February 19, 2025

Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Annette’s Roundup for Democracy.

Update on America.

Presidents Day inspired Americans.

Touch to watch the anti-Trump rallies in 50 states. 👇

Thousands of people protest in Washington, D.C., and across the U.S. on Presidents Day.

The protestors participated in the 50501 Movement, which originated in response to the Trump administration and its efforts to cut government spending. Many chanted "Where is Congress?'"

On Presidents Day, demonstrators across the U.S. descended upon state capitol buildings and other locations to protest actions by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who are implementing significant changes to the federal government.

In Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, thousands of people gathered at the Capitol Reflecting Pool chanting "Where is Congress?" and urging members of Congress to "do your job!" despite nearly 40-degree temperatures and 20-mile-per-hour wind gusts.

The D.C. chapter of the 50501 Movement organized the rallies. One of its leaders, known as Potus Black, urged the crowd of protesters to stand united in order to "uphold the Constitution.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order withholding federal funding from schools and universities that impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the Oval Office on Feb. 14, 2025. Many of Trump's executive actions are facing legal challenges in the courts.

Courts block Trump's DOGE actions — chaos, panic not proving to be best legal strategy
"To oppose tyranny is to stand behind democracy and remind our elected officials that we, the people, are who they're elected to serve, not themselves," Black said. "The events over the past month have been built to exhaust us, to break our wills. But we are the American people. We will not break."

The nationwide protests were part of the 50501 Movement, which stands for "50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement." These protests were a response to what organizers describe as "the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration." Monday's demonstrations marked the group's second nationwide campaign, following a series of executive orders signed by Trump. Both Musk and Trump have faced criticism for mass firings across several federal agencies.

Calls for Congress to take action

Several attendees spoke with NPR, expressing their anger over Musk and Trump's actions and their fears about future executive orders. Their concerns ranged from Musk's team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), gaining access to Americans' personal data through the IRS and other federal agency records, to the firing of national park rangers.

Suzanne, a resident of Maryland, who requested that her last name be withheld because she fears retaliation against her family, told NPR she attended the rally in support of her husband, a federal employee with a financial regulatory agency. She mentioned their worries about him potentially being laid off among thousands of others.

"It's put us in a pretty tenuous financial situation. Currently, his paychecks are going through, but we're looking to Plan B as an alternative on how to support our family, our children," she said. "But it has really motivated him and his co-workers to stand united, to stand as a solid, solidified workers force."

Anita Gilmore of Maryland expressed her concerns about her son's federal healthcare coverage, which he relies on for medical treatment. She feels anxious about what actions Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may take.

"My son is on Medicaid because he has a life-threatening disease that if I wasn't there to take care of him, he would be one of these DC [homeless] guys on the street," Gilmore says.

Government Accountability official says fraud does exist, but it's not widespread.

Many protesters, including Katie Temple, are frustrated by Congress and say lawmakers are not doing enough to hold the executive branch accountable.

"I want Congress to grow a spine, as they've been saying," Temple, a Democrat, said while holding a sign that read "Was the price of your eggs worth our Democracy?"'

"I feel like, especially the Democrats, are not standing up. We need them to act," she said.

Following the protests, Black told NPR that more demonstrations were planned and that the 50501 Movement was only getting started.

"We know that this one protest is not going to be enough to make the changes that we expect," Black said. "We will be continuing to let the American people's voice be heard."

Protests sweep the nation from California to Tennessee to Massachusetts

Protesters flooded statehouses, federal courts and other public spaces across the U.S., denouncing the Trump administration, executive overreach and mass deportations.

Organizers of the 50501 Movement provided details for protests in more than half of the states in the U.S. from California to Colorado, Tennessee and Massachusetts, just to name a few.

In the Northeast, despite freezing temperatures and fierce winds, hundreds of people gathered at Boston Common bundled in winter coats and beanies, according to social media. Similar protests broke out in Hartford, New York City and Trenton.

Further south in Knoxville, protesters turned out early for the afternoon "Not My Billionaires" rally near a federal courthouse, waving signs that read "Musk wasn't on the ballot" and "no felons, no Elons" according to social media. Demonstrations also took place in Nashville, Atlanta and Miami.

In Iowa, dozens of protesters rallied inside the statehouse walls in Iowa, chanting "President Musk must go!" to condemn Musk's involvement with the federal government, particularly his role heading DOGE, Iowa Local 5 News reported.

In Palo Alto on the West Coast, protesters intensified their efforts by rallying near Tesla dealerships, the company co-founded by Musk, according to NBC Bay Area.Colorado Public Radio estimates that more than 1,000 people took to the streets of Denver, braving the snow and holding signs that addressed a range of issues including women's reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and immigration. (NPR).

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Americans are hitting back at Musk too.

'Sell your Teslas, dump your stock' — Tesla protests, Musk's tanking popularity hit EV maker at bad time

Elon Musk's controversial role in the Trump administration appears to be dragging down the Tesla CEO's image — and Tesla's own brand — during a pivotal time for the EV industry.

Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters demonstrated at Tesla (TSLA) dealerships across the country, as well as several international locations. Dubbed "Tesla Takedown" and "Tesla Takeover," the protests were coordinated by groups like Anonymous on Bluesky (an x.com alternative).

With signs like "Musk is stealing from you," "Stop Musk's Coup," and "Tesla funds fascists," protesters chanted outside Tesla showrooms from New York City's Meatpacking District to Boston's Boylston Street, and even Tesla's hometown of Austin, Texas.

"Sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines," shouted organizers at the Austin event. "Hurting Tesla is stopping Musk. Stopping Musk will help save lives and our democracy."

Musk, as head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been behind massive layoffs of government employees. Many of these dismissals are the subject of lawsuits alleging DOGE and the White House acted illegally with the firings.

Recent surveys show that many voters disapprove of Musk's actions.

A Quinnipiac poll from late January found that voters oppose Musk playing a prominent role in the Trump administration by a 53% to 39% margin.

"Elon Musk, a powerful and pivotal player in Trump's inner circle, gets a shaky assessment from voters, with women clearly more critical of him than men," said Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy.

According to a more recent poll conducted by the American EV Jobs Alliance, a bipartisan group examining EV adoption across the political spectrum, EV drivers gave Musk a 35% positive rating, with 42% giving him a negative rating. His standing among female respondents had a deeper split (34% favorable, 43% unfavorable).

Musk going from "EV Jesus" to "MAGA god" is hurting Tesla's brand image, said Mike Murphy, veteran GOP strategist and CEO of American EV Jobs Alliance, to Automotive News. "Musk has more of a MAGA identity than an electric car identity. He's a nightmare for the Tesla chief marketing officer because he's now in the way."

Case in point: The survey polled likely EV buyers about their brand perception. Among EV competitors Ford, Toyota, and VW, Tesla had the lowest favorable rating (63%) and highest unfavorable (37%).

Tesla's diminished popularity comes at a time when federal EV tax credits could be cut under the Trump administration, meaning Tesla would have to compete on a more even ground with foreign automakers. The loss of EV tax credits would also push sales lower for the entire EV industry, of which Tesla is highly levered to given its all-EV product portfolio.

Even Tesla employees fear Musk has damaged the company's brand, as documented in a recent recording of a Tesla staff meeting obtained by the Washington Post. In another portion of the meeting, senior managers apparently indicated Tesla would be better off if Musk resigned.

While Tesla's official delivery report for the first quarter will come out in early April, Musk's and Tesla’s sinking brand image is already hitting hard in certain regions.

Germany reported only 1,277 new Tesla vehicles registered in January, down nearly 60% from the same month in 2024, on the heels of Musk's courting of the country's far-right AfD party. January sales fell 63% in France, 38% in Norway, and 12% in the UK.

Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch said Musk's foray into politics couldn't come at a worse time.

"We view Mr. Musk's political activity and increased regionalization as a potential overhang on TSLA sell-through. We see the biggest risk in CA and the broader EU, where TSLA has seen ongoing declines since the start of 2023," Rusch wrote last week, also highlighting softening January sales in China and the EU as a concern. ( Finance.yahoo.com).

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Meanwhile, Democracy had a win.

Wisconsin Supreme Court delivers win for voters.

In a victory for voters yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from a right-wing group seeking to limit early absentee voting sites. Cities can continue to use in-person early absentee locations and mobile voting vehicles.

The state Supreme Court will have a pivotal election in April that could either maintain or flip the 4-3 liberal majority. (Source. Democracy Docket).

One more thing.

We all know the pivotal election happening in Wisconsin, don’t we?

The Court’s liberal majority will then continue only if Susan Crawford, who faces Mega man, Brad Schimel, wins. Schimel supports a national abortion ban. Crawford will protect reproductive freedom and uphold the pro-choice majority on Wisconsin’s Court.

The election takes place on Tuesday, April 1.

Elon Musk has already begun to indicate his support for Schimel.

If you want to fight Trump, Musk, and MAGA extremists, donate to elect Susan Crawford here.

Will you share your support for Judge Crawford real and social media friends?

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Jim Acosta, formerly of CNN, asks the question we all have been asking.

Jim Acosta: I think the AP should consider whether or not to sue the administration… and the rest of the press corps should start seriously considering whether it’s worth sending everyone into the Oval Office, onto Air Force One, or into the briefing room.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-02-18T21:00:56.949Z

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Worth knowing.

The House GOP budget resolution is in trouble.

Speaker Mike Johnson is staring down at least a dozen Republican holdouts on the budget blueprint he wants to put on the House floor in the coming days — and he can only afford to lose one member and still approve the resolution along party lines.

Johnson and his whip team are using the current week-long recess to ramp up engagement with undecided Republicans, including seven members — if not more — who have raised serious concerns about deep cuts to Medicaid in the House GOP budget resolution. Several other members are wary of a move to raise the debt limit as part of the plan.

In private meetings and calls with these members over the last few days, Republican leaders have argued that adopting the budget blueprint is simply the first step toward being able to craft the massive legislative package to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda through the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process.

According to four people granted anonymity to share private conversations, GOP leaders are assuring members they can still debate the specifics of that package in the weeks ahead — appealing to them not to stand in the way of delivering Trump’s biggest priorities.

But the fiscal blueprint adopted by the House Budget Committee last week, to which GOP leaders negotiated a last-minute addition to appease hard-liners, would now require panels to reach a new target of $2 trillion in spending cuts to pay for the bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will need to cut $880 billion from programs under its purview, including Medicaid.

Many lawmakers aren’t convinced their colleagues will be able to achieve necessary savings without “significantly cutting” the safety net program, according to two Republicans aware of internal party conversations. The GOP plan to enact work requirements for Medicaid would only net about $100 billion in savings over 10 years.

The vulnerable incumbents wary of slashing Medicaid services include Reps. David Valadao of California, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania and others from redder districts. They were generally blindsided by the deeper level of proposed cuts, a Republican said, as that possibility never came up in earlier discussions with GOP leaders.

Now, the members want GOP leaders to explain how they’re going to cut $880 billion across Energy and Commerce programs “and not undermine the basic care provided by Medicaid as the President requested,” said another Republican aware of conversations.

Leaders are attending to concerns from other corners of their conference, too — for instance, a slice of lawmakers in high tax blue states remain wary that the budget plan doesn’t include enough room to increase the cap on a key deduction for state and local taxes in blue states.

The House GOP whip team on Monday evening called Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, along with several other remaining holdouts, to stave off opposition based on leadership’s plans to use the reconciliation bill to raise the debt limit, according to the four people familiar with the conversations. GOP leaders have said debt limit concerns among members have softened in recent weeks.

Burchett and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who also opposes raising the debt ceiling, want even deeper spending cuts across the board. Burchett is still undecided on the resolution and Massie has privately told other Republicans that he’s a “no” — though he’s pushing to include in the final bill his legislation that exempts Social Security benefits from income taxes and some Republicans feel he could be persuaded.

GOP leaders are also watching Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who has also pressed for more spending cuts. Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida has also pushed for the reconciliation package to include her “REINS Act” that would curtail federal rule-making.

Another complication to the House GOP whip operation is that Senate Republicans are speeding ahead this week to adopt their own budget resolution. For the time being, however, fiscal hard-liners in the House appear to be standing by their promise to support Johnson’s plan on the floor rather than jump ship for the Senate’s alternative.

Some White House officials and senior House GOP aides are even quietly hoping that the added pressure of Senate action forces House Republicans to fall in line on their side of the Capitol, according to two people aware of party strategy. Trump has yet to call key holdouts in order to secure their support. (Politico).

Let’s take back the House, certainly in 2026, but maybe before then, as Trump appointees and dropouts create openings.

The folks noted below 👇 are getting awfully nervous. Source is the Cook Report.

We all know there are terrible things happening - firings of 200,000 people, medical research stopped, firing and then trying to rehire those who oversee our nuclear arsenal.

The damage goes from high to low, big to small.

This was new yesterday.👇

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Update on World News.

After Walking a Fine Line With Trump, Zelensky Shows His Annoyance.

Left out of a meeting between American and Saudi officials, the Ukrainian leader also canceled a trip to Riyadh.

Shortly after the United States’ opening meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lashed out at the Trump administration’s negotiating tactics in his harshest terms yet for excluding Ukrainians from talks on their own country’s fate.

The meeting in Riyadh ended with an agreement to establish teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine and normalize relations, and with upbeat statements and pledges for closer ties between the United States and Russia — continuing a thaw in relations that Kyiv and European allies have found unnerving.

Mr. Zelensky protested his exclusion from the discussions by canceling his own planned trip to the Saudi capital.

“Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed,” Mr. Zelensky said from Turkey, where he had traveled as part of a planned tour of the Middle East. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, I think for many others as well.”

Ukraine, he said, learned of plans for the gathering from the media. Mr. Zelensky suggested that he had intended to meet American officials after the gathering in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on a previously scheduled state visit to Saudi Arabia.

“I don’t know who will stay, who will leave, or who is planning to go where. To be honest, I don’t care,” he said. “I don’t want coincidences, and that’s why I will not go to Saudi Arabia.”

Ukraine has been seeking talks that would provide it protection against future aggression by Russia, with a commitment of membership in NATO or peacekeepers deployed into the war zone. Ukraine has also asked nations to consider prosecutions for Russian war crimes and reparations for a conflict that has leveled whole cities and killed and wounded tens of thousands of civilians, as well as about a million soldiers on both sides.

Those kinds of demands were nowhere near the conversation in Riyadh, where American negotiators instead focused on “the incredible opportunities” that would come with an improved relationship with Moscow, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

But Mr. Zelensky insisted that the terms of any settlement negotiated without Ukraine “cannot be imposed” on Ukraine.

The pointed remarks represented a shift from Mr. Zelensky, who has tried to walk a fine line in the face of Trump administration pronouncements, avoiding direct criticism. He has offered praise in recent speeches and interviews, over the weekend telling NBC that President Trump could succeed in pressuring Russia into a settlement because the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, feared him.

But as the meeting in Riyadh came together, he sharpened his criticism of the negotiating process.

In an interview with the German broadcaster ARD on Monday, Mr. Zelensky said the United States was seeking a quick cease-fire by “saying things that Putin really likes.” The aim of the American negotiators, he said, was to move quickly to a presidential summit with Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin and announce a truce.

“But what they want, just a cease-fire, is not success,” Mr. Zelensky said.

The United States and European nations, he has said, should first outline the terms of postwar security in Ukraine, and he has insisted that Russia accept security guarantees to prevent violations or a resumption of the war.

Mr. Zelensky compared the Russia-U.S. talks that opened in Saudi Arabia to the negotiated end to America’s military presence in Afghanistan, which opened the door to the Taliban’s return to power after a 20-year American war. The United States negotiated directly with the Taliban, cutting out the American-backed Afghan government.

“I do not think that anybody is interested in Afghanistan 2.0,” Mr. Zelensky said in an interview broadcast before Saudi talks ended. “We remember what happened in Afghanistan when the Americans left in a hurry.” That pullout, he said, was an example of “what can happen when somebody doesn’t finish, doesn’t think and leaves in a hurry.”

Mr. Zelensky has also been rebutting accusations from Mr. Putin that he is an illegitimate leader because Ukraine has not held elections (it cannot do so while it is under martial law).

Asked whether the United States supports Russia’s demand that Ukraine hold elections before any final peace settlement, Mr. Trump said it was his administration that is pressing for Ukraine to have new elections soon, not Russia.

“Yeah, I would say that, you know, when they want a seat at the table, wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have to say, like, it’s been a long time since we’ve had an election?” he said. “That’s not a Russia thing, that’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also. You know, Ukraine is just being wiped out.”

In fact, Russia and the United States are the only notable countries calling for elections soon in Ukraine.

Mr. Trump claimed that Mr. Zelensky’s approval rating had declined because of the destruction in Ukraine and falsely suggested that the Ukrainian president was to blame for the devastation caused by Russia.

In a sign the negotiations in Riyadh brought no immediate change in how the war is being fought, antiaircraft gunfire rattled in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to repel Russian exploding drones about seven hours after the discussions wrapped up.

The United States has been the largest single supplier of military and financial aid to Ukraine since Russia’s all-out invasion in 2022, though the European Union nations collectively have provided more. Several European heads of state, also excluded from the talks, convened on Monday in Paris to gauge what military assistance or peacekeeping troops European countries could commit to secure a possible cease-fire.

Ukraine depends on the United States for satellite intelligence and air defenses, including Patriot interceptors, which are its only reliable shield against Russian ballistic missiles. Ground troops are less dependent on American weaponry, as combat has evolved during the war. Ukraine’s domestically made exploding drones now inflict a majority of casualties on Russian troops.

Over the course of the war, Ukraine has fought Russia’s far larger and better equipped army to a near standstill, though momentum is now clearly in Russia’s favor. Since November 2022, about half of 1 percent of Ukrainian land has changed hands in violent but largely static combat. Russia is now creeping forward in a bloody but slow-moving offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

“At this point, it is clear that neither side will win this war on the battlefield,” Mr. Zelensky said on Tuesday. “Russia wanted this, it failed. No one believed in Ukraine, yet we proved ourselves and defended our independence at an incredibly high cost in the lives of our soldiers, our people. This proves that a shift toward diplomacy must happen, but it must lead to a just peace.”

Mr. Zelensky has said he hopes to reach an agreement with the Trump administration that would exchange a share of profits from natural resources for military aid. A Trump administration proposal had demanded half of the government’s proceeds from natural resources, an official familiar with the proposal said.

Mr. Zelensky had balked at the deal, saying it did not detail any security commitments from the United States in exchange.

“This is a very important issue for us, and we are highly interested in signing an agreement” with the United States, Mr. Zelensky said in a video call with reporters in Kyiv on Monday from Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

Mr. Zelensky, though, said that Europe was also interested in investing in Ukraine. “I told our American partners that we also have offers from Europe,” he said. Mr. Zelensky has said any deal on resources in Ukraine should consider other backers of the Ukrainian war effort. (New York Times).

There will be Republican protests too.

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See you tomorrow!

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