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For Immediate Release
January, 08 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Monica Mohapatra, 350 Action, monica.mohapatra@350action.org
350 Action Endorses Morgan Harper (OH-3) and Mike Siegel (TX-10) for Congress, Stephen Smith for West Virginia Governor
Brooklyn, NY
350 Action is endorsing candidates who have demonstrated their commitment to progressive action on climate change, by supporting a just transition away from fossil fuels towards 100% renewable energy that centers a Green New Deal, and advocates to keep fossil fuels in the ground. You can find 350 Action's other 2020 endorsements here.
This week, 350 Action is endorsing the following candidates:
- Morgan Harper, Democrat candidate running for the House in Ohio's 3rd DIstrict
- Mike Siegel, Democrat candidate running for the House in Texas' 10th District
- Stephen Smith, Democrat candidate running for West Virginia Governor
The following is a statement from 350 Action's Policy Director, Natalie Mebane:
"We are at the edge of a precipice when it comes to climate justice, and this election year promises to change the course of climate change, if we support the candidates who will help get us there. We need climate advocates, not deniers, to represent the needs of frontline communities and Indigenous people, when it comes to protecting our homes and families from catastrophes created by fossil fuel companies and their executives. That's why 350 Action is proud to continue endorsing candidates who see climate change for the crisis it is and are determined to take bold action during the climate decade."
350 Action endorses Morgan Harper, Democrat candidate running for the House in Ohio's 3rd DIstrict on a platform that includes Tuition-Free Public College and Medicare for All. Here is her response to the 350 Action candidate questionnaire:
"I would support the elimination of all federal oil and gas industry subsidies, and reallocate those funds to ensuring a smooth transition for workers in the coal, oil, and gas industries to careers in green energy.... I would support shifting a significant portion of the existing Department of Defense budget to building national infrastructure, including public transportation, that can both slow and mitigate the effects of climate change. I would support the elimination of subsidies to large agricultural companies, and reallocate those funds to helping local farmers shift away from livestock and towards greener food production (both in terms of lower greenhouse gas-emitting and less water-intensive)."
350 Action endorses Mike Siegel, lawyer and Democrat candidate running for the House in Texas' 10th District, on a platform that includes Pro-Choice for Abortion and a Green New Deal. Here is his response, submitted by the Senator's team, to the 350 Action candidate questionnaire.
"I will sponsor and co-sponsor legislation in support of [demands for a moratorium on fossil fuel projects] and link them with local struggles as a way to build political power. For example, across the Texas 10th Congressional District, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is issuing new fracking permits, threatening an already-polluted community with additional contamination. We have a coal plant in Fayette County, in the middle of TX-10, that is publicly owned and operated, and has been poisoning a massive aquifer for 40 years, as coal ash contamination and acid rain leach into the groundwater. I am organizing in these communities, and will continue to do so as a representative, to bring these local struggles to the national stage, and to build a national movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
350 Action Stephen Smith, Democrat candidate running for West Virginia Governor on a platform that includes Freedom for People with Disabilities and a Worker's Bill of Rights. Here is his response, submitted by the Senator's team, to the 350 Action candidate questionnaire.
"I will raise severance taxes and pollution fines and fees to pay for a massive clean energy jobs and infrastructure program here in West Virginia."
350 Action is the independent political action arm of the non-profit, non-partisan climate justice group 350.org.
LATEST NEWS
'US Siege Is Warfare': Cuba Faces Second Nationwide Blackout in Under a Week
"Food is spoiling. Water supply is compromised. Healthcare services are disrupted," said US Rep. Ilhan Omar. "End the blockade now."
Mar 22, 2026
Some Cubans got power back on Sunday after another nationwide blackout on Saturday—the second in less than a week and the third time the grid has collapsed this month after the Trump administration intensified the United States' decades-long economic blockade, cutting off the island nation from Venezuelan oil.
"The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the total disconnection of the national energy system was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, without providing details on the specific cause of the failure," according to The Associated Press.
Critics from around the world have condemned the US siege as "economic warfare," which is notably occurring as President Donald Trump and his allies in Washington, DC repeatedly float a potential takeover of the country located just 90 miles south of Florida.
Saturday's blackout came a day after The Washington Post reported that "the Cuban government this week refused a request by the US Embassy in Havana to import diesel fuel for its generators, calling the ask 'shameless,' given the Trump administration's fuel blockade on the island, according to diplomatic cables" reviewed by the newspaper.
It also followed the arrival of some members of Nuestra América Convoy, which is bringing humanitarian aid to the island. The effort involves hundreds of people from over 30 countries and 120 organizations.
Highlighting the convoy on social media early Saturday afternoon, US Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) declared that "Trump's oil blockade in Cuba has caused a worsening humanitarian crisis—cutting Cubans off from power, food, healthcare, and clean water."
"I am heartened by the solidarity and bravery of the courageous people on the Nuestra América Convoy, arriving in Cuba to bring critical aid directly to the people," she said. "I stand with the global community demanding that the Department of State and Department of Defense ensure their safety and security."
Another progressive in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), similarly said later Saturday that "we must lift the US oil blockade on Cuba. This is economic warfare designed to suffocate an island. Food is spoiling. Water supply is compromised. Healthcare services are disrupted. End the blockade now. Grateful to all those helping deliver humanitarian aid!"
Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson is reporting on the convoy from Havana. On Sunday, he wrote that "when the power went, I was watching a concert held at the Pabellon Cuba, a delightfully strange Brutalist outdoor event space... People can live without music if they have to, I suppose. (The Cubans refuse to, though, and as I walked through the streets tonight I saw plenty of dancing in the dark.) What they cannot live without is healthcare, and the blackout is of course hitting hospitals hard. People aren't able to get crucial surgeries, or even get to the hospital, which means Trump is simply killing the sickest Cubans. Late last night, a report came in that patients on ventilators at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital have died."
"It has been tragic and depressing watching the effects of the blockade. This is already a poor country. People didn't have much to start with. But now they can't take buses, they can't afford to run their cars (I have been told gas costs anywhere between 10 dollars a gallon and 40 dollars a gallon, if you can find it—this in a country where a nice meal will cost you about $20)," Robinson explained. "Food in restaurants is starting to run out. Garbage is accumulating in the streets. I had to sprint to get through a city block where the flies were so thick it was a struggle to breathe without ingesting one. The entire supply chain appears to be breaking down. Tourism is drying up—few want to come and experience shortages and sanitation crises. Taxi drivers can't drive their taxis."
"With the evaporation of tourists comes greater despair, since so many depend on this influx of foreign money. Everyone in Cuba is warm and friendly, but you can tell they're desperate. At the large San Jose art market, sellers had booths overflowing with souvenirs, and hardly anyone was there to buy. The merchants were outcompeting each other on pushiness—it was obvious many of them would not make a single sale all day," the American journalist added. "I cannot believe how cruel what my country is doing is."
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'Maniacal Tyrant' Trump and Iran Trade Threats to Energy Infrastructure Over Strait of Hormuz
After Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iranian power plants, one Democratic congressman said that "his worsening instability is a clear and growing threat, not only to the American people but to the world."
Mar 22, 2026
Democrats in Congress sounded the alarm over President Donald Trump pledging to commit more war crimes in Iran after he traded threats to energy infrastructure with the Iranian government, with the Republican declaring Saturday that he would take out the country's power plants unless it reopened the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic.
Just a day after Trump claimed that "we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," in a post that remains pinned to the top of his Truth Social profile, the president took to the platform with a clear threat Saturday night.
"If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" Trump said at 7:44 pm Eastern time.
Trump's post came after Ali Mousavi, the Iranian representative to the International Maritime Organization, told the Chinese news agency Xinhua on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz—the waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that is a key shipping route, including for fossil fuels—remains open to all vessels not linked to "Iran's enemies."
It also followed the Israeli military—which is bombing Iran alongside the United States—suggesting that the US was responsible for a Saturday attack on Iran's uranium enrichment complex in Natanz. According to The Associated Press, with his new threat, Trump "may have meant the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran's biggest, which was already hit last week, or Damavand, a natural gas plant near Tehran, Iran's capital."
Responding to Trump's Saturday post, US Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said: "It's important not to shy away from candidly discussing the president's increasingly erratic behavior. His worsening instability is a clear and growing threat, not only to the American people but to the world."
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) was similarly critical: "From 'help is on the way' for Iranian protestors to threatening war crimes against an entire population. The United States is being run by a maniacal tyrant hell-bent on destroying this country and the world along with it."
Other critics also pointed out that Article 56 of the Geneva Convention states in part that "works or installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes, and nuclear electrical generating stations, shall not be made the object of attack, even where these objects are military objectives, if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population."
The AP reported that after that strike on the Natanz complex, "Iranian missiles struck two communities in southern Israel late Saturday, leaving buildings shattered and dozens injured in dual attacks not far from Israel's main nuclear research center."
"Israel's military said it was not able to intercept missiles that hit the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, the largest near the center in Israel’s sparsely populated Negev desert," according to the news agency. "It was the first time Iranian missiles penetrated Israel’s air defense systems in the area around the nuclear site."
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's Parliament, said on X Saturday that "if the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle... Israel's skies are defenseless."
After Trump's threat, the speaker added Sunday that "immediately after the power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed, and the price of oil will remain high for a long time."
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Trump Threatens to Flood US Airports With ICE as Senate GOP Blocks Dem Bill to Pay TSA
"Trump's paramilitary army of ICE agents does not belong in our airports and is not properly trained to do this work," said one Democratic congresswoman.
Mar 22, 2026
As Senate Republicans on Saturday voted against advancing a Democratic bill to pay Transportation Security Administration workers during talks over Department of Homeland Security funding, GOP President Donald Trump tried to pin the blame for the partial DHS shutdown on Democrats and threatened to flood US airports with immigration agents.
The conduct of immigration agents under DHS—which oversees Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement—in US communities, particularly Minnesota's Twin Cites, led to the partial shutdown last month, with Democrats demanding reforms after CBP and ICE agents killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
While CBP and ICE can use the extra money they got last year in Republicans' so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, other DHS agencies are more impacted by the shutdown, including TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Secret Service, and the Coast Guard. Some essential government employees have been working without pay for over a month.
Congress' April recess is rapidly approaching. The largest federal workers union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), warned Friday that "on March 27, about 47,000 TSA officers, 22,000 FEMA employees, 8,900 Coast Guard civilian staff, and hundreds of Border Patrol administrative personnel will miss another paycheck."
AFGE national president Everett Kelley said that the House of Representatives and Senate "have had weeks to fix this, and they have barely been in the same building."
"Members of Congress have walked past our TSA members at airport security checkpoints more often than they've met to negotiate an end to this stalemate," he continued. "Those officers deserve to be paid for the work they do to keep those members safe. The least Congress can do for these patriotic American workers is act before legislators leave town for the weekend, or, worse, head off on a weeks-long recess."
The Senate did meet on Saturday, when Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) argued that "it is unacceptable, unacceptable to say we will only pay TSA workers if it is attached to a bill that funds ICE with no reforms. But that's what Republicans have done. Democrats want to pay TSA workers ASAP, no strings attached. A yes vote on my motion would start doing that."
The vote was 41-49, with every GOP senator present voting "no." In response, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) declared that "Senate Republicans voted against paying TSA agents because they insist on tying TSA funding to their push to give even more money to ICE—without basic reforms."
"That is not how this should work—and it is just plain wrong that Republicans are preventing TSA agents from getting paid while airport lines grow longer across the country," she said. "We could fund TSA and other important parts of DHS today—while we press ahead with negotiations on ICE and Border Patrol—if Republicans stopped standing in the way."
Meanwhile, as Americans at various airports contend with long lines due to TSA workers quitting or calling out, Trump said on his Truth Social platform Saturday that "the Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before!"
"The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will," he added. "Just like the Radical Left allowed millions of Criminals to pour into our Country through their ridiculous and dangerous Open Border Policy, the Republicans closed it all down, and we now have the Strongest Border in American History. Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, 'GET READY.' NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!"
Responding in a statement, Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said: "Republicans, we need you to speak up now. This is a national security nightmare. Democrats have been trying for weeks to get TSA funded. The votes to get that done have been there since before the shutdown began. ICE has continued to have access to a massive slush fund throughout this entire shutdown, which is why they're so readily available. Stop trying to tie additional funding for ICE to funding the rest of DHS."
"Trump's paramilitary army of ICE agents does not belong in our airports and is not properly trained to do this work," added Balint. "I ask my Republican colleagues: Stop submitting to the whims of this out-of-control president. You are risking national security by your silence and complicity. YOU can put an end to this. Say something. Fund TSA. For the sake of our country, show some damn courage!"
Apparently undeterred, Trump added Sunday that "on Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all. But watch, no matter how great a job ICE does, the Lunatics leading the incompetent Dems will be highly critical of their work. THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB. The great Tom Homan is in charge!!!"
AFGE's Kelley said in a Sunday statement that "ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints—skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification. You cannot improvise that. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one."
"Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe. They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be," he added. "Congress has the power to fund TSA today. It's time for them to stop playing politics and do their jobs."
This article has been updated with additional comments from President Donald Trump and AFGE national president Everett Kelley.
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