John,

It’s been one month with Musk and Trump in power, and seemingly every day, there is a new destructive order or action – much of it illegal and none of it in the interests of ordinary people.

But times like these help us realize the power we have when we come together. Our members – like you – are showing up, speaking out, and refusing to back down.

Here’s a rundown – one month in – of the biggest threats to our food, water, and climate from Musk and Trump, what Food & Water Watch is doing to respond, and how you can join the fight:

Fighting the Musk-Trump agenda to dismantle the federal government

• What’s happening: Musk and Trump are attempting to fulfill a strategy – years in the making – to break the federal government, loot it, and then privatize it. We’re seeing this play out in their moves to illegally fire federal workers, defund essential government functions, and consolidate even more power in the hands of billionaires and corporations.

• How we’re fighting back: Food & Water Watch is exposing this strategy and calling on members of Congress to do everything in their power to block the Musk-Trump agenda. Our members have sent over 20,000 messages to Congress to block this agenda and oppose budget cuts on safe food and clean water. And this week, we brought together a powerful rally in New York, calling on House Minority Leader Jeffries to organize the defense we need from Democrats. Business as usual must not continue while Musk and Trump wreak havoc on our institutions. You can call on your members of Congress to block the Musk-Trump agenda and vote against defunding safe food and clean water.

Protecting the Historic Lead Out of Water Rule

• What’s happening: Over 9 million families in the U.S. have lead in their water, yet Republican leaders in Congress have shared that one of their priorities (of all things) is to roll back a rule that would require lead pipes to be replaced over the next decade. They’re using legislation called the Congressional Review Act to attempt to roll back this Biden-era rule, but they have a limited timeframe to do it – and the clock is ticking.

• How we’re responding: With the slimmest of margins in the House, we need just a few Republicans to vote the right way in order to block this effort. Food & Water Watch staff and volunteers have jumped into action, organizing dozens of rallies and letter drops in key strategic districts and flooding members’ offices with calls to keep lead out of our water. You can send a message to Congress to oppose H.J. Res 44 and protect the Lead Out of Water Rule.

Blocking Trump’s illegal agenda in the courts

• What’s happening: Trump has issued a series of Executive Orders calling on federal agencies to take drastic and illegal actions that threaten to gut protections for our air, water, and climate. Already, the Council on Environmental Quality has announced it will completely revoke its regulations for environmental reviews of federal projects, and the Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to reverse the 2009 greenhouse gas “endangerment finding” that paved the way to regulate climate emissions.

• How we’re responding: Food & Water Watch is tracking key Executive Order mandates, submitting Freedom of Information Act requests, strategically engaging to protect Biden administration rules from legal challenges, and weighing in on unlawful rollbacks to environmental protections, setting the stage to challenge these illegal actions in court. You can chip in to support our work to stop Trump’s attacks in the courts.

Moving state-level policies forward to protect food, water, and climate

• What’s happening: While defending against Musk and Trump’s attacks at the federal level, we’re taking the offensive in states across the country. Our communities are engaged and ready to fight back, and our staff and volunteers are advocating at the state level to advance protections for our food, water, and climate.

• How we’re responding: Following our work to pass a Climate Superfund bill in New York last year, we’re working in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and California to push those states to follow suit. These bills would require the companies responsible for climate pollution to pay their fair share toward the costs of climate damage – countering the big giveaways Musk-Trump are pushing at the federal level. We’re also working to fight factory farms and Big Ag influence across the country. Last week, 150 of our members and allies rallied at the state house in Iowa to fight the “Cancer Gag Act,”

  which would block Iowans from seeking justice in the courts for harms caused by pesticides. To get involved near you, check out our upcoming events.

At times like these, I’m more inspired than ever that our community is coming together to defend the future we all believe in. Food & Water Watch turns 20 this year, and as we celebrate two decades of protecting our food, water, and climate, we are so grateful to have you with us, John, and are ready to take on the fights ahead with you by our side.

We have a vision for the future that can’t be undone by one administration. We will fight with everything we have to get through this together and come out stronger on the other side.

Onward together,