{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-op-ed-in-time-the-plan-to-fight-back", "Warren Op-Ed in TIME: The Plan to Fight Back", "2024-11-08", "2024", "2024-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren Op-Ed in TIME: The Plan to Fight Back\n\n\u201cAmericans do not want a country where political parties each field their own team of billionaires who then squabble over how to divvy up the spoils of government.\u201d\n\n\u201c(I)f Democrats want to earn back the trust of working people and govern again, we need to convince voters we can\u2014and will\u2014unrig the economy.\u201d\n\nOp-Ed in TIME Magazine\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) published an op-ed in TIME Magazine laying out what Democrats must learn from President-elect Trump\u2019s win and how we can fight back to earn the trust of Americans.\n\nRead the full op-ed here and below:\n\nTIME Magazine \u2013 Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Here's the Plan to Fight Back\n\nNovember 7, 2024\n\nTo everyone who feels like their heart has been ripped out of their chest, I feel the same. To everyone who is afraid of what happens next, I share your fears. But what we do next is important, and I need you in this fight with me.\n\nAs we confront a second Donald Trump presidency, we have two tasks ahead. First, try to learn from what happened. And then, make a plan.\n\nMany political experts and D.C. insiders are already blaming President Joe Biden\u2019s economic agenda for Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 loss. This does not stand up to scrutiny. Even though the Biden economy produced strong economic growth while reining in inflation, incumbent parties across the globe have been tossed out by voters after the pandemic. American voters also showed support for Democratic economic policies, for example, approving ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage in Alaska and to guarantee paid sick leave in Missouri.\n\nBut good economic policies do not erase painful underlying truths about our country. For my entire career, I\u2019ve studied how the system is rigged against working-class families. On paper, the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world. But working families are struggling with big expenses like the cost of housing, health care, and childcare. Giant corporations get tax breaks and favorable rules while workers are gouged by higher prices. Billionaires pay paltry taxes on their wealth while families can\u2019t afford to buy their first homes.\n\nAmericans do not want a country where political parties each field their own team of billionaires who then squabble over how to divvy up the spoils of government. Vice President Harris deserves credit for running an inspiring campaign under unprecedented circumstances. But if Democrats want to earn back the trust of working people and govern again, we need to convince voters we can\u2014and will\u2014unrig the economy.\n\nWhat comes next? Trump won the election, but more than 67 million people voted for Democrats and they don\u2019t expect us to roll over and play dead. We will have a peaceful transition of power, followed by a vigorous challenge from the party out of power, because that\u2019s how democracy works. Here\u2019s a path forward.\n\nFirst, fight every fight in Congress.\n\nWe won\u2019t always win, but we can slow or sometimes limit Trump\u2019s destruction. With every fight, we can build political power to put more checks on his administration and build the foundation for future wins. Remember that during the first Trump term, mass mobilization\u2014including some of the largest peaceful protests in world history\u2014was the battery that charged the resistance. There is power in solidarity, and we can\u2019t win if we don\u2019t get in the fight.\n\nDuring the Trump years, Congress stepped up its oversight of his unprecedented corruption and abuses of power. In the Senate, Democrats gave no quarter to radical Trump nominees; we asked tough questions and held the Senate floor for hours to slow down confirmation and expose Republican extremism. These tactics doomed some nominations entirely, laid the groundwork for other cabinet officials to later resign in disgrace, and brought scrutiny that somewhat constrained Trump\u2019s efforts.\n\nWhen all this work came together, we won some of the toughest fights. Remember Republicans\u2019 attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act? Democrats did not have the votes to stop the repeal. Nevertheless, we fought on. Patients kept up a relentless rotation of meetings in Congress, activists in wheelchairs performed civil disobedience, and lawmakers used every tactic possible\u2014late night speeches, forums highlighting patient stories, committee reports, and procedural tactics\u2014to draw attention to the Republican repeal effort. This sustained resistance ultimately shifted the politics of health care repeal. The final vote was a squeaker, but Republicans lost and the ACA survived.\n\nDemocrats should also acknowledge that seeking a middle ground with a man who calls immigrants \u201canimals\u201d and says he will \u201cprotect\u201d women \u201cwhether the women like it or not\u201d is unlikely to land in a good place. Uniting against Trump\u2019s legislative agenda is good politics because it is good policy. It was Democratic opposition to Trump\u2019s tax bill that drove Trump\u2019s approval ratings to what was then the lowest levels of his administration, forcing Republicans to scrap all mention of the law ahead of the 2018 midterm election and helping spark one of the largest blue waves in recent history.\n\nSecond, fight Trump in the courts.\n\nYes, extremist courts, including a Supreme Court stocked with MAGA loyalists, are poised to rubber-stamp Trump\u2019s lawlessness. But litigation can slow Trump down, give us time to prepare and help the vulnerable, and deliver some victories.\n\nThird, focus on what each of us can do.\n\nI understand my assignment in the Senate, but we all have a part to play. During the first Trump administration, Democrats vigorously contested every special election and laid the groundwork to take back the House in the 2018 midterms, creating a powerful check on Trump and breaking the Republican trifecta. Whether it\u2019s stepping up to run for office, supporting a neighbor\u2019s campaign, or getting involved in an organization taking action, we all have to continue to make investments in our democracy\u2014including in states that are passed over as \u201ctoo red.\u201d The political position we\u2019re in is not permanent, and we have the power to make change if we fight for it.\n\nFinally, Democrats currently in office must work with urgency.\n\nWhile still in charge of the Senate and the White House, we must do all we can to safeguard our democracy. To resist Trump\u2019s threats to abuse state power against what he calls \u201cthe enemy within,\u201d Pentagon leaders should issue a directive now reiterating that the military\u2019s oath is to the Constitution. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators\u2014none of whom can be removed by the next President.\n\nTo those feeling despair: I understand. But remember, every step toward progress in American history came after the darkness of defeat. Abolitionists, suffragettes, Dreamers, and marchers for civil rights and marriage equality all faced impossible odds, but they persisted. Now it is our turn to pull up our socks and get back in the fight.\n\nElizabeth Warren is a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:02:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-op-ed-in-time-the-plan-to-fight-back"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6774139367043972, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}