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How Senate Democrats Can Shut Down Trump's Agenda with Procedural Hardball

To: Sen. Merkley, Sen. Wyden

From: A constituent in Albany, OR

February 3, 2025

I was moved by another writer's letter, and am re-sending this letter verbatim, so you know that I agree! Trump’s blitzkrieg power-grab begs a question: what, if anything, can you in the minority do? Republicans in the Senate love to act like their majority gives them unchecked power—but it doesn’t. The rules of the Senate are designed to protect the rights of the minority, and you have tools at your disposal to grind Senate business to a halt. Blanket Opposition There’s no excuse for you to be confirming any of Trump’s nominees for any agency while this power grab continues. These nominees have repeatedly stated their loyalty to Trump and his agenda—it’s the number one thing he looks for in a cabinet official. You won’t be able to block every nominee. But you should not be complicit in the coup attempt, and force Republicans to put up every vote for their agenda. Weaponizing Quorum Calls Most of the time, Senators are not on the Senate floor. But technically, the Senate is not allowed to conduct official business unless a majority of senators are present. The friendly thing to do is to NOT ask if there is a quorum. But you can use your power in the minority to call for a quorum and cause massive disruptions by constantly demanding quorum calls and even walking out to deny Republicans the ability to govern. Blocking Unanimous Consent Unanimous consent is the grease that keeps the Senate moving. Normally, the Senate runs on handshake deals—routine matters like scheduling votes, moving bills forward, or skipping over procedural steps all happen only if no senator objects. If even one Democrat objects, it forces the Senate to go through long, time-consuming processes to get anything done. What Will This Get Us? Time The reason Trump is doing so much so fast is to “flood the zone” and avoid allowing sufficient public pressure to build to stop him. While you are in the minority and can’t unilaterally stop Senate business, you can slow it down to a crawl. Our goal is to slow things down to allow public attention to focus on what exactly is happening—and translate that attention into backlash. Dems Need To Fight Back Trump and the GOP are counting on you to play by the old rules while they bulldoze democracy. But the real power of the Senate isn’t just in votes—it’s in procedural warfare. The more you disrupt, obstruct, and delay, the less damage Republicans can do. This is about using every tool available to fight back, slow them down, and make governing so painful for Republicans that they can’t steamroll their agenda. We need you to step up and shut it all down. You have the tools. You just need the will. Use every procedural weapon in the arsenal. No business as usual. No cooperation with extremists. No easy path for Trump’s agenda.

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