The two weeks since the inauguration have been exhausting and full of chaos because of Trump’s cruel and lawless executive orders. Trump’s goal is to create so much terror that we feel hopeless and helpless and retreat from the public square. Fortunately, that has not happened. Instead we have risen up in outrage and pushed back against his agenda and, in this first salvo, have scored some victories. Last week Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said these wins would not have happened without outcry from the public.
In two weeks we:
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- Saw Trump’s disapproval rating hit an all time high for this point in a presidency at 48%.
- Effected a reversal so that delivery of HIV drugs in the PEPFAR program in Africa resumed.
- Caused the memo that froze all federal grants to be rescinded and saw a federal judge issue an injunction against that freeze in a case brought by the National Council of Nonprofits and the American Public Health Association. Twenty three Democratic state attorneys general and the D.C. AG also filed a lawsuit against this action.
- Witnessed a federal judge issue an injunction against the birthright citizenship executive order in a case bought by the ACLU.
- Pressured Trump so that he backtracked on the hiring freeze at the Veterans Administration.
Forced Trump to restore drug trials and essential hiring at N.I.H. - Celebrated when the Virginia General Assembly passed the first phase for three constitutional amendments: one to enshrine reproductive healthcare in the state Constitution, another to automatically restore voting rights to felons at the completion of their sentences, and one to remove the prohibition against same sex unions from the Constitution. By law these amendments will come before the Assembly again next term.
Clearly, there is still much work to do, but we can take heart that our voices can be effective when we work together.
