We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times.

By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you. (Though it’s not
the longest, either!)

Hope is not something a person simply does or doesn’t have.

Yes, some of us are more optimistic by nature, some of us are more cynical.

But hope is something we can build, nurture, invest in.

Indeed — when so much is going in the wrong direction — building, nurturing, and
investing in hope is not just something we can do, it is something we must do.

We have to put in the work. We have to make hope real. We have to make it a
living, breathing thing.

And that starts with working together and doing whatever we can. Even if we
don’t see an immediate impact. Even if it feels small. Even if — especially if —
it seems impossible.

Since the moment Donald Trump was declared the victor in the presidential race,
Public Citizen has been been charging forward to activate and build out
far-reaching, impactful plans that will limit the damage he and his cronies can
inflict upon millions of Americans, our democracy, our planet, and everyone on
it.

Our plan for confronting Trump focuses on three key areas:

1. Mobilizing the American people against Trump’s authoritarian actions.

2. Exposing the conflicts of interest and systemic corruption within MAGA.

3. Litigating against Trump’s cruel and illegal agenda.

Here’s just some of what we’re already doing:

* Two days after the election — with the Election Sabotage Response Network —
we helped organize a “Making Meaning of the Moment” video call that drew more
than 100,000 activists. As a follow on, we’ve helped organize over 600
community meetings around the country to prepare people for the work ahead.

* We have created a tracker of Trump administration conflicts of interest that
is already drawing lots of media interest (even as we rush to keep up with
more conflicts every day).

* We have created a public database of the environmental, health, consumer, and
other regulations the Republican Congress and Trump are likely to target in
their first months. And we are spearheading a coalition of over 100
organizations to fight those deregulatory efforts and label them as the
corporate paybacks they are.

* We wrote a formal, legal letter to the Trump transition team about the Elon
Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency” — explaining that what they
are in fact doing is setting up a federal advisory committee that must follow
open government rules and requirements that advisory committees be balanced
and representative — paving the way for possible litigation after the
inauguration.

* We documented ongoing federal investigations against wrongdoing by Elon
Musk-owned companies, highlighting how Musk may leverage his close
relationship with Trump to benefit his companies and enrich himself still
further.

* We submitted a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s
apparent violation of rules requiring social media “influencers” to disclose
their financial interests when promoting products.

* We are issuing reports on conflicts of interest for Chief of Staff-to-be
Susie Wiles and Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi, and issued detailed
statements opposing more than 10 Trump nominations.

* We have generated tons of media coverage, including in The New York Times , The Washington Post , Politico , Los Angeles Times , The Guardian , ABC News, and much more.

* We are conducting trainings that will give more Americans the tools to sue
and advocate around regulatory rollbacks, open records requests, misuse of
presidential emergency powers, and more.

* And we are readying a host of lawsuits once the Trump cabal takes office.

All of that in just the few weeks since the election. And, again, that’s far
from a comprehensive list of our work.

We are also putting specific plans in place around challenging other Trump
nominations, ensuring drug safety, protecting Medicare, opposing attempts to
minimize the threat of climate change, blocking tax cuts for the super rich, and
much, much more.

For now, the name of the game is defense and mitigating harm. It won’t be long
into the next year, however, when we’ll also be able to start building consensus
around bold, transformative proposals. That’s the work we did during Trump’s
first term.

Look, by design, our plans and our work are unbelievably ambitious.

Because that’s precisely what the moment demands: aggressive, strategic plans
that will make a difference.

Because an audacious approach can — and should — give us hope.

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us confront what’s coming from a second Trump term.
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Thank you for reading this, and thank you for everything you do as part of
Public Citizen.

For progress,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen


Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe
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