NATIONWIDE – More than 10,000 activists and concerned people are taking part in over 200 peaceful #ResistTrumpTuesday rallies outside in-district Congressional offices today, urging Senators to Stop Trump’s #SwampCabinet.
Activists with People’s Action, MoveOn.org, and the Working Families Party organized rallies to urge the Senate to delay Cabinet confirmations until more is learned about each nominee and the real threat they pose. Activists also held rallies outside offices of House members and corporations to protect the Affordable Care Act and other issues.
At these rallies at U.S. Senate local district offices, activists delivered a clear message that Trump’s Cabinet of billionaires, racists and climate-change deniers are unacceptable choices to lead important federal agencies and is not what people in America want or need.
“From the women’s march to Resist Trump Tuesdays, something big is brewing that is only going to grow,” said George Goehl, co-director of People’s Action. “The Trump agenda is not normal and we will not let it be normalized. His actions out of the gate against women, working people, and the planet demonstrate that he is the extreme, dangerous, and should be challenged at every single turn.”
Activists urged Democrats to use every tool in their toolbox to delay and stop these nominees, including praising all of the Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for voting against Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, who has well documented ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking the first time a nominee for Secretary of State doesn’t have support from both parties in decades.
At Republican offices, activists conveyed the need to oppose these nominees – marred by conflicts of interest, potential ethics violations, and extremism – or admit the promise to “drain the swamp” was a lie.
“Millions of people marched against Trump on day one of his administration. Senators who wish to be seen as leaders had better do everything they can to block Trump’s dangerous nominees,” said Nelini Stamp, membership director of the Working Families Party. “People are going to keep showing up to demand their lawmakers stand up to Trump and his agenda.”
“Most Americans didn’t vote for Trump, but nearly all of us will suffer under his administration,” said Seong-Ah Cho, who joined the People’s Lobby event in Chicago on Tuesday. “It’s on us to use this crisis, and all our fear and anger, to come together in a powerful movement that will not only resist Trump’s agenda, but also fight for our progressive future.”
“Donald Trump riled up crowds claiming he’d ‘drain the swamp’ in Washington,” said MoveOn.org Organizing Director Victoria Kaplan. “But so far his politics have only furthered a culture of corruption, and nowhere is that clearer than in the greed and hate embodied by the nominees to his Swamp Cabinet. No wonder the Republicans are rushing them through and hoping the American people don’t get a good look at these nominees, who have built their own power and wealth at the expense of the rest of us.”
Here are just three of the #SwampCabinet nominees activists are opposing:
- Jeff Sessions, Attorney General nominee, known for his long hostility toward racial equality, voting rights, and criminal justice.
- Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State nominee, a billionaire oil tycoon and longtime head of Exxon Mobil who has stymied action on climate change, and recipient of the Order of Friendship from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Tom Price, Health and Human Services nominee, a leading opponent of Obamacare who is under fire for trading hundreds of thousands of dollars in shares of health industry stock while pushing legislation that would benefit those stocks and himself.
The Tuesday rallies build on more than 500 recent community organizing meetings across the country, where more than 13,000 members of MoveOn.org, Working Families Party, People’s Action, and other allies joined with neighbors to plan how to fight for progressive values at every level of government and defend our communities from the Trump administration.
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People’s Action is a national organization of more than a million people across 30 states working for economic, racial, gender and climate justice – and to ensure everyone a voice in our political system.
MoveOn.org Civic Action is a community of more than 8 million Americans from all walks of life who are using innovative technology to lead, participate in, and win campaigns for progressive change.
The Working Families Party is a grassroots political organization that fights for economic and racial justice, with chapters in a dozen states and a membership that spans the nation. The WFP is training and electing the next generation of progressive leaders to office, and fighting for and winning public policies that make a difference in the lives of working people.