WHAT: VIRTUAL MEETING WITH CONGRESSMAN DARREN SOTO
WHEN: MONDAY, MARCH 17TH, AT 6:30 PM
WHERE: VIA ZOOM – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Upon registration, you will receive the Zoom meeting link and dial-in information via email.
My Dear Friends,
First and foremost, please know that I am working hard to push back against illegal executive orders and dangerous rhetoric. Presidents are not kings; they are public servants bound by our Constitution. President Trump does not have the power to eliminate agencies or the power to choose which agencies receive funding. Only Congress has these powers.
During his first week in office, President Trump directed a freeze on funding for federal grants and other programs. This unlawful freeze hurts millions of Americans. From jobs to housing, veterans to food, and more, these funds are critical to helping families in Central Florida. The budget is a law, and Congress must enforce it under the Impoundment Act.
I was proud to join other House Democrats … opposing his planned 25% tariff on imported building materials from Canada and Mexico. We will do everything we can to counter President Trump’s attacks against our key allies and prevent him from starting a trade war.
President Trump has undermined our nation by laying off thousands of federal workers. At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs alone, we’ve seen 2,400 layoffs so far. Representative Maxwell Frost and I held a town hall to address the concerns of our veterans, and the termination of an additional 1,000 staff. In addition to cuts at USAID and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Musk, and DOGE have continuously attacked federal workers across the nation and have threatened to cut anyone who does not align with President Trump’s extremist agenda. I will continue to fight for our federal workers, who work tirelessly to ensure our nation’s security and prosperity.
Like you, I am also extremely concerned with the unprecedented access that has been given to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That’s why House Democrats introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act – legislation to prevent unelected billionaires from gaining unlawful access to the U.S. Department of Treasury payment system and from illegally cutting programs to help pay for their tax cuts. I’m proud to support this monumental piece of legislation and will continue to speak out.
President Trump has relentlessly attacked the immigrant community through hateful speech and various executive orders. He attempted to revoke birthright citizenship; he ended the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans; he carried out one of the most violent deportation plans against undocumented immigrants and more. As deputy chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I stand with the thousands of Central Floridians whose families may be impacted and will continue fighting for the rights of immigrants in our country.
President Trump also has his sights set on abolishing the U.S. Department of Education and has already shut down the Institute of Education Sciences. The US Department of Education funds hiring teachers, closing student achievement gaps, and helping students in need in Central Florida. With Florida test scores at a 20-year low, now is NOT the time to be talking about defunding education. I cosponsored a resolution in support of the nation’s local public K–12 schools and condemned any actions that would defund public education or weaken or dismantle the Department of Education. I also signed a letter requesting an urgent meeting with the Acting Secretary of Education regarding the Trump Administration’s reported effort to dismantle the Department of Education.
As a vice chair of the Equality Caucus, I am concerned with attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgenders. I’m proudly working to pass the Equality Act into law to protect the rights of EVERY American, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
In his efforts to undermine our nation’s leadership on the international stage, President Trump issued an executive order to freeze foreign assistance worldwide for 90 days and pulled almost all of the employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) off the job and out of the field worldwide. That’s why I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the Trump Administration’s destructive actions at USAID, including trying to shut down the agency unilaterally, without Congressional approval.
I look forward to meeting with all of you on March 17th via Zoom. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter at soto.house.gov to receive email updates on the work I am doing in Congress and how it will affect you and your community. You can also find more about my work in Congress via my website; on my X, Facebook, and Instagram, @RepDarrenSoto; and Bluesky, @RepDarrenSoto.bsky.social.
Sincerely,
Congressman Darren Soto
