Call to Action: Contact Your Legislators
About Executive Overreach

Since President Trump was inaugurated, the executive branch has rapidly chipped away at the balance of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches and has disregarded the laws outlined in the Constitution.

It's time for Congress to do its job and step up as a co-equal branch of government. Members of Congress swear in their oath of office that they will "support and defend the Constitution of the United States" -- they do not swear an oath to a political party or a president. 

We ask you to write and call your legislators to ask them to defend the Constitution and stop executive overreach. We have included a list of issues below to highlight in your messages.

When writing your letters, consider the following:

- Choose one example of executive overreach to focus on (see list of issues below). 

- Use a personal story that shows how this overreach affects you or those around you.

- Be concise! Write a second letter if you would like to highlight a different issue.

If you have given us permission to highlight your letter on social media, please fill out this Google form. Selected letters will be shared on Women Building Peace.

Finally, we urge you to follow up with a quick phone call to your legislators. If you tap the phone icon, it will auto generate the phone numbers for each of your legislators along with helpful tips and talking points.

Examples of executive overreach to choose from:

- Halting of federal grant programs.

- Dismantling of entire government agencies without congressional approval or oversight.

- Compromising the Treasury Department by political appointees from the Department of Government Efficiency (which is also the subject of numerous lawsuits over its legitimacy and lack of formal appointment process) who have participated in what many experts are saying could be the most significant data breach in U.S. history, potentially accessing the personal data of federal employees and millions of Americans.

- Attempting to end birthright citizenship, which is explicitly granted in the Constitution and has been affirmed by courts.

- Firing the head of the Office of Government Ethics as well as more than 18 inspectors general, whose jobs include identifying and reducing waste, guarding against corruption and abuse, protecting taxpayer money from fraud, and acting as independent watchdogs. 

- Pushing unprecedented executive power over historically independent agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.

- Allowing the president and attorney general power to interpret agency statutes, potentially confusing courts whether to abide by agency regulations or president and attorney general.

- Granting pardons and commutations to those convicted of crimes at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

- Controlling the press pool covering the White House, and refusing the Associated Press access to the president and his administration threatens freedom of the press.

- Ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs threatens freedom of speech.

- Canceling funds for research through National Institutes of Health about vaccine hesitancy despite a decrease in vaccinations and increase in measles.