Frantic about rising gas prices in the US caused by his war of choice in Iran, Trump unilaterally lifted sanctions against both Russian and Iranian oil, providing them each with billions of dollars in windfall oil profits they’re using in their war efforts against Ukraine, a US ally, and the US respectively.

We can’t let Russia be the ultimate winner in this war. As a first step, Congress must condemn Trump’s militarism, reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine and demand the reimposition of oil sanctions.

On Tuesday, over the objection of all Democrats and one Republican, the Senate began debating, the SAVE America Act, which would disenfranchise the millions of Americans unable to prove citizenship with a birth certificate or passport matching their legal names and effectively destroy online and mail-in voter registration, voter registration drives, and vote-by-mail. 

Let’s thank our Senators for staying united and remaining committed to killing this extreme anti-voting legislation, aimed at silencing Americans and manipulating election results—and relay our thanks to all Senators protecting our cherished right to vote.

Pete Hegseth’s controversial nomination hearings, which included sexual assault and drunkenness accusations, clearly demonstrated his unfitness to serve as Defense Secretary.  Since then, this overgrown, fist-thumping juvenile’s been destroying the Department, stomping on the Constitution, and putting Americans at risk [see Background for specifics]. Congress cannot keep ignoring its duty to oversee Trump’s out-of-control Cabinet. Noem is gone and Hegseth must be next. 

Our Representatives must push for the immediate filing of Articles of Impeachment, and investigations must begin in both Houses—making it clear that Hegseth will be held accountable for his illegal behavior. Unless he resigns, he must be impeached.

Trump, already bored with his unpopular Iran was, is saber-rattling again—threatening “a friendly takeover” of Cuba. That no military hostilities have yet begun allows Congress to finally exercise its war power proactively, as the Constitution and American law require—rather than having to play catch up.

MAGA Republicans stood by when Trump illegally declared war against Venezuela and Iran—expensive wars Americans don’t want and for which they’ll suffer politically. To prevent a similar war with Cuba, our MoCs must push for war powers resolutions in both Houses. The stakes—both here and abroad—are too great not to stop this petty bully in his tracks once and for all.

Despite widespread opposition to ICE tactics, the abuses, both on the streets of American cities and in ICE’s concentration camps, continue unabated because it’s funded by the reconciliation bill’s huge slush fund. 

While we must thank Democrats for pushing for ICE’s terror machine reforms and for rejecting MAGA demands that they fold because of Trump’s Iran war, more than ironclad restrictions on ICE/CBP behavior; ICE’s removal from our communities; ending its blank-check brutality; and creating clear guardrails against warrantless arrests, profiling and enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and hospitals is needed. Democrats must additionally demand the claw-back of funding allowing aggravation of ICE’s cruel, abusive behavior. 

Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address next Tuesday evening—a self-congratulatory, authoritarian rant designed to boost his ratings and normalize his power-grabs, which Democrats shouldn’t normalize by attending. Democrats are creating, instead, a counter-narrative–a “People’s State of the Union” focusing on people hurt by Trump’s cruel and disruptive policies, which is the best way to offer a cohesive message of resistance to Trump’s policies.

Let’s thank Senator Merkley for committing to attend this rally, urge our other MoCs to stand with him and those seriously harmed by Trump’s cruel and disruptive policies, and ask them to convince their colleagues to join them. Just think of the powerful message a half-empty House will send to both those fighting valiantly against Trump’s unconstitutional behavior and the many others not yet courageous enough to join the resistance?

Americans see how Trump’s rogue, militarized police force is completely upending the lives of all Minneapolitans. And. They. Want. It. To Stop. Immediately. There. And. Everywhere.

Congressional Democrats, at least, have heard their pleas. They’re refusing to fund DHS until Trump’s militarized occupation of “blue” American cities stops, deplorable conditions at his concentration camps are improved, and ICE and CBP are meaningfully reformed.

We must continue reminding our MoCs that Americans expect them to protect all our communities  from the horrors of Trump’s occupation army and demand that any DHS funding bill contain, at a minimum: all the above reforms with economic penalties for noncompliance,  a promise to immediately remove all immigration enforcement agents from American cities, and permanent cuts to ICE and CBP funding. Simon Rosenberg also suggests Democrats force a debate about agents narrowing their targets to focus only on dangerous criminals—if they did so, they wouldn’t need all that extra money or additional detention capacity.