Politics

‘Your job is to represent us’: Mass. democratic committees urge party to act against Trump

Dozens of local democratic committees signed a letter addressed to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation calling for action.

Members of the audience listened at a Lowell town hall where Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was "wrong" for backing the GOP budget. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

By Emilia Wisniewski

April 11, 2025

2 minutes to read

Dozens of local democratic committees signed a letter addressed to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation calling for action against the Trump Administration.

Thirty-eight committees signed off on a letter that wrote it is up to the Democrats in Congress to hold President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House and Senate Republicans accountable — but they have “utterly failed to meet the moment.”

“The ‘strategy’ of letting the GOP destroy our society and then hoping for the best in the 2026 midterms is not only immoral, it is bad politics,” the letter said.

DTC Letter to MA Congressional Delegation Download

Many democratic leaders in Massachusetts have said that the party’s message is muddled. In March, a thin majority allowed a Republican-led spending bill to pass despite an option of a government shutdown.

This inaction “lit a fire” for many democratic committees, including Boston Ward 4 Co-Chair Carol Lasky. She said most of the committees came together — something uncommon for the groups — one month ahead of Trump’s inauguration per Mayor Michelle Wu’s request.

After that, many committees came together to work on letters to state senators and, eventually, to the congressional delegation.

“We’re determined as a group to create an action-driven agenda
that calls for real leadership, real opposition,” Lasky said. “No more business as usual.”

Voters have spoken out against the administration as well, with thousands of people protesting in Boston Common on April 5 as part of the national “Hands Off!” movement.

“In order to win elections you have to give people something to vote for, which means you have to fight,” the committees wrote in the letter.

The committees called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be replaced, citing that he has allowed Senate Republicans to give Trump and his allies power. Schumer, in a New York Times profile, said that, in the past, Republicans were more willing to work with him when Trump’s approval rate was below 40 percent.

Lasky said committee members “just don’t understand” Schumer’s decision to back the spending bill and allow Trump’s cabinet appointments.

“This just is caving and and not doing their jobs,” Lasky said.

The letter also called for the party to invoke quorum calls in the Senate, create a “shadow cabinet” to work against Trump administration policies, and defend oppressed groups of people.

Trump banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports on Feb. 5, with the NCAA following suit shortly after and prohibiting transgender college athletes from its activities. The letter called democrats’ inaction on this as “politically misguided and immoral.”

The committees praised Mayor Michelle Wu in her appearance in front of the House Committee of Oversight March 6, saying Boston is “a haven for people of all cultures and backgrounds,” referring to its immigrant history.

The letter repeated many times that the Democratic party needs to directly communicate with its voters during this time.

“[We need to] keep our eyes open and hold people accountable and insist on transparency, insist on response, insist on demonstrable response to the firestorm that we’re all experiencing right now,” Lasky said.