Since taking over as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Administrator Pruitt has systematically and aggressively worked to dismantle basic protections for public health, clean air, and clean water—actions which run counter to the EPA’s mandate to protect health and the environment. Pruitt’s harmful actions go beyond our health too—Pruitt is a prime example...
Yesterday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the 2020 Census would include a new, untested, and unnecessary, citizenship question. This alarming decision is yet another attack on immigrants, as well as fair representation across the nation. Experts are predicting that the response rate to the Census could drop drastically, as people avoid it out of...
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people around the world attended March for Our Lives events to call for commonsense gun reform and action by elected officials to reduce gun violence in America. Although Washington D.C. had the largest turnout, cities around the world—from a town with 2,000 people in New York to a city...
Early this morning, the Senate passed the House’s $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill in hopes of keeping the government open past tonight’s funding deadline. This 2,232 page bill contains many progressive wins, including: Funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, which rejects Trump’s proposed 30 percent cut by keeping the agency’s funding at its current level;...
Today, the House Intelligence Committee voted to conclude their investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russians. Here is what the committee is choosing to ignore: at least 70 known contacts between Trump’s team and Russia-linked operatives during the campaign and transition; at least 22 of these known contacts were meetings; at...
Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington state signed several bills “aimed at increasing participation in Washington’s state elections.” The bills include: Automatic voter registration, when Washington residents apply for an enhanced driver’s license; Same-day voter registration, starting in 2018; Pre-registration for teenagers, starting at 16 years old; Campaign finance disclosure requirements; and, The Washington Voting...
On Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe, the former FBI Deputy Director who was only two days away from his retirement after decades serving at the bureau. The firing puts a portion of McCabe’s pension in jeopardy. Sessions, whose action to fire McCabe may have been a violation of his recusal commitment, justified...
There may be no more vivid illustration of the current culture of corruption than Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s exorbitant spending for flights on military aircraft around the country, including one trip with his wife, Louise Linton, to view the solar eclipse from Kentucky. But a new investigation led by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics...
Yesterday, thousands of students walked out of school to demand more be done to prevent gun violence, following a month of activism since 17 teachers and students were gunned down at Marjory Stoneman High school. It’s already having an impact. Since the shooting: Support for gun policy reform is at its highest levels in over...
It’s been one month since 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Congress has passed zero bills to prevent gun violence. Trump remains tied to the NRA, and he has backed off proposals to raise the minimum age for purchasing guns after it was rejected by the NRA. But change is...