Coup Fighters

PRESENTED BY A PUFFIN A-FLUFFIN’

So… there’s a coup d’état going on.¹ Who’s fighting back?

Today, the Federal United Network is protesting with Save Our Services rallies across the nation. In D.C. there’s a massive protest outside the Health and Human Services headquarters at noon and a march on the SpaceX DC headquarters at 5:30 pm.

Cathy Harris, chair of the Merit Systems Protections Board, remains unfired, as U.S. district judge Rudolph Contreras placed a restraining order keeping her in office in charge of overseeing federal worker protections, such as appeals by the tens of thousands of probationary employees illegally fired in recent days by Trump and Musk.

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger remains unfired, as a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to remove the restraining order keeping him in his office as the nation’s protector of federal whistleblowers, including the tens of thousands of probationary employees illegally fired in recent days by Trump and Musk. Trump’s acting solicitor general, Sarah M. Harris, has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

And boy do Dellinger and Harris matter: thousands of fired employees have filed a class action appeal with the Special Counsel to seek a stay of the firings by the Merit Systems Protections Board.² Last night, Trump issued an executive order that would effectively dissolve the powers of the Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protections Board, with the declaration that there are no executive agencies independent of his direct command and control.

Dozens of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees have sued Elon Musk and DOGE for unconstitutionally dismantling their agency, as have the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and other organizations. Today, Trump lawyers told Judge Amir Ali they are refusing to obey his order preventing USAID’s demolition.³

Democratic Attorneys General are suing to overturn the funding freeze, to halt DOGE, and to protect birthright citizenship.

The City of Baltimore is suing to block the dissolution of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The National Federation of Federal Employees has filed suit “against the Trump Administration’s orders to gut the federal workforce.” The AFL-CIO is suing against DOGE’s access to the Department of Labor’s information systems. The American Federation of Government Employees and Service Employees International Union are suing to block DOGE access to the Treasury’s information systems. The Center for Taxpayer Rights, the Main Street Alliance, NFFE, and the Communications Workers of America are suing to block DOGE access to the IRS’s information systems.

And the American people are taking to the streets, jamming the phone lines of Congress, and demanding answers at Congressional town halls across the nation.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, has launched a portal for employees illegally fired from the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Power Marketing Administration to share their stories. His team also has a confidential tip line, and his chief of staff, Ana Unruh Cohen, is personally collecting any stories fired employees want to share publicly at [email protected].

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is launching a “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour, starting with Congressional districts won by Joe Biden in 2020 and a Republican House member in 2024—Iowa City, Iowa, represented by Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Omaha, Neb., represented by Rep. Don Bacon.

Other than Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who has placed a hold on Trump’s State Department nominees, not a single Democratic senator has placed a blanket hold on any nominees. Billionaire Howard Lutnick was confirmed as Secretary of Commerce last night. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination hearing for Secretary of Labor and Paul Lawrence’s nomination hearing for Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs are happening now.

“Good luck with that.” CNN made FOIA request about DOGE—only to learn FOIA staff was fired. Shockwaves at Vermont’s USDA research unit as half the team is laid off. 10% of NASA’s workforce has been laid off. Protesters block trucks carrying Palisades Fire debris from dumping loads at Calabasas Landfill. Fossil-fueled weather causes the price of cocoa and coffee to double. Urgent CDC data and analyses on influenza and bird flu go missing as outbreaks escalate.

Hearings on the Hill:

• 9:30 AM: Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
  Nomination of Paul Lawrence to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs

• 10 AM: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
  Nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Secretary of Labor

• 10 AM: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
  Federal Environmental Review and Permitting Processes

Climate Action Today:

• 11 AM: Climate Action Against Disinformation
  Techno-Feudalism & Climate Disinformation Webinar

• 12 PM: Federal Unionists Network
  Fund Don't Freeze: Rally at HHS Headquarters

Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word. If you’ve got job listings, event listings, or other hot news, I want to hear it. Connect with me—@climatebrad.hillheat.com on BlueSky, @[email protected], and climatebrad on LinkedIn.

1  Political scientists are furiously debating whether the coup is flavored more like autogolpe or state capture.

2  Alden Law Group, the counsel for the class action, is asking for as many fired probationary employees to fill out this Google form (which can be reached from a link on top of their website). Yes, it’s not the best security practice, but needs must when the devil drives.

3  Evidence for the autogolpe camp.