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By Rahna Epting & Lisa Gilbert
Executive Director of MoveOn.org; Co-President of Public Citizen
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In the period of time between Election Day and Inauguration Day, there was furious debate in some circles about what the so-called "resistance" would look like in Trump 2.0—or whether it would show up at all. Some speculated that those opposed to Trump and his dangerous policies would simply roll over, or seek to work with his administration.
The last few weeks should put that debate to rest. Let's be clear: We are not going anywhere. We have and will continue to come together and fight.
So much of the earlier media commentary pretended as if the energy behind "the resistance" had largely fizzled out compared to Trump's first term. And it's true that this moment is different from eight years ago. The circumstances and the environment was different. That moment demanded that we take to the streets by the millions in a show of force to make sure President Trump and the whole world knew the demagoguery presented by Trump and his first administration did not represent the popular majority that rejected him in 2016.
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This time around, it's not about the symbolism of Trump's win. It's about the dangerous political Project 2025 program that Trump, despite pledging to the contrary during his campaign, is moving full speed ahead to implement. The hundreds of millions of people in this country who oppose it are mobilizing accordingly.
The threat that Trump and his allies like Elon Musk are posing is no longer theoretical. And their agenda is a direct threat to and rapid assault on the rights, freedoms, livelihoods, and futures of the American people.
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Just look at the last two weeks. When Elon Musk's aides restricted civil servants' access to the computer system running the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), protesters took to the OPM building to demand an end to the so-called Depart of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s illegitimate takeover of the system. And when DOGE was granted illegal access to the Treasury payment's database responsible for federal payments, which contains the sensitive private information of millions of Americans, legal action was coupled with swift opposition and pushback.
Public Citizen sued in partnership with States Defending Democracy Fund, even as MoveOn, Indivisible, and many others led a massive rally outside the Treasury building to demand this access be ended. The real risk of missed Social Security payments to seniors, disruptions to Medicaid or Medicare, or private or classified information being leaked or misused for political purposes has driven home the consequences of an unchecked, unelected and unaccountable Musk.
When Trump issued an illegal Executive Order trying to end Birthright Citizenship, more than half dozen civil rights groups immediately sued and got an injunction.
When Target became the latest corporation to bow to Trump's cynical war on diversity by cutting its DEI initiatives, civil rights leaders rallied in support of companies like Costco that stood their ground and stuck to their values and commitment to diversity.
When Trump issued a destructive memo freezing all federal loans and grants, the rejection was instantaneous and widespread as constituents nationwide reacted. Many shared the real human impact during visits to their Senator's offices of both parties, and this and other actions ultimately forced the president to rescind the memo in under 48 hours from the time it was issued.
We are fighting back. And our collective voices are being heard. This is not resistance 1.0, but we are reactivated and reawakened. In less than a month since his inauguration, the actions of Trump, Musk, and their Republican allies have already begun to unite majority opposition to their unpopular, extremist agenda.
Their false belief that they have a mandate, coupled with their reckless and unpopular agenda, will only play into strengthening the opposition even further.
We are committed to this fight, come hell or high water. Public Citizen was the first to sue the Trump administration when they first manufactured the non-legally compliant entity known as DOGE, and we were glad to see so many other entities follow suit with similar legal action to ensure this manufactured "department" actually complies with federal laws requiring balance and transparency.
While it might look different this time versus his first term, the fight against Trump and his harmful policies and rampant corruption continues.
Whatever it takes, we will exhaust every remedy at our disposal to fight back. We won't only sue the Trump administration as many times as needed to constrain his illegal actions, (including last night when Public Citizen sued to block the unconstitutional and immoral closure of USAID); we will mobilize the Hill and the people in defense of American workers, consumers, patients, and communities fighting for a fairer and more inclusive America.
Rahna Epting is the Executive Director of MoveOn.org. Lisa Gilbert is the Co-President of Public Citizen.
The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
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