Trump Administration/Executive Ethics

This week the House of Representatives is poised to vote on H.R. 1, the "For the People Act." The bill's marquee provisions to protect the freedom to vote, end gerrymandering, and reduce the undue influence of money in the political process have received well-deserved attention. It is a transformative bill. The For The People Act would set fair, baseline standards to reverse the coordinated, Republican-led state efforts to restrict voting at the state level. More than 250 such restrictive bills have already been filed or carried over in state legislatures this year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice - part of a partisan backlash to the historic turnout in 2020 when Americans, especially Black and Brown voters, showed up in record numbers in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic. But like any comprehensive bill, there is far more than meets the eye. The bill has numerous other provisions to bolster and strengthen democracy. Here are just a few.

Today, Common Cause urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the For the People Act (H.R. 1) when it goes to a floor vote on Wednesday. The letter notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote final passage of H.R. 1, and possibly amendments that would weaken the bill, in our next Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members. The pro-voter, anti-corruption bill contains the most comprehensive set of democracy reforms to be introduced in Congress since the post-Watergate reforms were passed in the 1970s. The letter emphasizes that our democracy faces a crisis in the wake of insurrectionists storming the Capitol and more than 250 GOP voter suppression bills – largely targeting Black and Brown Americans - introduced in state legislatures since Republicans lost the White House and control of the Senate.

We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass a new law, based on countless democracy reforms passed and successfully implemented in states across the country, the For the People Act. The bill, which will go to a vote of the full House the first week in March, includes provisions that will end secret, unaccountable money in politics, help ensure every voter, regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, or ZIP code, has equal access to the ballot box, end partisan gerrymandering, and strengthen conflict of interest and ethics laws for public officials. The For the People Act, designated as H.R. 1 and S. 1 in Congress, is the most comprehensive pro-democracy bill introduced in Congress since the Watergate era. It is the bold action that the American people want and deserve. 

Stephen Spaulding, Common Cause: "It is a crime to incite rebellion. And that is a statute that I hope investigators, federal investigators, the District of Columbia, and others will investigate and unspool whether, in fact, he meets that standard."

Americans remain united in their condemnation of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and still expect those responsible to be held accountable. Today, the Senate fell just 10 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to convict twice-impeached former President Donald Trump to hold him accountable for orchestrating and inciting the bloody attack on our democracy that left five people dead, and came dangerously close to many more deaths. Too many GOP Senators, fearing continued bullying from Donald Trump and primary challenges from extremists, chose political expediency and their own reelection over the safety of the nation and the well-being of our democracy.

Today, Common Cause called on every Member of the U.S. Senate to vote to convict former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection by a mob that stormed the United States Capitol, leaving five dead, in an attempt to stop certification of the legitimate election of Joe Biden as President. The letter urges Senators to defend the Constitution and the rule of law by voting “yes” to convict Trump on the incitement of insurrection article of impeachment, and to follow conviction with a vote to prevent Trump from holding office again.