Press Releases
What I’m Doing: Fighting Back
Washington,
March 1, 2025
Since January 20th, constituents have flooded my office with calls expressing outrage and fear about how Donald Trump and Elon Musk are harming the federal government and the country. I share their anger and concern, and as your Representative for Northern Virginia, I am taking action to fight back against what Trump and Musk are doing. Here are some of the ways I am working to stop the Administration from harming my constituents, our community, and the country: Listening To You, And Working With Local Leaders For months I have been hosting conversations with regional elected officials, school superintendents, community leaders, federal employee collective bargaining representatives, health care advocates, and immigrant defense organizations to coordinate strategies to protect Northern Virginians’ rights and livelihoods. I am hearing your calls, hosting town halls in person and by telephone, listening to your stories, and sharing information wherever I can to help keep people informed. Helping Federal Workers Donald Trump and Elon Musk unleashed a mass political purge of the federal workforce, with tens of thousands already fired, many of them my constituents. I have created a page to share resources for federal workers, contractors, and others affected by these mass firings, and I’m pushing for the reinstatement of wrongfully terminated federal employees. I am loudly opposing Trump’s senseless firing of workers, and not hesitating to call them out as illegal, corrupt, and destructive for services the American people depend on. I have also been a leading opponent of Schedule F, and demanded an end to the hiring freeze. I strongly support legislation and litigation to block these illegal firings and other attacks on the federal workforce. I am organizing a resource fair to support federal workers, contractors, and others impacted on March 8th, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Wakefield High School in Arlington. This event, held in partnership with the City of Alexandria, the City of Falls Church, Arlington County, and Fairfax County, will offer resources and info on federal workers’ rights, unemployment assistance, financial and career counseling, mental health support, housing information, food aid, and more. I previously offered these thoughts to federal employees considering Elon Musk’s sketchy “deferred resignation” offer, and continue monitoring new developments from OPM and across the administration to offer assistance and share information with federal workers as it comes in. I have shared stories from federal workers wrongly and illegally fired by the Administration to help raise public awareness about these purges, and to tell people about the important services federal employees provide the American people. You can submit your story here. I will continue to be a fierce advocate in Congress for supporting the federal civil service and opposing these harmful cuts with my voice, my vote, and with legislation. Fighting Illegal Actions In Court A number of actions taken by this Administration are clearly illegal, and many have been blocked by the courts, at least temporarily. I joined the House Democratic Litigation Response Task Force to identify and support potential legal challenges to unlawful acts of this administration. We are also working to educate the public about these cases and the workers, agencies, and services at stake. Trump Administration actions blocked by judges include:
I support all of the legal efforts which led to the above decisions, and also signed an amicus brief to support legal challenges against the Trump Administration’s efforts to abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has returned billions of dollars to taxpayers harmed by scams and exploitative business practices. Democratic state attorneys general, federal employee labor unions, and government reform organizations continue to file lawsuits to uphold the law, and I expect to sign additional amicus briefs to support these legal fights to defend our democracy from attacks by this lawless administration. Investigating Elon Musk And “DOGE,” And Holding Them Accountable One of Trump’s first acts as President was to empower Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, to undertake an illegal campaign of destruction of federal agencies and carry out the mass firings of workers via the “Department of Government Efficiency,” also known as “DOGE.” I have called for the disbanding of “DOGE,” called out the shadowy slush fund which seems to pay for it, and for the dismissal of unvetted white supremacists, self-described racists, and other employees there who represent clear cybersecurity threats. The Trump Administration has repeatedly refused to explain or legitimize Elon Musk’s role when challenged by judges, and many of the actions Musk is taking with his so-called “DOGE” team - which has repeatedly lied about cost “savings” while making government less efficient - are blatantly illegal, utterly incompetent, and dangerous. The Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, is investigating "DOGE" access of private protected taxpayer information at the Treasury Department to establish where laws may have been violated. I expect and support additional investigations. I established, in an exchange with a tax law expert during a hearing on the IRS in the Ways and Means Committee, that unauthorized access of taxpayers’ private information is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, with a statute of limitations that runs beyond the current administration – meaning a future administration could prosecute such crimes. Musk is also serving in this role despite enormous conflicts of interest, including business relationships with foreign governments, enormous profits from U.S. government contracts – all without having undergone the proper security vetting normally required of civil servants who gain such a level of influence, authority, and access to sensitive government information. I have introduced legislation of my own and signed on to legislation offered by others to stop this and prevent it from happening again. Opposing Republican Cuts And Fighting Trump’s Damage To Our Economy As top House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), I led debate against the Republican-authored budget resolution this week. You can see my remarks here. That budget is designed to set up cuts to Medicaid, which could cause hundreds of thousands of Virginians to lose their health coverage, and to SNAP. These cuts are intended to offset huge tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit billionaires and large corporations. These tax cuts will not be paid for, meaning they will add trillions to our debt. The legislation may also codify President Trump’s tariff regime, which I have been vociferously opposing since before he was sworn in. I highlighted the potential costs of these tariffs in a JEC hearing I chaired last year. These tariffs will raise prices for American consumers while harming our economy - which economic data shows is already happening. The chaotic and wide-ranging implementation of tariffs harms our relations with friends and trading partners, and risks foreign retaliation against our own exports and an economically devastating trade war. Showing Up And Speaking Out I will use my vote and my voice to defend the values that make our community and our country great as long as I am your Congressman. On February 3rd I organized an oversight action at USAID to show support for workers and shine a light on Elon Musk's attempts to destroy this federal agency established in law which is so important for saving lives and boosting American diplomatic efforts around the world. You can view my remarks at USAID here. Calling Out Trump’s Terrible Nominees As a Representative in the U.S. House, I don’t get a vote on presidential nominations – but that doesn’t mean I can’t speak up and represent my constituents. I was an early voice last year warning about the dangers of confirming Robert F. Kenedy Jr., one of the most prominent anti-vaxxers in the country, to run America’s health care system. I vocally opposed Matt Gaetz, a terrible choice for Attorney General. For several days after his nomination, Republicans attempted to conceal an Ethics report detailing an investigation into serious and potentially criminal behavior by Gaetz. Ultimately Gaetz was so widely disliked his nomination was withdrawn before he even got a hearing. Amid the Administration’s illegal funding freeze, I called for the Senate to reject Russ Vought, a co-author of Project 2025 and Trump’s nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was unfortunately confirmed on a party line vote. I also urged opposition to Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, and Billy Long, Trump’s Nominee for IRS Commissioner. I will continue to speak out against these and other appointees of the Trump Administration who fail to meet standards we should expect from our highest leaders. I am also focused on the significant financial conflicts of interest, ethics issues, and poor vetting of senior leaders in this administration. More Updates Will Follow I am fighting for Northern Virginians and the services they depend on, for federal workers, for immigrants, for our LGBTQ+ neighbors, for people who depend on Medicaid and SNAP, for the vulnerable in our society. I am fighting for the Constitution, the rule of law, and for our democracy against what so many of us see as an autocratic assault by Donald Trump and Elong Musk. I will continue sharing updates on this page as they arise, and as I always, I remain eager to help with constituent casework which you can request here or by calling 703-658-5403, and I welcome your emails, thoughts, and calls to my office at 202-225-4376. |