SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
October, 15 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Don Owens, dowens@citizen.org, (202) 588-7767
David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org, (202) 588-7742
Democracy First, Senator Warren's New Plan
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Public Citizen
WASHINGTON
Note: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today released a campaign finance reform plan that would require disclosure from presidential campaign bundlers and outside finance committees, lower contribution limits and elevate small-donor financing.
A commitment to ensuring a fair and representative democracy to rebuild faith in government and create a system that works for people should be a must-have for every presidential candidate. Restoring our democracy has taken on new and historic importance as America grapples with the most fundamentally corrupt administration in our history and the resulting impeachment inquiry.
As both a senator and a candidate, Elizabeth Warren has been out in front on this issue, making it clear that fixing our democracy, calling out corruption, addressing money in politics and restoring voting rights will be top priorities if she wins the White House. In her newly released campaign finance plan, she lifts up the need for small-donor public financing, disclosure of secret political spending and a Federal Election Commission that functions to enforce our laws, among other critical reforms. We applaud these essential moves.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
(202) 588-1000LATEST NEWS
Amid Funding Fight, Sanders Says Unmask ICE, Repeal $75 Billion Giveaway, and More
"ICE is out of control, ignoring the law and our Constitution. Congress must vote NO on any additional funding for DHS," the senator argued as House progressives issued similar demands.
Jan 26, 2026
As the killing of another US citizen by immigration agents in Minnesota increases pressure on senators to reject the Department of Homeland Security funding bill advanced last week by nearly all Republicans and seven Democrats in the House of Representatives, Sen. Bernie Sanders published a clear list of demands on Monday.
"ICE is out of control, ignoring the law and our Constitution," Sanders (I-Vt.) said of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has conducted President Donald Trump's anti-migrant operations with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). "Congress must vote NO on any additional funding for DHS."
Sanders' list targets not only DHS and its agencies, including CBP and ICE, but also the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which Trump has been widely accused of weaponizing against his opponents:
- Get ICE, CBP, and the rest of Trump's domestic army out of Minnesota and Maine NOW;
- No more warrantless arrests, no more stopping people based on race or because of the languages they speak;
- End qualified immunity for ICE and CBP agents to ensure Americans' constitutional rights are protected;
- Unmask ICE and CBP agents and require clear identification;
- End detentions and deportations of US citizens;
- Investigate and prosecute every single DHS officer who broke the law and require DOJ and DHS to cooperate with states and cities investigating immigration agents who broke the law;
- Repeal the $75 billion for ICE and the nearly $65 billion for CBP in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and restore funding to healthcare; and
- Impose strict standards on all detention centers and hold them accountable for their human rights abuses.
The senator's demands largely align with the reported demands of Senate Democrats, with whom he caucuses, as well as those of House progressives.
"Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward," the chamber's minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said in a Monday statement. "Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota."
Schumer argued that "the appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public. People should be safe from abuse by their own government."
"Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill," he continued, as the January 30 deadline to avert another federal government shutdown looms. "This is best course of action, and the American people are on our side."
Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of the American Prospect, reported that at a gathering late Sunday, the Senate Democratic Caucus agreed to block the $64.4 billion in DHS funding—including $10 billion for ICE and $18 billion for CBP—unless several conditions are met:
- An independent federal-state investigation, which includes Minnesota officials, of ICE murders and tactics;
- A ban on ICE use of face masks;
- A requirement of body cameras (there was $20 million in funding for body cameras in the current appropriations bill, but they are not mandatory);
- A ban on roving ICE patrols;
- A ban on the invented category of "administrative warrants" that bypass judges in violation of the Fourth Amendment; and
- An end to arrest quotas.
While Republicans have slim majorities in both chambers of Congress, most bills must win some Democratic support in order to get through the Senate, unlike in the House, where the DHS legislation passed in a 220-207 vote shortly before Pretti's killing.
Since the legal observer and nurse was killed in a CBP shooting on Saturday, at least one of the seven House Democrats who backed the bill has suggested he may vote different in the future. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) saidaid Monday that "I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis."
"I hear the anger from many of my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE's unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that," Suozzi added. "The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability."
Meanwhile, expecting they will have another vote, progressive leaders in the House are also discussing their demands.
"Senate Democrats say they won't vote for ICE funding without reforms. Good. Now, we must negotiate hard," said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who chairs the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus.
As Casar outlined on social media Sunday, his five "nonnegotiable" demands are:
- ICE and CBP leave Minneapolis and stops terrorizing American cities;
- We get a full, independent investigation into the killings;
- No more detaining and deporting US citizens;
- The masks come off; and
- The mass arrest quotas and warrantless arrests end.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of several Democrats expected to consider a 2028 presidential run, on Sunday issued a slightly longer list that included the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and US Attorney General Pam Bondi:
- Vote no on DHS funding bill;
- Repeal the multiyear $75 billion funding for ICE;
- End qualified immunity for ICE agents;
- Investigate and prosecute every single ICE agent who broke the law;
- Impeach Noem and Bondi;
- End the Kavanaugh stops with racial profiling and end the militarization of ICE;
- Codify a use of force standard so courts can enforce the law against rogue ICE agents; and
- Tear down and replace ICE with an agency that has oversight.
"Congress is not powerless. Democrats must unify around an actual agenda," Khanna argued. "Trump is engaged in the SYSTEMATIC destruction of the rule of law."
"Only if Congress fights with every legal tool at our disposal including lawsuits in the courts, like we are doing with the Epstein files, can we stop this madness," said the congressman, who's led the fight for unsealing federal documents related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alongside the only Republican who opposed the DHS bill last week, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.).
"We owe that to nurse Pretti," Khanna added, "and the hundreds of thousands on the streets risking their lives to stand up for our freedoms."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Critics Warn Corporate Media Is Failing in Face of White House Lies About Alex Pretti
"There were lies," former CNN anchor Jim Acosta said of the Trump administration's response to Pretti's death. "Lie after lie after lie.
Jan 26, 2026
Two prominent critics warned on Monday that the US corporate media is not being aggressive enough in calling out the Trump administration's lies about Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident who was slain by federal immigration agents over the weekend.
Writing on her Substack page, former New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan expressed concern that many mainstream media publications were taking a wait-and-see approach in the wake of Pretti's shooting, even as the Trump administration, Fox News, and other right-wing media websites were pumping out false claims about Pretti brandishing a weapon at federal officials and being a "domestic terrorist."
Sullivan did praise many outlets, including the Times, the Washington Post, and CNN, for doing detailed and accurate breakdowns of videos showing Pretti's fatal encounter with federal agents.
However, she was dismayed that these outlets frequently hedged their language by saying that video evidence of the Pretti killing merely "appears to" contradict the administration's claims.
"If the analyses do indeed 'directly contradict' the government’s claims, then say so—without fear or favor, as the motto goes," Sullivan emphasized. "With what amounts to civil war raging in the United States, we desperately need clear, fearless truth-telling that doesn’t pull its punches and doesn’t hand a megaphone to lies and propaganda in the name of supposed fairness."
Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta similarly criticized US media outlets for being too timid in contradicting the administration's lies about the Pretti killing.
On his own Substack page, Acosta argued that "the truth immediately came under assault" after federal agents fatally shot Pretti.
Despite possessing video evidence that showed the administration was lying about Pretti's death, Acosta wrote, too many mainstream news outlets "tiptoed around the truth" rather than stating it plainly.
"There were lies," Acosta said of the administration's response. "Lie after lie after lie. The videos from the scene did more than just 'contradict' the government account of what occurred, as the [Wall Street Journal] described it. The reality is that the eyewitness footage revealed that the administration was flat out lying to the public. Our eyes and ears told us what happened. Too many news reports simply chose not to reflect that.
Acosta reserved particular scorn for Politico, which ran a headline stating that "a battle over the truth erupts after deadly Minneapolis shooting," even though multiple videos of the incident had already been published showing exactly what the truth was.
"Federal officials, like [Stephen] Miller, were lying," Acosta said, referring to Trump's deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser. "Full stop. Politico needed to say that."
Keep ReadingShow Less
NYC's Speedy Snow Removal Under Mamdani Evokes Memories of 'Sewer Socialism'
The mayor’s response to the blizzard has been described as an early test for his version of “common good” governance.
Jan 26, 2026
"God Bless sewer socialism." That's what historian David Austin Walsh had to say about New York City's swift response to the largest blizzard it's seen in five years, which dumped over a foot of snow on the five boroughs this weekend.
The blizzard, part of Winter Storm Fern, which has ravaged the Northeastern United States, presented an early test for the city's left-wing mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who centered his insurgent campaign last year not simply on providing new free municipal services, but on making the ones New Yorkers already relied upon, like sanitation, more robust and accessible.
It was an agenda that led him to be compared to a breed of socialist mayor who focused less on lofty ideas and revolutionary rhetoric and more on using the power of government to remedy the everyday concerns of the public.
In October, just weeks before Mamdani's triumph in the general election, columnist E. J. Dionne Jr. wrote in the New York Times:
For history buffs, Mr. Mamdani has done the service of rekindling an interest in a largely forgotten American tradition, the “sewer socialists” who ran a significant list of cities in the last century. The most durable among them was Daniel Hoan, the socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940. You don’t get reelected that often by being a failure.
Many socialist mayors did not mind being associated with repairing the grubbiest of urban amenities because doing so underscored their aim of running corruption-free governments that did whatever they could to improve the lives of working-class people in their jurisdictions. When lousy (or nonexistent) sewer systems led to illness and death in low-income and immigrant neighborhoods, said Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown University, building and fixing sewers became a powerful example of what “common good” governance could accomplish.
Mr. Mamdani knows sewer socialism’s history and has no qualms about identifying with it.
This weekend was the first opportunity for New York's youngest mayor in over a century to put this philosophy into action in a test of competence that past mayors have infamously failed—from Bill de Blasio, who was lambasted over the underplowing of certain neighborhoods, to Michael Bloomberg, who took heat for ditching the blizzard conditions for Bermuda, to John Lindsay, whose disastrous lack of preparation for a 1969 blizzard resulted in the deaths of at least 42 people.
As Walsh wrote on Friday, with the storm prepared to bear down, "Mamdani has a unique opportunity to prove that sewer socialism works, but the crucial first test is going to be not fucking up the snowstorm this weekend."
By then, Mamdani's preparations had long since begun, with the city fitting thousands of sanitation department trucks with snowplows, brining every highway and street in the city to make cleanup easier, and ensuring that enough shelter beds were available to protect those without homes from the elements.
The mayor also undertook a robust yet simple effort to communicate with New Yorkers about practical guidelines to stay safe through a series of upbeat PSAs and appearances on local news.
"Make no mistake, New Yorkers, the full power of this city's enormous resources is prepared, poised, and ready to be deployed," Mamdani said during a press conference on Saturday. "Every agency is working in lockstep with the other."
Though death tolls were considerably lower than in other storms of its magnitude, the blizzard did not pass without tragedy. At least one homeless man reportedly froze to death, while another six people have been found dead outside, though it's unclear if these deaths were weather-related.
But in all, the Times said "the city largely appeared to be prepared for the weather."
Crews headed out to begin clearing roads at 8:30 am, when precipitation had reached the requisite two inches; shortly after 7 pm, [Department of Sanitation spokesperson Joshua Goodman] said every single street under city control had been plowed at least twice; tens of millions of pounds of salt had been spread across the five boroughs; and 2,500 sanitation workers were rotating on 12-hour shifts to continue the cleanup.
Mamdani, meanwhile, was praised for his active role in the cleanup effort and for maintaining high visibility, where past mayors were accused of shirking into the background.
One widely shared video shows the mayor personally shoveling snow to free a stranded driver in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, home to a large Hasidic Jewish community.
Rabbi Moishe Indig, the executive vice president of the Jewish Community Council of Williamsburg, called it "hands-on leadership."
Even one of Mamdani's fiercest critics, Benny Polatseck, an aide to former Mayor Eric Adams, was complimentary to his response.
“Credit where due," he wrote Sunday afternoon on social media. "Looks like [Mamdani] is handling this storm very well so far."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular