It’s now clear that Trump’s presidency is going to be exactly like his candidacy. We’re going to have to pick our battles wisely, because otherwise we’ll be spread too thin. Bannon still seems like a good one. Call your reps today if you haven’t already. Cabinet nominations that require Senate confirmation will also be good ones, but we have a little time there.
Here’s a good one for today: demand the House Oversight Committee investigate Donald Trump’s finances. Why? Because Donald didn’t release his taxes, we have no clue what ties he has to foreign governments, to lobbyists, to government contractors, to anything. That’s a huge problem, it’s not normal, and it’s not okay. The President serves the people, not his interests. If we don’t know what conflicts of interest he might have, we don’t know he is serving us or himself.
Donald’s opacity is absolutely unprecedented and not okay. Congress can and should use its power to demand accountability and transparency before he assumes office.
Call the committee directly: (202) 225–5074
Tell them you demand they conduct a bipartisan review of Trump’s finances to make sure he is free of foreign influence. If no one answers and/or their voicemail box is full, check out the full committee.
If one of your congresspeople is on the committee, call them. If you know someone who’s congressperson is on the committee, tell them to call.
2. Call your rep if they are on the committee: the list is here
Representatives usually don’t listen to calls from non-constituents, so it may be a waste of time to call Jason Chaffetz, the head of the committee, which I’ve seen suggested, unless you live in his district in Utah. This may be an exception, so give it a try if you want, but it’s even better to call your own rep if they’re on the committee.
3. Call your local reps and tell them to demand an investigation: 1-844 872–0234
Enter your zipcode at that number when prompted and it will call all your reps in succession. It’s awesome. Even if your members aren’t on the right committees, they can still speak out and demand investigations, much like Lindsey Graham and John McCain have done about wanting investigations into Russian influence on the election.
Congressional oversight is a good angle to test right now because it is one of the strongest institutional checks against executive abuse that we have. And appealing to power crosses party lines.
We can win this one, too.
By Gabriel Stein on November 18, 2016.
Exported from Medium on October 22, 2020.