calls to action, updates & Legislative report 10/24/2025

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News to Know

Since becoming President, Trump has made $1,802,143,574.00 and that amount is increasing literally every second. His net worth has increased 7.5B since he became President. 
Because CAP (Center for American Progress) Action just released an incredible Cashing in on the Presidency tracker, and it’s got facts, figures, and all the receipts! They’ll continue to track Trump’s profiteering until he’s out of office. Keep track here.

The No Kings protests were a resounding success!
“When enough people stand up against state terrorism to hit a critical mass (3.5% of the population, according to political scientist Erica Chenoweth), others quickly join them. The turnout for the No Kings marches suggest we’re close to that.
Take heart. The No Kings marches proved both Trump’s widespread unpopularity and the fearlessness of an American public echoing over two centuries of our nation standing up to tinpot despots and wannabe dictators.” (The Hartmann Report)

Congress

From GovTrack:
The House is still enjoying Speaker Johnson’s gift of an extended vacation. Johnson believes this adds pressure on the Senate to pass his version of the continuing resolution and prevents the swearing in of Adelita Grijalva, the new representative for AZ-7 (she was elected to replace her father who died earlier this year) which prevents the 218th signature on the discharge petition that would then require a vote on a resolution demanding the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Because of the 27th Amendment, all members of Congress, unlike executive branch employees or Congressional staff, continue to get paid during a shutdown even if the House isn’t actually doing any work.
 
House republicans  “inserted a provision into the as-yet-unpassed legislative branch appropriations bill restricting Congress’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) from suing OMB under the Impoundment Control Act to recover withheld funds unless Congress passes a joint resolution permitting it to do so.” (GovTrack
 
More from GovTrack:
Passed the Senate, House next
S. 2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which passed 77-20 included amendments ending the Authorizations for Military Force in Iraq from 1991 and 2002. Roll Call provides details on the bill and amendments.
 
Failed in the Senate
H.R. 4016: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026
Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 50 – 44.
This bill is provisionally dead due to a failed vote for cloture on October 16, 2025. Cloture is required to move past a Senate filibuster or the threat of a filibuster and takes a 3/5ths vote.
 
S.J.Res. 71: A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared with respect to energy [Declared by Trump on Jan. 20}. All Democrats voted in favor, all Republicans opposed.
 
During the shutdown
Office of Budget Management head Russell Vought has  seized on the opportunity during the shutdown to fund Trump’s priorities, paying the military while slashing employees in health, education, the sciences and other areas with actions that have been criticized as illegal and are facing court challenges.” (AP News)
In addition,

• “About 42 million people receive money through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps. The U.S. Agriculture Department told states in an Oct. 10 letter  that if the shutdown continues, the program will run out of money to pay for benefits in November.” (Politifact)
• Thousands of federal workers missed paychecks Friday as about 670,000 have been furloughed and another 730,000 are working without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
• “Mass firings across the federal government have cut deep into an already diminished Education Department. Some 466 people received layoff notices last week, leaving the department smaller by a fifth and about half the size it was when President Donald Trump took office. Especially hard hit is the office that oversees special education services, which reportedly has been left with just a few senior staff. (Chalkbeat)

To find and contact your Members of Congress:  https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials 

In other news

“The Pentagon is sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, and its carrier air wing to the Caribbean as the Trump administration conducts strikes against boats in the region it says are smuggling illegal drugs.” (The Hill)

“The Trump administration is reportedly weighing limiting some disability benefits. Officials are preparing a plan that would make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments, which could result in hundreds of thousands of people losing them, according to The Washington Post. (DealBook)

“Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will rise 2.8 percent in 2026 after the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the federal government announced Friday.” (The Hill)

“U.S. green card holders applying to be naturalized citizens will now, as of Monday, face a changed civics test that critics say is both more complex and more subjective.” (Time)

The courts
On Thursday, October 16, 2025, a federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Indiana’s ban on student ID’s as a form of identification for voting. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Many court cases have been filed and decided, including the Supreme Court. For details and the latest, please see our webpage: 

The economy
“Two big data points in the headlines this week: 1) The average cost of a family health insurance plan will be $27,000 for coverage next year and 2) The federal debt grew faster than any time other than the pandemic and surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday…the feds are approaching  $1 trillion a year in interest payments. (The Hill)

“Annual inflation rose to 3 percent in September as a jump in gasoline and energy prices pushed price growth to its highest level since January.” (The Hill)

Election rigging
“North Carolina Republicans  passed a new congressional map on Tuesday, intent on contributing more Republicans to the US Congress as the national redistricting battlefield widens.
Currently, North Carolina has a 10-4 partisan split in favor of Republicans in Congress. The new map would result in an 11-3 split, replacing congressman Don Davis, a Democrat, with a Republican.
State law does not give North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Josh Stein, a veto of redistricting legislation.” (The Guardian)

Late Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that prominent election denier Kurt Olsen has joined the White House to focus on investigating the 2020 election and voting machines. This is just the latest step in the administration’s ongoing war on free and fair elections.

Military invasion of blue cities
“Under federal law, the president can take command of a state’s National Guard troops in limited circumstances: when the U.S. is being invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; when there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the United States; or when the president is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.””
“A key issue in the lawsuits brought by states and cities seeking to block the deployment of National Guard troops in their communities is whether a president’s determination is final on whether there is a danger of rebellion, or that the laws can’t be executed with “regular forces.”
(AP News)

Pritzker has formed a commission to document alleged abuses by federal agents during “Operation Midway Blitz.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

Indiana

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales and the directors of the Indiana Election Division are being sued over a new state law that impacts naturalized citizens who vote, arguing that they violate federal voter registration and civil rights laws. (IndyStar)
 
“School administrators recently meddled with the Indiana Daily Student newspaper by urging the student media director, Jim Rodenbush, to remove any hard news from the print editions. Rodenbush refused — pointing out that the paper is run by the students, not him — and he was fired on Tuesday. Then the university went even further and “ordered the publication to cease printing,” Indianapolis Star reporter (and IU alum) Cate Charron reports here.
So on Thursday, the student editors released a digital edition of the paper featuring a front page that said “CENSORED,” with full coverage of the controversy. The editors don’t buy the university’s claims that this is all about improving the publication’s finances and preparing students “for digital-first careers.”
“This is about a breach of editorial independence,” the editors said. Many students, alumni and press freedom groups agree.” (Reliable Sources)
 
“A program to prepare low-income Hoosier students for college has ended after the $35 million federal grant that paid for it was canceled.
Why it matters: The Indiana GEAR UP program served thousands of students. It’s the latest casualty in President Trump’s war on any education funding that is perceived as tied to “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives.” (Axios)
 
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus has condemned mid-decade redistricting efforts from state Republicans and the White House as an effort to undermine the democratic process and dilute the power of Black voters. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
 
Indiana advocacy groups have delivered more than 10,000 new signatures to the Statehouse opposing redistricting, bringing the total to 20,000 signatures from across all 92 counties. (WRTV)
 
“The Hammond Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a resolution “prohibiting” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from using city property without city permission. 
The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Barry Tyler, D-3rd, affirms the council’s support for actions taken by the city’s mayor last week. On Oct. 9, Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said that the city intervened to block armed ICE agents from using the Hammond Police Department’s parking lot as a staging area.” (NWI Times)
 
“Several Indiana voting rights organizations are suing the state over laws they say only target naturalized citizens. The lawsuit says two recent state laws violate federal voting protections.” (WFYI)
 
“NIPSCO is projecting its residential customers will pay 16% more for natural gas during the winter heating season that runs from November to March compared to last winter…Across the country, higher costs to construct and maintain natural gas infrastructure are pushing gas delivery charges higher. The United States also is exporting an unprecedented amount of liquefied natural gas, which limits domestic supplies and forces Americans to pay more.” (NWI Times)
 
“The 2025 budgeting season, which will conclude on Nov. 3, has brough unique challenges for municipal officials. Provisions from the recently passed Senate Enrolled Act 1, a legislative overhaul of Indiana’s property tax and local income tax systems, will be phased in starting next year.
Under the new law, homeowners will receive a 10% annual property tax credit worth up to $300. SEA 1 will also raise the de minimis exemption for property taxes on machinery and other business personal property from $80,000 to $2 million. The law’s fiscal analysis projected that school districts, municipalities and other local government entities would miss out on an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2026, 2027 and 2028.” (NWI Times)

To find and contact your Indiana legislators: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/find-legislators/