1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand that you hold the Trump administration accountable for actions that threaten our democratic institutions and constitutional safeguards. Recent developments reveal a pattern of executive overreach that requires immediate congressional intervention. Senator Ron Wyden, the longest-serving member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, published a letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe expressing deep concerns about classified CIA activities. His cryptic public warning suggests troubling activities he cannot directly reveal due to classification. This follows Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's seizure of voting machines in Puerto Rico without evidence of foreign interference, as Senator Mark Warner noted. Gabbard also illegally withheld a May 2025 whistleblower complaint from congressional intelligence committees for six months, only releasing a heavily redacted version under claims of executive privilege. The FBI has summoned state election officials for an unusual briefing on February 25 regarding midterm preparations, with one top official calling it the strangest thing in the world. Combined with attempts to classify election matters as foreign affairs where the Supreme Court grants presidential deference, these actions suggest potential interference in the 2026 election. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries outlined reasonable demands for Department of Homeland Security funding, including requiring judicial warrants for home entries, mandating visible identification on agents, and establishing body cameras for accountability. Republican leadership called these basic constitutional protections unrealistic and extreme, though Representative Brian Fitzpatrick agreed agents need body cameras, proper identification, and training. The New START treaty expired on February 5, removing caps on nuclear warheads for the United States and Russia. This creates urgent national security risks that demand immediate attention. I urge you to support congressional investigations into intelligence agency activities, demand transparency regarding election interference, back the Democratic funding requirements for DHS operations, and prioritize negotiating a new nuclear arms treaty. Our constitutional system depends on congressional oversight functioning as the founders intended.