October 18, 2025
Dear Friends,
As we enter the third week of a government shutdown caused by Republicans’ refusal to address the needs of the American people, Donald Trump and his administration are escalating their already rampant abuses of power. Trump and his enablers are using every available tool to enrich themselves, strong-arm their opponents, and expand their own power — all while instituting drastic benefit cuts and mass layoffs that harm families and communities across the nation. Silence is not an option in the face of this authoritarian power grab. That’s why today, I’m joining thousands of people here in our Capital Region and millions more around the country at a series of No Kings rallies to send a loud and clear message to this lawless administration: power belongs to the people.
Since the day Donald Trump took office, he and his administration have used the power of the federal government to silence their critics and intimidate our communities. In just the past several weeks, Trump and his cronies have:
These are the actions of an out-of-control authoritarian regime, and they must not be allowed to stand.
Trump and his lackeys aren’t just using their power to target their enemies — they’re also using it to enrich themselves. Last year, Trump’s so-called “border czar” Tom Homan was caught accepting $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent in a bribery sting operation. According to investigators, Homan promised to steer immigration-related government contracts to a specific company in exchange for the money. But despite this damning evidence of corruption, Trump’s Justice Department swept the investigation under the rug — and administration officials now refuse to even confirm that Homan accepted the cash.
Meanwhile, Trump is pushing pro-cryptocurrency policies that have vastly inflated his own wealth. After installing crypto-friendly leaders at key regulatory agencies and dropping government investigations into the industry, Trump and his companies have launched a series of opaque and unregulated cryptocurrency ventures that have increased his family’s net worth by as much as $5 billion — while providing a handy conduit for foreign governments and other shady actors to purchase favors from his administration. These blatantly corrupt actions are complemented by Trump and the GOP’s efforts to slash taxes on billionaires and corporations, thereby enriching themselves and their donors at the expense of the American people.
While Trump and his administration line their own pockets, congressional Republicans are doing everything they can to make life less affordable for American families. Nearly every Republican in Congress voted to pass Trump’s “Big, Ugly Bill,” a catastrophic piece of legislation that enacted the largest cuts to health care in American history — including nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid. This bill will force at least 15 million Americans off their health insurance entirely, and its failure to extend critical health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act will leave millions more to face premium hikes of more than 400%. This is nothing less than a betrayal of our communities, and my Democratic colleagues and I will keep doing everything in our power to fight back and remind our Republican colleagues that they work for their constituents — not for Donald Trump.
In the Declaration of Independence, our founders warned that a leader “whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” With those words, they made clear that the United States would never bow to a king, a dictator, or any other autocrat. Today, as we confront one of the gravest threats to the rule of law in our nation’s history, I’ll be proud to stand with millions of Americans to defend that founding promise — that this nation belongs to its people, not to kings. I hope you’ll join us.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates, announcements, and recommendations from governments and agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- Since the beginning of this government shutdown, I’ve received a number of questions from constituents about how the shutdown will affect their families and their communities.
- To help answer some of those questions, I’ve created a landing page on my website to provide you with information and resources.
- This webpage, which is being continuously updated with new information, includes answers to frequently asked questions about the status of various federal government programs and services during a shutdown, including:
- Social Security
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Veterans’ services
- Small business loans
- SNAP benefits
- And much more
- You can visit that webpage HERE to view the most up-to-date information about the impacts of this GOP shutdown.
- If you have any further questions or need any assistance with a federal agency, please don’t hesitate to contact one of my offices, which will remain open and ready to serve you throughout the duration of this shutdown.
