As the Trump administration continues its systematic assault on democratic institutions, constitutional checks and balances, and the rights and freedoms of every American, it has never been more urgent for Congress to debate and pass legislation to guard against executive overreach, including the Protecting Our Democracy Act (PODA).
The second Trump administration has demonstrated unprecedented contempt for the guardrails and norms that protect our democracy – from weaponizing federal law enforcement against political opponents and ordinary Americans to undermining judicial independence, from abusing emergency powers to evading congressional oversight, from dismantling federal agencies to siphoning billions of dollars to Trump family businesses. President Trump’s actions directly threaten our system of government and the freedoms of speech, association, and equal justice that every American depends on. PODA includes essential reforms to restore accountability and prevent future abuses of executive power.
Americans deserve a government bound by law, not presidential vendettas, as well as legal protections that secure liberty and justice beyond the reach of any single administration.
PODA’s essential reforms – which were offered during both Republican and Democratic administrations alike – would rebuild the constitutional safeguards our democracy requires: curbing pardon power abuses, ensuring no president is above the law, enforcing constitutional emoluments provisions, ensuring whistleblowers are protected, strengthening congressional oversight, protecting the power of the purse, limiting presidential national emergencies, preserving law enforcement independence from political manipulation, and more. By protecting these guardrails, PODA also protects the rights and freedoms of every American.
Without these legislative measures that build upon the Nixon-era anti-corruption reforms, we face the continued erosion of democratic norms, the concentration of unchecked power in the executive branch at the expense of Congress, and the loss of fundamental rights that have defined our nation for generations. That is precisely the authoritarian drift our constitutional system was designed to prevent.
This is not about partisan politics: it is about constitutional governance and the protection of our basic freedoms. Congress has the constitutional authority and moral obligation to act. Every official who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution must recognize the gravity of this moment. Inaction enables autocracy.
I urge the Senate to pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act immediately. Thanks.
First sent on September 16 by Jess Craven
