Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/10
So much for Mr. Tough Guy.
Hi, all, and happy Thursday.
Yesterday, it seems, we got another kind of Liberation Day—liberation from the world’s dumbest tariffs. Of course, we’re not liberated from them completely—we now seem to be in a full trade war with China, the baseline tariff level for all trading partners is still 10%, and there are still sizable tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as on certain classifications of items. The market rallied massively yesterday—just long enough for billionaires to add $135 billion to their collective wealth—then dropped again today. It’s chaos.
One thing everyone agrees on? Trump blinked. He folded like a cheap suit. So much for Mr. Tough Guy.
The general consensus is that Trump caved because of the treasury markets. But it bears noting that his approval ratings were also collapsing. His most loyal voters were turning on him. Right wing influencers were, too. There was absolutely no upside for him.
What happens next? No one seems to know. As Senator Ron Johnson told a reporter yesterday, “I still don’t know exactly what his total strategy is.” Neither do we. Nor does Trump himself. That’s the problem. Anyway, stay tuned.
In other beltway news, the House passed the Senate version of the Budget Resolution this morning, as we suspected they would. It only passed narrowly—in fact, according to Jake Sherman from Punchbowl, had Dems been at full staff it would have failed. Now we know why Republican governors are doing all they can to keep those two seats open!
Republicans now have to do the hard work of writing the actual reconciliation bill, and here’s where it’s going to get very, very tough for them. The Senate Resolution called for “at least 4B in cuts.” But the House wants 1.5T. That’s a huge discrepancy! Hardliners in the House agreed only reluctantly to vote for this version under the expectation that they will be able to force Senate Republicans to come along for the much, much larger cuts they want.
Majority Leader Thune, however, has been noncommittal about whether or not he can get his caucus to that astronomically high number. I just went to a Punchbowl News “Brown Bag Lunch” with four key DC reporters. None of them think he can find 50 votes for numbers like that. Four GOP Senators, after all, just came out saying they don’t want to cut the IRA energy credits. Others will be deeply reluctant to support Medicaid cuts. It’s going to be a very tough needle to thread. A lot will depend on Tillis, Murkowski, Collins, and other Republicans up in 2026.
All of that is to say we have a long way to go in this process. Mike Johnson claims they’re going to get the package done by the end of May, and indeed there is a sense of urgency amongst Republicans because of the looming debt ceiling deadline. Still, an end of August vote seems more realistic.
So that’s where we are. While we’ll continue to put pressure on our House representatives, then, the final fight will likely be in the Senate. But we’ll know more later. For now we’ve got our work cut out for us, with bad bills up for a vote in the House, Trump’s market manipulation from yesterday to address, and more.
Oh, and by the way, the SAVE Act just passed in the House in a 220-208 vote, with four Democrats — Reps. Ed Case; Henry Cuellar; Jared Golden; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez — joining every Republican in support of the measure. If one of those Dems is yours please give them hell today. And let’s be proud of the fact that we peeled two off—Don Davis and Vincente Gonzalez—who supported it last time.
Also, remember Democrats can filibuster this bill in the Senate and we will ensure that they do. See below!
Let’s take deep breaths and get back to work. This is a crappy moment in our history, but we don’t get to choose when we live. All we can do is choose the way we respond to the challenges we face. So let’s choose courage and determination one more time and get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand that the House just passed the SAVE Act. I am deeply opposed to this bill. It will disenfranchise tens of millions of American citizens with no access to a birth certificate or passport, and 69 million married women who took their husband’s last names. All to address a problem that doesn’t exist! I demand that the Senator vote no on this bill.
Also please oppose H.R. 1526, the No Rogue Rulings Act, and any other attempt to rewrite the federal court system. These are terrifying attacks on our system of law. They cannot pass.
Finally, please ask the Senator to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that Reps. Fitzpatrick and Golden have introduced a bill to protect federal workers’ rights to collectively bargain. It’s H.R.2550 - the Protect America's Workforce Act. I’d like the Congressmember to co-sponsor it. I’d also like him/her to join the many lawmakers from both parties who are calling on Trump to repeal his March 27 executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights. This order is an insult to the hardworking public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people. It needs to be repealed.
Also, please ask the Congressmember to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego and other people who have essentially been disappeared by our government. This is not a dictatorship. People in the US are supposed to get due process. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
SURJ and Never Again Action are partnering to submit public comments on a proposed new rule that will go into effect very soon unless we stop it. Deadline to comment is tomorrow!
This rule (The Alien Registration Form and Evidence of Registration Rule, or USCIS-2025-0004) invokes old World War II-era requirements to require immigrants to “register” with the U.S. government or face criminal charges or detention and deportation. They’ll need to provide personal history, fingerprints for background checks, and personal information about them and their family members to the Federal Government, then carry that information with them at all times.
Forcing marginalized communities to register is a dangerous game of entrapment and opens the door to a wide array of human rights abuses. This is a moment for those of us who are citizens to step up and speak directly to the harm this will cause. By putting our names and information on the line now, we can protect our communities and resist compliance with this rule.
The goal is to add 1,000 signatures from CWCW readers, but I think we can do much better. We have 24 hours! Here’s everything you need to take action.
Get Smart! 📚
Have you forgotten everything you learned (or maybe never learned) in high school civics? Does government jargon just sound like a foreign language? Not anymore!
Join Red, Wine and Blue tonight for the first of their Civics Salon series. They’ll break down the basics of government in a fun and informative way. In this first session, they’re diving into what makes our government run, including checks and balances and the rule of law, aka, why the government is (supposed to be) like a well-organized group project instead of total chaos. Let’s demystify this whole “government” thing together and make civics make sense!
Track DOGE Cuts
A new tool from the Center for American Progress maps DOGE funding cuts by congressional district, city, and state to make it easier to assess their devastating impacts on American communities.
In addition to mapping these data on specific grants and real estate leases, CAP is also collecting news clips and stories that illuminate the harms of DOGE across the United States.
Win Races! 🗳
The Environmental Voter Project is hosting phonebanks every day of Earth Week, into Nebraska, Texas and Michigan. These are easy, nonpartisan calls about downballot elections and your call could bring out the voter who elects a climate champion! Please help!
Sign up for an Earth Week phone bank that fits your schedule, and join EVP to make a difference.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
The folks at Climate Action Now are asking us to send the below letter to Doug Burgum, the Secretary of the Interior. Please personalize if you can. Send it to feedback@ios.doi.gov and be sure to sign with your full name, city and state.
Dear Interior Secretary Burgum,
In early February, you issued the “Unleashing American Energy” Secretarial Order to call for a broad review of fossil fuel development on public lands – including our country’s national monuments. As you continue to explore avenues for meeting President Trump’s energy goals, I ask that you leave our national monuments out of it.
As it stands, our national monuments generate a staggering amount of money for the U.S. economy. A National Park Service report from last year found that park sites brought a total of $55.6 billion and 415,000 jobs to nearby communities as a result of visitor spending, boosting local economies in every state. (This is especially impressive when you consider that the NPS only receives one-fifteenth of one percent of the federal budget.) Developing these areas for energy production would only disincentivize visits, reducing revenue and bringing harm to the local communities that are supported by visitor spending.
More than 50% of public lands in the U.S. are already leased to fossil fuel companies for development. To avoid extreme economic losses and severe public backlash, I urge you to leave our national monuments off the table.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all three reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PNMYTO to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
Senator Adam Schiff has called on Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump engaged in insider trading or market manipulation when he abruptly paused a sweeping set of tariffs, and I’m glad of it. I would like you to join him in calling for an investigation.
Senator Schiff’s calls for a formal inquiry came soon after the S&P 500 surged more than 9% Wednesday afternoon after Trump announced the tariff pause. He had posted “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” on Truth Social minutes after the market opened on Wednesday, along with the letters “DJT,” which stands for both his initials and the ticker for his media company. This is deeply inappropriate and possibly illegal!
We need an an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions. Because to me this looks like graft and corruption. Do something about it!
Finally, we need a ban on Congressional stock trading and we need it now. This kind of profiting off of governmental policy needs to stop. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Jessica, I just called Schiff’s Washington, DC office and left a message that I was behind him on the investigation. THAT SOB Trump, caused us to lose 13% of our investments! I cannot believe that Guesenkamp-Perez voted with these criminals! Calling her office too to give her hell. I sent $ to her campaign. She’s supposedly for the working-class women but just sent us down a hole. 🤬🤬
Also, I think we need to be wary of GOP in disarray and depending on them not agreeing. So far they have been in lock step. Even if 2 house reps didn't vote for the budget, they've been able to pass everything without issue. Maybe because there is enough voter suppression that even with all the horrible things going on, they know they will get re-elected. They are not acting like there will be consequences. This should be alarming in itself. ESp when Dems shoot themselves in the foot every day, with 4 voting for SAVE act. This is a tightrope walk and Dems are not having the discipline needed.