Let's Do This: Three Concrete Actions You Can Take to Slow Down and Potentially Stop Donald Trump's Legislative Agenda
On Tuesday, House Republicans unexpectedly, and dramatically, managed to pass their budget resolution containing the outline of Donald Trump's legislative agenda by a narrow 217-215 margin. All Democrats, and one Republican, voted against the resolution. One Republican abstained. We needed only one more Republican to vote “no” in order to defeat it.
The passage of this resolution really was quite dramatic, as the Republican leadership first pulled the vote, sent everyone home, and then reversed course about 10 minutes later. You can read a full account of what happened from The Hill by clicking here.
In an action email I sent out on Tuesday afternoon, I had predicted that Republicans would fail to pass the budget resolution that night. I was wrong about that, and I will own up to it. I am not afraid to admit my mistakes.
Passing this budget resolution was a clear win for Republicans, but there is still a loooooong way to go before Trump's legislative agenda actually becomes law. A budget resolution is just a procedural outline that, when passed by both the House and the Senate, allows Congress to begin writing a budget reconciliation bill that is not subject to a filibuster in the Senate. You can click here for an explainer on the budget resolution and budget reconciliation process from Georgetown University.
In a nutshell, Trump's legislative agenda is to extend his 2017 tax cuts and ramp up immigration enforcement, paid for with cuts to both the social safety net—primarily Medicaid and food stamps—and the investments in clean energy passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Here are just some of the further hoops they have to jump through to actually turn that agenda into public policy:
Step One: Pass the budget resolution through the Senate. Senate Republicans must now pass either an identical version of the House budget resolution, or change it. According to Politico, it sounds like they are leaning toward the second option. Specifically, they are looking at reducing the scope of the proposed cuts to Medicaid in the House budget resolution and extending the Trump tax cuts permanently. If this is the path the Senate takes, then we go on to Step 2. However, in the unlikely event that the Senate just passes the exact same resolution that the House passed, we will skip to Step 3.
Step Two: House and Senate negotiate a compromise budget resolution. If the Senate makes changes to the House budget resolution, then Republican leaders in the two chambers will have to work out some sort of compromise, and then pass that compromise through both chambers. This might take several weeks.
Step Three: Write the budget reconciliation bill in a way that satisfies all Republican factions. Once an identical budget resolution is passed through both chambers of Congress, then the hard part for Republicans—writing the actual budget reconciliation bill—begins. While a budget resolution is basically just a procedural matter that has no impact on public policy, a budget reconciliation bill would become an actual law if passed and signed by the president.
This means that, while Republicans leaders could legitimately tell their competing factions that they should just pass the budget resolution and hash out their differences later, they cannot do the same thing on the budget reconciliation bill. This time, they are going to have to figure out a way to please both conservatives who are demanding steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, and moderates who oppose those cuts. Just saying “we'll figure it out later” won't work at this point in the process. You can click here to read my explainer from January 11 on all the different Republican factions that Republican leaders in Congress are going to have to please in the budget reconciliation bill.
The bottom line is that Republicans have indeed moved a step closer to passing Donald Trump's legislative agenda through Congress, but it was the easiest step. They still have a long way to go. Our goal in this process needs to be to minimize the cuts they eventually pass to the social safety net, especially to Medicaid and food stamps, and to the investments in clean energy programs passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Here are three concrete actions that grassroots activists like you can take that will reduce both the scope and possibility of those cuts. The first two involve writing letters to your members of Congress, urging them to: 1) oppose any cuts to Medicaid and food stamps; and 2) oppose cuts to investments in clean energy. These letter writing campaigns are most effective if you happen to be represented in the House by a Republican, as all Democrats are a lock to vote no on these budget resolutions and reconciliation bills. Taking either of these actions may result in receiving emails from allied progressive activist organizations.
The third action is a fundraising ask for two Democratic candidates running for the vacant House seats in the 1st and 6th congressional districts of Florida. The candidates are Gay Valimont and Josh Weil, and both of their elections are being held on April 1, less than five weeks from today. These are both deep red seats, but if Valimont and Weil can put up competitive results, it will really put a scare into vulnerable, moderate House Republicans in purple districts, making it even more difficult for Republicans to pass pretty much any cuts to the social safety net in their budget reconciliation bill.
Thanks for making it so easy for me to write letters to my representatives about the critical issues facing America now. I also appreciate your links to make donations to candidates in crucial races. One question: I assume when I donate, my name and contact info is sent to the candidates. If that’s true, is there any way to prevent that? I am so tired of getting constant texts and emails from their campaigns once I make a donation, asking for even more money. Thanks.