 We’re unstoppable, John, This year, Sunrise made climate such an urgent priority, Biden had to make it a centerpiece of his campaign. After we helped organize the greatest youth turnout in history last month, he won the presidency, affirming that clear mandate to take immediate and aggressive action on climate change. We made the path forward clear: Biden’s most crucial first step to keep his promise was to establish an Office of Climate Mobilization. Thanks to us, he’s on track to do just that.¹ And after all the noise we made about packing this office with people who will fight with the urgency this crisis dictates, today we’re excited to see some of our top choices for these roles get picked. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Gina McCarthy and Ali Zaidi will lead the newly established climate office, and Former Michigan Governor Granholm has been selected as Secretary of Energy. These are big victories for our movement. Gina and Ali are close allies to Sunrise and our values and Former Governor Granholm has no ties to fossil fuel CEOs, which makes her the first true clean energy advocate to lead the Department of Energy. Michael Regan will be the first Black Southerner to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and environmental justice advocate Brenda Mallory will lead the Council on Environmental Quality. Deb Haaland will be the first Indigenous Interior Secretary in history, ushering in a new era of Indigenous authority over stolen land, a victory that wouldn’t have been possible without the organizing of NDN Collective, Indigenous Environmental Network, and other Indigenous-led movements that have been fighting for self-determination and climate justice for centuries. Organizing works. The protests outside politicians’ houses, the calls, the petitions, the flood of social media support—all of that pressure is carving a path ever closer to the realization of a Green New Deal. Though Biden’s cabinet is not perfect, his environmental and climate picks are the most progressive of the whole slate and have no corporate ties. Climate action has been made a priority across the cabinet—this is proof of the growing power of our movement. We need to keep up this pressure. Plenty of positions in the Biden administration still need to be filled, and it’s up to us to hold Biden to more visionary, historic choices. Can you pitch in to sustain us as we work nonstop in the next 5 weeks to hold Biden and his team accountable? We can’t back down now. Evan, Political Director |