Today is a sad day for democracy and our country. But we can't just look backwards or wallow about our losses.
While I'm not in office anymore, I served in Congress for two years under the Trump Administration. Using things like congressional hearings, I managed to get some of what we wanted, like free COVID testing at the start of the pandemic. Here are a few pieces of advice I'd give to elected Democrats as they navigate his second term.
- Stand up to the bullying and BS: Just the other day, Trump threatened to hold California disaster relief funds hostage unless Congress passes a big bill with all of his pet projects—like tax cuts for billionaires. California fire victims should not be pawns in his games.
- Stay focused on the real people being harmed by Trump's policies: It's easy for DC politicians to live and work in a DC bubble. But Members should stay focused on the actual effect of Trump's policies. In a Congressional hearing during Trump's last administration, I called out his consumer enforcement chief for not being able to define or calculate (or even estimate!) the cost of a payday loan. And I called out Ben Carson, his Housing and Urban Development Secretary, for confusing an REO (a property owned by a bank after foreclosure), with an OREO, a chocolate sandwich cookie. These moments weren't about roasting people to go viral; they were about making sure we had people who knew enough about their job to be actually able to do the work. Sadly, in Trump's last administration—and it seems his new one too—this was not the norm.
- We can work together without compromising our values: Congress is short on good ideas. If someone–no matter the side of the aisle–has a good idea, we should act on it. If Republicans are serious about effectively rooting out waste and fraud in places like our defense budget, let's do it.
- Speak truth to power: It's the right thing to do! When Trump does something abhorrent, we've got to call it out, even when it feels exhausting. I won re-election in my swing district even as I called out Trump and pushed for bold change, because voters knew I called out BS and fought for them.
Thanks for reading and for being a part of our movement.
Katie Porter
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Katie Porter started Truth to Power to support Democrats who reject corporate PAC money and are running to protect the environment, restore the nationwide right to an abortion, and create an economy that works for working people. |
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