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Democrats Should Reject Any Deal That Cuts Spending Levels Beyond the Fiscal Responsibility Act
Following concerning reports that House and Senate leaders are close to a budget agreement that would cut non-defense spending beyond what was already agreed upon in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens, a member of the ProsperUS coalition, released the following statement:
“Congressional Republicans aren’t hiding the ball. They want to eviscerate funding for programs working families rely on and they are willing to shut down the government to do it.
“There is absolutely no reason for Democrats to participate in their efforts to starve programs that provide food, housing, and child care for families. Democrats should walk away from any deal that makes further cuts to the spending levels agreed upon in the bipartisan compromise.”
ProsperUS is a coalition of movement groups, labor organizations, think tanks, experts, and advocates that believes government should invest in people.
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Ex-Officials, Watchdogs Rip Trump Effort to 'Bully' IRS Into Giving Him $10 Billion in Taxpayer Dollars
"Our government should be accountable to the people, not the whims of a power-hungry executive," said one Common Cause campaigner.
Feb 05, 2026
Less than a week after a court filing revealed that President Donald Trump is suing his own Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns during his first term, former federal officials and watchdog groups on Thursday called out his attempt to abuse "powerful tools for holding government accountable."
The legal group Democracy Forward filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Common Cause, the Project On Government Oversight, ex-IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, and Kathryn Keneally and Gilbert Rothenberg, who both held leadership roles in the US Department of Justice's Tax Division.
"This case is extraordinary because the president controls both sides of the litigation, which raises the prospect of collusive litigation tactics," states the amicus brief. "Collusive litigation threatens the integrity of the judicial process by risking the court's entanglement in an illegitimate proceeding. And although the complaint has significant defects—it was filed too late, against the wrong party, and for an unsupported and excessive sum of damages—the conflicts of interest make it uncertain whether the Department of Justice will zealously defend the public fisc in the same way that it has against other plaintiffs claiming damages for related events."
"To maintain the integrity of the judicial process in the face of these highly irregular circumstances, the court should consider exercising its inherent judicial authority to proactively manage this case from the outset," argued the former officials and groups, known as amici. Specifically, they said:
- First, the court should consider issuing an order for the parties: to show cause why this court has jurisdiction over this case, to explain how they will address the fundamental conflict-of-interest problems with this case, to show why this case should not be stayed until after President Trump leaves office, and to show why the unjustified $10 billion damage figure should not be stricken from the pleadings;
- Second, the court should consider appointing amici who have expertise on issues of tax law and separation-of-powers issues to present fulsome legal arguments on all future issues that arise in this case; and
- Third, the court should consider allowing participation of those amici in hearings.
"To treat this case like business as usual," the coalition declared, "would threaten the integrity of the justice system and the important taxpayer and privacy protections at the heart of this case."
In a statement about the new filing in the Southern District of Florida, Abigail Bellows, Common Cause's senior policy director for anti-corruption and accountability, stressed that "we are watching a president attempt to bully the IRS into giving him billions of our taxpayer dollars."
"Our government should be accountable to the people, not the whims of a power-hungry executive," Bellows said. "We urge the court to take steps to promote judicial integrity and protect the public interest."
President Trump has made $4 billion since his second inauguration. And now, he's suing the Treasury Department and IRS for $10 billion more in "damages."So we're filing a brief urging the court to reject President Trump’s scheme and protect taxpayers.
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— Democracy Forward (@democracyforward.org) February 5, 2026 at 5:37 PM
In addition to representing the amici in this case, Democracy Forward has launched various other lawsuits against Trump and his administration, which have faced sweeping allegations of corruption since the president returned to power a year ago.
According to an analysis published by the New York Times editorial board last month, on the one-year anniversary of his second inauguration, Trump and his family enriched themselves to the tune of at least $1.4 billion during the first year of his second term—largely through investment in cryptocurrencies, though he's also secured settlements from tech and media companies.
Various other members of the second Trump administration have also been accused of corruption and conflicts of interest, and as the Times separately revealed in December, many rich and powerful contributors Trump's post-election fundraising haul have received corporate-friendly regulatory changes, dropped enforcement cases, government contracts, and even pardons.
"The president's corruption continues, this time in an attempt to take $10 billion dollars of the taxpayers' money, which threatens to make a mockery out of our justice system," said Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman. "Not only does the president's baseless case have significant legal defects, but there are colossal conflicts of interest at play."
"We thank these experts for raising these serious concerns about how President Trump is seeking to further illegally line his own pockets at the public’s expense and our brief urges the court to exercise its power to ensure the matter is not one-sided."
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Global Sumud Flotilla Announces Spring Mission to 'Break the Illegal Blockade of Gaza'
Organizers say they're "mobilizing thousands from over 100 countries in a coordinated, nonviolent response to genocide, siege, mass starvation, and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza."
Feb 05, 2026
Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla—the largest-ever activist effort to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by sea—said Thursday that they will launch a new and bigger mission next month to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian exclave, whose people have suffered from 28 months of genocidal Israeli war and siege.
Global Sumud Flotilla called its spring 2026 mission, which is scheduled to depart from Barcelona on March 29, "a historic escalation in civilian-led maritime action to break the illegal blockade of Gaza."
"We are sailing again this year. This time, we're sailing with more boats, and more activists... and we are determined to break this illegal siege on Gaza and show the world that the peace talks are not really peace talks, but the further colonization of Palestinian territories," organizer Yasmin Acar told South African Broadcasting Corporation News Radio. "We will not stop until the siege is broken."
Global Sumud Flotilla said: "A primary focus of the 2026 mission is the deployment of a specialized medical fleet. Carrying more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and stocked with lifesaving medicines and equipment, this fleet aims to stabilize Gaza's healthcare system and support the efforts of local medical teams who have endured two years of genocide."
Like most of Gaza, the strip's healthcare infrastructure is in ruins after deliberate targeting of medical facilities and workers by Israeli forces.
Mandla Mandela, grandson of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and a past flotilla participant, called the new effort "cause... for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all."
Last summer, dozens of boats carrying hundreds of activists from over 40 nations took part in the last Global Sumud Flotilla—sumud means “perseverance” in Arabic—as it attempted to run Israel’s naval blockade and deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid including food, medicines, and baby formula to the starving people of Gaza amid Israel's genocidal war and siege on the people of the coastal strip.
Israeli forces intercepted and seized the flotilla vessels in international waters in early October, arresting all aboard the boats and temporarily jailing them in Israel, where some including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said they were physically and psychologically abused by their captors.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has made numerous attempts to break Israel's blockade by sea, all of which ended in more or less the same way. In 2010, Israeli forces raided one of the first convoys carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea. The Israeli attackers killed nine volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically," flotilla activist Susan Abdallah told Al Jazeera Thursday, but "we have reached the people in Gaza."
"They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege," she added.
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Bernie Sanders' 7 Policies to Defeat Trump and Secure a Better Future for All
"It is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We must bring forth a positive vision that will improve the lives of ordinary Americans."
Feb 05, 2026
While taking aim at the oligarchs behind companies including Walmart and the Washington Post this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders also laid out his vision for how to not only "reverse America's decline" under President Donald Trump, but also "create an economy that works for working people and not just billionaires, a vibrant democracy, and a foreign policy based on international law."
In a Guardian op-ed on Thursday, Sanders (I-Vt.) addressed issues ranging from healthcare and housing to nutrition, schooling, and transportation, pointing out that "85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, our life expectancy is lower than most wealthy nations, and we have a massive shortage" in health professionals.
The median home price has soared above $400,000, and over 20 million US households spend more than half of their incomes on housing. The senator noted that "as a result of corporate agriculture and the greed of the food and beverage industry, many of our kids are addicted to ultra-processed foods, and we have the highest rate of obesity and diabetes of any major country on Earth."
The United States also "ranks well behind its peers in overall educational attainment, our childcare system is broken, and millions of our young people are unable to afford a college education," wrote Sanders, a leader in the Senate Democratic Caucus who twice sought the party's presidential nomination. "Our public transportation and rail systems lag far behind most other developed countries, and millions of people spend hours a day in traffic jams."
"The decline we are seeing in our country is not just in economics. Our political system is corrupt, dominated by an extremely greedy billionaire class that is able to buy and sell politicians," he stressed. "Even more troubling, our country is rapidly descending into authoritarianism under an unstable, narcissistic leader who wants more and more power for himself."
"Trump is usurping the powers of Congress, attacking the courts, intimidating the media, threatening universities, and prosecuting and arresting his political opponents," Sanders flagged. He also renewed criticism of "Trump's domestic army," US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for "acting in outrageous and unconstitutional ways," from Maine to Minnesota, where federal agents have recently killed two citizens.
At this difficult moment in American history, we must be honest with ourselves:Our nation, once the envy of the world, is now in profound decline. For the sake of our children and future generations, we must reverse course.
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— Senator Bernie Sanders (@sanders.senate.gov) February 5, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Sanders' response to the chaos and fear of Trump's second term is to advocate for "building a national grassroots movement that fights for the needs of the American working class," which he said can be done "by bringing people together—Black, white, Latino, Asian, gay and straight—around an agenda that takes on the greed of the oligarchs and is based on the foundation of economic, social, racial, and environmental justice."
Detailing his key policy priorities, the senator wrote:
- We must create a vibrant democracy by ending Citizens United and preventing billionaires from buying elections;
- Whether the Democratic establishment likes it or not, we must guarantee healthcare as a human right through Medicare for All;
- We must build millions of affordable homes and apartments and give our younger generation the opportunity to own a home of their own;
- We must make public colleges, universities, trade schools, and medical schools tuition-free and have the best childcare and public school system in the entire world;
- We must expand social security and bring back traditional pension plans so that every senior in this country can retire with dignity;
- We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage and guarantee every worker the right to join a union; and
- We must demand that the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America pay their fair share in taxes.
Sanders isn't alone in arguing that "it is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We must bring forth a positive vision that will improve the lives of ordinary Americans." That that was also a lesson from democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's campaign, which the senator said "has given us the roadmap."
"Starting at just 1% in the polls, Mamdani had the guts to take on the Democratic establishment, the Republican, establishment, and the oligarchs. And he won by organizing a grassroots campaign of more than 90,000 volunteers knocking on doors behind a strong progressive agenda," wrote Sanders, who campaigned for and swore in the city's new mayor.
Mamdani made headlines on Thursday for his Nation piece endorsing Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's reelection campaign. The mayor wrote that although he and Hochul have "real differences, particularly when it comes to taxation of the wealthiest, at a moment defined by profound income inequality," they also delivered a "historic win together," in the form of a universal childcare program for the city.
"At its best, the Democratic Party has been a big tent not because it avoids conflict but because it channels conflict toward progress," Mamdani added. "A party united not by conformity but by a commitment to structural change—and to the work required to achieve it."
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