Responding to Trump’s pressure for speedy confirmation of his nominees, GOP Senate Committee Chairs have set hearings for 11 nominees next week —1/14: Hegseth (DOD), Burgum (Interior), Collins (Veteran Affairs) ; 1/15: Bondi (A-G), Rubio (State), Ratcliffe (CIA), Noem (DHS), Wright (DOE), Duffy, (DOT), Vought (OMB); 1/16: Scott (HUD). It’s unclear how many nominees have complete files and whether committee members have reviewed them.

The Senate’s constitutional duty to advise and consent requires careful consideration of each nominee. This is why Senate committees don’t typically conduct a hearing until all vetting paperwork—a filled-out standard questionnaire and financial disclosure form, Office of Government Ethics approval, and a full FBI background check—is complete.

Being able to perform these constitutional functions is especially important here because many nominees lack relevant experience, are unqualified to hold the nominated-for positions and have disqualifying biases and conflicts of interest. Trump seems to have chosen them for their willingness to lie about the 2020 election and January 6^th and the expectation that they’ll carry out his orders, even if  illegal.

Democratic  Senators must insist that no confirmation hearing be held until all committee members have received, and have ample time to review (at least one week),  the candidate’s complete file with all of the above vetting paperwork. Please convince your colleagues to adopt this position and refuse to consent to any exceptions.

The new House’s first order of business was repassage of the Laken Riley Act, a bill targeting undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes that died in the Democratic Senate last session. Reps. Hoyle and Bynum were among the 48 Democrats voting for passage of this possibly unconstitutional mean-spirited bill requiring ICE detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for the property crimes of burglary, theft, or shoplifting and allowing states to sue for the federal government’s alleged failures related to immigration enforcement. Because wrongful arrests are common in minority communities, many innocent people could be indefinitely detained, which violates due process; and allowing state A-Gs to sue removes immigration enforcement from federal jurisdiction and gives incredible power to federal courts and A-Gs hostile to immigration.

 The fate of this bill, labeled by Voto Latino as a “chilling first step toward widespread family separation,” lies with the Senate, where it’s already being considered. CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS NOW: Thank Reps. Bonamici, Dexter, and Salinas for sticking up for immigrant families and opposing this mean-spirited unconstitutional legislation; castigate Reps. Hoye and Bynum for their hypocrisy in labeling it “immigration reform;” and demand that Sens. Merkley and Wyden convince their colleagues that it violates due process, upends federal immigration jurisdiction, and does nothing to fix our broken immigration system or to secure the border.

Time is running out for President Biden to use his executive authority to provide temporary protection for the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding immigrants who will be targeted by Trump’s draconian mass deportation policy. Our Members of Congress must convince him to limit the economic and humanitarian harm to these vulnerable communities and to minimize the number of ICE detention facilities available to the Trump administration.

Although Friday is the final scheduled day for this Congress, the Senate still has much to accomplish for the American people before MAGA Republicans take over.

President Biden’s broad clemency power must be used to right historical wrongs by making whole the thousands whose lives have been derailed by our unjust, racially biased criminal justice system—those on death row, the elderly and chronically ill, the battered women who killed their abusers, and those victimized by unjustified sentencing disparities or unjustly convicted, such as Leonard Peltier, the 80-year-old, ill Native American revered elder and activist imprisoned almost 50 years for crimes he may not have committed.

While penned to dismantle pro-Palestinian rights organizations, S.1436, the Senate version of HR.9495, would give the Treasury Secretary unilateral power to strip a nonprofit’s tax exempt status merely by declaring it “a terrorist supporting organization”--with no proof, no burden of evidence, and no due process. We must hold Majority Leader Schumer to his commitment not to allow a Senate vote on S.1436 during the lame duck session.

To prevent Trump from even greater control over the federal courts, especially the appellate ones, the “deal” Majority Leader Schumer brokered, sacrificing critical confirmations with the potential to protect 4 circuits from a seismic right-wing shift for the fleeting political optics of confirming a handful of district court judges is catastrophic and must be rescinded. The Senate must stay in session until all district and appeals court nominees are confirmed. 

Among the incompetent, unqualified, and dangerous sycophants nominated by Trump for senior administrative positions, there is a notable and deeply disturbing pattern of tapping sexual predators. Taking advantage of their present control, Senate Democrats must immediately order FBI background checks on these and all his other nominees and hold hearings on their fitness to hold office.

Although Trump won’t be sworn in until January 20, he’s already begun nominating incompetent, unqualified, and dangerous sycophants for senior administration positions who will carry out his threats to destroy federal agencies, deport many millions, subvert climate change initiatives, and go after his enemies. Since the incoming Senate is unlikely to buck Trump, Senate Democrats must take advantage of their present control by immediately holding hearings on these nominees’ fitness to hold office to demonstrate to us all how dangerous they’ll be to our health and wellbeing and to our democracy’s survival.

Our democracy is under threat. But we will not yield to fascism. We will stand together and we'll fight back in defense of our rights, our communities, and our values. We can take impactful action right now: we can strengthen our court system for the battles ahead. We’re calling on our Senators to confirm every judicial vacancy before the Republicans take control.

We have worked hard fighting the MAGA agenda to protect our freedom, defend our democracy, and enshrine unity, dignity, and opportunity. We stand united against hatred, division, racism, misogyny, court corruption, and burgeoning fascism. Let us keep calm through the inevitable GOP mischief to come and await a glorious celebration together on Inauguration Day.

The Supreme Court is on the ballot in this election, as is the future of our democracy. To prevent MAGA Republicans from controlling SCOTUS for the next 40 years and Trump from using Project 2025 to turn America into a fascist country and to ensure the peaceful transfer of power, voters must elect Kamala Harris and give Democrats majorities in Congress. Our members of Congress must push this message repeatedly between now and November 5.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have devastated six states leaving the lives of hundreds of thousands upended. While Trump’s tried to spread hateful lies about the federal response, the Biden-Harris administration’s allocated $2+ billion and dispatched 8500+ federal workers  to help affected residents, Congress cannot wait until mid-November to provide necessary funding.