[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | February 22, 2025
Dear John,
We’re just over a month into the second Trump administration, and the reviews from the American public are in. Across four major polls this week, Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to the mid-40’s, down from closer to 50 in January. According to the latest polling from Ipsos and the Washington Post, 57 percent of Americans say the president has “exceeded his authority since taking office.” And when it comes to his specific initiatives, many feel “mixed to negative.”
A big part of this is the fact that Trump ran on a platform of improving the economy—and he’s not delivering. The Washington Post poll shows that over 90 percent of Americans feel negatively about food prices, and strong majorities feel similarly negative about gas and energy prices. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, over half of Americans oppose the president’s new tariffs on imported goods from other countries—expecting that the tariffs will lead to even higher prices.
A headline in CNN’s poll proclaims that “pessimism [is] on the rise” among Americans. We’re not surprised. Many of the initiatives and departments Trump’s targeted for downsizing or tried to shut down are actually quite popular with the American public—like the Department of Education, which he’s been gearing up to obliterate.
Or take the case of the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau (CFPB)—the oversight agency that’s responsible for protecting consumers like you or I from things like predatory lending rates, excessive credit card fees, and other unfair and undisclosed fees and practices.
The CFPB has been incredibly effective. As money editor Martha Burk reports for Ms. this week, it “obtained nearly $20 billion in financial relief for U.S. consumers in the form of canceled debts, compensation and reduced loans since its founding.” Nearly four in five Americans say they favor it. And yet, earlier this month, the agency was ordered by its acting director Russell Vought—one of the architects of Project 2025—to effectively stop nearly all work.
We knew this was coming. Along with a multitude of Trump administration’s other actions, shutting down the CFPB was outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s conservative manifesto, Project 2025. And just as with other actions, it’s driving protests and being challenged in the courts: the National Treasury Employees Union has filed a lawsuit against Vought, seeking to stop his actions.
In Texas, on top of recent record-breaking measles outbreaks among those who are unvaccinated for it (Hello, RFK jr.? What’s that you were saying about gutting those vaccine advisory panels?) the state has seen soaring rates of sepsis in the wake of its 2021 abortion ban. According to an analysis from ProPublica, rates of sepsis “shot up more than 50 percent for women hospitalized when they lost their pregnancies in the second trimester.”
Texas Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials continue to posture as women’s “protectors.” But we’re seeing in real time what happens when they get their way: women’s lives are endangered, and some will die.
As long as the administration keeps acting against Americans’ best interest, Americans will keep fighting back—from the courts to the streets, and from coast to coast.
Onward,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Is Effective and Popular—So Why Do Trump and Musk Want to Shut It Down? [[link removed]] Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared. [[link removed]]
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New York Times’ Shameful Reporting on Planned Parenthood Bolsters Right-Wing Attacks on Reproductive Healthcare Access [[link removed]] ‘Daddy’s Home’: Republican Paternalism Towards Women Exemplifies Punishment, Not Protection [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
Welcome to The Magazine, our mini-pod, which gives a peek into Ms. magazine’s forthcoming and current issues. In this episode, listeners hear about the Spring 2025 issue—which delves into the feminist resistance to the second Trump administration—as it hits newsstands.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For over 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
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