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, 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 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. 

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