I chose to stand with the people

Last week, I voted against advancing and passing the Republican-penned, hyper-partisan bill to fund the government.

I had a choice here: support a bill that gave Donald Trump and Elon Musk a blank check to continue their dismantling of federal agencies and firing of federal workers, or advocate for a truly clean bill to fund the government for several more weeks and buy us more time to negotiate for clear restraints on executive branch overreach.

I chose to stand with the millions of concerned Americans who want Congress to reassert its authority and put a check on an out-of-control President. While I'm deeply disappointed that the Republican bill passed – setting the stage for a broader budget fight in September – I come away from last week all the more determined to keep fighting.

I just held four open-to-all town halls in Oregon and one with the Oregon delegation and Oregon's Attorney General for current or recently-fired federal workers who have lost their jobs as a result of Trump and Musk's dangerous cuts. And my takeaway is that our movement is equally determined to fight back. The days and weeks ahead will not be easy, but I know our movement has what it takes to push back.

The door has opened even further now for Republicans to pass devastating cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, food assistance, and countless other programs that Americans benefit from. In the months ahead, we must harness the energy of our grassroots movement and empower people to speak out against the dangers of the GOP's plans.

We must continue to encourage folks to call their members of Congress and attend town halls – or demand their members hold town halls at all. We must keep highlighting the damage caused by Trump's and Musk's rampage through federal programs. When our voices rise together, no one can shut them out. Because nobody voted for an unelected foreign billionaire to take total control of our government and cut off the services that millions of families rely on.

There is no one single lever we can pull to suddenly stop Trump, Musk, and their allies in Congress, but we can make every day count. We can reclaim the narrative, block the GOP's grand legislative plans, and lay the groundwork – slowly but surely – for electing bold Democrats across the country in 2026 who understand the stakes of this moment and will stand for the people.

Onward,

Ron