The Gov Hub Newsletter: May 5, 2025

Constitution-gate, Pope-gate, running-gate, vaccine-gate, Signal-gate, and more insane stories that top Watergate

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Gov Hub
May 05, 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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GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

PA GOV. SHAPIRO LAUNCHES CONSUMER COMPLAINT HOTLINE: On his hotline bling, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has launched a consumer complaint HQ. The HQ enables residents to report issues that normally would be received and handled by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB], from a suss experience with a student loan servicer to having a health insurance claim denied. Since shutting down the CFPB is on the Trump Admin’s to-do list, the Shapiro Admin has further stepped in and up on tackling bad actors taking advantage of PA residents via predatory practices and scams, with this new centralized reporting tool. Consumers are able to file a complaint by phone [1-866-722-6675], online, and by email [[email protected]].

MAINE GOV. MILLS SIGNS BIPARTISAN STORM PREPAREDNESS BILL: Notching a bipartisan win for Maine, Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 1 into law with the goal of improving the state’s infrastructure and overall preparedness in weathering severe storms. The bill now law, or rather An Act to increase Storm Preparedness For Maine’s Communities, Homes & Infrastructure, will invest $39M into storm resilience measures. Three core programs will be built out including the Home Resiliency Program, which will be used to help lower-income homeowners strengthen their roofs and flood-proof their basements to reduce both potential storm damage and insurance losses. Also included in the law is the Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Resources and Statewide Communications initiative, which will create a loan fund and a roadmap for updating comms and warning systems. The legislation will also launch the Flood Ready Maine initiative to improve flood models, update flood models, and build out a regional floodplain management system.

QUICK CLAPS

Dem Electoral Wins

  • Angelina Ramirez won a special election for a state House seat in Iowa’s 78th district in an absolute landslide, winning 79% of the vote.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE

Politics meets social media

  • Running influencer Kate Mackz interviewed Karoline Leavitt, or as many on TikTok call her, KKKaroline. The reaction has been… mmm… bad? Which obvi is the risk you take when you decide to interview a member of an Admin that’s deporting citizen children with cancer. Hope Walz, whose dad was interviewed by Kate Mackz during the campaign, was like WTF girlypop, perhaps take down the vid of my pops then? And then conservatives we’re all like “running isn’t political” and then everyone else went, you sure about that?? And dropped the facts on how running IS political.

  • Hillary Clinton spoke at the 92nd Street Y as part of the Newmark Civic Life Series about her new book and her POVs on what’s happening now. She shared both what worries her, what gives her hope, and what people need to do, which is pay attention to what Trump says – per her, “he telegraphs everything he’s going to do.”

  • Without any proof at all nor a single example of a school that does this, Texas Republicans, including the state’s governor, are claiming that schools are giving students litter boxes to relieve themselves. And with their faux [fur] claim in hand, they’re pushing a bill called the “Furries Act.” 

  • Fighting back against “Diabolical Don” as Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett [TX-D] calls our current prez, is going to require people running for office. This is what she had to say to those that are considering running up and down the ballot and are on the fence about jumping in.

  • Congressman Dan Goldman [NY-D] point blank asked his colleagues to raise their hand if they were against deporting citizen children with cancer. All of the Democrats raised their hands and not a single Republican raised their hand – effectively cosigning that modus operandi.

  • Congressman Moskowitz [FL-D] tied together a fire fit with a political scandal that keeps on getting lit, wearing this tie that features the emojis used in the Signal chat that included war plans.

  • At the Eleanor’s Legacy luncheon last week, NY AG Tish James shared the wins her and her fellow Dem AGs have racked in against the Administration, and who her next lawsuit is going to target [hint: he had a worm in his brain].

  • If you recall, Republican Senator Jim Banks [IN] reacted to a fired federal worker asking if he was going to do anything to help federal workers by saying that he [the federal worker] was a “clown” who probably “deserved to be fired.” Said HHS worker, Mack Schroeder shared more on his experience and his desire for Americans to get the services they deserve at this town hall focused on federal workers that have been forced out. 

EXTREMISM

…that’s the tweet [or the x]

  • When asked whether every person in the U.S. is entitled to due process during a Meet the Press interview, Trump said “I don’t know.” Then, when asked “don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” he also said “I don’t know.” To recap: The current president of the United States said he does not know whether he needs to uphold the Constitution and ensure people are given due process.

  • Alcatraz, the notorious former prison turned National Historic Landmark that sees 1.6M visitors a year, is in the news as a result of Trump floating the idea on Truth Social that it should be reopened to detain immigrants. In that same post, he ranted about judges giving everyone a trial… and this was the reaction from Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin [R].

  • In Nashville this weekend, there was a major ICE raid targeting the city’s immigrant communities, which included pulling over and detaining mothers that were driving with their children. Footage from the ground shows families watching their kin driven away in a bus. The city’s mayor, Freddie O’Connell put out this statement in response.

  • In New York state, at a town hall hosted by Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, a constituent was forcibly removed by law enforcement – like literally lifted in the air and carried out. The GOP member of Congress then had even more audacity to tell his constituents to “behave.” The person filming the situation was also removed from the town hall.

  • Instead of saving Americans money, Trump will be hosting a military parade for his birthday, which is estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars, requiring 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, and 50 helicopters.

CRASHING OUT 101…

Like the economy…

  • The current horror movie to watch is actually a live, reality show, which over the weekend had a new plot line added when Trump announced plans to put a 100% tariff [tax] on movies made in other countries. In a web of bologna that even would push it for soap opera writers, Trump made claims that movies filmed abroad are a national security threat, filled with propaganda, and are somehow harming Hollywood financially. This move comes despite the fact that at least 18 states offer various moviemaking incentive programs and credits.

  • Trump isn’t playing chess or checkers, he’s playing the blame game with the economy. In his Meet the Press interview, he claimed that the “good parts of the economy” were his and the “bad parts of the economy” were Biden’s.

  • The Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka noted that the shipping volume coming into the port is expected to drop this week by 35% as a result of Trump’s tariffs. He also shared that 45% of the goods transported through the Port of Los Angeles come from China, and that with retailers halting all shipments from China, consumers will start to see empty shelves and price hikes in 5-7 weeks.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Stories that are guaranteed to make it to the group chat

  • ATTN: San Antonio, TX – you have a runoff election on June 7, 2025 to determine who your next mayor will be. The candidates are EMILY’s List endorsed former U.S. Air Force Undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones and conservative, former TX Secretary of State Rolando Pablo, who references traveling to receive reproductive care as “abortion tourism.”

  • Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who was notoriously threatened by Trump and his Admin over refusing to bar trans girls from girls sports, won against Trump via a settlement. The tl;dr: the Trump Admin’s USDA will be unfreezing funds it was withholding for education programs in Maine that it was trying to use to get the Governor to “fall in line.” Gov. Mill’s response? “I told him I’d see him in court. Well, we did see him in court, and we won.” and more officially, this.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

In the club, we’re all sick

  • The flu vaccination rate for kids has decreased significantly this season to around 49%, which is down from 64% five years ago. Another change in the numbies is the number of children that have died as a result of the flu. This year, so far, has had the highest number of flu deaths for children in 15 years.

  • The federally funded World Trade Center Health Program is in limbo and as a result is leaving first responders in a limbo that could cost them their lives. The limbo also applies to program leader, Dr. John Howard who was removed in February, followed by claims that he was reinstated, which cannot be substantiated. Without confirmation of Dr. Howard’s role, there’s an inability to certify and thus treat patients under the program because certifications have to be signed off on by Dr. Howard… Also a part of the ‘scaries’ is that it appears that the program can no longer enroll new members or approve life-saving treatment like chemo.  

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

CONNECTICUT, MILITARY FAMILIES & VETERANS: A bipartisan bill – the Hero Act – has passed in the CT state House that would provide military families and veterans in the state new benefits, should it get over the full finish line. The bill includes four central elements according to reporting from Greenwich Time:

  • It would give veterans preference in nursing home placements. 

  • It would allow the kids of military families on the move to remain in a specific high school for their junior and senior years.

  • It would provide free license renewals.

  • It would waive license plate fees for recipients of the Purple Heart.

FEDERAL, VETERANS: This bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate has the goal of increasing transportation for veterans to VA facilities in rural areas where transportation options are often limited. The Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act would expand eligibility for the VA’s Highly Rural Transportation Grant program, which is currently only available for those in counties that have less than 7 people/square mile. In tandem, the bill would also increase the max on funding that recipients are eligible for to use in the purchase of an ADA-compliant vehicle. 

THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 - PBS & NPR

The Ask: Tell Congress to save PBS & NPR.

The Background: The Trump Admin is coming for PBS and NPR, with plans to cut funding for it in their proposed budget and a new executive order that has requested all funds for the two networks to be stopped. Mind you, the cost per person a year is $1.60. 

ACTION 2 - VOTING

The Ask: Register to vote, remind a friend, and make sure if you are registered, it’s up to date.

The Background: 2025 has elections and so does 2026. Don’t be caught off guard or behind – your vote matters.

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KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

  • Politico: Virginia GOP roiled by controversy over sexually explicit photos

  • NPR: RFK Jr. to require placebo-controlled studies for new vaccines

  • The Hill: Trump impeachment is part of the Goldilocks dilemma for Democrats 

  • Roll Call: At HHS, proposed cuts to medical research and public health programs

BEFORE YOU GO…

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