Friday, November 15 - Oppose H.R. 9495 / Stop Trump Recess Appointments / New Indivisible Guide
Actions You Can Take
Action 1: Email your Illinois Representative and tell them to oppose H.R. 9495
Action 2: Email Your Illinois Senators to stop Trump Recess Appointments
Action 3: Read and share the new Indivisible Guide
Action 1: Tell your Illinois Representatives to oppose H.R. 9495
H.R. 9495, a bill that would grant the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury the unilateral authority to suspend the tax-exempt status of organizations deemed "terrorist supporting" without providing meaningful due process or requiring any evidence, is back up for a vote on Monday.
H.R. 9495 is a dangerous attack on nonprofits and our freedom of speech and to protest, especially those challenging U.S. support for Israel's actions in Gaza, as well as pro-choice and environmental groups. At Indivisible Chicago, we have been acting and advocating for freedom of speech and expression – the bedrocks of our democracy. We would oppose this bill regardless of the administration in power.
HR 9495, would give the incoming Trump administration a new tool they could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish groups that disagree with them.
We only have a couple days to influence our members of Congress, so please submit this form and forward this to anyone who supports free speech.
Action 2: Stop Trump Recess Appointments
Even before he takes office, Trump is setting the stage for an unprecedented presidential power grab.
Trump said that the next Republican Senate leader “must agree to Recess Appointments” - which would permit Trump to install these top officials without having to endure the delay and hassle of Senate confirmation.
Trump knows that the right-wing nominees he is putting before the Senate will be extremely controversial and may even face resistance among some of his MAGA lemmings.
This is a dangerous end run around the separation of powers. No president likes it, but the authority to pick appointees comes with a constitutional speed bump: Cabinet secretaries and others in high positions must be confirmed “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate”.
Email Senator Richard Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth: do not allow Trump's recess appointments, and encourage their Senate colleagues to do the same.
Action 3: Read and Share the New Indivisible Guide
The bottom line is this: Trump wants us to believe he’s all-powerful. He’s not. The original Indivisible Guide focused entirely on Congress. That’s only part of the fight against Trump 2.0. The new guide aims to be as practical as the original, but we widen the scope to include what you can do in cities and states where you have leverage. If we all play our part, we can harness backlash to the horror that’s coming. We can limit harm and break the back of MAGA in the elections to come. We can survive to fight another day.
In a recent interview, the historian of authoritarianism and author of On Tyranny, Timothy Snyder, noted about the moment we’re in: “They want you to be alone. Nobody is going to fix this alone. That’s not how this works.” There’s a role for all of us -- some will play defense, some play offense -- but it all comes down to getting organized in our local groups. Individually, we’re alone and powerless; together, we have power.
Read the new Indivisible Guide to learn how to fight for democracy, and share with your friends. We can’t do this alone.
Action via Indivisible
While some of these Daily Actions come from our own work as Indivisible Chicago Alliance, others are from our many partners working to advance the progressive agenda. We invite you to join us in supporting their work. Postings from partners do not imply Indivisible Chicago Alliance endorsement of specific policies and positions.