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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.
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 Republicans are prepping to hand over that power to the President, recessing and letting Trump use an outdated constitutional provision to appoint members without a vote.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.
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.
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