Dear Indivisibles,

Welcome to week 2 of recess. Your members of Congress (MoCs) have been in-district for the past week, and yet an alarming number of elected officials have been dodging your calls for open and accessible town halls. So what’s going on?

MoCs have dodged town halls for who knows how long. But since Indivisibles like you started showing up at town halls in February 2017, you have them shaking in their boots because they know that you’re more prepared than ever and you’ll hold them accountable. You show up to their events, with the tough questions ready, and you face them head on. A particular retiring representative, *COUGH* Ryan Costello (R, PA-06), went so far this week as to blame a local Indivisible group as a reason for his retirement!

Keep it up! If our elected officials don’t have the guts to face us, then we’ll VOTE. THEM. OUT. in November. Find all the resources you need this recess at recess.indivisible.org and show up to ask those difficult questions of the MoCs who will face their constituents.

But that’s not all! We’ll continue to hold our MoCs accountable to their votes. Tax Day is coming up on April 17, and there are more than 100 events all over the country where you can show up and remind them that we will not forget how they voted on the tax scam (good and bad).

Here’s how you can get ready for Tax Day accountability:

• Show up. From April 10 to 17 there are Tax March events all across the country. Check out Tax March events in your area leading up to Tax Day!
• Don’t have an event in your area? Plan your own!  We’ve got a Tax Day accountability guide so you can plan an event with your local Indivisible group.
• Register your tax accountability event. Make sure you register your event on our map, so other people in your area can find out how they can pitch in on Tax Day.

All of these accountability events come together to remind our members of Congress that they work for us. Republicans hoped they’d be able to run, and win, on their tax scam in November -- it’s literally the only major piece of legislation they’ve passed (because of you!). But they know running on the tax scam is a losing strategy -- they tried it (and it backfired on so badly they had to pull television ads) in PA-18, and this is our last chance between now and November to really make them own this vote. Showing up in April pays dividends in November.

This week on Capitol Hill 

• Congress is out on recess until April 9, but they’ll be busy when they get back. We’ve got a new resource for you detailing the fights that could happen over the next month. From Tax Day, to finishing the #BankLobbyistAct, to net neutrality—Congress still wants to get a lot done before the summer.

• One of the first things the Senate will do when it’s back in session is vote to confirm Trump’s war cabinet. Mike Pompeo is set to have his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State soon after recess (visit our resources and call script here). A confirmation vote would likely come in the couple of weeks following that. If he gets confirmed, Gina Haspel would have a confirmation hearing in late April or early May to replace him as CIA Director, with a vote coming after that (resources and call script are here). We’ll keep you up to date as the timing for both of these confirmations becomes clearer.

This week’s #TrumpThreatLevel:

• Trump is still trying to ban transgender people from serving in the military. Trump has issued a “Trans Ban 2.0” and it will be challenged in court. This spiteful ban would stigmatize transgender members of the armed forces, and take away resources that could instead be invested in real, effective national security strategies.

• Trump’s assembling a war cabinet. In recent weeks, Trump has moved to add a trio of war hawks and criminals to his circle of advisors. We don’t have a way to stop John Bolton from becoming Trump’s new National Security Advisor, but we CAN stop Gina Haspel from becoming CIA Director and Mike Pompeo from becoming Secretary of State.

• The US is expanding the global war. The military launched its first drone strike in southern Libya, expanding even further the seemingly endless and global war that the US has carried out since 9/11. Despite the death of four American servicemembers in Niger in 2017, Congress still does not appear to have the appetite to try to rein in Trump’s warmaking authority -- even as the number of places we are launching military force continues to grow, unchecked.

Visit trumpthreatlevel.indivisible.org for a running list of all the ways Trump makes us less safe and our latest foreign policy resources.

Introducing Indivisible Civics and Indivisible Project!

On Thursday, we made an exciting organizational announcement about how things are working at Indivisible. In 2017, we applied for independent 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) status from the IRS. These two entities are the Indivisible Civics and Indivisible Project, respectively.

Having two entities like this is a natural next step for many organizations like ours. This is a milestone we’re excited about and you can read more about these exciting update in our latest IndivisiBlog.

Lastly, as we grew in 2017, we sought out leaders in the progressive movement and other fields for advice, guidance, and support. These leaders have helped shape our organization and helped us build for the long haul… and many are now our board members. Here’s the full list of board members for both entities: 

Building power the Indivisible way

You’ve been a part of this movement for over a year now, and the work that your Indivisible groups have accomplished is inspiring. As we move closer and closer to November, not only are we building power within our groups, but we’re building power district by district, state by state, and nationwide (check out the latest resources on Indivisible435 on winning elections and more!). Keep riding this blue wave, and we’ll change the course of 2018 and beyond.

In solidarity,

The Indivisible Team