Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about “political violence.” And when we use that term, people often imagine graphic violence, not policy on paper. But, make no mistake, when leaders deliberately strip families of food, paychecks, and safety in the name of partisan loyalty, that is violence. It may not leave bruises, but it breaks lives just the same.
That’s what we’re witnessing right now.
The government shutdown and the chaos created by Republican extremists are not mere symptoms of dysfunction; they are manifestations of deliberate cruelty. The Trump administration is treating the shutdown not as a crisis to resolve, but as a political weapon; a means to shrink government, purge civil rights, and punish dissent.
These are the same politicians who call themselves “patriots,” yet celebrate the militarization of our cities, from Chicago to Portland. They applaud threats to deploy troops on American soil to silence protests. This is not law and order. It is a coordinated effort by Trump and his Republican allies to weaponize government against the very people it exists to serve.
This is not the behavior of a healthy democracy. It is the logic of authoritarianism.
They have made it clear that their interests lie in waging a slow, calculated war on democracy itself. When a government begins to see its own people as threats instead of citizens, when loyalty to one man outweighs loyalty to the Constitution, every American is at risk, especially those who have always been treated as collateral.
But here’s what they didn’t account for: our resilience.
Every time they try to starve our communities of care, we build new networks of protection. Every time they cut programs, we raise our voices louder. Every time they try to erase us from policymaking, we show up and we show out. Our resilience is what keeps this democracy standing when extremism tries to tear it down.
It’s what the Congressional Black Caucus fights to protect every single day. As Chair, I will keep using every tool I have to shield our communities from cruelty, protect our freedoms, and insist that government serve with dignity, not domination. But this fight takes all of us, and we know that silence has never kept our communities safe.
Thank you. History will remember how each of us showed up in this moment, not just with words, but with action.
In solidarity and in strength,
Yvette D. Clarke
Yvette Clarke is the ONLY Black woman representing New York in Washington. As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, she’s brought together moderates and progressives to pass legislation that helps communities of color, low-income families, immigrants, and more. If you'd like only the most important updates, you can opt for fewer emails here, but if you don't want to keep Yvette proudly representing Brooklyn, you can unsubscribe.
