John,

This week, the new presidential administration threw millions more people’s lives into chaos, attacking all of our communities by trying to pause federal funding that had already been allocated by Congress for a slew of essential programs. They also directed federal workers to resign if they disagree with Trump’s political views.

We need bold leadership at every level of government to protect our communities and resist each of Trump’s attacks. Thanks to pushback and legal challenges from government officials and organizations around the country, today the Trump administration rescinded its unconstitutional order for a federal funding freeze. However, we know that the administration will come back with less sweeping, more targeted cuts to programs that Congress already allocated funding for, which could impact states, cities, service providers, and school districts across the country that rely on federal funding. We must stay vigilant and push back on further attacks on essential programs like food stamps, Meals on Wheels, and Medicaid.

I want to let you know that I see you, and I’m fighting for you. Let’s remember that this is the authoritarian playbook: sowing panic and hate to divide us from one another so they can distract us while they consolidate power and enrich the billionaire class. They’re trying to overwhelm us and bring us into despair, all while most Americans are already living paycheck to paycheck—with many workers living on starvation wages and drowning just trying to make ends meet.

I will do everything in my power to fight back against Trump’s attacks, including his unconstitutional attempt to undermine birthright citizenship. To make it clear: There is no doubt that if you are born in the U.S. you are a U.S. citizen; the president does not have the authority to change that. With the exception of people who were forced here in chains and the people who are Native to these lands, this is a country of immigrants.

I wouldn’t be here in Congress if my parents hadn’t been able to immigrate and find work in the United States, and now I have the honor of representing a vibrantly diverse district with many immigrant families. This morning I joined local elected leaders and advocates at a press conference to inform our immigrant neighbors of their constitutional rights and to help other community members understand how we can best protect our loved ones.

It’s up to all of us to resist dehumanization and to speak out so this administration’s racist and transphobic attacks are not normalized. We can’t let people in power pick and choose who they think should be Americans, or who they think should be human beings. We know that we all belong here and we all deserve dignity and safety, and we can lift up our shared humanity in our communities. Please reach out to your loved ones and hold each other close. We need each other for emotional support and for mutual aid—if you can afford to, now is the time to donate what you can to your local mutual aid groups and food banks. But we shouldn’t have to rely on mutual aid and crowdfunding in order to survive.

Together, we must continue demanding a functioning government that actually meets people’s needs. Through our tax dollars, the federal government has the money to feed and house everyone, to provide universal healthcare and utilities for all, to ensure that each family can access clean water, and more. It’s through people power that we’ll push our government to shift its priorities from funding war and boosting corporate profits to investing in life.

For this 119th session of Congress, I was appointed to continue serving on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, where I will push Congress to exercise its oversight authority to stop Trump’s illegal power grabs. It’s part of our constitutional duty as members of Congress to maintain the separation of co-equal powers between legislative and executive branches of government. I’m also returning to the House Financial Services Committee, where I will keep fighting for working families, taking on corporate greed, and resisting harmful policies that prioritize tax cuts for billionaires over essential programs. And in my elected role as Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, I will continue growing the power of our movement for a future with equity and justice for all.

As always, we get free together by working across differences toward the aim of a society where every single one of us can thrive as our full selves. We have the power to shift oppressive institutions; in fact, strong social movements have brought about every transformative change in this country. We didn’t get the Civil Rights Act or the DACA program for undocumented youth or the right to form a union because people in the White House or Congress woke up one day and decided to do the right thing. Unfortunately we have to keep pushing to defend our wins, but we know that people power has won progress in hostile times by outworking the hate and organizing together on multiple fronts. We won’t stop now.

Always fighting for you,

Rashida