If you write the laws, you shouldn’t profit off them.

If we want a Congress that answers to the people instead of the corrupt, we have to keep the pressure on.

Tell Congress: It's time to show some courage represent.us/congressionalcourage

Trump is handing out pardons like political favors. From allies tied to his effort to overturn the 2020 election to state politicians convicted of corruption, he’s using the pardon power to protect his inner circle. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

In the past few weeks, Kash Patel has fired agents and supervisors at the FBI who were tied to the federal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

A growing number of GOP lawmakers are rebuking Trump’s decision to expand low-tariff beef imports from Argentina, warning it will hurt American ranchers already struggling with high costs and tight supplies.

The Pentagon just confirmed it accepted a $130 million private donation to pay troops during the shutdown–from billionaire Trump donor Timothy Mellon. When it comes to the U.S. military, there should be no question whose interests it serves.

She’s out here saying what millions of us are thinking

The Senate just voted to end Trump’s 50% tariffs on Brazil–a rare bipartisan move to check presidential power. Five Republicans joined Democrats to reject the “emergency” Trump used to justify tariffs on a country where the U.S. actually runs a multibillion-dollar trade surplus.

Trump is using U.S. taxpayer money to influence another country’s election. He’s tying a $40 billion bailout for Argentina to whether a far-right candidate wins. That’s not foreign policy, that’s election interference funded by us. We deserve better, demand accountability NOW! represent.us

No one person should decide when America goes to war.

Trump is demanding $230 million from the Justice Department as “compensation” for federal investigations into him–including the Russia probe and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

No one is above the law. Tell your member of Congress to press Pam Bondi for answers NOW! represent.us/bondianswers

In the Oval Office, Trump named three people he wants targeted for prosecution: Special Counsel Jack Smith, former FBI official Andrew Weissmann, and Deputy AG Lisa Monaco–who were just doing their jobs investigating his alleged corruption.

In a rare show of unity, Fox News, The New York Times, AP, Reuters, Newsmax, and others are refusing to sign new Pentagon rules that would restrict how they report on the military. They say the policy threatens First Amendment protections for routine journalism. www.reuters.com/business/med...

The Trump admin recently approved a $20 billion bailout for Argentina–a deal that benefits one American more than anyone else: billionaire hedge-fund manager Rob Citrone. Who happens to be a longtime friend and former colleague of Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent.

Congress has the duty and authority to exert oversight over DOJ. With Bondi's agency ramping up politicized prosecutions, we need to put pressure on Congress to do its job, ask the tough Qs, demand accountability: act.represent.us/letter/bondi...

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan María Corina Machado has stood up to Maduro's regime, which arrests critics, rigs elections, and silences dissent. If Trump wants a Nobel, he might start by *not* copying Maduro's tactics: www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...

Congress doesn’t work for the president, it works for the people.

Donald Trump ran on a promise to help Americans’ wallets. Nine months in, people are still struggling to make ends meet, while his wealth has skyrocketed. www.forbes.com/sites/danale...

The Department of Justice’s mission is clear: uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights. Nowhere in that mission is anything about using prosecutions to settle a president’s personal scores or intimidate opponents.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." That's what FCC Chair Brendan Carr said on a podcast regarding Jimmy Kimmel's show following his comments about Charlie Kirk's death. That's not regulation. That's intimidation. And it's a direct threat to free speech.

I’ve seen what political violence does to a country. Around the world, it has repeatedly escalated into nightmare scenarios. Nobody should want that for America. Violence is not the answer to our democratic crisis. -Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno mariamcfarlandsm.substack.com/p/ive-lived-...

In Colombia, a single assassination triggered more than 50 years of war. I documented the resulting horrors, which did nothing to solve the country's problems. My reflections on rising political violence in the US, and the way forward: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

American deserves better.

I grew up in a country devastated by political violence, and decades later, the scars are still there. Nobody should want or support that for the US. Part of the point of genuine democracy, rule of law, etc, is to resolve differences peacefully and fairly.

Two senior senators just called out the Trump administration for trying to create a budget loophole that lets it block spending Congress has already approved. They’re right to sound the alarm, but they’re also the ones in charge of stopping this.

A new bipartisan House bill could finally ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. The message is simple: If you write the laws, you shouldn’t be profiting from them. Period.

The FBI searched John Bolton’s home and office last week. Bolton is Trump’s former national security adviser turned vocal critic. The investigation stems from Bolton’s 2020 memoir, but critics say it looks like retaliation from a president targeting his political enemies.

In June, Trump’s political operation pushed the Texas GOP to redraw their congressional map, just in time for the 2026 elections. They now have a 3-seat majority in the House. This new map could give them 3 to 5 more seats. All at the expense of voters in Austin, Dallas & Houston.

Over the last ten years, Seattle’s historic Democracy Voucher Program has been a proven success as a powerful tool for taking politics out of the hands of the wealthy few and returning it to the voters.

Peak hurricane season is here. Scientists warn that hurricanes are getting more intense, but instead of communicating a plan to prepare, the Trump administration is cutting staff and slashing funding from the very agencies meant to protect affected Americans.

🚨 BREAKING: The Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee just advanced a bill to ban members of Congress, the President, and VP from trading stocks. The vote was 8–7. All Democrats voted yes, Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the only Republican to join them.

The Senate confirmed Emil Bove last night, Trump's former lawyer and now appointee to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals who, according to multiple whistleblowers, urged DOJ attorneys to defy court orders that didn't advance his agenda. Trump’s personal lawyer should not be above the law.

Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program has transformed local elections. Since it launched, small-donor participation has increased fivefold — especially among renters, young people, and communities of color. That’s real progress. Let’s keep it going. Vote YES on #Prop1Seattle by August 5.

We can turn the tide on rising corrupt autocracy in the US--I know that from years of experience. But we need to move a lot more people who are on the fence--both within the system and outside it. Check out my new Substack post and subscribe: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

BIG $ ALERT! Congress is about to pass a bill pushed by the crypto industry (armed with a $140M war chest) that critics say could put all of us at risk of a big financial crisis. www.politico.com/live-updates... 1/7

Newsweek just reported that four members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats alike, bought stock in defense companies while sitting on committees that oversee military budgets. These companies receive billions in government contracts.

Over the holiday weekend, Trump signed a sweeping budget bill. It could have been worse, but Americans spoke up. Thousands of people took action, calling on Congress to reject provisions that threatened our system of checks and balances. And lawmakers listened.

It's a reminder that Americans who believe in freedom, rights, and the rule of law, need to speak up. We need to come together across our differences, regardless of partisanship, demand that our representatives--including Congress!--do their jobs, and hold power to account. 5/5

An independent judiciary is crucial to defend us from tyranny, and the courts in the US have been an important bulwark against abuse. But this week's rulings make clear that those of us who believe in democracy cannot just rely on the courts. 4/5

Today, the Court gave the administration free rein to implement executive orders--such as its birthright citizenship order--even if blatantly illegal, except with respect to individual plaintiffs who win injunctions in lawsuits. www.yahoo.com/news/supreme... 3/5

On Monday, in a ruling on deportations without due process to third countries (in this case, South Sudan), the Court effectively turned a blind eye to the Trump administration's defiance of court rulings. www.politico.com/news/2025/06... 2/5

The courts will not save us from rising corrupt autocracy. The Supreme Court made that clear this week, in rulings that weaken the judiciary's authority. As Justice Sotomayor said today, the court has "abdicate[d]" its role in defending the rule of law. www.npr.org/2025/06/27/n... 1/5

The U.S. Army Reserve just swore in four Big Tech executives as Lieutenant Colonels: - Palantir's CTO Shyam Sankar - Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth - OpenAl's CPO Kevin Weil - OpenAl's former CRO Bob McGrew finance.yahoo.com/news/palanti...

We’re facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations—and it doesn’t have to be this way. On July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities are coming together to make sure #GoodTroubleLivesOn

Trump has nominated Emil Bove, a DOJ official and former personal lawyer, to a lifetime seat on a federal appeals court. A new whistleblower complaint says Bove suggested defying court orders affecting Trump’s deportation plans.

Will President Trump’s war in Iran finally get some members of Congress to grow a spine? Days before Trump’s strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites without congressional approval, Reps. Massie (R) and Khanna (D) introduced a bipartisan resolution to block unauthorized military action.

With the attack on Iran, US democracy enters an even riskier time. Wars generate fear and confusion, and create useful excuses for concentration and abuse of power. I experienced it in Peru, and warned of US risks in 2017 in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: lareviewofbooks.org/article/in-p...

Many thanks to @represent.us for the opportunity to sit down with longtime FEC Commissioner @ellenlweintraub.bsky.social at the recent American Democracy Summit. Among the topics we covered were President Trump’s illegal voting and elections executive order, as seen in this clip: