Has it been a while? We haven’t sent an email for some time but we’ve been
busy bees. You made more than a million calls to Congress this year about
topics on
[5calls.org]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls).

[Read our short page about what we expect for
2025]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls). Hint: we need your help. Donate or volunteer
to help out, we all have a lot to do in 2025.

We’re also in some new places: find us on
[Instagram]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls),
[Bluesky]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls),
[Mastodon]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls) and
[Threads]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls). Still on Twitter? What are you waiting for?

Our platform is still 100% free to use and 100% volunteer run, though you
could certainly do worse things with your money than [donating to 5
Calls]([link removed]-
donate?refcode=email&utm_source=5calls&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=get-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls).

### Here’s what’s critical this week:

## [**HR 9495:** **Don’t Hand Trump Censorship
Power**]([link removed]-
terrorism/?utm_source=5calls&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=get-prepared-
for-2025-with-5-calls)

This bill would give the executive branch the ability to strip non-profit
status from any organization that it labels a “supporter of terrorism” while
no evidence of such is required. You can imagine how this plays out: organized
a protest? Terrorist. Wrote an article critical of the administration?
Terrorist. Run an issue advocacy website that leans to the left? Terrorist.

This was attempted last week under special rules that limited debate time but
it needed 2/3 of the House to pass and it only got 245 votes in favor. It’s
coming up this week again under normal rules and only needs a simply majority
to pass. Needless to say, call your House member on this one right away and
then call your Senators and tell them not to vote for it if it makes all the
way to the Senate.

## [Oppose Recess Appointments]([link removed]-
recess-appointments/?utm_source=5calls&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=get-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls)

One of our major checks and balances on the Presidency is the system for
confirming cabinet members, giving the Senate a chance to discuss and vote on
the executive branch members who will effectively run the country. Republicans
are prepping to hand over that power to the President, recessing and letting
Trump use an outdated constitutional provision to appoint members without a
vote.

To be clear: _you should be angry about this_. Your Senators are effectively
giving up one of the few ways their constituents can influence the actions of
the executive branch. And at the end of the day, recess appointments mean
unqualified cabinet members: welcome to the world of an anti-vax Health and
Human Services Secretary, a sex trafficking Attorney General and a Christian
Nationalist/Fox News host for Defense Secretary.

## If you can believe it, that’s not even everything

There are three more _new_ topics on the site right now and a lot of good
stuff that’s still relevant from this year. [Go make some
calls]([link removed]-
prepared-for-2025-with-5-calls).

Stay in the loop on what’s happening in Congress, we’ll send no more than one
email per week unless it’s an emergency.

Questions? Just reply to this email.

–––
This was issue #1 of 5 Calls Newsletter.

You can [subscribe]([link removed]), [unsubscribe]([link removed]), or [view this email online]([link removed]).

–––
This email brought to you by Buttondown, the easiest way to
start and grow your newsletter: [link removed]