Campaign Action
Last November, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein "declined to take a hard line" against GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, saying only that he would get a "full and fair” confirmation process. But this Tuesday Feinstein, acting as the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, explained why she would oppose Sessions in light of Donald Trump’s swift retaliation against acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to defend his racist Muslim ban.
“Members, that statement took guts,” Feinstein said of Yates' opposition to Trump’s ban. "That is what an attorney general must be willing and able to do. I have no confidence that Senator Sessions will do that.”
Until this point, Feinstein had a 100 percent record of voting FOR Trump’s nominees, including Gen. James Mattis (Defense), Gen. John Kelly (DHS), Mike Pompeo (CIA), Nikki Haley (U.N.), and Elaine Chao (Transportation). So let's be clear about this: Feinstein opposing Jeff Sessions—her colleague of many years—is nothing short of a HUGE VICTORY for all the activists who called Feinstein's office, sent her emails, met with her staff, and even protested at her home in San Franciso.
On Sunday afternoon, as about 2,000 protesters were picketing at SFO against President Trump's sudden ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, about 200 demonstrators headed in the opposite direction, to Senator Dianne Feinstein's mansion in Pacific Heights. They were there to express their displeasure at the senator's unexpectedly pro-Trump voting record.
Rest assured, Feinstein heard you. So did Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, who just told MSNBC he hasn’t “ever had so many thousands of letters and emails” regarding a single nominee. The people will and must provide the backbone that Democrats need to stand firm against Trump at every turn. On Monday, the Indivisible team held a nationwide phone call that organizers said included some 25,000 callers across the country. Find a local group and, to borrow a phrase from an LGBTQ activist group: GET OUT, GET ACTIVE, GET EQUAL!
Next up: Trump’s Supreme Court pick. All hands on deck!