The answer to 'Just do something!"

It appears Democrats are finding their footing at last

Finally!

If you’ve been following me you know that I have been absolutely begging our Democratic leaders to get in the fight against this coup. I have been accused of attacking our side or blaming Democrats instead of Trump. Nothing could be further from the truth. This isn’t about blame. I know who is causing all of this.

It’s about mounting a coherent defense and getting into the fight. We can’t simply let the enemy run amok and not hold our defenders accountable for what they are doing…or not doing.

We have always done this with our military and business leaders. Why should we not with our political leaders as well?

I’ve got some family ties to one of the most famous accountability moments in our modern history. You probably don’t know, but I lost an uncle before I was born. He was killed with the Marines in Korea in 1951. He was part of the landings at Inchon and pushed the North Koreans all the way back to the Yalu River before the Chinese entered the war and forced them back.

He was part of the retreat to the Chosin Reservoir and was evacuated out of the area by ship. His unit re-entered the war further south and moved to push the Chinese back northwards.

Private First Class Harvey Wellman was a member of the 2nd Platoon, Company H, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action while fighting the enemy near Hoensong, South Korea during "Operation Killer" on March 2, 1951.

His unit was moving forward and as they climbed a hill the Chinese opened fire from enfilade positions near the crest.

They lost 6 men in their platoon that day. Harvey was one of them.

General-of-the-Army Douglas MacArthur was the commander for the entire Asian-Pacific region. His was the brilliant strategy that included the bold invasion and counter-offensive that landed my uncle in Korea and into an ambush the next year.

Without diving into the weeds, MacArthur was fired by Harry Truman the very next month after Harvey died. Truman sought to negotiate a cease-fire and the respected General was using political back channels to force a continued fight with the Chinese including invading the vast country and more.

Truman faced incredible backlash for daring to question the greatest general of his generation. After the firing, when his press secretary brought in piles of angry letters and telegrams, Truman told him, “See that fireplace over there? Go put them in the fireplace and set a match to them. The American people will come to understand that what I did had to be done.”

Truman understood that sometimes you have to hold your own accountable. His whole life was built around that premise. Hold your leaders to higher standard. It’s a lesson I have always carried.

Truman’s desk

Now we must push ours

The Trump Administration and their allies from Heritage and Elon Musk world entered the fray with a stated plan of “Shock and Awe.” There is no denying that for two weeks it has all but worked with each shocking development and order almost impossible to keep up with.

It’s impossible to deny that many were caught flat footed even as many of us had warned what was coming. Many just thought there would be no way they could do so much after the stumbling out of the gate they did in 2017. We told you they were ready and we were right.

Thankfully many were ready. I interviewed Skye Perryman the President and CEO of Democracy Forward on last week’s ‘On Democracy with FPWellman’ who has been leading a number of the lawsuits that have shown results already. Others are joining the legal battles.

Just today we get word that a group of Federal employees unions and others are suing the Treasury Department and pathetically weak new Secretary Bessent for allowing Elon Musk’s henchmen access to all of the databases and payment systems.

From the lawsuit:

“Secretary Bessent’s action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals full, continuous, and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that retirees, taxpayers, federal employees, companies, and other individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the complaint says. “And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals will not have even basic information about what personal or financial information that Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used.”

The suit is being led by Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund. Go to Public Citizen's website to learn all about this lawsuit, which will likely prevail with the clear violations of multiple federal laws.

But wait…there’s more

As she mentioned in my conversation with Skye Perryman, her team at Democracy Forward along with others, including my colleagues at VoteVets Foundation, filed at 12:01 p.m. ET on Inauguration Day a lawsuit that accused Elon Musk's DOGE of being a "shadow operation led by unelected billionaires" that flouts federal transparency rules. We now know two weeks later, that is true. We are hopeful the Federal judge acts with speed as Musk and his weird team continue to attack.

We know that National Security Counselors filed a suit arguing that DOGE meets the requirements to be a federal advisory committee and is therefore legally required to have "fairly balanced" representation, keep regular minutes of meetings and allow public access to meetings. This is also clear and its likely to succeed as well. You can’t simply create a board or department and make it secret.

Eighteen state attorneys general and a slew of immigrants' rights groups brought swift legal action against Trump after he signed his executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship for some children born in the U.S., arguing that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. There was an immediate stay placed on enforcing that action and the judge wouldn’t even let the White House attorney finish his first sentence without face blasting him for submitting such a blatantly un-Constitutional order.

"Schedule F" which is what they are using to make all Federal employees ‘at will’ and fire them, has been challenged in court by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees in 37 agencies and departments.

Several immigrant rights groups in the United States, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on asylum claims. They had great success during his first term.

Finally, GLAD Law and the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) have sued to stop Trump's ban on trans people in the military. They are recruiting additional groups to join that pending lawsuit and will be ready when Hegseth makes his move shortly.

There are even more that I can’t keep track of, hell, I stole this list myself.

Now Democratic lawmakers are rolling in

We have been begging the Hill to join the fight and it appears they are. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has announced lawsuits have been filed regarding the firings of the agency Inspectors General. These checks on illegal actions and corruption were some of the first targets by Trump last week.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to see Democratic lawmakers descend en masse on USAID Headquarters to protest the outrageous weekend shutdown of our primary foriegn aid department that was created by law in 1961.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) was clear in no uncertain terms, “Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people… like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn't have the power to destroy it. And who's going to stop him? We are... This a constitutional crisis that we are in today.”

Senator Chris Murphy was just as explicit before they marched in to challenge access to be denied by guards.

Democratic lawmakers and protestors at USAID Headquarters on Monday

So, I am growing happier that those of us in the trenches of this fight are starting to gather our strategy and build plans. I am dying to see much more from them. They must completely gum up the system just as the MAGA Republicans have done so many times to us.

I am thrilled to hear that Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii announced he will place a blanket hold on all Trump Administration diplomatic appointments.

From NBC News:

“Dismantling USAID is illegal and makes us less safe. USAID was created by federal law and is funded by Congress. Donald Trump and Elon Musk can’t just wish it away with a stroke of a pen — they need to pass a law,” Schatz said in a statement.

“Until and unless this brazenly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is functional again, I will be placing a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration’s State Department nominees,” he continued. “This is self-inflicted chaos of epic proportions that will have dangerous consequences all around the world.”

Now I’d like to see no more unanimous consent votes. No more votes for any of his appointments. Every single Senator placing holds on his appointments. Demanding votes. Dividing the Republican House caucus.

Most importantly, use the power of your pulpits to broadcast it all. Yes, performative antics do work. The Republicans have known this for years. Do you really think that the video of Marines putting up concertina wire on the border wall for like 50-yards is anything but propaganda?

We can play that game too. Yesterday’s visit to USAID worked. Now go pound on OPM’s doors and find out who these anonymous lackey’s are. Stop them from destroying our government and millions of lives before it’s too late.

Truman showed up at bases across the country in his personal vehicle during World War II to see if contractors and the Army were telling the truth and hold them accountable.

The model is there. Now get to it.