Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) on Monday published a thread on X outlining what steps Congress, federal courts and the public can play to fight against what she called President Donald Trump’s “extreme actions.”
Rep. Pingree said in the thread that she frequently receives the question: “What are you going to *do* about it?” regarding President Trump’s actions taken during the first two weeks of his second term.
“It’s a fair point–especially when the President has thus far avoided any real accountability,” Pingree said of Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term, faced decades in prison and hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties for legal cases brought against him during the Biden administration, and survived two assassination attempts last year.
In her thread, Pingree emphasized the power that Congress will have in holding back Trump’s agenda, listing the power to spend taxpayer dollars, the power to investigate, the power to challenge actions in court and the power to impeach.
Pingree used the example of Trump’s recent directive to freeze certain federal assistance, which she referred to as “stealing” and has been temporarily blocked by federal judges in Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.
“The Administration’s directive to ‘impound’ funds from Congress is unconstitutional,” Pingree wrote. “While they rescinded a memo calling for a total freeze, they’re still stealing these funds.”
On investigations, Pingree said that the House Democrats, as the minority, cannot control hearings or subpoenas, but are able to call witnesses as well as “work with whistleblowers to uncover vital information,” and to release those leaks to the public.
“All these tools are on the table. And we’ll use them,” Pingree wrote.
“The courts will play a critical role, too,” Pingree continued. “The President is pushing the boundaries of the separation of powers. The only remedy is to challenge him by getting the courts to rule he’s gone too far.”
Pingree included the example of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over his first-day executive order redefining birthright citizenship to exclude the children of illegal aliens.
“None of this is easy. We are in uncharted waters,” Pingree said. “But we *will* keep fighting the President’s actions as best we can—and we will use every tool at our disposal to keep this Administration in check. We understand the stakes. And we’re not going to back down.”
Pingree acknowledged the fact that another impeachment of Trump is unlikely to succeed while the Republicans control both the House and Senate, despite calling it an “appealing option.”
The Maine Democrat said the “most powerful tool” of Congress, however, is communication with constituents.
“I will always explain what I vote on and why. That’s my job. But legislation in the Trump era is going to be different,” she wrote, calling the recently signed into law Laken Riley Act, which she opposed, a “‘gotcha’ bill.”
The law bears the name of 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, who was murdered by José Antonio Ibarra, 26, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela previously arrested multiple times and continuously released back into the community rather than facing detainment and deportation.
The Laken Riley Act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain illegal immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes, and empowers states to sue the federal government over failure to enforce immigration laws.
“I know the past few weeks have been exhausting, and there is a long road ahead,” Pingree concluded her thread. “We’ll use the tools we have in Congress. We’ll stand up + push back. We’ll use our voices. And if the American people use theirs, too, we will be able to hold the Administration accountable.”
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