Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
I’m writing this on a plane, on my way with Mike to pick Mj up and then head off to Nova Scotia to be with family all next week. As such the plan is for there to be no newsletter from Monday August 3rd to Friday August 7th. I will, however, pop in if something important happens—and it very likely will.
This is because Trump’s feud with Senate Majority Leader Thune is worsening by the hour. Trump is now questioning Thune’s leadership and hinting that he might support a replacement for majority leader if Thune doesn’t cancel recess and rally his caucus to pass something with the SAVE Act in it. So far Thune’s support amongst Republican senators remains solid, and he himself seems unflappable. He apparently simply keeps repeating the same fact to Trump over and over: we don’t have the votes. We don’t have the votes. WE DON’T HAVE THE VOTES.
Trump, however, has never been super interested in accepting reality. And he is becoming increasingly enraged by this standoff, so who knows what chicanery he’ll pull next. He really is maniacally focussed on the SAVE Act—it’s literally all he seems to care about. He wants the reconciliation bill passed, too, but only because a) we’re running out of missile interceptors and b) it contains parts of the SAVE Act. I genuinely think if SAVE came out of it he’d stop caring altogether. He’s pretty much a one-trick pony at this point.
Which means he’ll do pretty much anything to get his way.
All of that is to say that I hope I get to take the week off next week, but it could be an eventful one, so we’ll see.
In other news, Jay Clayton got confirmed as DNI yesterday. It’s unfortunate; the only consolation is that no Democrat voted for him. Considering that one or two had earlier expressed openness to it, we seem to have pushed them into not doing so, and I’m glad for it. Every Republican Senator, however, thought it was fine to confirm someone to run national intelligence who won’t say that Biden won the 2020 election. Absolutely abhorrent.
One more important flag: the first big Todd Blanche committee vote is this morning, and everything is hinging on Senators Cornyn and Tillis. As of this writing (Wednesday night) they were still undecided. We MUST keep them from voting yes. So if one of them represents you please call now, first thing! Of course neither is up for re-election, so you can’t threaten not to vote for them, but you CAN remind them that they have nothing left to lose and should do the right thing simply because they know it to be right.
OK, all. In an ideal world you’ll get one more newsletter from me, tomorrow, as well as “Extra, Extra!” on Sunday, before I disappear off to the beach for a week. Or so goes the theory.
Thank you for all you do. I really couldn’t be prouder to be in your number.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I strongly, vehemently oppose the confirmation of Todd Blanche. He’s a dangerous, unfit, and corrupt man who cares only about keeping Trump happy and nothing about protecting the American people or the Constitution. Vote no. [THIS CALL IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT IF YOUR SENATOR IS CORNYN OR TILLIS.]
Second, I understand that Republicans want to bring up a cloture vote on the CLARITY Act next week. I demand that the Senator vote no. This bill would be a catastrophe for American consumers and do nothing to rein in Trump’s corruption. I will be absolutely furious if my Senator supports cloture, or the bill itself. Please vote no.
And finally, I understand that some Republican Senators are opposing the reconciliation bill because it doesn’t have ENOUGH money in it for the military and the Iran war. I simply cannot believe this. Americans do not want a penny more going to this war. Keep that money here. Vote no. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I understand that Reps. Ro Khanna and Anna Paulina Luna have introduced a new bill to prohibit candidates from using campaign funds to settle allegations of sexual misconduct. It’s called the No Campaign Funded Cover-Ups Act and I’d like the representative to co-sponsor it. Money donated to support a political campaign shouldn’t become a personal legal defense fund for alleged sexual misconduct.
Second, I oppose sending one more dollar to the Pentagon for the Iran war, the Cuban blockade, or to shoot at fishing boats in Venezuelan waters. Because of this I strongly oppose the reconciliation bill and the NDAA. I want Congress to instead pass another, stronger war powers resolution and hold this president to account. And I want that money spent here, on the Americans who are struggling to get by. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Urgent! Help needed for 31-year-old ICE detainee with sickle cell disease!
Sarafinah is an Ugandan nursing student who was abducted by ICE at a Kentucky airport on the 22nd. She was on her way to a medical conference; she has a pending asylum claim and a valid work permit. She is now in detention, and this is especially bad because Serafinah has sickle cell disease, and DHS is not providing her with adequate care for it. Her friends are terrified she’s going to go into organ failure.
Please go to this toolkit and make any calls you can. She is running out of time. There is also a gofundme in there if you can give. Thanks, y’all.
Extra Extra Credit ✅✅
Keep the pressure up! Tell elected leaders to Investigate DOGE
Activists from across the country are keeping the momentum going to ensure Members of Congress commit to holding Elon Musk and DOGE officials accountable in the new Congress. Congress must start by investigating DOGE’s mishandling of our Social Security data, Musk’s enormous conflicts of interest, and the potential misuse of positions within government by DOGE officials who also hold positions at major corporations, investment firms, and other for-profit entities.
Please sign this letter telling Congress to hold Musk and DOGE to account.
Get Smart! 📚
The social media docu-series Fractured: The Stories of Those Left Behind, has launched! Fractured is a social media docu-series that explores the ripple effects of ICE enforcement actions in Southern California through video interviews with family, friends, employers, faith communities, members of immigrant rights organizations and others associated with those who have been abducted, detained or deported, as well as interviews with the victims themselves.
You can find the first episodes of Fractured on YouTube here and on the Fractured website here.
New episodes will be posted every Monday on Fractured’’s YouTube channel, along with related content on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Please follow, like, and share!
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging!
Defend America Action just released a great report on how older Americans are being harmed by this administration. It breaks down these attacks into several categories: healthcare, housing, Social Security, nursing, and more. Please take a look and share widely. It has a ton of good source links.
If you find it helpful to share a video with the document you can find mine, which summarizes its findings, here.
Give 💰!
Ack! I’m failing in my Run For Something fundraiser, all! I know a lot of people are traveling right now but usually we can make a 10K match pretty easily and this time we did not. I will repeat my often-made assertion that RFS is one of the best single places you can put your political dollars right now—they’re putting stellar candidates into the pipelines EVERYWHERE and giving them what they need to win!
But they can’t do that without our help. Can you give even $5 or $10 dollars towards my subscriber’s generous 10K match? Needless to say if even half my subscribers did that we’d knock our goal out of the park!
Give here, please, if you can. I just did.
Win Races! 🗳
August is a big month for primaries!
August 4 has five states voting, including Arizona and Michigan.
August 11 brings four more, including Wisconsin.
And August 18 closes out primary season in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming, with Florida looking especially competitive across seven counties.
By the end of this month, the November matchups are locked in. If you haven’t voted in your primary yet, this is it.
Not sure about all the choices on your ballot? Worried about picking the wrong candidate in a race you haven’t been following? Blue Voter Guide shows you what’s on your ballot with endorsements from trusted, pro-democracy organizations — so you can make informed choices even in races where you’ve never heard of the candidates. It’s free, and one in three of their millions of users say it helped them vote in races they would have otherwise skipped.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps ] [H/T] [Text SIGN PCKFEC to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
I am devastated that the Trump administration is ending the Medicare Part D subsidy program that helped hold down premiums for Medicare drug plans. This move will leave many seniors facing higher rates for their prescription coverage next year. Roughly 25 million people have Part D plans, and they need the help those subsidies provide.
We are living through an affordability crisis the likes of which we’ve never seen, and seniors are getting hit hardest of all. From the shuttering of nursing homes, to skyrocketing housing costs, to Trump’s Medicaid and SNAP cuts, to higher grocery prices, to DOGE’s Social Security cuts and more, seniors are essentially under attack by this administration. These Plan D subsidy cuts are another cruel blow. They must be reversed at once.
Please do all you can to pressure the administration to change course. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Thank-you as always for a clear, peppy, meaty and vitally info-packed e-mail, Jess!! You MUST get some body & soul renewing vacation time ( ideally, from today!!) next week. Nova Scotia still possesses that magical “serene place out of time” atmosphere. TUNE OUT, TURN OFF!! ENJOY!!!🌊🩵🧜🏻♀️
Made a donation to Run For Something. Signing the Resistbot letter. I have one for an issue in the Defense bill regarding a land grab in California near the Santa Barbara area to benefit ONE PRIVATE OIL COMPANY which previously caused an oil spill of 450,000 gallons of crude in 2015 off our coast.
https://resist.bot/petitions/PQPNOW
Strip the Sable Offshore provision from the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act before the Senate votes on it. The amendment from Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas cleared the House by a single vote, 215 to 214, and it would hand the Secretary of Defense eminent domain power to take permanent easements along the Santa Ynez Pipeline System, including land owned by the State of California.
This is not a defense program. It is one private oil company using the federal government to seize state parkland on the Gaviota Coast so it can restart the pipeline that ruptured in 2015 and spilled more than 450,000 gallons of crude near Refugio State Beach. Sable now faces 21 criminal charges from Santa Barbara County prosecutors, five of them felonies, over its work on that same line.
I do not want a corporate favor dressed up as a national security necessity. If the Pentagon can condemn a state park for a drilling company, no public land in any state is safe from the next company with a lobbyist. Vote to remove this provision, and oppose any defense bill that still carries it.