What’s happening:

To begin 2017, the House GOP voted to effectively kill the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. By Tuesday morning, organizations got to work and thousands of you took to the phones to call your representatives (drawing from the Indivisible guide, here’s the script I shared). The calls worked: within 24 hours, the motion was unanimously recalled. Many news outlets wrongly credited the action to tweets sent from the President-elect, but as the Washington Post’s Robert Costa reported: “Most members tell me the blizzard of angry constituent calls were the most important factor in getting the House to sideline the amendment.”



This episode was revealing for a lot of reasons. It showed us what the House GOP was bizarrely willing to prioritize to start the year. It showed them that we are listening. And it showed us all the power of collective action. Best of all, it gives us the opportunity to push the advantage:



What you can do: (12 minutes)

✓ Speaking of ethics, call your House Representative to demand they support a review of Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest (namely, his ability to receive payments from foreign governments while in office).



Here is a sample script.



“With the House GOP’s actions on ethics this week, I wanted to make sure [Rep. X] supports ethics across the board, especially regarding Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest. Passing temporary control to his family is not enough, as he will retain the ability to receive payments from foreign governments and organizations. This could lead him to make foreign policy decisions that do not prioritize our country’s security or my family’s safety.”

Potential follow-ups:

“The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has stated that the President-Elect must divest himself to avoid conflicts of interest. Will [Rep. X] publicly ask the President-elect to do so? If not, why not?”

"71% percent of voters in red or purple states think that Trump should not be allowed to receive payments from foreign governments. Are you comfortable running counter to your constituent demands?"

“Will [Rep. X] publicly support Representative Cummings' (D-MD) repeated calls for a review of these possible conflicts in the House Oversight Committee, where he is the ranking member? If not, why not?”

“Will [Rep. X] publicly call on Chairman Chaffetz (R-UT) to move forward with the review? Does [Rep. X] support Chairman Chaffetz’s indifference?”

“Trump has interests in more than 500 business entities spread across at least 20 countries. Does [Rep. X] think it’s right that the American people have no transparency into how that affects his decision-making as Commander-in-Chief?”

Finally, if any of the answers above don’t yield a positive response, let them know that you’ll be notifying your friends, family, social networks, and local newspapers. Then report how the call went.



✓ Ask your Senator to publicly support Sen. Ben Cardin’s resolution for Trump to “Comply with Constitution by Truly Severing Relationship with Private Business.” The bill has 22 co-sponsors. Find your senator here.