Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
It’s been quite a morning.
First, in case you missed it, we had excellent breaking news out of Texas: a Trump-appointed federal judge just blocked Texas’s new racially gerrymandered congressional map and ruled that the state must use the 2021 map for the midterms. Wow! This ruling will certainly be appealed, but what a delight to get to watch Republicans squirm while they wait for a SCOTUS decision! They’re going to lose a ton of sleep over it—especially since California passed Prop 50 in direct response to their new maps and, in the process, enabled Democrats to pick up 5 extra seats in next year’s midterms.
The idea that Republicans could be “hoist by their own gerrymandering petard,” so to speak, is truly delectable. Because remember, Trump started this process and forced it to happen against pretty much everyone’s will. He knew his policies were unpopular and that Republicans were going to be electorally demolished next year, so he decided they needed to cheat in order to hold the House. He strong armed Texas into rigging their maps for him, and in so doing he’s now set them—and the Republican party in general— up for all kinds of chaos. There’s even a chance that his machinations could end up losing, not gaining the GOP seats next year. You have to love it!
I hold little to no faith that the Supreme Court will uphold this ruling, of course, but it could happen. Anyway, a girl can dream.
In other huge news, the Epstein Files Transparency Act just passed overwhelmingly—427-1—in the House. (The one holdout was Republican Clay Higgins.) Make no mistake—this is a victory that stems straight from victims’ and advocates’ tenacity—and yours, too! Trump did everything in his power to stop this day from coming, as did Mike Johnson. They’ve gone to extraordinary lengths for almost a year to block this effort. But they underestimated the collective desire to see this information come out.
So pat yourself on the back for helping us get to this huge milestone. Do we have a long way to go from here? Certainly, and Trump will try to obstruct progress every step of the way. But can we get to full transparency if we keep trying and never let up?
YES. I truly believe we can. Next stop is the Senate, and I’ve got a couple of calls for you to make below!
There’s more in the news, of course, including Trump’s abhorrent comments to a female journalist yesterday, the Saudi Crown Prince’s unthinkable presence in the Oval Office today, and the continued buildup of military forces in Venezuela. But we don’t just talk endlessly here—we act! So I’ll stop my coverage now and trust that you’ll find more information about the rest of the news elsewhere.
It’s time for us to get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I’m calling because I’m disgusted by how Donald Trump talks to female journalists — and women in general. I’m tired of everyone treating it like it’s normal. It’s not. Has the Senator made a statement condemning the president’s calling a female journalist “Piggy” this week? If not, they need to. If they expect women to vote for them they need to stand up for women in return. Period.
Second, now that the Epstein Files Transparency Act has passed in the House I want to see it come up for a vote in the Senate quickly. Please pressure Majority Leader Thune to bring it to the floor right away. And of course I expect the Senator to vote yes. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
[Unless your Rep is Clay Higgins] First of all, please thank the Congressmember for voting to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act today. Americans are thrilled that this bill has passed. I hope it has a speedy journey through the Senate.
Second, I’m calling to demand that the Congressmember support H.R. 6019 to repeal the provision in the recent spending bill that allows senators to sue the US government for investigating their phone records. Giving a handful of senators an unfair advantage at the expense of taxpayers is unacceptable and should never have been a part of the legislation. [H/T 5 calls]
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s call Senate Majority Leader Thune about the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
(202) 224-2321 or (605) 348-7551 or (605) 225-8823 or (605) 334-9596
We can say:
Hi, my name is _____ and I’m calling from [city, state]. I’m calling the Senator in his capacity as Majority Leader. Now that the Epstein Files Transparency Act has passed in the House we want to see it come up for a vote quickly in the Senate. Please ask Majority Leader Thune to bring it to the floor right away. These victims have waited long enough. We need the full files to come out now. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
Abortion Access & Young People
Thursday, November 20 | noon PT | 3pm ET
Shout Your Abortion is holding one of their excellent Abortion Academy events to discuss the barriers and state of access for young people in the US when it comes to abortion.
They’ll talk with Youth Access Counsel Katie Baylie (If/When/How) and the general state of access for young people post-Dobbs, including recent developments including the push to ban abortion support and the weaponization of “parental rights;” and will delve deeper into the specific barriers that youth are facing in the Southeast with Deb Coffy (Advocates for Youth), including threats to judicial bypass in Florida, proliferation of abortion bans in the region, and the recent shutdown of Planned Parenthood clinics.
These SYA “Abortion Acadamy” webinars are amazing. Hope you can make it!
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
Here’s some important information to amplify on energy prices:
This winter, because of Donald Trump’s energy cost crisis, Americans are facing steep increases to heat their homes.
The average utility bill for families in 2025 is estimated to be a whopping $976 — a 7.6% increase compared to last year.
The cost increases are even steeper for rural Americans living in the South and Appalachia.
Utility bills are skyrocketing even though Trump promised to cut prices in half within 18 months.
It’s the latest sign that Americans are struggling, even as Trump says he doesn’t “want to hear about” affordability.
1 in 4 U.S. households lives paycheck to paycheck.
1 in 20 families, roughly 14 million Americans, have taken on debt to pay their utility costs.
Since Trump took office, roughly 117,000 more households are drowning in overdue utility debt.
Trump is ignoring these flashing economic warning signs — even after voters in New Jersey and Virginia ranked affordability as their top issue in the November elections.
Grab your Wallet! 💳
There was a call yesterday about the We Ain’t Buying It campaign. Here’s the recording.
As a follow-up to the briefing, please use this toolkit to help spread the message about this boycott. Encourage people to refuse to buy from Amazon, Target, and Home Depot—companies enabling the Trump regime—from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Instead, we’re urging everyone to support local businesses.
Win Races! 🗳
Today is the first day to sign up to write News Boosting postcards with Postcards to Swing States to help combat disinformation and make sure voters in Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and North Carolina learn how harmful the Trump/GOP agenda is for them. All five states have key elections in 2026.
Here’s everything you need to know about these News Boosting Postcards:
What is the goal? New information from credible messengers is what’s proven to persuade voters. These postcards make sure voters hear about the harmful Trump/GOP agenda and know who is to blame. Most importantly, PTSS uses real news headlines and avoids partisan messages so that voters trust the messenger.
How does it work? They mail you the postcards for free, along with voter lists and instructions with a short script. You will handwrite the message and the voter addresses. Orders of 100-300 postcards may take until early January to deliver — they prioritize orders of 500+ to ship within a few days. You will provide postcard stamps (currently $0.61) and mail the postcards on the instructed date.
When will you mail the cards to voters? You’re only responsible for one mailing, but there are a total of five mailing dates. If you order now, your mailing date may be as early as February 5, so please order accordingly.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T ] [Text SIGN PNFILG to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
I’m writing to urge you to vote YES on the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) when it comes to the House floor following the successful discharge petition. This bill is essential to restoring the collective bargaining and union rights that were stripped from federal workers under the Trump regime’s executive order earlier this year.
The executive order in question attempted to eliminate or severely restrict union representation for a huge portion of the federal workforce—including employees at agencies like Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, and Justice—under the false claim that these roles are “national security” positions incompatible with collective bargaining. Courts have already questioned the legality of this action, and federal judges have temporarily blocked parts of the order for exceeding executive authority. Congress now must fully correct this overreach.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
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