Well it’s not “Groundhog Day Trump” as in the 1.0 version  – the GOP establishment, previously wary and scornful, has realized that the reality-show entertainer Trump was (just barely) more electable (and for them way more threatening) than were policy types on the Dem side. So the GOP members of Congress embraced his blitzkrieg for the first hundred hours-plus of Musk mischief.

It begins to look as if Biden and Schumer’s obsessive appointment of judges (more than Trump appointed) may provide the margin to protect the nation against Trump’s looney outbursts and Musk’s insidious hacking. States Newsroom summarizes: “With [Musk] opponents unable to deploy more than,,,   limited defenses, and many powerful Republican lawmakers either shrugging or agreeing, the federal courts have emerged during the past weeks as the only obstacles to some of Trump’s more provocative moves, States Newsroom's D.C. Bureau reports. 

The Boston Globe reports — “In their aggressive bid to upend the federal government, Elon Musk and his lieutenants have, perhaps unintentionally, driven thousands of federal workers into the arms of one of the biggest enemies of their sweeping project: Organized labor. Unions that represent federal government workers are reporting significant increases in signups since President Trump took office and empowered Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” to drastically slash the federal workforce.” Also echoes from Minnesota via States Newsroom.

Meanwhile, remember those tariffs (it was only last week!)? Summing  up the new ones on steel and Chinese goods plus the paused ones on Canada and Mexico, “Projections from the Tax Foundation suggested the proposed tariffs would shrink US GDP by 0.4% and increase taxes by $800 per household.” (Semafor) – one of the many ways your working-class pocket is picked by the billionaire class. And it’s definitely related to the consequences of the election: as Bernie Sanders points out, “Add it all up and the three wealthiest men in America [Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos] have become $215 billion richer since Election Day.” [see “NATIONAL AND THE FEDS” below for more of Bernie]

How can you get good info in falsehood-festooned  times like these? It’s harder than ever, as we hear from the WaPo’s proprietor of “how to read this chart,” Philip Bump: “The right-wing bubble absorbs D.C.: During Trump’s first term, misinformation was not nearly as rampant as it is today.”

News You Can Use is trying to help. Stay tuned every Monday. Below, how Maryland, other states and the beleaguered Democratic remnant are finding ways to push back.

HERE IN MARYLAND

The Maryland Legislative Coalition continues to keep folks informed about what bills are getting upcoming hearings. And they go on to evaluate the bills and pick out the choice ones for you to consider. More than ever we will be relying on our state officials to protect us against the worst of Trumpland. Make sure they don’t let you down.

Summaries from Maryland Reporter:

Expected Decreases In Federal Aid To Force Even More Cuts Or Taxes In Maryland Budget: Maryland’s Senate president said Friday that lawmakers will likely have to look for “several hundred million” in additional cuts or taxes to cover expected decreases in federal aid. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) blamed the new gap on what he described as “tax cuts for billionaires” he expects to come from congressional Republicans in Washington. “I wish I had good news to share. Unfortunately, I don’t,” Ferguson said. Maryland Matters.

How Lawmakers Want To Reduce Racial Disparities In Traffic Stops:  A group of lawmakers in Annapolis wants to reimagine how police departments handle low-level traffic violations by cutting down the number of offenses that would justify pulling over a driver — a proposal that has law enforcement up in arms.  Baltimore Banner.

Senate, House Hear Arguments On Limiting Prescription Drug Costs: Senate and House committees both heard hours-long arguments on bills to give the Prescription Drug Affordability Board more authority over the private sector. The move would allow the board to set Upper Payment Limits on certain prescription drugs it deems a cost burden for Marylanders. WBAL News Radio. 

Five years later, COVID-19 cases in Maryland top 1.5 million, health department reports: Disease can still be deadly for many Marylanders, but the situation is much less dire than in 2020. Maryland Matters

A Session’s Worth of Energy Debates in One Long Afternoon: For the last few years, the nuclear energy industry has stood on the precipice of the Maryland energy policy debate, waiting for its close-up. Maryland Matters. 

Dem Leaders Unveil Plan For More Energy Sources: Democratic leaders have unveiled a sweeping new energy plan for Maryland that would make it easier to build new energy plants and other power projects in Maryland. If passed, the legislation could mean more renewable energy, nuclear power and potentially natural gas in the state. Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.

Fewer Energy Suppliers For Marylanders To Pick From: Marylanders who’ve long selected gas and electric suppliers through the state’s competitive energy marketplace have suddenly found limited choices as companies have stopped offering new or renewed service in the state, right as energy prices hit their highest levels in five years.  Baltimore Sun.

MD Among States Challenging Musk’s Access To Sensitive Personal Data: Democratic attorneys general in several states, including Maryland, vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information. Associated Press

Debate Begins Over Bill To Limit Crimes For Which Juveniles Could Be Charged As Adults: Criminal justice advocates welcomed a Senate bill that would sharply reduce the number of crimes for which a juvenile could be charged as an adult. Senate Bill 422 by Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) would raise the age at which a juvenile would be tried as an adult from 14 in the current law, to 16. It would also eliminate a number of crimes for which 16-year-olds are currently made eligible to be charged as adults. Maryland Matters. 

THE OTHER 49

Maryland (see above) is not the only state facing huge healthcare deficits: Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block: Uncertainty at the federal level is fueling efforts by GOP state lawmakers long opposed to the program. States Newsroom

“Climate risk will lead 70,000 US neighborhoods to suffer falling property values at some point over the next 30 years. Matching that heightened risk would raise the average insurance premium by 29%, with some locales requiring far more.”  Bloomberg Opinion

One of the most compelling arguments about the shortage of affordable (or any!) housing is the constraints of local zoning laws and environmental permitting. Some states are moving at state level to override local rules (litigation coming. Wait for it) -- HOUSING: Colorado Democrats have introduced legislation that would make it one of the first states to allow religious institutions to build housing on their land, whether or not the land is zoned for residential construction. The bill would apply to public schools and universities that want to build housing on their land. (Colorado Sun) via Pluribus

Again, States Newsroom on the scope and root of the housing crisis: “Climate change, experts warn, is the world’s fastest-growing driver of homelessness, displacing millions of people annually. In 2022 alone, disasters forced 32.6 million people worldwide from their homes, according to a 2023 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. If trends continue, 1.2 billion people globally could be displaced due to disasters by 2050, according to the international think tank Institute for Economics & Peace.

US states are increasingly charging higher registration fees for electric vehicles than for petrol ones, to make up for a shortfall in revenue from gas taxes. In Vermont, EV drivers now pay $178 a year, twice the usual rate: It is one of 39 states charging an EV premium. Republicans in Congress may impose a nationwide fee to bolster the cash-strapped fund for financing roads and bridges. Pluribus

Elon Musk, are you listening? HAWAII: The House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee unanimously approved legislation prohibiting campaign contributions from officers and family members of state contractors and recipients of government grants. The bill also bans contributions to non-candidate committees, like super PACs. (Civil Beat) via Pluribus

California fire damage by the numbers: $1.1 billion: The amount Allstate expects to lose because of the fires in Los Angeles, the company said in its quarterly earnings call. Another large insurer, Chubb Ltd., said last week it expects to lose $1.5 billion in fire-related claims. (Los Angeles Times) via Pluribus

Kansas: Legislation in the state House seeks to prevent the removal of children from homes based solely on poverty, an issue that child welfare advocates have long said the state confuses with neglect. States Newsroom

MICHIGAN: Voters will decide in 2026 whether to hold a constitutional convention to rewrite the state’s founding document. Michigan is one of 14 states that requires voters to vote on a possible convention every so often; in Michigan’s case, voters get to weigh in every 16 years. (Michigan Advance) via Pluribus

NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

NYT reports Saturday: “Senators were informed this week that the Senate phone system was receiving 1,600 calls per minute, a sharp increase from the usual 40 calls a minute, according to officials who received the private notification and spoke about it on the condition of anonymity.” Calls ran the gamut from “fall in line” with Trump” to “challenge” Trump” – and that’s just Republican members’ callers..

Despite Trump’s open war on remote workers, “surveys of US workers find that the share of work done from home has remained steady since late 2023, at around 30%. One economist told the FT that a possible reason for the discrepancy is that smaller, younger companies tend to be bigger fans of home working, and those firms tend to be the fastest-growing. Semafor

Here is the weekly catalogue of outrages –- and ways to fight back -- from Megan E, federal affairs director at our national affiliate People’s Action:

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, credited with returning billions of dollars back to consumers, limiting overdraft and other fees and removing medical debt from credit reports was fired last week from his five year term at the “independent agency.” Currently, Russel Vought, the architect of Project 2025, is the Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Over the weekend he illegally directed all work to stop at CFPB.

Common Dreams reports on Musk’s conflict of interest as he is currently partnering with Visa to create his own funding app. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who designed CFPB, said, "Vought is giving big banks and giant corporations the green light to scam families. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned over $21 billion to families cheated by Wall Street. Republicans have failed to gut it in Congress and in the courts. They will fail again."

Vought was also confirmed to be the White House budget director last week. Democrats filibustered the Vought nomination for 30 hours. Eventually Republicans confirmed him along party lines, 53 - 47. Vought intends to continue to take a sledge hammer to the administrative state.  

Republican Senators all get in-line behind Trump despite clear concerns with nominations. RFK Jr. & Tulsi Gabbard’s nominations passed out of committee last week and are expected to get a floor vote this week. ABC News reported that Vance twisted the arms of Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) (a doctor who believes in science and vaccines), and Todd Young of Indiana who threatened to derail Kennedy and Gabbard, respectively. Senator Collins who faces reelection in Maine voted for Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence despite the fact that she couldn’t pass an FBI background check.  The NY Times has a nominations tracker. 

Congressional Republicans can’t get their plan together on the tax and budget bill. Last week, the Senate got tired of waiting for the House and moved forward with its two-bill strategy. The Senate Budget Committee released budget reconciliation framework part 1 which includes border wall and investments in fossil fuels and divestments from clean energy (what they call energy policy). It does not have the tax bill which they would put in a separate budget reconciliation. They plan to move forward on that bill. Speaker Johnson first said he would release their budget & tax bill where they plan to stuff all of their priorities including slashing taxes for billionaires and corporations and cutting more than $2 trillion in federal programs for the people who live, work and pay taxes in the U.S. Then he said he would need the weekend to finish it. From Politico: “Budget Chair Jodey Arrington and committee member Chip Roy are at odds with Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith and other senior Republicans on how to proceed. The budget hawks are pushing for additional and highly controversial spending cuts. They’re also looking to put a strict limit in the budget resolution on how much the reconciliation bill can increase the deficit, a move that could severely limit Smith’s aspirations for a tax overhaul.” 

There have been a number of federal court orders temporarily blocking Trump/Musk’s actions. Here are a few: 

-Trump & Elon’s efforts to layoff USAID employees abroad and here. 

-Elon’s funding freeze - unclear if the administration is following this

- Two courts have blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship order

Politico: “a judge in New York handcuffed DOGE from accessing a crucial Treasury Department payments system — drawing the disdain of Vice President JD Vance.”

If the Trump administration refuses to follow judges’ orders, it could set up a constitutional crisis. 

Also from Politico: “House Democrats create a Trump-focused ‘rapid response task force.’”

Please contact your Member of Congress here to oppose the budget reconciliation here. And follow up on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/pplsaction.bsky.social

ISSUE UPDATE: HEALTHCARE

From Politico: DOGE hits Health & Human Services. On Friday night, the Trump administration dramatically cut NIH grants that support research institutions, with the change taking effect today… “Last week, DOGE staffers were on-site at various HHS agencies, including CMS, which confirmed they had access to systems at the federal agency responsible for disbursing Medicare and Medicaid payments. It’s unclear what they’ll do with that data.”

ISSUE UPDATE: DEMOCRACY

Just gross. From the New Republic: “Elon Musk announced Friday that the Department of Government Efficiency employee who quit for a range of racist social media posts will be reinstated. Musk made a series of social media posts expressing his support for Marko Elez, the DOGE staffer who wrote in September that he couldn’t be paid to “marry outside [his] ethnicity,” and that people should “normalize Indian hate.” Musk also fired off postings attacking the journalist who had brought the racist posts to light, leading Elez to resign.” Vance, whose wife is Indian American defended the move.  

In solidarity, Megan

And here is the full roundup on the challenge and tasks ahead from Bernie Sanders

I do not often find myself in the habit of thanking Elon Musk, but he has done an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years — and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society in which billionaires dominate not only our politics and the information we consume, but our government and economic lives as well.

That has never been more clear than it is today.

But given the news and attention Mr. Musk has been getting over the last few weeks as he illegally and unconstitutionally dismantles government agencies, I thought it was an appropriate time to ask the question that the media and most politicians don't seem to be asking: What do he and other multi-billionaires really want? What is their endgame?

In my opinion, what Musk and those around him are aggressively striving for is not novel, it is not complicated and it is not new. It is what ruling classes throughout history have always wanted and have believed is theirs by right: more power, more control, more wealth. And they don’t want ordinary people and democracy getting in their way.

Elon Musk and his fellow oligarchs believe government and laws are simply an impediment to their interests and what they are entitled to.

In pre-revolutionary America, the ruling class governed through the “divine right of kings,” the belief that the King of England was an agent of God, not to be questioned. In modern times, the oligarchs believe that as the masters of technology and as "high-IQ individuals,” it is their absolute right to rule. In other words, they are our modern-day kings.

And it is not just power. It’s incredible wealth. Today, Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg have a combined worth of $903 billion, more than the bottom half of American society — 170 million people. Since Trump was elected, unbelievably, their wealth has soared. Elon Musk has become $138 billion richer, Zuckerberg has become $49 billion richer and Bezos has become $28 billion richer. Add it all up and the three wealthiest men in America have become $215 billion richer since Election Day.

Meanwhile, while the very rich become much richer, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 85 million are uninsured or under-insured, 25% of seniors are trying to survive on $15,000 or less, 800,000 are homeless and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.

Do you think the oligarchs give a damn about these people? Trust me, they don’t. Musk’s decision to dismember U.S. AID means that thousands of the poorest people around the world will go hungry or die of preventable diseases.

But it’s not just abroad. Here in the United States they’ll soon be going after the healthcare, nutrition, housing, and educational programs that protect the most vulnerable people in our country - so that Congress can provide huge tax breaks for them and their fellow billionaires. As modern-day kings, who believe they have the absolute right to rule, they will sacrifice, without hesitation, the well-being of working people to protect their privilege.

Further, they will use the enormous media operations they own to deflect attention away from the impact of their policies while they “entertain us to death.” They will lie, lie and lie. They will continue to spend huge amounts of money to buy politicians in both major political parties.

They are waging a war on the working class of this country, and it is a war they are intent on winning.

I am not going to kid you — the problems this country faces right now are serious and they are not easy to solve. The economy is rigged, our campaign finance system is corrupt and we are struggling to control climate change — among other issues.

But this is what I do know:

The worst fear of the ruling class in this country is that Americans — Black, White, Latino, urban and rural, gay and straight — come together to demand a government that represents all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Their nightmare is that we will not allow ourselves to be divided up by race, religion, sexual orientation or country of origin and will, together, have the courage to take them on.

Will it be easy? Of course not.

The ruling class of this country will constantly remind you that they have all the power. They control the government, they own the media. “You want to take us on? Good luck,” they will say. “There's nothing you can do about it.”

But our job today is to not forget the great struggles and sacrifices that millions of people have waged over the centuries to create a more democratic, just and humane society:

* Overthrowing the King of England to create a new nation and self-rule. Impossible.

* Establishing universal suffrage. Impossible.

* Ending slavery and segregation. Impossible.

* Granting workers the right to form unions and ending child labor. Impossible.

* Giving women control over their own bodies. Impossible.

* Passing legislation to establish Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, a minimum wage, clean air and water standards. Impossible.

In these difficult times despair is not an option. We’ve got to fight back in every way we can.

We have to get involved in the political process — run for office, connect with our local, state and federal legislators, donate to candidates who will fight for the working class of this country. We have to create new channels for communication and information sharing. We have to volunteer not just politically, but to build community locally.

Whatever we can do is what we must do.

Needless to say, I intend to do my part — both inside the Beltway and traveling throughout the country — to stand up for the working class of this country. In the days, weeks, and months ahead I hope you will join me in that struggle.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders