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Democratic-leaning donor group opposition to the Trump administration, 2017

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Days after the 2016 election, politicians, organizations, and others began to strategize about opposing Republican President Donald Trump's policies and administration. This page chronicles tactics that donor organizations developed to oppose Trump's policy agenda. The opposition strategies outlined below are tactics that have been reported by notable, reliable sources. This page was last updated in August 2017.

Donor groups

American Civil Liberties Union

See also: American Civil Liberties Union
  • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which typically pursues litigation of what the group perceives to be civil rights violations, began an initiative called the Smart Justice Campaign, aimed at ending incarceration practices at the local and state levels. According to Politico, the organization began working to challenge the policies and procedures of the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU's program, said the group would employ a strategy aimed at litigation and winning elections for local prosecutors with the ultimate goal of changing prosecuting and incarceration procedures. Ofer told Politico, "If we’re ever going to genuinely transform our nation’s criminal justice system, then we have to overhaul prosecutorial practices. If there’s one person in the system that can end mass incarceration tomorrow if they wanted to, it’s prosecutors."[1]
  • On July 10, 2017, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Trump, Vice President Mike Pence (R), and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), alleging that the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was established by executive order and co-chaired by Pence and Kobach, violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The complaint alleged, in part, that the committee's actions were not in line with the committee's purpose, as the ACLU saw the committee's requests for voter information to be outside the committee's stated purpose of reporting on federal laws and practices regarding voting.[2][3]
  • On August 28, 2017, the ACLU's Maryland chapter filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's policy toward transgender people serving in the military. Trump signed a directive on August 25 that re-instituted a ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces, a reversal of an Obama administration policy directive. The ACLU argued that the ban was unconstitutional and discriminated against transgender people.[4]

Center for American Progress

See also: Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress is a progressive nonprofit organization with both a 501(c)(3) think tank—which The Washington Post called "the preeminent liberal think tank in Washington"—and a 501(c)(4) action fund. Through the development of public information and communication networks, the center attempts to move its agenda into the national policy debate.[5][6]

  • In December 2016, the Center for American Progress announced it would oppose Trump's agenda through increased tracking and accountability efforts. At the time, the group's CEO and president, Neera Tanden, said, "[H]e promised to ‘drain the swamp’ and improve the lives of middle-class Americans, and where he betrays those promises, we want to make it clear to the public that he’s done so." The organization's 501(c)(4) arm launched an online tracker of Trump's statements and actions and described the effort as "your digital guide for resisting Trump."[7]
  • In March 2017, the organization announced it would hold the Ideas Conference, a meeting of Democratic lawmakers and policy experts based loosely on the model of the CPAC conference held by the American Conservative Union. According to Politico, the conference was intended to feature "substantive proposals on the economy, climate change, national security, civil rights, reproductive rights and immigration rather than just political attacks on Trump."[8]

Center for Popular Democracy

See also: Center for Popular Democracy
  • In May 2017, at the spring gala for the Center for Popular Democracy Action, the 501(c)(4) organization announced a plan to spend $80 million to coordinate work with 48 smaller donor groups in 32 states. According to CNN, the effort began as an attempt "on the left to channel anger at the Trump administration into a lasting power base, with the ability to influence policy debates within the Democratic Party while boosting candidates on the local, state and federal levels."[9]

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

See also: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
  • On January 23, 2017, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump was in violation of the emoluments clause. The organization’s statement about the suit said, “Since Trump refused to divest from his businesses, he is now getting cash and favors from foreign governments, through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real estate deals abroad.”[10] Two new plaintiffs—a restaurant association and a banquet hall booker in Washington, D.C.—joined the suit in April.[11] In August 2017, Judge George Daniels ordered for oral arguments to begin on October 18, 2017.[12] On December 21, 2017, Judge Daniels dismissed CREW's lawsuit, saying that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue Trump. Daniels held that Congress has the power to act on and enforce the emoluments clause, while private citizens do not. At the time, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs said that they planned to appeal the decision.[13][14]
  • On July 6, 2017, CREW filed an ethics complaint against Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, claiming that Kushner failed to declare ownership in Cadre, an online real estate company. The organization's lawsuit claimed that Kushner's failure to disclose his ownership presented conflicts of interest. CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement, "Kushner’s failure to disclose his ownership in Cadre is very troubling,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. It appears to be one of his larger investments, not something he could easily overlook, and it is impossible to ensure that senior government officials are behaving ethically if they fail to disclose key assets."[15]
  • CREW, along with the National Security Archive and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, sued the Trump administration for visitor records at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club in Florida. According to Politico, the club did not keep records of guests, but the organization was authorized to receive "records of presidential visitors at Mar-a-Lago." CREW spokesperson Jordan Libowitz said, "What that means is somewhat of a mystery, but whatever records they kept, we will be getting."[16]
  • On August 23, 2017, CREW filed a Freedom of Information Act request to view records related to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's use of a private government plan to travel to Lexington, Kentucky. The group alleges that statements by Mnuchin's spouse, Louise Linton, show that the two traveled to Kentucky to get a better view of the total solar eclipse. CREW's statement read, in part, "The requested records would shed light on the justification for Secretary Mnuchin’s use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipse’s totality."[17]

Democracy Alliance

See also: Democracy Alliance

The Democracy Alliance (DA) is an invite-only network of wealthy supporters of progressive political causes. Rather than pooling and redirecting donations to other organizations, the alliance advises its donors (referred to as partners) on how to maximize the effectiveness of their political giving. Individual partners must pay an entry fee ($25,000) and yearly dues ($30,000) to the group itself, used for operations costs and for grants to progressive startups. They must also spend at least $200,000 annually in support of approved organizations.

  • From November 13 to 16, 2016, the DA hosted a meeting of donors, partners, and supporters to discuss the 2016 election and develop strategies for future coalition building and elections.[18] During the meeting, DA members outlined their intent to oppose Trump's policy initiatives through local- and state-level intersectional organizing. According to the conference agenda, DA members discussed "what it means to use an 'intersectional' approach for active resistance. ... Our investment in the states and marginalized communities is now more crucial than ever to hold conservatives accountable, keep the progressive community united, and bring the working class together again."[19]
  • At the DA's national donor summit in March 2017, DA President Gara LaMarche remarked on the organization's approach to opposing the Trump policy agenda, saying that resisting the Trump administration was about "the essential character of our country." LaMarche added:[20]
“ We must take the fight to the states, and put our dollars where they are most needed. To paint the future in places where we have some power, like Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and California, so that when we win back power in other places there is a roadmap for a better America. To keep and expand our gains in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Mexico and North Carolina. To take back Ohio and Michigan and Florida and Wisconsin. To keep our eyes on the prizes of Arizona, Georgia and my beloved Texas, and down the line, southern states with now un-registered Black and Immigrant voters, and prairie and western states where proud progressive populist traditions can be reawakened.[21] ”
  • The DA held a fall investment conference from November 15 to 18, 2017. The conference agenda included sessions on the "Next Fights of the Resistance and the 2018 Midterms," "Aligning New and Traditional Resistance Energy to Win," and "Moving Beyond #Resistance-Learning from the Past, Mobilizing for the Future."[22]
  • The Washington Post dismissed Janell Ross, a former reporter on the newspaper's national desk, after the Washington Free Beacon reported that Ross had participated in a panel during the November 2017 DA conference. According to CNN report in January 2018, Ross' activity at the conference violated the policy of the Post that "discourages participation in any activity that could be perceived as partisan." The Post declined to comment on the timeline of Ross' dismissal.[23]

David Brock-aligned organizations

See also: David Brock

David Brock is a progressive donor and activist who started the 501(c)(3) Media Matters for America as well as American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record, two progressive super PACs.

  • In a December 2016 interview with Politico, Brock said he intended to build a litigation organization to bring legal pressure on Trump throughout his presidency. Comparing this effort to Judicial Watch, a conservative litigation group, Brock said, "I would like to get Trump into discovery. I would like to subpoena him. I would like to put him under oath. ... I think we need a strategy around how to use the power we have and a lot of that will be about litigation."[24]
  • Brock led a donor retreat in January 2017 to discuss paths forward for Democratic donors and strategists. During the retreat, he said that his organizations aimed to raise $40 million, with half going to 501(c)(3) organizations and half going to 501(c)(4) organizations and super PACs.
    • The 501(c)(4) groups would focus on opposition research and had decided to work on all competitive 2018 races for U.S. Senate as well as the 2017 races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, according to Politico.[25]
    • In prepared remarks at the donor retreat, Brock laid out details on American Bridge's anti-Trump efforts. On January 20, 2017, Brock said:[26]
“ American Bridge has already set up a world-class vetting operation, the largest in the Democratic Party, to investigate the records of some 1,200 potential Trump nominees to federal office. We will do this with eyes wide open. Even if most of the nominees are eventually confirmed, by making the confirmation process as painful as possible, for every moment the Administration spends on defense, we're educating Americans on what this administration is about. ... We're also researching Trump's policy agenda to illustrate its impacts, especially on working families, women, immigrants and people of color. American Bridge will communicate its findings to Congress, the news media, progressive allies and to the public directly, including, critically, a targeted campaign to reach Trump's own supporters on social media and through paid advertising.[21] ”
  • The State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a nonprofit organization that Brock supported and encouraged further donation to, announced a major expansion of its board and budget. The organization focuses on state-level issues concerning redistricting and recruiting state-level candidates. SiX was organized and funded as a progressive alternative to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Republican State Leadership Committee. According to Politico, "The goal behind expanding the board was two-fold: to bring together the divergent groups jockeying for control of the Democratic Party, and raise some big money to compete with the deep-pocketed constellation of conservative groups that have long given the GOP an advantage at the state level."[27]

Electronic Privacy Information Center

  • On February 16, 2017, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sued the Internal Revenue service under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting access to Trump's tax returns. The group's request was denied on March 2, and the organization refiled the claim on March 29.[28] In their letter of appeal and reapplication, the organization wrote, "If the Freedom of Information Act means anything, it means that the American public has the right to know whether records exist in a federal agency which reveal that the U.S. president has financial dealings with a foreign adversary."[29]

NAACP

See also: NAACP
  • On May 19, 2017, the board for the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization, voted to dismiss the organization's president, Cornell William Brooks. The dismissal was due, in part, to the organization's desire to oppose Trump more directly. Board chairman Leon Russell told The Washington Post, "I think Cornell was good at raising the issue in terms of going out and being able to do the protest part of it. But we are now at the point where the issues are raised. Everyone is aware of them. But it’s time to put something on the table to actualize solutions." At that time, the group intended to increase support for local chapters in an effort to train activists to oppose the Trump administration.[30]

National Education Association

See also: National Education Association

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States and represents public education professionals.

  • After Trump announced he would nominate Michigan philanthropist and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to be secretary of education on November 23, 2016, the NEA began a letter-writing campaign to oppose DeVos' nomination. The call for letters read, "By nominating Betsy DeVos, the incoming Trump administration is demonstrating it does not share our vision of public education and what works best for students, parents, and communities. Tell your senators that we need an experienced, qualified secretary of education who actually wants to strengthen and improve all public schools. Contact your senators now, and tell them to vote NO on Betsy DeVos."[31]

NextGen Climate Action

See also: NextGen Climate Action
  • NextGen Climate Action, the environmental issues super PAC run by billionaire Tom Steyer, announced on January 31, 2017, that it would expand its political efforts beyond environmental concerns. In a video announcing the expansion, Steyer solicited ideas from the public about how to oppose Trump's administration.[32] Buzzfeed reported that Steyer was considering a number of anti-Trump options, including "organizing a network of nationwide activists, registering voters, forming alliances with other liberal groups — while still investing millions in progressive candidates."[33]

Organizing for Action

See also: Organizing for Action
  • In August 2017, Politico reported that Organizing for Action (OFA)—a nonprofit built from the Obama 2012 re-election campaign—had taken on a role in opposition to the Trump administration and in opposition to congressional attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Operating with a "state- and district-focused strategy," OFA worked to protest repeal attempts while also training other activist organizations opposing Trump's policy agenda. According to Politico, the group had worked with Indivisible—an organization founded to oppose Trump—and Swing Left—a group supportive of progressive candidates in 2018 House races. OFA also worked with Democratic lawmakers to help organize events.[34]

The People's Defense

In February 2017, Democratic-leaning organizations opposing Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court coalesced into a group calling itself The People's Defense. Members of The People’s Defense included:[35]

The coalition aimed to present Gorsuch as a judge who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade and who would be favorable to corporations.[36] In March 2017, the group launched an online ad campaign aimed at Democratic senators up for election in 2018 who represented states Trump carried in 2016. The ads encouraged voters to call senators and express unfavorable opinions on Gorsuch. The organization specifically targeted Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), advertising on Facebook, “Gorsuch has sided with an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, favored big corporations over employees, and would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Call Senator Bob Casey and tell him to keep Gorsuch off the bench.”[37]

Public Citizen

See also: Public Citizen

Public Citizen is an organization founded by Ralph Nader that focuses on what it claims are "abusive practices of the pharmaceutical, nuclear and automobile industries, and many others."[38]

  • On February 8, 2017, Public Citizen, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Communications Workers of America, filed suit claiming that Trump had overstepped his authority in issuing an executive order to cut two regulations for each new regulation established.[39] The suit argued, in part, that the requirement to cut two regulations violates "the statutes from which the agencies derive their rulemaking authority and the Administrative Procedure Act" and would "block or force the repeal of regulations needed to protect health, safety, and the environment, across a broad range of topics."
  • On August 17, 2017, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit to gain access to visitors logs to the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality, all offices located within the White House but not considered to be core offices of the White House. Visitors logs to core offices are not accessible by Freedom of Information Act requests.[40] A spokesperson for Public Citizen told Politico, "The D.C. Circuit has already held that the records we requested are agency records subject to FOIA. There is no legal justification for the Secret Service to withhold them."[41]

reFocus50

  • In March 2017, activists in Alaska, Colorado, New York, and Ohio organized a national nonprofit organization called reFocus50 in an effort to focus on Democratic strategy at the state level. The organization was designed to educate the public and policymakers about state politics and policy.[42] According to the organization's website, the national nonprofit was set up to provide an umbrella organization for many state-level groups. In March 2017, their site described these efforts: "reFOCUS 50 is designed to be an umbrella with an individual organization in each state run by people in that state. If there's an existing group that wants to be involved, wonderful. We don't want to get into duplicating effort or in the way of the hard work organizations have been doing around the country. If a state needs a group created from scratch, we'll identify local leaders who will be in charge of the effort."[43]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Politico, "The ACLU’s Radical Plan to Fight Jeff Sessions," May 16, 2017
  2. ↑ Politico, "ACLU sues Trump over election integrity commission," July 10, 2017
  3. ↑ ACLU, "American Civil Liberties Union v. Donald Trump - Complaint," July 10, 2017
  4. ↑ Politico, "Pair of new lawsuits challenge Trump's transgender ban," August 28, 2017
  5. ↑ The Washington Post, “Center for American Progress, poised to wield influence over 2016, reveals its top donors,” accessed June 26, 2015
  6. ↑ Center for American Progress Action Fund, "About," accessed June 30, 2015
  7. ↑ Center for American Progress Action, "Trump Transition Tracker," archived January 18, 2017
  8. ↑ Politico, "Next step in Dem realignment: Their own CPAC," March 8, 2017
  9. ↑ CNN, "Progressive activists to unveil new $80 million network," May 23, 2017
  10. ↑ Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, "CREW sues Trump over emoluments," January 22, 2017
  11. ↑ The Washington Post, "Two plaintiffs join suit against Trump, alleging breach of emoluments clause," April 17, 2017
  12. ↑ Politico, "Judges sets Oct. 18 arguments in Trump foreign emoluments suit," August 9, 2017
  13. ↑ NPR, "Trump Wins First Round In Legal Battle Over Emoluments," December 21, 2017
  14. ↑ Washington Times, "Judge dismisses emoluments clause lawsuit against Trump," December 21, 2017
  15. ↑ Newsweek, "Conflicts Of Interest? Jared Kushner Just Had An Ethics Complaint Filed Against Him Over Business Ownership," July 6, 2017
  16. ↑ Politico, "Watchdog group says Trump will have to turn over Mar-a-Lago visitor records," July 17, 2017
  17. ↑ Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, "August 23, 2017: U.S. Department of Treasury - Mnuchin," August 23, 2017
  18. ↑ Politico, "Soros bands with donors to resist Trump, 'take back power,'" November 14, 2016
  19. ↑ Politico, "Democracy Alliance 2016 Investment Conference agenda," accessed November 18, 2016
  20. ↑ Democracy Alliance, "Democracy in the Balance: A Time to Resist and Restore," March 25, 2017
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  22. ↑ Democracy Alliance, "Fall Investment Conference agenda," accessed January 5, 2018
  23. ↑ CNN, "Washington Post reporter who spoke at liberal event put on leave," January 11, 2018
  24. ↑ Politico, "Liberals cribbing from conservatives’ playbook to attack Trump," December 16, 2016
  25. ↑ Politico, "Brock groups set $40 million budget to fight Trump," January 21, 2017
  26. ↑ The Washington Free Beacon, "Read David Brock’s Speech to His Left-Wing Donor Retreat," January 20, 2017
  27. ↑ Politico, "David Brock, donors wade into state fights," February 22, 2017
  28. ↑ Politico, "EPIC sues IRS over Trump's tax returns," April 15, 2017
  29. ↑ [https://epic.org/foia/irs/trump-taxes/EPIC-17-02-16-IRS-FOIA-20170329-Appeal.pdf Electronic Privacy Information Center, "EPIC IRS Renewed FOIA Request & Appeal," March 29, 2017]
  30. ↑ The Washington Post, "NAACP president is dismissed in board vote," May 19, 2017
  31. ↑ National Education Association, "Oppose Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education," archived January 19, 2017
  32. ↑ Facebook, "Tom Steyer Video," January 31, 2017
  33. ↑ Buzzfeed, "Tom Steyer Moves Beyond Climate," February 1, 2017
  34. ↑ Politico, "Obama's army takes on Trump," August 6, 2017
  35. ↑ The People’s Defense, "The People's Defense," accessed March 22, 2017
  36. ↑ NARAL Pro Choice America, "Progressive Groups of the People’s Defense Statement on Strategy to Defeat Gorsuch Nomination," March 14, 2017
  37. ↑ Politico, "The People's Defense Advertisement," accessed March 22, 2017
  38. ↑ Public Citizen, "About," accessed June 19, 2015
  39. ↑ Politico, "Trump faces suit over 2-for-1 executive order on regulations," February 8, 2017
  40. ↑ Public Citizen, "Public Citizen v. United States Secret Service," August 17, 2017
  41. ↑ Politico, "Suit demands visitor logs for parts of White House," August 17, 2017
  42. ↑ Governing, "Can Democrats Channel Anti-Trump Anger Into Votes at the State Level?" March 15, 2017
  43. ↑ reFocus50, "Mission," accessed March 17, 2017
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