. What further line would they need to cross before ______ pulls these weapons out of the arsenal?

I would like someone from your office to reach out and tell me, because no answer is not acceptable.

FOR REPRESENTATIVES:

That means calling for recorded votes, using motions to recommit and adjourn, filing privileged resolutions to bring tough measures to the House floor, offering endless amendments in committee. Beyond that, whatever time-consuming measures the rules allow should be put to work. I would like to see you follow the recommendations of the “No Business As Usual” memo and join the core team of representatives required to make them effective. Is _______ ready to be part of that effort?

If they’re not willing to pull out the procedural stops at this point, when will they be prepared to do so? ight now, Trump and Musk are attacking Medicaid and Social Security, dismantling our public services, breaking the law to steal money for billionaires and violating are basic rights. They are blatantly violating court orders and our constitutional rights. They are trying to imprison your colleagues and deploying the military against the American people. What further line would they need to cross before ______ pulls these weapons out of the arsenal?

I would like someone from your office to reach out and tell me, because no answer is not acceptable.

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