Dear Friend,

Joe Biden has only been president for 24 hours, and Senators Josh Hawley
and Mitch McConnell are already throwing roadblocks in the way of his
progress.

McConnell is refusing to give Democrats their committee chairs unless they
agree to protect the filibuster rule he used to help block more than 400
bills last year alone.^1 Hawley—the same senator who raised his fist in
solidarity with the Capitol Building insurrectionists—is attempting to
block Biden’s nominee for head of the Department of Homeland Security.^2

We can’t afford another four years of Republicans using procedural rules
to kill legislation and nominations. If we’re going to see the progress
America needs right now, the Senate’s first order of business must be
killing the filibuster. But there are Senate Democrats who want to keep
this outdated procedural rule.

Demand Progress is mobilizing the grassroots to fight by flooding Senate
offices with calls and emails, as well as working on the inside, pressing
senators to stand strong and do the right thing by ending the filibuster.
This is a critical moment, and we need your help to get this campaign
underway. Can you help?

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I’ll donate to help stop Mitch McConnell from torpedoing Joe
Biden’s agenda.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:

[ [link removed] ]Donate $10
[ [link removed] ]Donate $20
[ [link removed] ]Donate $40
[ [link removed] ]Or, donate another amount

The Senate filibuster is a relic of slavery and Jim Crow. It was invented
in the years before the Civil War by a white slaveowner from the South in
order to protect slavery. And the rules regarding the filibuster were put
into place by white Southern senators in the 1910s to uphold white
supremacy and segregation.^3

Fast-forward to the present day, when many of the bills Mitch McConnell
blocks with the filibuster involve voting rights and racial justice.^4

And now Josh Hawley is using Senate procedure to block Biden’s Homeland
Security nominee, a Latino who can help address some of that agency’s
worst abuses against immigrants.

Our country cannot afford to have critical legislation bogged down in the
Senate by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies. But Senate
Democrats, including Joe Manchin, Dianne Feinstein, and Kyrsten Sinema,
are leaning toward keeping the same old ways that tied up legislation for
years without movement.

We need action right now, which is why we’re mobilizing the grassroots and
lobbying Congress to use its power to end the filibuster immediately. But
that costs money, and donations are down since the election ended. This is
a key moment that could determine the outcome of the entire Biden
presidency. We cannot let McConnell and Hawley win.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to help stop Mitch McConnell from killing legislation
that America needs right now?

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

[ [link removed] ]DONATE

Sources:

1. The Week, "McConnell threatens to block Senate's power-sharing
agreement if it doesn't preserve the filibuster," [ [link removed] ]January 21, 2021
2. Reuters, "Senator Hawley blocks quick consideration of Biden homeland
security nominee," [ [link removed] ]January 19, 2021
3. The New York Times, "Joe Biden May Have Only Two Years to Get Things
Done," [ [link removed] ]January 20, 2021
4. The American Independent, "McConnell is blocking 400 bills Americans
want — but he's rushing a Supreme Court pick," [ [link removed] ]September 22, 2020
----------

PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (<a href="[link removed]">DemandProgress.org</a>) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on <b><a href="[link removed]">Facebook</a></b> or <b><a href="[link removed]">Twitter</a>.</b>

You can unsubscribe from this list at any time: [link removed]