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LAST 2 WEEKS IN REVIEW | ||||||||
I’m your Representative in Congress and I write to keep you informed.
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The chaos and costs of Trump’s tariff strategy
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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.
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. | ||||||||
A junior varsity national security team
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"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.
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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.
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.
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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:
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.
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Do you support nonpartisan preliminaries for federal elections? | ||||||||
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Hitting back on behalf of scientists
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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.
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.
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Meeting with constituents in the MA-04
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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.
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. I believe that Democrats need to show, not tell:
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.
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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?” 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.
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Onwards, | ||||||||
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Jake | ||||||||
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