Excerpt of Chop Wood, Carry Water below. Entire post.
See important actions for you to take ASAP
"My goodness. What a day—and it’s not even noon on the West coast.
We woke up, of course, to a barrage of news, both about Trump’s latest set of purges—this time from the DOJ—and a funding “freeze,” which is both utterly illegal and horribly destructive. While I presume the latter will eventually get blocked by the Supreme Court, the short-term pain it will cause can’t be overstated. I’m already getting frantic calls and texts from non-political friends about everything from HIV grant funding getting pulled to NGOs shutting down. Senior citizens across the country are wondering if their Meals on Wheels will show up tonight; impoverished children are wondering if they’ll get lunch at school today. Trump’s EO is a mean-spirited, capricious, and pernicious attack on the most vulnerable everywhere—all to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Really wild.
The “good” news, if you can call it that, is that, as far as the spending freezes go, what Trump is doing is blatantly, flagrantly illegal. Congress, and Congress alone, hold the “power of the purse.” Once funds have been appropriated through Congress the president lacks any power to withhold (or impound) them. Nixon tried in the 70’s, and Congress responded by swiftly passing a bill to ensure no president could ever do so again. It’s called the Impoundment Control Act of 1974; you can read all about it here. The Supreme Court has upheld and affirmed it.
In short, Trump has no legal leg to stand on here. The lawsuits have already started and will almost certainly succeed. In the meantime, however, the suffering will be immense. So it’s time for us to make noise—a lot of it—now. Lawmakers respond to a backlash. Let’s create one, and let it be fierce. I’ve done my best to give you good talking points below. You don’t need to say everything I’ve written—I found it difficult to keep these script short. The most important thing is that every Senators’ and Congressmembers’ phone be ringing off the hook all day, every day, until this freeze is lifted.
One more thing for those of us with Democratic lawmakers: It’s time to tell them to throw down. I’m feeling a growing sense of frustration with their docile response to Trump’s lawlessness, and I know I’m not alone. They need to hear it from all us. As constituents we have more power than anyone to push them into a more aggressive stance. So let’s make sure we do so.
I know this is hard, friends, but remember, Trump is overreaching. A lot. He is wildly overestimating the country’s support for him—it’s classic hubris. Remember, only a third of the country voted for him, and of that third a large amount did so solely because they thought he would lower their everyday expenses. Very few Trump supporters signed up for what’s happening right now. He’s overplaying his hand. It’s awful, and terrifying, and real people will suffer.
But this will eventually make it easier to defeat him.
So stay steady. Breathe. Help who you can. Make sure everyone you talk to is reminded that Trump is doing this to enrich himself and his billionaire cronies. This cruelty, the abhorrent stinginess, the sudden withdrawal of care for the neediest here and worldwide? It’s all. To pay. For tax cuts.
Don’t let anyone forget it for a second.
Let’s get to work.
P.S. — Please forgive any typos. This newsletter was a doozy and I was trying to get it out fast.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I’m horrified at Trump’s mass purge of Inspectors General on Friday night. It’s in violation of the Inspectors General Act of 1978. It can’t be allowed. I’m also horrified by last night’s purge of DOJ officials who investigated January 6. Donald Trump has broken his promise to de-weaponize the Department of Justice. His first moves have been to punish people that he is in opposition to. Is this the sort of behavior the Senator swore an oath to protect? If not s/he needs to push back aggressively—now.
I also want to comment on Trump’s lawless, destructive, and cruel funding freeze. It violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. The money he’s trying to withhold—which is for everything from child care, to housing, to police officers, to opioid addiction treatment, to disaster relief, to foreign aid, and more — has already been appropriated. The administration doesn’t have the authority to prevent its expenditure. The Supreme Court has affirmed this. We have separation of powers for a reason. We don’t live in an autocracy. Tell him no. Thanks.
[If Democrat add:] Democrats need to play hardball. Please announce an immediate boycott of all nominations and legislation until federal funding is restored.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling about Trump’s lawless, destructive, and cruel freezing of all federal grants and loans. This order violates the Impoundment Act of 1974, which created procedures to prevent a president from unilaterally substituting his or her own funding decisions for those of Congress. The money Trump is trying to withhold—which is for everything from child care, to housing, to police officers. to opioid addiction treatment, to disaster relief, to foreign aid, and more—has already been appropriated. The administration doesn’t have the authority to freeze it. Period. We have laws for a reason. We have separation of powers for a reason. We don’t live under a tyranny for a reason—because we fought a war to overthrow it. Tell him hell no. Thanks.
[If Democrat add:] Democrats need to play hardball. Please announce an immediate boycott of all nominations and legislation until federal funding is restored."
