Morning all. Someone is UNHAPPY with all his terrible polling, because he is STRONG and has magical STRENGTH and is not WEAK, FAILING, LOSING and a BIG BLUBBERY BABY MAN:
Congress returns today to a single project - the passage of Trump’s reckless “big, beautiful bill” that will cut taxes for wealthy people, gut critical programs for working people and seniors, and create a deficit so large that it will essentially bankrupt the country.
Yesterday, to mark the moment House Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Cory Booker organized a streamed sit-in from the steps of the House that lasted over 12 hours. You can catch a clip of Leader Jeffries from the gathering in the main video above.
Here is how Leader Jeffries’ office described the day, and the coming debate:
With Congress returning to session tomorrow, Republican leaders have made clear their intention to use the coming weeks to advance a reckless budget scheme to President Trump’s desk that seeks to gut Medicaid, food assistance and basic needs programs that help people, all to give tax breaks to billionaires. Given what’s at stake, these could be some of the most consequential weeks for seniors, kids and families in generations.
The sit-in – which began at 6:14am ET this morning with Booker and Jeffries opening a live streamed conversation with their social media followers as the sun was rising over the Capitol – saw numerous guest speakers and passers-by participate, including families who rely on critical programs like Medicaid, people who administer nutrition programs that keep Americans from going hungry, union leaders who fight for fair wages and working conditions, experts on Social Security and civil rights, and Senators and members of Congress.
The live stream concluded at 6:35pm ET, after more than 12 hours.
“Budgets are more than just numbers in a spreadsheet—they are moral documents,” said Senator Booker. “They reveal what we value, who we protect, and what we stand for. That’s why I came here today: to sit-in at a sacred civic space, to make clear the moral and practical stakes of the Trump budget proposal, and to call others to action. Republicans in Congress are proposing cuts that will take food from children, healthcare from the sick, and dignity from those already struggling. It's wrong. To stop it, we all must say so—clearly, courageously, and together. Speaking out and speaking up is how we will convince four Republicans in the House and Senate to do the right thing and vote no.”
“Republicans are crashing the economy in real time,” said House Democratic Leader Jeffries. “Now, they want to jam a reckless budget down the throats of the American people that will end Medicaid as we know it, destroy Social Security and rip food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans. As Democrats, we’re going to continue to stand on the side of the American people and we will not rest until we bury this reckless Republican budget in the ground.”
For millions of Americans, Sundays are a day of faith, spirituality and moral reflection. In that spirit, Booker and Jeffries launched their sit-in this morning -- an urgent conversation with the American people to focus on our common values, our faith traditions, and the moral moment facing our nation.
Over the course of the day, Booker, Jeffries, and participants spoke to our shared American values and our nation’s religious and moral underpinnings, and how the Republican budget bill is antithetical to these beliefs. They also affirmed to Americans that their voices not only matter, but are needed in this moment in order to stop these harmful cuts.
The conversation was live-streamed on multiple platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
We will be spending time here in the coming days getting smarter about the emerging GOP bill so we can all fight against it more effectively. One area I want to explore together is in creating far more understanding and better language around Trump’s unprecedented war on the health and well-being of the American people. We have to find ways to take this ongoing assault - the undermining of Medicaid, the dismantlement of our public health infrastructure and research institutions, and anti-science crackpottery on reproductive health, diseases, autism - and turn it into something easy to understand. Look at this nugget from the ABC/WaPo poll yesterday. Of all the issues tested Trump’s attacks on academia and medical research were the most unpopular.
Historically health care has been both a top tier issue for voters and one that Democrats usually enjoy a large advantage on. Our big 8.6 point midterm win in 2018 was driven to a great degree by Trump’s attack on our health, that time in his effort to end the ACA. If our focus on his economic failures is our First Front, and his abandonment of the Constitutional order, dismantling of the US government and selling out to Putin is our Second Front, let’s work now to make their barbaric assault on the health of the American people our Third Front. We have an enormous opportunity now to develop a new and very powerful line of attack against Trump and his fellow saboteurs.
A few more things of note this morning:
Inspiring Words Of Resistance and Defiance At The End of 60 Minutes Last Night - Do watch. There is a great deal of fight in the American people.
JB Pritzker Fires Up New Hampshire Dems - From the Washington Post:
MANCHESTER, N.H. — In a fiery address to New Hampshire Democrats on Sunday night, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker condemned what he described as President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian power grabs” while also blasting the “do-nothing” Democrats in his party — stating it is “time to fight everywhere, all at once.”
The billionaire Democratic governor repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet with acidic attacks on the morals and ethics of the president, adviser and top donor Elon Musk, as well as members of the president’s Cabinet. He slammed their efforts to dismantle government programs that the most vulnerable Americans rely on and said the Democratic Party must “abandon the culture of incrementalism that has led us to swallow their cruelty.” It is time for his party, he said, to “knock the rust off poll-tested language” that has obscured “our better instincts.” [Love this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Pritzker was most searing in his condemnation of what he cast as the Trump administration’s infringement on the rights enshrined in the Constitution, stating that it should be easy for Democrats to say “it’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law.”
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now,” Pritzker said to a standing ovation accompanied by whistles and cheers from the audience. “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.”
Calling out Trump’s “xenophobia” and thirst for power, the Illinois governor said Democrats must “stop thinking we can reason or negotiate with a madman.” His hope, he added, is that Republicans who enable Trump “feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history” that their portraits will be relegated “to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.”
Turning to his own party, Pritzker argued that Democrats have spent too long listening to voices who “would tell you that the house is not on fire, even as they feel the flames licking their face” and called out politicians “whose simpering timidity served as a kindle for the arsonists.”
The Virginia Republican Party Blew Up This Weekend - On Friday the sitting Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin tried to force out their candidate for Lt. Governor, and he is refusing to leave. It’s an extraordinary mess, and it is great to see.
The NYT Has A Good Read On The Growing Legal And Political Opposition To Trump’s Terrible Tariffs - From the article, “Trump’s Tariffs Prompt Wave Of Lawsuits As States And Businesses Fight Back” (gift link)
Nearly four weeks into a costly global trade war with no end in sight, Mr. Trump is facing a barrage of lawsuits from state officials, small businesses and even once-allied political groups, all contending that the president cannot sidestep Congress and tax virtually any import at levels to his liking.
The lawsuits carry great significance, not just because the tariffs have roiled financial markets and threatened to plunge the United States into a recession. The legal challenges also stand to test Mr. Trump’s claims of expansive presidential power, while illustrating the difficult calculation that his opponents face in deciding whether to fight back and risk retribution
……..
Last week, a dozen Democratic attorneys general from states including Colorado, New York and Oregon also asked a federal judge to block many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs on grounds that they had “upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy.” California sued earlier this month, claiming the president’s policies harmed its economy and budget.
A note since the morning post - the White House has issued a veto threat for the Wyden-Paul-Kaine bill that would cancel Trump’s terrible and clearly unconstitutional tariffs. They would only do that if they are worried it is going to pass, and put the US Senate on record opposing these deeply destructive tariffs.
Now, let’s get to work…..
Here are my 9 recommendations for things you can do this week. Let’s hit the ground running today everyone -
1 - Demand Congress Rescind Trump’s Terrible Tariffs - Call/contact your Senators and House Members today and demand roll back these incredibly dangerous and unconstitutional tariffs immediately. Insist they sign on and advocate for the new bi-partisan resolution that would be repeal the tariffs just introduced by Senator Kaine, Paul, Wyden, Shaheen, Welch, Warren and Schumer. It will be coming to a Senate vote in the coming days.
Another way to fight to get these tariffs rolled back is by checking to see if you state is one of the 13 who have sued to end the tariffs - Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Vermont - and if your state is not among them call your Governor, Attorney General and state Senators and Reps and demand they join these legal challenges today.
To learn more about we need to fight these tariffs watch/listen to my interviews with Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Coons, MN AG Keith Ellison and economist Rob Shapiro. I remain convinced that fighting Trump on these terrible tariffs is our area of greatest opportunity in the coming weeks.
2 - Fight The Trump-Musk Attack On Our Government, Our Privacy And Our Constitutional Order - We must continue to encourage our Senators and Representatives to let Facts be be submitted to a candid world by:
Penning a joint Senate and House Letter to America, inspired by our Declaration Of Independence
Following Senator Booker’s lead in creating good trouble on the House and Senate floors, holding more aggressive and strategic daily press conferences and keep the Shadow Hearings coming
Hitting the trail like Bernie, AOC, Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Maxwell Frost, and leading with courage like Senator Chris Van Hollen
To file law suits, amicus briefs and criminal referrals against the unconstitutional ransacking of the government of the United States of America
We also should keep calling to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others who have been wrongly imprisoned in Trump’s Salvadoran Gulag.
It is vital that all those fighting it out in the Courts - from the Judges to the plaintiffs - see that half of Congress has their backs and is fighting just as hard to uphold America’s Constitutional order as they are. It is time now for Congress to open up that Second Front we’ve discussed here, and be loud and proud and purposefully in upholding this oath:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
3 - The Growing Power Of Protests and Rallies, Rallying The States, The Spring Offensive - So much has happened since we called we called on our community members to organize in the 17 most vulnerable Republican House seats a few months ago. Rallies and protests have exploded across the country. The “Hands Off” events and the Bernie-AOC tour have drawn extraordinary crowds. The DNC/House Dems/State Parties have kicked off People’s Town Halls in all 50 states. I hope that people who attended some of the many Town Halls this week can self-report their experience today.
I have also come to believe that we should be calling on our state and local electeds to introduce, debate and pass “articles of condemnations” of the Trump regime and the clear harms they are bringing to community and every person in the country. Federalism can become a much bigger bulwark against Trump if our state and local electeds rally to the moment.
Let’s also start talking now about what we are going to do on July 4th, a day with all of a sudden much greater importance.
4 - Loudly Protest Trump’s Embrace of Russia and Abandonment of NATO and Europe - Let your electeds know you are outraged by traitorous Trump’s selling out of Zelenskyy, abandonment of Europe and embrace of Putin; and that we cannot accept this level of appeasement of someone who is a clear enemy of America and the West. As I wrote Saturday, Trump may be waking to how badly Putin has played him on Ukraine, and just about everything else. So we need to keep the pressure on here everyone.
Paid subscribers should self-report their actions today in our daily chat. So inspired by how hard so many of you are working. I want to make a special plea to all Hopium readers in states with Republican Senators - please make your calls, every day. Even 50 to 100 people calling every day can make a difference. We have hundreds of Hopium subscribers in every state in the country and it’s critical that we all do our part now.
For those wanting to do more traditional campaign work, we have the following four Hopium-backed efforts we're rallying behind. I also want to note that this community raised $142,000 for Susan Crawford in our great WI win, and over $100,000 to get Ken Martin off to a strong start at the DNC. When the Hopium community is called, you answer again and again.
1 - Help Abigail Spanberger Win Virginia - Virginia will be one of the big battlegrounds of the November, 2025 elections and we have a great candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Watch my interview with Abigail, donate, volunteer, and learn more here. Given how many federal employees live in Virginia, this race is also now on the front linesof the Trump/Musk assault on the federal government.
We’ve raised more than $86,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $250,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!
2- Support The Hopium House 7 - We’ve begun our work to help flip the House next year by supporting and shoring up the 7 newly-elected battleground House Dems we helped elect last year. Catch our interviews with Reps Derek Tran and Janelle Bynum and give to all 7 through a single donation on our new ActBlue page. Learn more about this important effort here.
We’ve already raised over $68,000 towards our $200,000 June 30th goal - thank you all!
3 - Help Allison Riggs, Anderson Clayton And The NC Dems Stop The GOP From Stealing A State Supreme Court Seat - A few weeks ago we began a campaign to raise $50,000 for Justice Allison Riggs, Anderson Clayton and the NC Dems. These funds will help the NC Dems get off to a great start in 2025 and help cover the costs of their fight to prevent the Republicans from stealing a Supreme Court seat we won together in 2024.
If you want to go deeper into the GOP’s rancid effort to steal a Supreme Court seat watch my new interviews with Justice Riggs and Anderson Clayton, the inspiring Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.
We’ve raised $44,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $50,000 - thank you everyone!
4 - Thank Senator Booker For Standing Up For America - Senator Booker is up for re-election next year and many of you asked if they could channel their support and appreciation for him through Hopium. So I’ve set up an ActBlue fundraising page for him with a goal of raising $100,000 by June 30th. We’ve already raised $28,000 - thank you all. Let’s be there for Senator Booker as he been there for us at this critical time.
5 - Help Hopium Grow - As Trump raises prices on just about everything, here we are cutting them and offering 10% off an annual Hopium paid subscription. Take advantage of this offer, and find how to give give gift subscriptions, here. Your financial support keeps Hopium coming at you with vim, vigor and a whole lot of love of country 7 days a week!
Keep working hard all. So proud to be in this fight with all of you - Simon
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