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LAST 2 WEEKS IN REVIEW |
I’m your Representative in Congress and I write to keep you informed.
- The chaos and costs of Trump’s tariff strategy
- A junior varsity national security team
- No one is above the law, or below it
- Big ideas to govern better
- Hitting back on behalf of scientists
- Meeting with constituents in the MA-04
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The chaos and costs of Trump’s tariff strategy |
WSJ’s “dumbest trade war in history”: The president announced sweeping tariffs this week, which amount to a $500+ billion tax hike on everyday Americans. The tariffs were calculated nonsensically and communicated incoherently. There is robust debate between policymakers and economists about how tariffs might help America, but every serious participant in that debate recognizes that the chaos of this tariff roll-out will cause pain for businesses, families, and allies alike.
I have often joined the tariff debate, generally arguing for free trade with the exception of China, which has been cheating on the terms of trade for two decades. I was pleased to see the president close the de minimis loophole, which China has employed to unfairly outcompete American businesses and smuggle in fentanyl. Otherwise, though, the president’s tariff announcement is a testament to how critical it is for Congress to take back the emergency tariff powers that he is employing. 
Reclaiming Massachusetts' energy future : Republicans claim to support free and open energy markets, yet their protectionist strategy and tendency to pick winners and losers are driving up energy costs for Bay Staters and Americans across the country.
At a recent Energy Subcommittee hearing, I questioned expert witnesses about the impact of Trump’s policies on home energy prices. The moratorium on offshore wind and the potential tariffs on Canadian electricity will significantly increase our heating and electricity costs during the winter. To take control of our energy future, Massachusetts must invest in more generation, especially nuclear and offshore wind.
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A junior varsity national security team |
"Incompetence incarnate ": The Trump Administration's inclusion of The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat that illegally shared classified war plans was incompetence incarnate, delivering a gut punch to the U.S. military. Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are lying to evade accountability for actions that, if undertaken by a corporal or captain, would end their careers. This double standard undermines good order and discipline within the ranks and becomes toxic to esprit de corps.
The embarrassing episode also underscores the unprofessionalism and inexperience of the national security team. Russia, meanwhile, has been sending hardened and experienced negotiators to meet with the Americans over Ukraine. The result? Russia is protecting its assets in Europe, shielding its Black Sea fleet, and getting traction for sanctions relief – without giving up anything in return. Instead of negotiating from strength, the United States is appeasing from weakness.
Senate Republicans first shirked their responsibility by confirming these unfit candidates, and now all congressional Republicans are yet again failing in their jobs by refusing to hold hearings or investigations into the administration’s national security posture. |
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No one is above the law, or below it |
Opposing the detainment of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk : Massachusetts has been welcoming students and immigrants for four centuries. The footage I saw of Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk being detained by masked officers is contrary to that tradition.
Ms. Ozturk has no reported record of violence or harassment; she did co-write an anti-Israel op-ed, with which I strongly disagree. I have written about my opposing view. That's how America works. Revoking her visa because of her political viewpoint is not how America works.
I joined Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, along with over 30 other House and Senate Democrats, in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding information about Rumeysa Ozturk’s arrest and detention. I will continue to engage in this situation so as to best assure due process. 
Standing up for an independent legal system : The Administration is trying to replace the rule of law with rule by law. I joined the Majority 54 Podcast to discuss MAGA’s ongoing assault on judges and lawyers, both by threatening to impeach judges for ruling against them and by seeking capitulation from law firms that took cases against them.
Trump is trying to reshape our legal system to mirror that of states like Hungary, where those in power—especially the president—use the law as a tool of politics, eroding due process and dragooning judges and lawyers into pawns of the ruling party. In Congress, I will fiercely support the independence of judges and their right to interpret the law without fear or favor.
Law firms, for their part, must not acquiesce to Trump. I am gravely disappointed that they are not banding together in shared defense of the law, refusing to assent to presidential demands and joining amicus briefs in support of law firms that are suing, like WilmerHale. |
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Big Ideas to Govern Better |
A bold agenda for Democrats : I sat down with Time Magazine to discuss a clear, compelling alternative for governance. Democrats must fuse the ideas of the abundance agenda with the energy of the Fight Oligarchy rallies. A program that builds housing, builds wealth, and builds trust would be a fusion agenda. The American people want a fusion agenda that will: - Mass-produce housing & clean energy to lower costs for families
- Rip the bark off the social media and health insurance corporations that are exploiting Americans
- Create an economy that works like Legos, not Monopoly, so that honest work, rather than rent-seeking, is a means to build wealth
- Deliver 1:1 tutoring and more tech/voc options to American children devastated by the school closures
- Secure the border, fund the police, address mental health, and stop fentanyl trafficking
- Ban gerrymandering, partisan primaries, and unlimited money in politics
- Term-limit the Supreme Court, ban stock trading by Members of Congress, and rein-in an out-of-control presidency
Unless Democrats shift from shallow messaging to deep solutions, voters will continue to be confused about our plans to govern. The partisan primary system is part of the problem: I met with Unite America's leadership to compare notes and discuss legislation and referendums regarding the primary system. I believe the way Boston elects its mayor (an open preliminary election for all candidates and all voters; top two advance to the general election, regardless of party) should be the standard for elections everywhere.
The current domination of closed and semi-closed primaries disenfranchises tens of millions of American voters and is politically centrifugal: it pulls candidates to the edges of ideology. For example, only about 35 of the 435 Members of the House of Representatives face competitive general elections; the other 400 are more oriented toward their partisan primary election. When combined with partisan gerrymandering and the outrage-as-a-service business models of social media and cable news, the net effect is representation that over-indexes to the one-third of highly partisan Americans, versus the two-thirds of less partisan Americans.
I am a strong supporter of turning primaries into nonpartisan preliminaries so that every American can vote in every taxpayer-funded election and ending partisan gerrymandering so that politicians can't choose their voters. You can learn more about democracy renovation at https://www.electoral-lab.org . |
Do you support nonpartisan preliminaries for federal elections? |
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Hitting back on behalf of scientists |
Confronting the “MAHA influencers” who are corrupting our nation's public health: I debated a Health subcommittee colleague at a health care conference in Washington to build pressure on congressional Republicans to conduct oversight of Health and Human Services. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his team are both incompetent and corrupt. They are dismantling public-private partnerships for science, handing over R&D leadership to China, and focusing on changing regulations to suit the businesses they run in the private sector.
The veneer for this incompetence and corruption is a crusade against chronic disease: as though RFK Jr. was the first person to realize that junk food is bad for you and exercise is good for you. If the MAHA circus wants to put forward actionable, evidence-driven policies to reduce chronic disease, of course, I will engage in good faith. I have my own ideas, as well. But so far, all I've seen is a measles outbreak. 
RFK Jr. pushes out top FDA vaccine scientist: Attacks on science inevitably turn into attacks on scientists, and we know where that leads: policy driven by fear or favoritism, not by evidence. RFK, Jr.’s decision to oust Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA, as well as many other career scientists, poses a threat to public health, American scientific leadership, and the biotech industry.
Not only is it critical for Republicans in Congress to join with Democrats in oversight, but executives in the bio-pharmaceutical industry must also start speaking with one voice about the dangers of a wild-west regulatory regime. Good companies want a high bar with evidence-driven, predictable standards for approval. Snake-oil salesmen thrive when standards are degraded. |
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Meeting with constituents in the MA-04 |
Visit to Stacy Middle and Dover-Sherborn High School: I spoke to middle schoolers at Stacy Middle School in Milford and high schoolers at Dover-Sherborn about my work in Washington. We discussed the separation of powers defined by the Constitution; how culture is upstream of politics and media is upstream of culture; and the role of social media in shaping youth culture in particular.
Students asked great questions about immigration, bipartisanship, and also about the tension within my job of being a 'delegate,' who represents popular opinion, and a 'trustee,' who exercises judgment on behalf of the people. 
Virtual town hall: Since the president's election in November, I have hosted 18 town halls, both in-person and virtually, to answer questions from constituents and respond to their concerns. During my March 24 Zoom town hall for Blackstone Valley, Franklin, and Bellingham, many constituents expressed the desire for a unifying Democratic message.
There is no shortage of pollsters and strategists inside the Beltway who pump out 'messages' for politicians. I believe that Democrats need to show, not tell:
- Defend Social Security, healthcare, and science against the chaos, corruption, and conspiracy of the administration
- Support the rule of law and national security against authoritarian actions
- Demonstrate an alternative to Trumpism by lowering costs, upholding public safety, and improving education in blue states, while laying out bold, specific ideas for national governance
I am working across all three fronts, from fighting for in-person Social Security services in Fall River to defining new ideas for Democrats in national media.
Attleboro Town Hall: 500+ residents from across the Massachusetts Fourth joined me for a town hall in Attleboro. One man brought his 10-year-old son to show him what democracy looks like when it's under threat; a woman who immigrated to the United States and earned citizenship here asked how she might assure herself of due process. Across these questions and more was a sense of anxiety and urgency about the MAGA threat to the Constitution.
The framers of the Constitution knew that presidents might act like kings, so they designed checks and balances. One balance is the courts – and the lower courts are indeed blocking many of Trump's illegal maneuvers. Perhaps the most effective institutional check on the president's power, though, is Congress; yet Speaker 'MAGA Mike' Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune view themselves as courtiers, not congressmen.
Thus, Democrats must fight from the minority, maximizing every moment of leverage (such as not voting for funding bills that give the president more power) and galvanizing the public to pressure their representatives.
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Question: “When are you and your Democratic colleagues going to use subpoena powers to examine all the federal contracts of Elon Musk? Can you only do this through a majority vote of your Committees dominated by Republicans?”
- Dennis, Fall River
Answer: Committees can only issue subpoenas with majority approval. The Republicans in charge are so far unwilling to stand up to the administration. However, through pressure, both public and private, my Democratic colleagues and I are getting traction on better oversight of the corruption and incompetence within Health and Human Services, where outside business interests have been allowed to hire and fire their own regulators and where career scientists are being purged for their vaccine research.
This is why it is so critical for everyday Americans to stay engaged. Public pressure does matter, especially when it is focused and persistent.
You can submit a question for a future newsletter here . Please note that casework inquiries for federal agencies must be submitted to my website here . My casework team will respond to these in a timely manner.
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Onwards, |
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Jake |
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