Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest – your interests – in the halls of power.

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM

shame on these cowards

On Friday night, 50 United States senators — all of them Republicans — voted to put our nation’s security in the hands of a man who is laughably unqualified. Except it could not be less funny. With a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, Pete Hegseth will now be Secretary of Defense. …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM

these 50 senators are cowards

Last night, 50 United States senators — off of them Republicans — voted to put our nation’s security in the hands of a man who is laughably unqualified. Except it could not be less funny. With a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, Pete Hegseth will now be Secretary of Defense. Pete…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM

Trump demands discrimination in America’s workplaces

Some quick history: On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a landmark executive order prohibiting employment discrimination by federal contractors. Two years earlier, a federal ban on employment discrimination was one of the core demands of the historic March on Washington for …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM

she should denounce pardons of January 6 criminals

Mere hours after being sworn in as president for the second time, Donald Trump pardoned (or commuted the sentences of) essentially everyone who had been convicted of or was still being investigated for crimes as part of his attempted coup d’etat on January 6, 2021. With these disgraceful and dic…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 22, 2025 at 10:24 PM

Trump's pardons are disgraceful and dictatorial

Mere hours after being sworn in as president for the second time, Donald Trump pardoned (or commuted the sentences of) essentially everyone who had been convicted of or was still being investigated for crimes as part of his attempted coup d’etat on January 6, 2021. With these disgraceful and dic…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM

this will not be easy

Public Citizen is suing Donald Trump. We filed our lawsuit just moments after Trump was sworn in Monday. Our lawsuit is about Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (a.k.a. DOGE). The suit explains that DOGE is what’s known as an advisory committee, which means it is subject to a …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 21, 2025 at 9:09 PM

suing Donald Trump

We wanted to make sure you saw this: Public Citizen is suing Donald Trump. We filed our lawsuit just moments after Trump was sworn in yesterday. Our lawsuit is about Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (a.k.a. DOGE). The suit explains that DOGE is what’s known as an advisory c…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 20, 2025 at 10:03 PM

we just sued Trump

We have very big news. Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against Donald J. Trump just moments after he was once again sworn in as president of the United States. Here’s what you need to know: Our lawsuit is about Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (a.k.a. DOGE). The suit explain…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 20, 2025 at 5:07 PM

we are suing Trump

We have very big news. Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against Donald J. Trump just moments after he was once again sworn in as president of the United States. Here’s what you need to know: Our lawsuit is about Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (a.k.a. DOGE). The suit explain…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 17, 2025 at 8:20 PM

my Senate testimony against Pam Bondi for Attorney General

Donald Trump’s first pick to be our nation’s next Attorney General — former Rep. Matt Gaetz — was so unpopular and unqualified that he withdrew from consideration. Trump then nominated a MAGA loyalist named Pam Bondi to be Attorney General. The Attorney General, of course, runs the U.S. Departme…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 16, 2025 at 7:36 PM

deploying the U.S. military against American citizens

It is nearly impossible to keep track of all the outlandish, norm-breaking, and even illegal things that Donald Trump did as president. So a quick reminder about one particular and shameful example: In 2020, Trump asked that the 82nd Airborne be deployed against civilians in Washington, D.C., wh…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 15, 2025 at 8:23 PM

reject Hegseth for secretary of defense

It is nearly impossible to keep track of all the outlandish, norm-breaking, and even illegal things that Donald Trump did as president. So a quick reminder about one particular and shameful example: In 2020, Trump asked that the 82nd Airborne be deployed against civilians in Washington, D.C., wh…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM

department of government deficiency

As you may know, Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, another billionaire, to spin up a so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (a.k.a. DOGE). According to a 1972 law called the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the membership of an entity like DOGE …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM

'a complete subversion of our political system'

With the passing of Jimmy Carter, we’ve been looking back to some of what the former president said about Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That’s the infamous 2010 Supreme Court ruling that has allowed billionaires and Big Business to spend literally as much as they want distortin…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM

the 'most stupid' Supreme Court ruling ever

With the passing of Jimmy Carter, we’ve been looking back to some of what the former president said about Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That’s the infamous 2010 Supreme Court ruling that has allowed billionaires and Big Business to spend literally as much as they want distortin…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 9, 2025 at 7:38 PM

Jimmy Carter

With the passing of Jimmy Carter, we’ve been looking back to some of what the former president said about Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That’s the infamous 2010 Supreme Court ruling that has allowed billionaires and Big Business to spend literally as much as they want distortin…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 8, 2025 at 8:36 PM

these craven broligarchs

A quick timeline: Last year, Donald Trump threatened to put Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in prison for life. Yesterday, Zuckerberg announced that Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp — will stop fact-checking posts on all of those platforms and allow more ha…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 7, 2025 at 9:14 PM

Trump might pardon insurrectionists

Yesterday was January 6, 2025. Four years ago — on January 6, 2021 — Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the United States Capitol in an attempt to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. It was, in essence, an attempted coup d’etat against the American people. Sadly — for th…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM

no pardons for January 6 convicts

Today is January 6, 2025. Four years ago — on January 6, 2021 — Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the United States Capitol in an attempt to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. It was, in essence, an attempted coup d’etat against the American people. Sadly — for the rul…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 1, 2025 at 2:50 AM

thank you, and happy New Year

Public Citizen is nothing — nothing — without supporters like you. It is an absolute privilege to work with you and on your behalf as we tackle some of the most important issues facing our country. With everything on the line in the year ahead, your ongoing support means more than ever. We rea…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 1, 2025 at 12:21 AM

somebody stole our time machine

This is gonna be close. We need another 395 donations before midnight. That’s just a few hours from now. And donations have dropped off precipitously. Also, Matt Gaetz stole our time machine. We’re pretty sure it was him. Of course, without a time machine, we can’t go back and check. Ugh — s…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 10:22 PM

we have an "ickle" on our hands

Donations have slowed to a trickle. Or, more accurately, something even less than a trickle. An “ickle,” maybe? It’s like we get *this close* to a make-or-break goal, then so many people seem to figure enough other people will chip in that hardly anyone actually does. Yes, Public Citizen has …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 8:22 PM

we know

We know you’re getting a lot of emails right now from organizations whose work you support. Here’s why today — December 31 — is the single most important day of the year when it comes to fundraising for nonprofits like Public Citizen: Public Citizen spreads our fundraising out over the course of…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 6:22 PM

we're getting death threats

We get a lot of hate mail at Public Citizen. Here are some recent examples: “Get ready for me to kill you!” “Kneel or die.” “Scum like you sent this country into decline.” “You people are disgusting traitors.” “I hope you end up in jail.” “You are either for America or you are dead. Your choice.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 4:22 PM

it's not a typo

We’ll put it as plainly as we can: On December 31 last year, we had 1,096 donations come through in response to our year-end fundraising emails. So far today? Just 148. That’s not a typo. And we have barely more than 12 hours before midnight tonight — our most critical fundraising deadline o…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 2:22 PM

there's no use pretending

We know you’re getting a lot of emails right now from organizations whose work you support. Here’s why today — December 31 — is the single most important day of the year when it comes to fundraising for nonprofits like Public Citizen: Public Citizen spreads our fundraising out over the course of…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2024 at 12:52 AM

they hate us

We get a lot of hate mail at Public Citizen. Here are some recent examples: “Get ready for me to kill you!” “Kneel or die.” “Scum like you sent this country into decline.” “You people are disgusting traitors.” “I hope you end up in jail.” “You are either for America or you are dead. Your choice.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2024 at 9:02 PM

throwing punches

We hear something a lot: “Public Citizen punches above its weight.” We do. Proudly. And not by accident. That means we get more done than we should be able to given our size. And it means that Public Citizen is more effective than other organizations with similarly modest — or even much lar…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 30, 2024 at 5:55 PM

this is good

I think you’ll like this note from Public Citizen about standing up to Trump 2. ****** We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times. By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you. (Though it’s not the longest, either!) Hope is not something a perso…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2024 at 2:57 PM

not the shortest email we've ever sent you

We’re just going to put all our cards on the table. Historically, we’ve been able to depend on a surge in online donations every December. But we are facing some hard realities this time around: A lot of people donated a lot of money to political candidates and parties in the lead up to the ele…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2024 at 12:07 AM

going up against Elon Musk

No sense beating around the bush: In 2023, our year-end fundraising emails brought in nearly $300,000. But so far this year we haven’t even hit $200,000. And there are basically just two days left to close the gap. Look, we have an aggressive and strategic plan for confronting the Trump regime. S…
  Lisa · [email protected]
December 29, 2024 at 7:34 PM

you might like this

Hey, thought you might appreciate this. It’s all about Public Citizen’s plans for confronting a second Trump presidency. ****** We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times. By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you. (Though it’s not the longest…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 29, 2024 at 3:57 PM

'I hope you end up in jail'

We get a lot of hate mail at Public Citizen. Here are some recent examples: “Get ready for me to kill you!” “Kneel or die.” “Scum like you sent this country into decline.” “You people are disgusting traitors.” “I hope you end up in jail.” “You are either for America or you are dead. Your choice.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 28, 2024 at 6:52 PM

putting all our cards on the table

We’re just going to put all our cards on the table. Historically, we’ve been able to depend on a surge in online donations every December. But we are facing some hard realities this time around: A lot of people donated a lot of money to political candidates and parties in the lead up to the ele…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 27, 2024 at 11:35 PM

it's a pretty good email

Wanted to make sure you saw this. It’s a pretty good email. All about how Public Citizen plans to confront Trump’s second term. Give it a look below. ****** We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times. By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 27, 2024 at 7:08 PM

our aggressive plan for confronting the Trump regime

We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times. By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you. (Though it’s not the longest, either!) Hope is not something a person simply does or doesn’t have. Yes, some of us are more optimistic by nature, some of us…
  Lisa · [email protected]
December 23, 2024 at 7:51 PM

in case you missed this

This is my first December since becoming co-president of Public Citizen earlier this year. I have to say, the outpouring of support over the past few days has been absolutely inspiring. If you haven’t had a chance yet to read through our earlier note — outlining some of the ways Public Citizen …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 22, 2024 at 11:07 PM

'scum like you'

We get a lot of hate mail at Public Citizen. Here are some recent examples: “Get ready for me to kill you!” “Kneel or die.” “Scum like you sent this country into decline.” “You people are disgusting traitors.” “I hope you end up in jail.” “You are either for America or you are dead. Your choice.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 21, 2024 at 8:41 PM

'kneel or die'

We get a lot of hate mail at Public Citizen. Here are some recent examples: “Get ready for me to kill you!” “Kneel or die.” “Scum like you sent this country into decline.” “You people are disgusting traitors.” “I hope you end up in jail.” “You are either for America or you are dead. Your choice.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 20, 2024 at 8:16 PM

the math is actually very simple

Since the election, thousands of people have donated to Public Citizen in response to our emails highlighting some of the ways we intend to confront a second Trump presidency and some of the ways we are already working together in fighting back. First, our thanks to everyone who has contributed.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 19, 2024 at 8:36 PM

hey Elon Musk, buzz off

It’s that time of year. No, we’re not talking about celebrating the holidays with friends and family in front of a warm fire while a soft blanket of fresh snow snuggles the evergreens outside our frosted windows. We’re talking about the time of year when MAGA Republicans in Congress usually try…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 19, 2024 at 4:12 PM

let you in on a bit of a secret

A big thanks for the outpouring of support in response to our earlier message, which is copied below in case you missed it. This is the time of year when nonprofits like Public Citizen have to do a certain amount of fundraising. We recognize that donating may not be a good fit for many folks ri…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 18, 2024 at 7:16 PM

this may not be a good fit right now

Our thanks for the outpouring of support in response to yesterday’s message, which is copied below in case you missed it. This is the time of year when nonprofits like Public Citizen have to do a certain amount of fundraising. We recognize that donating may not be a good fit for many folks righ…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 17, 2024 at 7:40 PM

we have to make it a living, breathing thing

We want to talk about maintaining hope in what are undeniably dire times. By the way, this is not the shortest email we’ve ever sent you. (Though it’s not the longest, either!) Hope is not something a person simply does or doesn’t have. Yes, some of us are more optimistic by nature, some of us…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 13, 2024 at 7:41 PM

FBI director should not resign

Current FBI Director Christopher Wray — who has almost two years left in his ten-year term — just announced that he intends to resign shortly. Wray was appointed by Donald Trump, but Trump now wants to put a MAGA extremist and “deep state” conspiracist named Kash Patel in charge of the FBI. As w…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 11, 2024 at 7:49 PM

tell him not to resign

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is not supposed to be a tool of retribution and oppression to be wielded at the whims of whoever happens to be in the White House. That’s why FBI directors are appointed for ten-year terms — specifically to avoid politicization of the bureau. But current FBI …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 10, 2024 at 8:58 PM

he would turn the FBI into a machine of vengeance on behalf of Donald Trump

Donald Trump wants to put a MAGA extremist and “deep state” conspiracist named Kash Patel in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel has been brazen in announcing his intention to weaponize the FBI against government officials, journalists, nonprofit groups, and the American people.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 9, 2024 at 9:07 PM

if you liked J. Edgar Hoover

Donald Trump wants to put a MAGA extremist and “deep state” conspiracist named Kash Patel in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel has been brazen in announcing his intention to weaponize the FBI against government officials, journalists, nonprofit groups, and the American people.…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 5, 2024 at 7:39 PM

tell Senate to reject Pete Hegseth for defense secretary

Things aren’t looking great for Pete Hegseth — Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense. A few points about what it means to be secretary of defense: The secretary of defense is in charge of the entire United States military — not only the most powerful military in all of human history, b…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 4, 2024 at 8:01 PM

this man must not be put in charge of the military

Things aren’t looking great for Pete Hegseth — Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense. A few points about what it means to be secretary of defense: The secretary of defense is in charge of the entire United States military — not only the most powerful military in all of human history, b…