John, it’s official: Trump shut down the government – because taking away our healthcare was just that important to him.

Here’s what happened: Trump needed the votes of Democrats in Congress to keep the government open. And unlike last time, Democrats listened to millions of Americans like you who demanded they refuse to write a blank check to fund Trump’s authoritarianism.

But Trump dug his heels in, waiting until 24 hours before shutdown to even meet with Democrats – playing reckless games with government services that millions of people rely on.

Now every Republican in Congress has a choice: will they follow Trump off this cliff, or will they end this shutdown by passing a budget that puts our families first.

John, our contacts on Capitol Hill tell me they’ve never seen this level of public engagement. For the last week, thousands of Common Cause members have shown Congress that they can’t do Trump’s bidding without paying a political price – and demanded a budget that works for everyday Americans – not billionaires.

Our work’s not done. Every day Trump’s shutdown drags on, you can be sure he’ll try and make it as painful and destructive as possible – while pointing fingers so somebody else takes the blame.

But thanks to your powerful and persistent action, we’ll keep winning the public debate – not fall for Trump’s distractions, and make sure every American understands this is a battle for our democracy between people power and billionaire influence – and public opinion is on our side.

That means: rallies across the country, organizing volunteers and phone banks, delivering your letters to Congress, and lobbying in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill.

Your advocacy got us this far, but these next few days are absolutely critical – so if you’re with us, will you chip in $5 - or whatever you can - to help fuel our largest non-election year mobilization ever?

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Thanks for all you do,

The team at Common Cause