The resistance begins to coalesce.
February 4, 2025
With the benefit of 48 hours to organize, we are beginning to see strong signs of resistance from grass-roots groups, congressional Democrats, and a few media outlets as they challenge the unfolding coup driven by Musk for Trump. This is welcome news, indeed!
[After proofreading this newsletter, I realized that I “buried the lead.” Here it is: There is a protest in D.C. on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in front of the Treasury Building, organized by MoveOn and Indivisible. See article below or just sign up here.]
I start with a quick note about the continued reluctance to recognize what is happening as a coup. Jen Psaki on MSNBC referred to the events as a “hostile takeover of the government.” In 100% of the other instances of a “hostile takeover of a government,” Jen Psaki would call it a “coup,” but apparently, special rules apply to Trump.
Likewise, the New York Times published a well-researched, exhaustive article (accessible to all, here) that details the dozens of actions taken by Musk and Trump to overthrow the Constitution. But that 75-paragraph article does not use any of the following words: “legal, illegal, Constitution, unconstitutional, or coup.” The strongest description of Trump's actions the NYT reporters could muster is this cold sauce:
Mr. Musk’s aggressive incursions into at least half a dozen government agencies have challenged congressional authority and potentially breached civil service protections.
Although the facts constituting the coup are contained within the four corners of the NYTimes’ article, the reporters can’t rouse themselves to speak the truth about what is happening. So, the NYTimes’ reporters get an “A+” in “Homework” but a “D-“ in “Citizenship.”
Apart from independent commentators on BlueSky, Substack, and YouTube, no one in the mainstream press has called Trump's actions a “coup.” (Notably, Timothy Snyder did so in his Substack article, The Logic of Destruction.” Snyder includes the following, “All of this work was preparatory to the coup that is going on now.”)
But The Guardian broke ranks with the legacy media on Monday with an editorial entitled, “The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s power grab: a coup veiled by chaos.
The Guardian editorial board writes,
Donald Trump is provoking a US constitutional crisis, claiming sweeping powers to override or bypass Congress’s control over spending in a brazen attempt to centralize financial power in the executive branch. If he succeeds, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman warns, it would be a 21st-century coup – with power slipping from elected officials’ hands. The real story hidden behind the president’s trade war, he says, is the hijacking of government. And Mr Krugman’s right.
We need to raise the alarm if we expect our leaders to respond vigorously and urgently to the dagger aimed at the beating heart of our democracy—the Constitution. It’s a coup. Say its name. It’s not an outrage. It’s not a hostile takeover. It’s not a “challenge to congressional authority.” It is a coup that seeks to neutralize the framework of checks and balances carefully crafted by the Framers.
But there is much to celebrate from actions on Monday as the resistance began to coalesce. Let’s take a look!
Join MoveOn and Indivisible at a protest in front of the Treasury Building in DC on Tuesday, February 4.
The grassroots organizations MoveOn and Indivisible have called for a protest in front of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, February 4 at 5:00 p.m. EST. The protest is called “We Choose to Fight: Nobody Elected Elon! · MoveOn.”
If you live within driving distance of D.C. and can make it to the protest, every attendee matters! This will be the first protest of many, but your presence will give it credibility and impact!
Here is MoveOn’s description of the event:
Rally at the Treasury building to stop Elon Musk’s billionaire takeover. Nobody elected Elon! We need everyone to fight this hostile takeover at every level—that includes Democrats in Congress, who need to unite and do everything in their power to get Musk’s hands off our money and stop the Musk takeover.
Click on this link to register (so organizers can plan accordingly): “We Choose to Fight: Nobody Elected Elon! · MoveOn.”
If you attend, please post in the Comment section of this newsletter (or Wednesday’s) to share your experience. Send me photos that are okay to use in the newsletter. Thanks!
Senator Schatz to place “hold” on all GOP Nominees
At last! Democrats in the Senate are going to do what they can to slow down the confirmation of Trump's nominees to protest the effort to shut down USAID. (See story below about Senator Brian Schatz’s statement.)
From Reuters, Democratic senator to block Trump nominees over US aid agency shutdown:
Under the chamber’s rules, one senator can hold up nominations even if the other 99 all want them to move quickly, forcing the Senate to consume many hours of floor time to move nominations or promotions ahead.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries releases 10-part resistance plan for Democrats.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a ten-part plan to resist Trump's efforts to overthrow the Constitution. The letter is here: Dear Colleague re: Ongoing House Democratic Caucus Activity | Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Take a moment to read the letter. Jeffries explains what Democrats in the House can do—even though they are in the minority. Sometime in the next month or two, Speaker Mike Johnson is going to need dozens of Democratic votes to raise the debt limit. All of the steps are important, but Minority Leader Jeffries emphasizes the role of communication to his colleagues, who have been strangely docile to this point:
Lastly, we urge all Members to once again conduct district-wide outreach today, or as soon as possible this week, in order to connect directly with our constituents and discuss the challenges we are decisively addressing on their behalf. For example, I will conduct a telephone town hall meeting in my district this evening. We will track participation throughout the Caucus.
Keep up the pressure, Leader Jeffries! The House Democratic caucus needs motivation!
Congressional Democrats hold a “protest conference” in front of the USAID building
On Monday, Musk claimed to have “shut down” the USAID agency, which was created by congressional statute. Over the weekend, per the BBC, Musk said that USAID was
"evil", a "criminal organization" and a "radical-left political psy op" - short for "psychological operation", a term commonly used online to allege a conspiracy or cover-up.
USAID staff members were locked out of their offices on Monday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to walk back Musk’s comments, claiming that he (Rubio) was the “acting director” of USAID and would be proposing “reforms” to Congress.
Democrats created a “photo opportunity” for the media showing push-back against the coup. A dozen congressional representatives gathered in front of the USAID building and sought entrance to view the mischief. However, someone denied entry to the USAID building to US Congress members. See Axios, Congressional Democrats denied entry to USAID building.
Let’s reflect on that fact for a moment. The USAID building has been taken over and shut down by a small group of Musk affiliates who may--or may not--have security clearances allowing them to seize control of the building. And those anonymous interlopers are refusing access to members of the US Congress. The world has gone mad—and the only word to describe that turn of events is “a coup.”
Of course, neither Musk nor Rubio has the authority to shut down an agency created by Congress simply because they hope Congress will pass reforms in the future. The weak cover provided by Rubio fooled no one. The offices are closed, the website is dark, and projects across the globe have been shut down.
Federal Judge halts OMB Freeze Memo
Eons ago—last Monday—the OMB issued a “freeze memo” that was the first salvo in Trunp’s effort to unilaterally freeze payment of all grants and loans by the US government. Last week, US District Judge AliKhan issued an “administrative” stay to allow the parties to brief the merits. On Monday, Judge AliKhan issued a temporary restraining order that will halt the “freeze memo” until a hearing on a preliminary injunction.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the National Council of Nonprofits by Democracy Forward. See Democracy Forward, Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order on OMB Freeze. A copy of Judge AliKhan’s order is here.
Judge AliKhan’s order requires the Trump administration to “file a status report on or before February 7, 2025, apprising the court of the status of its compliance with this Order, including by providing a copy of the written notice described above.”
CREW files a lawsuit to block Trump's plan to fire government workers.
Citizens for Responsibly and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Democracy Forward have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Trump's plan to fire tens of thousands of federal workers in violation of civil service and union protections. See CREW, Democracy Forward sue to block Trump's illegal plan to fire government workers.
So, it took a few days, but the pushback is happening thanks to terrific pro-democracy organizations like CREW and Democracy Forward. I will look for opportunities to showcase their work to readers of this newsletter in an online conference.
Tariffs update
As always, there is more news to cover, but the forward movement in the resistance on Monday was the main story. But I can’t leave this newsletter without mentioning that Trump's effort to impose sanctions on Mexico and Canada collapsed after a negative reaction by the markets. Both Mexico and Canada promised to do things they had already announced, which gave Trump the cover necessary to retreat in defeat while claiming victory. HuffPo’s headline was, Paper Tiger Prez? Backs Off Tariff Threat Fast.
But the 10% sanctions against China went into effect on Monday evening and China’s reaction was swift and harsh. Per the NYTimes,
The Chinese government responded with a series of retaliatory steps, including additional tariffs on coal, natural gas, farm machinery and other products from the United States. It also said it had implemented restrictions on the export of certain critical minerals, many of which are used in the production of high-tech products.
In addition, Chinese market regulators said they had launched an antimonopoly investigation into Google. Google is blocked from China’s internet, but the move may disrupt the company’s dealings with Chinese companies.
Based on his surrender to Mexico and Canada, it is possible that Trump will quickly retreat on his threats against China, as well. More chaos from a president who hasn’t a clue how to run a country.
Opportunity for reader engagement
Join VoteRiders in a letter-writing campaign for the first big election of 2025!
I received this note from my good friends at VoteRiders—a great organization dedicated to helping voters secure the identification they need to register and vote! VoteRiders is always looking for volunteers and support:
The first big election of 2025 is coming up right away! Wisconsin voters will vote Feb. 18 in primary elections, including for a pivotal state Supreme Court race.
Wisconsin has some of the nation’s strictest voter ID laws, which could keep many eligible voters from participating in this important election. That’s why we need your help!
Join us this Thursday, February 6 at 7pm ET (4pm PT / 6pm CT) to write letters to Wisconsin voters! Sign up here!
Concluding Thoughts
Emotional check: I continue to receive a higher volume of emails than normal. The despair that was prevalent last week is transitioning into bewilderment, indignation, and anger. Many readers include some variation of the questions, “How can this happen? Why can’t we do anything to stop it?”
The answer to the “How can this happen?” question is simple and disturbing: Trump told voters that he would do exactly what he is doing, and a plurality of those who voted on November 5, 2024, voted for Trump.
The second question needs to be reframed. Many readers say things like, “Why doesn’t the FBI arrest Musk? Can’t Democrats impeach Trump?”
The FBI isn’t going to arrest Musk because Trump would fire the FBI agents and grant Musk a pardon. And Democrats don’t have the votes to impeach Trump, much less convict him.
But I like the way the readers are thinking. Introducing a futile impeachment resolution would be an aggressive sign of resistance. Trump would howl and bluster—and a point would be made.
The “unsuccessful” rally by congressional Democrats outside the USAID building today gave me great hope that the Democratic party is finally starting to “get it”—i.e., it is no excuse to refrain from action merely because we believe the action will not succeed in the short term.
We will never know whether our actions will succeed if we quit without trying. And we cannot know in advance which protest or act of resistance will spark the flames of a massive movement against Trump’s attempt to overthrow the Constitution. Your action might turn out to be that spark!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Los Angeles still has a thin layer of high clouds, which makes it impossible to take images of deep-sky objects. So, I re-processed images I captured of Pickering’s Triangle last summer.
Pickering’s Triangle is a fragment of the Veil Nebula Complex, which is the product of a supernova explosion 10,000 years ago. The Veil Nebula Complex is 2,400 light years from Earth.
Enjoy!
From a congressional staffer:
Calls are what all the congresspeople pay attention to. Every single day, the Senior Staff and the Senator get a report of the 3 most-called-about topics for that day at each of their offices (in DC and local offices), and exactly how many people said what about each of those topics. They're also sorted by zip code and area code. She said that Republican callers generally outnumber Democrat callers 4-1, and when it's a particular issue that single-issue-voters pay attention to (like gun control, or planned parenthood funding, etc...), it's often closer to 11-1, and that's recently pushed Republican congressmen on the fence to vote with the Republicans. In the last 8 years, Republicans have called, and Democrats haven't. So, when you call: A: When calling the DC office, ask for the Staff member in charge of whatever you're calling about ("Hi, I'd like to speak with the staffer in charge of Healthcare, please") — local offices won't always have specific ones, but they might. If you get transferred to that person, awesome. If you don't, that's ok — ask for that person's name, and then just keep talking to whoever answered the phone. Don't leave a message (unless the office doesn't pick up at all — then you can — but it's better to talk to the staffer who first answered than leave a message for the specific staffer in charge of your topic).
I live in Baltimore. I will go to the Treasury department to protest the coup.