John,

In a stunning reversal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and enough of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate voted with Republicans to move forward on a government funding bill that empowers Donald Trump’s autocratic takeover of our government.

This is completely and totally unacceptable. By their own admission, Democrats in the Senate realize that voting for the legislation would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk leeway to continue their assault on federal agencies, so why vote in support?¹ In choosing to vote for this CR, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Schumer, and the rest of the senators voting for the funding bill are failing the American people by endorsing funding cuts and abdicating congressional authority, ceding power to the Trump administration.

Send a direct message to your senators and representative thanking those who voted against moving this rotten legislation and telling those who voted for it of your extreme disappointment.

Even before this vote, the Trump administration’s shutdown of our government had already begun.

The Trump White House sent a memo to federal agencies in February giving them until yesterday, March 13th, to produce a plan on how to reduce its workforce and even more plans are due next month, on April 14th. We’re already beginning to see the staggering amount of workforce reductions across multiple agencies including:²

• The Department of Veteran Affairs will cut 80,000 jobs, many of which are staffed by veterans themselves. This will result in massive reductions and delays in the services veterans will be able to receive and result in longer wait times for benefits.

• The Internal Revenue Service will cut up to 45,000 jobs. This comes after major investments by the Biden administration to hire more IRS agents and go after wealthy tax cheats, ,which has paid off by more than $1 billion collected; to better-serve everyday taxpayers and reduce call-wait time; and modernize technology by creating the Direct File program which saved taxpayers millions of dollars last year.³

• The District of Columbia’s budget is cut by over $1 billion―a huge cut that will slash public education and public safety. This cut does not save federal dollars―it blows up home rule and forces DC to cut its approved budget.⁴ More tyranny in action.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would lose half of its workforce of 9,6000 employees. The American Federation of Government Employees revealed that the Trump administration has called for dismissing up to half of the workers at HUD. A destructive and foolhardy cut has already been made by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)―of dubious legal status―ending the $1 billion Resilient Retrofit program that provides funding to repair low-income housing to keep them liveable.^5,6 Cutting half of HUD’s workforce could dramatically reduce HUD’s capacity to underwrite mortgages.⁷ Staffing cuts reported to be a shocking 84 percent at HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development would cripple homelessness and affordable housing services.⁸

• The Department of Education has seen 1,300 employee layoffs, cutting its staff in half, and the closure of 5 offices across the country that investigate civil rights violations.⁹

• The U.S. Postal Service will cut 10,000 jobs, further undermining the constitutionally mandated service as corporate interests seek to privatize the USPS.¹⁰

These cuts are their own form of a government shutdown and will impact every single person in the U.S. in drastic ways that will take decades to recover from.

By moving forward the continuing resolution that enables this autocratic administration to continue its attacks, majorities first in the House and now the Senate have let down the American public. Shame on them.

Send a message to your senators and representative today either thanking them for supporting the American public or sharing your disappointment in them for abdicating their responsibility.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Schumer says he’ll vote to advance the G.O.P. spending bill, arguing that a shutdown would further empower Trump.
² Reductions in force: A look at which agencies are affected by DOGE-led job cuts
³ U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS announce $1.3 billion recovered from high-income, high-wealth individuals under Inflation Reduction Act initiatives
⁴ Congress poised to force $1B cut to local DC budget, surprising many lawmakers
⁵ HUD To Axe Half Its Workforce
⁶ Elon Musk’s DOGE Quietly Kills Affordable Housing Program
⁷ HUD Reportedly Considering Office Closures Across Multiple States
⁸ NPR: Trump Administration Plans Mass Firings at Office that Funds Homelessness Programs
⁹ AP: Education Department layoffs gut its civil rights office, leaving discrimination cases in limbo
¹⁰USPS to cut 10,000 jobs with help from Musk's government efficiency department