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The Gov Hub Newsletter: February 17, 2025

Firings like it's an episode of The Apprentice, a bill that gives full Cult vibes, and somehow three Good News Bears stories

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Gov Hub
February 17, 2025

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Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov® – a Dem tent weekly that shares action items you can do from your phone, good political news, civic engagement tools and topics, and a little dose of political goss too, right to your inbox.  

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2025 SPECIAL ELECTION WATCH

Add to cal, tell a friend

  • MAINE: Sean Faircloth is running in a special election on February 25, 2025 for a state House seat [HD-24], which could increase the current small Dem majority.

  • IOWA: Nanette Griffin is running for a special election in Iowa state House District 100 to fill a newly vacant. The election is on March 11, 2025.

  • PENNSYLVANIA: Dan Goughnour is running in a special election to fill a vacant state House seat in HD-35. The race will determine which party has the majority in the state House. The election is on March 25, 2025.

  • PENNSYLVANIA: James Malone is running to flip a state Senate seat in the 36th Senatorial District. The election is on March 25, 2025.

  • FLORIDA: Gay Valimont is running in a special election to fill the vacant Congressional District one seat formerly held by Matt Gaetz. The election is on April 1, 2025.

  • FLORIDA: Josh Weil is running in a special election to fill the now vacant District Six Congressional seat. The election is on April 1, 2025.

  • WISCONSIN: Susan Crawford is running for a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court – a seat that will determine the lean of the court. The election is on April 1, 2025.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

WASH. STATE GOV. FERGUSON ANNOUNCES $14.6M IN GRANTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS: Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson and the Washington State Department of Commerce gave the green light to $14.6 million in grants to support the build-out of over 1,800 affordable housing units. The 24 included projects will span 10 counties and are qualified as “shovel-ready” by the Governor’s office; they range in focus, from options for seniors to other supportive housing types. The grants specifically will be used to build below-ground infrastructure like sewer pipes. In addition the grants are to reimburse waived development fees that often pop up with projects like these.

NY GOV. HOCHUL ANNOUNCES $150M FOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS AT SUNY & CUNY CAMPUSES: New York is feelin’ [20]22 with this announcement from Governor Hochul on climate-focused funding allocated from the 2022 NY Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. This round of funding, totaling $150 million, will be used to make the state’s public college campuses more resilient in the face of a rapidly changing climate. Of the dinero, $100 million will go to the SUNY system and $50 million to three CUNY campuses, funding projects like solar canopies to build out thermal energy networks, and more. The specifics per campus can be found here.

IL GOV. PRITZKER SIGNS THE KIND ACT TO IMPROVE FOSTER CARE OUTCOMES: The KIND Act, or rather the Kinship in Demand Act, has been signed into law by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. The new law enables the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to create standards that will enable the certification of grandparents and other relatives who are able to take care of children that end up in the Department’s care. The aim is better outcomes for youth and a roadmap to guardianship for family members that are able to provide a permanent, safe home. The certification piece of the puzzle is critical to that roadmap, as it opens the door to increased financial support for relative caregivers [unlicensed family members caring for youth]. The Department, as a result of the KIND Act, is in the process of drawing up new certification standards for relative caregivers that will reduce barriers to entry while continuing a baseline of welfare standards.

QUICK CLAPS

Dem Electoral Wins

  • Ray Siegfried won a special election for a state Senate seat in Delaware's 5th District, while Dan Cruce won a special election for a state Senate seat in Delaware’s 1st District.

  • Ken Jenkins won a special election for Westchester County Executive, beating a MAGA opponent.

  • Stephen Tyler Holman flipped the Mayorship of Norman, Oklahoma blue. BTW, Norman is Oklahoma’s 3rd largest city.

CATACLYSMIC CORRUPTION

Mostly stories that involve Elon

  • In a move that would make most people in the know go nuclear, Trump Admin Officials decided it would be a good life choice to fire over 300 staffers employed at the National Nuclear Security Administration, last Thursday. And as one could imagine the staffers fired have the oh so casual job of overseeing the U.S.’s nuclear weapons. Come Friday, the Department of Energy began rescinding some of the firings, but per what seems like a continued bad game of telephone, no one quite knows who really will be staying on versus not, and rather anything else for that matter.

  • On the matter of staffing at the Department of Veterans Affairs [the VA], DOGE and crew have fired over 1,000 workers thus far. And to add a little sparkle to the red, white, and corrupt vibes, Military.com has reported that the VA “appears to be canceling contracts for research on veteran suicide, opioid addiction, cancer and illnesses related to burn puts.”

  • If conflicts of interest were a person, it would be named Elon Musk, and this guide draws the connection between his companies, the 11 federal agencies that have been investigating his companies, and how he is now gutting those agencies as an unelected pocket president.

  • Trump x Elon’s DOGE collab has requested access to IRS taxpayer data ahead of the April 15 tax filing deadline. So yes, the richest man in the world is requesting access to the personal tax information of millions of Americans, nonprofits, and companies, which is nothing short of being “on brand” and extremely suspect.

  • Senator Cory Booker took to IG to outline five corrupt MAGA moves that the Trump Admin has done recently. The quick list, in case you’re on a social media cleanse:

    • Trump fired the head of the Office of Ethics. Bestie’s job was preventing conflicts of interests amongst federal officials.

    • Trump stopped the enforcement of the Foreign Practices Act, a law that prohibits American companies from paying cash bribes to foreign officials [can we get a comment from Bobby Goldbars on this one?!]

    • Trump nixed an executive order that banned political appointees from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

    • Trump fired almost all U.S. Inspector Generals aka the people that literally exist to root out corruption and fraud.

    • Trump is playing a game of “BLOCKED” by hiding financial disclosures for his black hat MAGA bestie pop.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL, CULT HOLIDAYS: Governor Walz once said “these people are weird” and this newly introduced bill only further validates that assessment. The bill, brought to the table by a GOP Congresswoman, would make President Trump’s birthday and Flag Day [June 14] a codified, offish federal holiday. Like, build a shrine on your own dime and dollar girlypop?

OHIO, BODILY AUTONOMY: Following in the footsteps of a bill hard launched in Mississippi earlier this year, two Ohio state legislators have introduced the Conception Begins at Erection Act. The bill would criminalize “discharging” semen without the intent to fertilize with a fine of up to $10K per unlawful discharge of the swimmers. And per some laws that regulate women’s bodies, there are some “exceptions” included in the bill.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

News that’s just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

  • Missouri’s AG is suing Starbucks – no, not for serving burnt coffee [albeit a valiant cause] – but for, and we quote via The Guardian, “for discrimination because its workforce has “become more female and less white.” Also included in the suit is an unsubstantiated claim that DEI is the reason for higher prices – totally not from current trade wars or anything…

  • A new study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that infant mortality increased about 6% in the states with abortion bans, with the increase particularly prevalent amongst  at-risk populations.

  • PA Governor Shapiro is suing the Trump Administration for cutting off Congressionally-approved federal funding for the following: plugging 500+ abandoned oil wells, reclaiming 24,000 acres of abandoned mines, building and maintaining 16 water treatment systems for toxic runoff, and more.

  • Trump’s EO halting funding for projects made possible by Biden’s Infrastructure law has resulted in more than 2,000 low income households in Alabama having their electricity credit stopped, and their next bill featuring a $100 charge to claw back the federal credit that was dispersed to them on January 23, 2025.

  • Friday might’ve been Valentine’s Day, but that doesn’t mean break-ups aren’t on the horizon. These are Politico’s predictions on which odd “couples” are likely not to beat the opposites attract odds.

THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 – ELON’S HOSTILE TAKEOVER

The Ask: Tell your Senators to stand their ground and do something about Elon’s hostile takeover of the American government.

The Background: A rogue South African has been running rampant across federal agencies via his unofficial gov “agency,” DOGE, firing people, stealing American’s data, accessing sensitive financial systems, working with teenagers that have published classified info online, and loads of other harmful actions. Senators need to grow a back bone and put a foot down.

ACTION 2 – LINDA MCMAHON

The Ask: Tell your Senators to oppose Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education.

The Background: The nominee to lead the Department of Education – a department that the Trump Administration is already trying to illegally dissolve – replied to Senator Chris Murphy’s question of whether Trump would defund schools that teach African American history, like this. It’s a reply that tells you everything you need to know.

ACTION 3 – DISABILITY RIGHTS

The Ask: Email (and call) your GOP state AG (if you’re in one of these states) and tell them that you oppose their lawsuit that aims to dismantle section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in the case of Texas c. Becerra.

The Background: If you live in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, or West Virginia, you’re state Attorney General is suing to get rid of protections for those with disabilities that are allotted to them via Section 504.

PS & BTW, CALL YOUR REPS TOO. XOXO TYSM

EXTREMISM

…that’s the tweet [or the x]

  • TW – VIOLENCE: A trans man from Minnesota, Sam Nordquist, was found murdered in New York state after being reported missing by his family. Law enforcement officials have found evidence that Sam was tortured for over two months, and the depraved acts against him led to his death. Five individuals have been charged with second-degree murder with depraved indifference. According to CNN, investigators have yet to rule out classifying the murder as a hate crime.

  • The literal president of the United States took to Truth Social/Twitter this weekend to post the following language: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” It’s giving creepy wink/nod to those to ignore laws including to himself.

TOP OF THE EARBUDS

Listen, watch, learn

  • The American Medical Association is becoming YouTube famous realllll fast with its updates on bird flu, the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas, and more. Tune in and subscribe here.

  • The People’s Princess aka Jack Schlossberg sat down with Jen Psaki on this eppy of The Blueprint to chat about how the Dems keep losing the internet – and how to reach young men effectively. Watch the chat here.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE

Politics meets social media

  • Nothing to see here folks, just Trump’s mugshot hanging on a wall at the Oval Office. And while that’s criminal AF, literally, so is whoever thinking that the dimensions of that frame job are correct.

  • MAGA influencer, Ashley St. Clair took to the interwebs late last week to claim that she had given birth five months ago to Elon Musk’s 13th child. She also urged Elon to “finish their agreement” whatever that means.

  • The federal agencies that mass firings are happening at via DOGE include those that as Ben Sheehan describes, keep planes from crashing into each other (FAA), ensure that our food doesn’t poison us (USDA), ensure we have clean air and water (EPA), takes care of people that have served our country (VA), tries to cure and treat life-threatening diseases (NIH), and prevents wildfires from spreading (Forest Service/USDA).

  • Governor Tim Walz participated in a polar bear plunge Minnesota style to raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics, which will be next held in Minnesota in 2026.

  • Governor Hochul has the power to fire NYC Mayor Eric Adams. She shared her thoughts on that power, in the current context of chaos, with Rachel Maddow.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

  • CBS News: How a Vermont border agent’s death exposed violence linked to the cult-like Zizian group

  • New Jersey Monitor: Court battle over policies on transgender students leads to ruling – and repeal

  • AP: Trump moves with dizzying speed on his to-do list. But there are warning signs in his first month

  • Politico: Rep. Daniel Goldman on DOJ’s dismissal of Eric Adams case: ‘Outright extortion’

BEFORE YOU GO…

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