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Democrats Reveal 10-Step Game Plan to Fight Trump’s Smash-and-Grab Government

Hakeem Jeffries laid out the broad strokes of House Democrats’ plans to push back against the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) holds his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on September 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. Facing a divided majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not been able to get his party to agree on legislation that would avoid a partial federal government shutdown in 19 days. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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By Julia Ornedo

Democrats are just now gearing up to fight against President Donald Trump’s efforts to drastically reduce the size of the federal government.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote to his Democratic colleagues on Monday, detailing a 10-step plan to push back against the Trump administration.

The measures included “choking off” Trump’s controversial federal spending freeze and filing lawsuits against “unlawful” executive orders.

“As we prepare to come back into session tomorrow, House Democrats will continue to push back against the far-right extremism that is being relentlessly unleashed on the American people,” Jeffries said.

The top item on the Democratic leader’s agenda was to rally against a broad Office of Management and Budget memo freezing federal spending on grants and loans, which was quickly rescinded last week after it caused widespread confusion.

Jeffries said he told House Republican leadership that “any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people,” end Medicaid, or defund important programs “must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner.”

The nine other components of the Democratic war plan included:

  1. Introducing legislation “to prevent unlawful access” to the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment system that contains sensitive personal information of individuals, nonprofits, businesses, and contractors, following the takeover of the federal payment system by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
  2. Highlighting Republican policies that raise the cost of living, including Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which were recently put on pause.
  3. Pursuing legal action against “unlawful executive actions” signed by Trump on his first day in office, including those related to ending birthright citizenship, the firing of Inspectors General and federal civil service employees, and suspending funds appropriated by Congress. “There are currently more than 20 different lawsuits challenging at least 11 executive orders,” Jeffries said.
  4. Hosting a Caucus-wide meeting to expose how Republicans are “ripping off” American taxpayers by supporting policies that raise the cost of living and provide tax cuts for billionaires.
  5. Convening the Immigration Working Group to secure the border and to “fix the broken system in a comprehensive manner” by offering services to impacted communities and defending immigrants.
  6. Tasking the House Appropriations Committee Democrats with highlighting which federal funds are “at risk of being stolen” in light of the suspended federal spending freeze.
  7. Battling Republican lawmakers at the legislative hearing where the GOP is expected to unveil a tax break scheme for billionaires “while sticking working-class Americans with the bill.”
  8. Using a “public safety accountability project” to underscore the threat posed by Capitol rioters who were pardoned by Trump.
  9. Urging members to hold a district-wide outreach this week “to connect directly with our constituents and discuss the challenges we are decisively addressing on their behalf.”
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Jeffries said he would host a telephone town hall meeting in his district Monday evening and track Caucus participation.

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Julia Ornedo
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