Note: If you’re all caught up on the government funding fight and are
ready to take action to oppose Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s shutdown
demands, skip to the end for what you can do.
Indivisibles,
Usually, when there’s a looming government shutdown, you hear about it for
weeks and weeks ahead of time. There are tons of headlines about
Republicans demanding cuts to vital programs and breaking stories about
congressional leaders meeting at the White House to hammer out the complex
details of massive spending bills. Throughout the negotiations, we send
lots of emails to keep you updated on all the Republican ransom demands.
But the government could very well shut down at midnight, and if it seems
like this shutdown came out of nowhere, that’s because it did. There was a
bipartisan agreement to keep the government open, but then Republicans
tossed it at the 11th hour, demanding additional provisions to help the
rich and cuts to programs that feed the hungry and combat childhood
cancer. Real Scrooge crap, right in time for Christmas.
To summarize what happened:
* Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate spent weeks
negotiating a deal that would have funded the government until March
14 and replenished disaster assistance. On Tuesday, they announced an
agreement. Shutdown averted without any of the usual drama! Or so it
seemed.
* Shortly after, Elon Musk started shooting off dozens of tweets
criticizing the deal, [ [link removed] ]outright lying about what was in it, and
threatening retaliation against any Republican who voted for it.
* One by one, Republicans started jumping ship, saying they would not
support the bipartisan agreement. The deal appeared dead before Trump
decided to assert his relevance by posting that he, too, rejected the
deal. His statement could be seen on X and Truth Social next to memes
of Musk leading Trump by a leash and posts hailing “President Musk.”
* Thursday afternoon, members of the Elon/Trump team and House
Republicans leaders released a new hyperpartisan bill that removed
funds for things like [ [link removed] ]research to end childhood cancer and tossed
in a debt ceiling increase to clear the way for Trump’s tax cuts for
the ultra-rich. It came up for a vote Thursday night and failed.
Now: Trump, Musk, and MAGA House Republicans are threatening to shut down
the government and cut off vital services over the holidays -- and
potentially much longer -- unless Democrats concede to whatever heinous
demands Musk and Trump put forward next.
Sadly, some Dems have already capitulated. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
and Kathy Castor (FL-14) voted yes to yesterday’s Trump-Musk bill. And
Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) voted present, which is even more cowardly.
We need to put a stop to that right now. Because it’s not going to end
with cuts to nutrition benefits for low-income families and slashing
cancer research. If Democrats end up caving to the demands of an unelected
oligarch and a president who hasn’t even entered office yet, Trump and his
billionaire friends are going to be calling the shots and getting their
way on everything -- on Social Security cuts, on immigration, on Project
2025 -- for the next four years.
Here’s what we need to do to hold the line:
If you have a Republican representative, call them and tell them you’ll
hold them responsible for any shutdown. Demand they pass a bipartisan
bill to keep the government open.
[ [link removed] ]Click here to use our script and call tool to contact your Republican
representative NOW.
If you have a Democratic representative (other than the three we named
above), tell them to stand strong against Musk/Trump shutdown demands
and continue backing a bipartisan agreement to keep the government
open.
[ [link removed] ]Click here to use our email tool to reach out to your Democratic
representative NOW.
And if you are represented by the three Dems who folded last night
(Castor, Kaptur, Perez), let them know how disappointed you are and tell
them they need to start working to regain your trust right now or
consider a new profession. We’ll put their numbers at the bottom of this
email for your convenience.
Sadly, this episode is a preview of many of the fights we’re going to have
ahead of us. So let’s rally, let’s show we’re ready to hold Republicans
accountable, and let’s demonstrate we have what it takes to win.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
As promised, here are the office phone numbers for the three Dems who
caved:
Castor: (202) 225-3376
Gluesenkamp Perez: (202) 225-3536
Kaptur: (202) 225-4146
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