John,

They’ve done it. Congressional Republicans have chosen to shut down the government instead of working in a bipartisan manner to pass a funding bill that protects health care and stops Donald Trump from illegally freezing Congressionally appropriated funds.

But, if we’re being completely honest, this government shutdown began the moment Trump took office. They’ve fired thousands of federal workers at random, dismantled government agencies, frozen $410 billion in funding for our communities, and slashed nutrition assistance. And this is in addition to their attacks on health care, which will result in millions of people losing their health insurance with millions more forced to pay more for care.

In response, we’ve organized hundreds of allies across the country to keep the pressure on Congress to come to the table and negotiate a bipartisan funding bill―one that protects health care affordability and that reins in the illegal rescissions by the Trump administration. Together, we’ve sent more than 175,000 messages to Congress in the last few days alone, demanding they reject the partisan Republican shutdown.

Even though they control all branches of government and have the responsibility to put forward a bipartisan plan to keep the government open, Republican leaders in Congress listened to Trump when he told congressional Republicans not to negotiate with Democrats.[1] Speaker Johnson has had the House on recess for nearly two weeks―his members not even in Washington as the deadline approached, and still gone with the government currently shut down.

We’re keeping pressure on Congress to pass a funding bill that protects our health care and stops Trump from stealing funds from our communities. Rush a donation of $5 today to power our campaign and hold Congress and the White House accountable to our communities.

Just yesterday, President Trump told reporters: "We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible that are bad for them. Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like ... we can do things medically, and other ways, including benefits. We can cut numbers of people out"―demonstrating clearly that he’s willing to use people as pawns in a partisan political game. In the days leading up to the shutdown, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought threatened to fire scores of federal workers if the government ran out of funding. But we’ve gotten that even without a shutdown: the Trump administration has already fired tens of thousands of government workers. They handed power to Elon Musk, DOGE, and OMB Director Russell Vought to hollow out government agencies, such as the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Republican leaders must come to the negotiating table to craft a bipartisan plan to reopen the government. We’re demanding they reject any bill without these vital conditions: a renewal of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, restored Medicaid funding, and enforceable rules to ensure that Trump properly spends congressionally approved funds.

Rush a donation today to power our campaign and demand Congress end the shutdown by protecting our people and the law.

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Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Trump tells GOP to cut Democrats out of funding bill as Schumer warns of shutdown
² White House press conference, via Aaron Rupar on X