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Hi John,
As you probably know, there’s a lot going on in Washington right now. But amidst all of the chaos, I wanted to make sure I set aside a moment to say thank you.
You’ve responded to our requests for help at every fundraising deadline and every big moment.
I couldn’t be prouder of this team or more appreciative of your continued support and generosity, John, so thank you. I couldn’t do this work without you.
I also wanted to take some time to answer just a few of the many thoughtful questions members of this team have sent me. In case you missed it, my team and I kicked off our Ask Adam series to give folks like you the opportunity to submit any questions you might have about my work in the Senate (share your questions here!).
So without further ado …
Nicole from California wrote “The Trump administration has clearly demonstrated that they will not act in good faith. What steps do Democrats plan to take outside of business as usual to deal with this power grab?”
We can’t treat this as business as usual. We have to do several things, and do them well — oversight, legislation, litigation, communication, and mobilization.
We need to do hard oversight, and not just when the TV cameras are rolling. We can do that by uncovering information and exposing it — which can force them to abandon plans. Part of this effort has included encouraging whistleblowers to come forward — and they have, greatly facilitating our ability to expose corruption and wrongdoing. We are also using every procedural tool at our disposal to block their power grabs and uncover what they’re doing. The slower they go, the less they can break.
We need to legislate to try to stop the worst abuses and force Republicans to defend what they’re trying to do. Even though we’re in the minority, we can still introduce bills to block the worst abuses, put Republicans on record, and force them to defend their actions — like their push to cut Medicaid, defund Social Security, and raise taxes on working families while handing massive giveaways to billionaires. If they want to gut programs that millions rely on, they need to own that in broad daylight.
We need to litigate in the courts to stop the many illegal and unconstitutional actions Trump and his cronies are undertaking. While Trump signs executive orders meant to create chaos and headlines, we’re working to file legal challenges that stop them from taking effect. There are already 20+ lawsuits challenging his most extreme moves — like his attempts to freeze federal funding and gut agencies from the inside. And we have had considerable success with this litigation.
And we must better communicate, not only by sharpening our message but also by broadening the use of digital media and appearing on podcasts that expand our progressive reach. My YouTube channel is now the most highly watched of any member of Congress, and we are very active on all the other platforms as well, getting millions of views and mushrooming our engagement, perhaps the largest of any elected official.
Finally, we can mobilize — that is where you come in. We can take to the streets and the national parks, we can show up at town halls and roundtables, we can make our voices heard and amplify our own opinions and the views of others. We must all engage to save our democracy.
Carol from Florida wrote “Adam, I am a senior citizen and rely on my Social Security to get me through the month. Should I be worried that they are going to take that away from me?”
Simply put, yes.
Just last week, Elon Musk — who, let's remember, is Donald Trump’s top advisor and actor through DOGE — suggested he wanted to privatize Social Security and called it a “Ponzi scheme.” Then, this week, his hand-picked acting administrator began mass layoffs which will affect the ability of the agency to do its critical work.
Listen, I’m going to fight like hell to keep this benefit for seniors which they have earned. Because it’s their money and because it has been an enormously successful program that helps people retire with dignity. What’s more, the only reason Trump and Musk want to make changes to Social Security is to find more money for their obscene tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.
And I’m confident that this is a fight that we will win — if the GOP is dumb enough to pick it. I will never stop fighting to protect your Social Security. You earned it. You paid into it. And I will do everything in my power to make sure it’s there for you, and for generations to come.
Leslie from California wrote “I would like to know your recommendation of the most effective ways citizens can push back on the illegal activities of the current administration. I am concerned about our democracy, and want to participate in saving it.”
Donald Trump and his administration want you to be afraid and to be cowed into silence and inaction. One of the most important things you can do is resist the urge to feel overwhelmed. That’s what they want. The chaos you see — the executive orders, the purges of career government employees, the attacks on federal agencies — is deliberate. It’s designed to make people feel paralyzed as if nothing we do matters. That is a lie. The truth is: we outnumber them. And when we take collective action, we can slow down, and even stop their most dangerous efforts. After that, here are some of the most important things you can do:
(1) Call and write your Representatives – yes, this works! Don’t assume your member of Congress is voting the way you want them to; they need to hear from you. Demand they block Trump’s unqualified appointees and fight back against his budget cuts.
(2) Support local efforts to protect democracy. Get involved with groups that are mobilizing at the local level to protect voting rights, support immigrant communities, and flip Republican seats. This can be as small as finding a local candidate to make calls for or contribute to. This work really matters.
(3) Engage in elections at every level. Trump and his allies are watching to see if we mobilize. We have special elections coming up. They may seem small, but every race is a chance to build power and momentum for 2026. Get involved, volunteer, and help elect leaders who will fight back.
The bottom line is that this administration wants us to believe that what they’re doing is inevitable. It’s not.
Every person like you who’s donating time, energy, and resources helps hold the Trump administration accountable and slow down their attempts to break the system. It also builds real community and power, and that’s the work that moves us forward.
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Thank you for your thoughtful questions. I look forward to answering even more of these questions in the coming weeks.
Adam
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