No Punditry! Let's Take Action & Mobilize!

A practical guide to helping you and our DMV neighbors at this horrible time, and ultimately working together to save democracy & our sanity

In Case You Missed It Yesterday:

• “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”—Trump on Truth Social

• “I think the federal government should take over the governance of D.C… I like the mayor, I get along great with the mayor. But they are not doing the job. — Trump answering a reporter’s question on D.C. governance

Also last night, I was watching a town hall with Maryland’s congressional delegation when a woman stood up about an hour into the meeting and spoke for all of us:

This is really weak, you guys…I have colleagues who have lost their jobs, neighbors who have lost their jobs. What are we supposed to do? Are they going to get their jobs back? Are the agencies going to be put back together?…I keep hearing from you and in the media, yeah, the courts are going to figure it out. But what are we supposed to do in the mean time?

Her questions are particularly hard-hitting for those of us who live in D.C. Whereas Maryland and Virginia elected officials have been holding town halls for federal workers, putting out statements (even Gov. Youngkin!) and helpful guidance on legal and financial resources for their residents, D.C. government has been largely mum. This is an intentional strategy at the John A. Wilson Building to “fly under the Trump radar” given our lack of statehood. Update: Mayor Bowser held a press availability earlier this afternoon, but continued to talk about working on “shared priorities” with Trump—reducing crime, removing tents and homeless residents from the streets, and beautifying parks and public spaces. She was reticent on the firing of so many D.C. residents from federal jobs, and placed her hopes on Congress keeping D.C. Home Rule in place even though Trump has largely ignored both the law and Congress.

Well, it is now clear that D.C. Home Rule is within Trump’s sights.

It means we need to rely on ourselves by:

1. Continuing to pressure Congress to act boldly in upholding the law, to use procedure to slow down the administration wherever possible, and to preserve D.C. local autonomy.

2. Acting boldly both as individuals and collectively, which for many of us means getting out of our comfort zones and not relying on the other guy to do it.

3. Leading by example in local and state government by upholding the law and filing lawsuits where there is clear lawlessness and injury. And working hard to restore trust in government through effective and efficient delivery of services that matter and make our lives better.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP OUR COUNTRY

Call Congress and remind them to do their job, preserve D.C. Home Rule
Phone calling is effective, because it is hard to ignore. If you want more explanation, 5 calls spells it out and provides phone numbers for you. Additionally, call both Republican and Democratic leadership on Home Rule; the phone numbers are at the bottom of the landing pages for their web sites.

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D)

• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R)

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D)

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R)

Attend a Rally
This is an extraordinary time, and it means we all have to do extraordinary things. As Rep. Jamie Raskin says, a rally a day keeps the fascists away. Here’s the list of upcoming events to attend—the only rally I see so far is on Tuesday.
Remember: Crowd size matters to Trump.

• Today! Thursday, Feb. 20

  Know Your Rights as a Federal Employee: Special Privacy Act Webinar at 5:30 p.m. (on-line)

  Democracy Forward Community Town Hall with Rep. Raskin, 9 p.m. (on-line)

• Friday, Feb. 21

  A Federal Workers Happy Hour at Lyman’s Tavern starting at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Federal Unionists Network. (in-person)

• Monday, Feb. 24

  How to Fight Back: Strategies to Fight the National Funding Freeze with House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro at 8 p.m. (on-line)

• Tuesday, Feb. 25

  Hands Off! Our Healthcare Research Jobs 1:30 p.m. at U.S. Health and Human Services Headquarters in D.C., other places around the country (in-person)

Read Project 2025
Many of the actions the Trump administration has taken so far were outlined in plain language in Project 2025, even though Trump disavowed it during the campaign. There is now a Project 2025 Tracker, which shows the anti-progress that has taken place and what might be to come.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO PROTECT D.C. HOME RULE AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Sign on to the Statement of D.C. Values and Speak Out for D.C. Home Rule
We need to be clear about what we are fighting for, and after our first in-person meeting at Guapo’s I put together this statement. We often talk about our city’s values, but I could find no actual document that spells them out. There are legal groups working on protecting D.C. Home Rule, and I hope to share more about this soon. If you are a part of these groups, give me a holler!

Meet with Local Elected Officials to Discuss Strategy and How We Can Work Together
At Guapo’s, there was enthusiastic support for meeting with D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb. We are working with his office to make this happen very soon! His office asked how many people were interested, so it would be great to have a large list! Please read the letter to formally ask him to meet and sign on by Friday at 5 p.m. Contact Elissa if there are additional topics to discuss you’d like to propose.

As I mentioned, in our neighboring states local and federal elected officials are having town halls with residents, particularly with workers impacted by Trump administration actions. Let’s start with AG Schwalb, and I am interested in who you would want to meet with after that. I’d like to propose a meeting with the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin. You can read about Martin here and here.

Advocate for the Effective Use of Your Local Tax Dollars
As some of you know, I believe that to win the hearts and minds of voters, we need to deliver programs and services that really improve their lives. Yes, big money and disinformation make the persuasion more difficult— believe me, I know — and the way to dilute that is an engaged electorate.

We all know DOGE isn’t about using tax dollars well, it is about disabling our government so that private companies can step in and profit. At the state and local level, we do need to use our tax dollars efficiently and effectively, because unlike the feds, we can’t just borrow—we need to balance our budgets. D.C. has a very good track record of doing that in the last 20 years, but the tradeoff of what is funded and for how much doesn’t always reflect what our residents want. A few local spending issues to put on your radar as we enter budget season:

• Building a Commanders NFL Stadium
  Mayor Muriel Bowser released her first public documents about the plan to build a football stadium at RFK for the Commanders. It is seen as her legacy project. This is the slide deck she circulated at a meeting last week. My take is the stadium will get built, and we as residents need to be savvy negotiators about any use of our taxpayer dollars and resources.

• Taking Away A Program for D.C. Renters to Become Homeowners
  Also last week, the mayor introduced a comprehensive piece of legislation on landlord-tenant laws in D.C. Buried within it are sections that would take away the ability for renters in D.C. to become homeowners—a law known as TOPA, Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. More to come.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS

Call/Text/Email Your Friends Who Are Federal Workers and Contractors
Losing a job is traumatic, especially when the circumstances are grossly unfair and unjust. I know how it feels. And I will never forget the friends who called me, took me to see a movie, texted, went for a walk or bike ride, invited me to dinner, sent me a book to read, and even threw me a birthday party for me. Be that friend right now. Check in on those in your sphere who might be really upset and anxious about the future. It really makes a difference when you reach out. There’s no right thing to say—just being loving and supportive is what matters.

Distribute this flier on Immigration Enforcement in Schools
At Guapo’s, several people asked whether legal guidance has been distributed to school administrators and other institutions about immigration enforcement. The D.C. Office of Attorney General has updated this guidance recently, but it is unclear whether it has been distributed thoroughly to D.C. schools.

Design a Visible Show of Support for the Constitution and Our Federal Workforce
At Guapo’s we spoke about ways to visibly support our federal workers. We had several suggestions including a ribbon, a statement of “I support federal workers” with a ribbon graphic, and some online graphics. We are still working on this; it is a priority for me in the next few days, and I welcome help with it!

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY

File for Unemployment Insurance
UI, as it is known, is slightly different for federal workers because there is no UI tax levied on the government to pay out benefits. But the process to apply is almost identical to federal workers as it is for everybody else. For most federal workers in the D.C. area, the maximum weekly benefit ($444 in D.C., $430 in MD, $378 in VA) is no where near your salary, but it will provide some financial assistance.

You file UI in the jurisdiction where you work, which might be different than the state you live in. For federal workers, you file in the jurisdiction of your last duty station which should be found on your SF-50.

Some of you might be allowed to “cash out” your unused paid time off or vacation time. In D.C., that is considered a worker benefit and is not calculated as part of your wages so it will not impact your eligibility for UI or your weekly benefit calculation.

DC Unemployment Insurance
MD Unemployment Insurance
VA Unemployment Insurance

Select Health Insurance through COBRA, the State Health Marketplace, or File for Medicaid
For many workers, this might be the first time you will not have an employer paying the vast majority of your health insurance. COBRA extends employer plans to you, but you pay the full cost. You might want to consider buying a plan on the state health exchange, because you may be eligible for tax credits depending on your income. A warning: If you take medications, particularly brand-name, non-generic drugs, check to see if they are covered as part of your plan or if you have to spend up to the deductible before the insurer will offer drug coverage.

Legal Resources
If you are a federal worker who has been fired, you may want to contact your union and the state Attorney General’s office. These groups are collecting evidence to see if they have standing to file lawsuits.

Here are some additional legal organizations to contact:

• National Employment Lawyers Association

• Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association

• Federal Circuit Bar Association

• Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Workers’ Rights Clinic

If you’ve read till the end, let me know if these emails are helpful, and if you want me to continue doing them. If they aren’t, that frees up my time for other endeavors!

Take care,
Elissa.