State Lawmakers Aren’t Waiting for Congress to Get Its Act Together

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.

As we return from the Thanksgiving holiday, we know some of our neighbors are hungry. Some are detained. And millions more are anxious about what will happen next month, when the federal government once again teeters on the brink of shutdown.

The recent federal crisis didn’t just expose GOP cruelty. It revealed a party in total control of Washington so committed to dismantling basic government that it was willing to let millions go hungry and lose healthcare to force through a budget that enriches the wealthy. Democrats in Congress faced a lose-lose choice: reopen the government so people could eat, or hold out for healthcare protections that Republican leaders have shown little interest in negotiating. SNAP is restored, for now. But there is no guarantee that Affordable Care Act subsidies will return, and no plan to prevent the next likely GOP-manufactured shutdown in January.

While dysfunction reigns in DC, real governing is happening in the states. Congress may have ground to a halt, but we kept working. As some Republican leaders congratulated themselves for finally turning the lights back on, state lawmakers like us had been scrambling in the dark. We worked late into the night to keep food benefits flowing and childcare centers open. Governors and legislators negotiated emergency funding transfers, tapped rainy-day accounts, called loudly on uncooperative state leaders to use budget surpluses to feed families, and fielded frantic calls from constituents afraid their lifelines would vanish.

All of this unfolded as states brace for deeper cuts in the GOP budget that will raise healthcare costs, hollow out safety-net programs, and make life even more unaffordable for the people we represent. This is not governance. It is abandonment.

For decades, the federal government served as a reliable partner to the states. Today, Trump and his enablers are walking away from that role, leaving states to clean up the wreckage.

But while the GOP abdicates its role to govern and uphold the Constitution, the states are proving what governing actually looks like. Across the country, Democrats in state legislatures are introducing bills to protect workers, stabilize health systems, and defend the rule of law. Democratic lawmakers are putting their literal bodies on the line to protect communities from unconstitutional Immigration and Customers Enforcement activities and the militarization of our states. We may not command national headlines, but every day, in every corner of this country, state legislators are doing the work of holding communities together and moving them forward.

In Minnesota, we introduced the Medicaid Over Millionaires bill to help offset lost federal Medicaid funding and established a new Subcommittee on Federal Impact to analyze how harmful federal actions affect Minnesotans, from rising healthcare premiums to food insecurity. In Colorado, we passed legislation to protect residents’ constitutional rights regardless of immigration status, including stronger safeguards for Coloradans’ sensitive data against federal snooping. And in North Carolina, where Charlotte recently endured another performative Customs and Border Patrol deployment designed to sow fear and chaos, we’re using our platforms to share know-your-rights resources, support wrongly detained neighbors, and speak out at vigils, press conferences and community gatherings.

Our actions aren’t happening in isolation. Where we have allies in our state government, we are coordinating with our governors and attorneys general to push back against illegal federal actions and defend our states in court. We’re working closely with community organizations and national networks that are peacefully resisting the unconstitutional and undemocratic actions of the Trump regime. 

And importantly, state legislators who share our values are finally tearing down the silos between our states. We’re sharing bill language, strategies, and lessons learned — and building cross-state solidarity so we can learn from one another and act together. An attack on one of our states is an attack on all of us.

But states cannot be expected to do this alone. We need a federal government willing to fight for the people we serve. And we need Democrats in Congress to meet the urgency of this moment, using every tool available to protect families, safeguard democracy, and hold this lawless administration accountable.

Our constituents aren’t asking for symbolism. They want leaders who will stand up for them. In every state legislature in this country, those leaders exist. We may not be talking heads on the national news. But we are working hard and not backing down — even in the face of escalating political violence aimed at us and our colleagues. States are stepping up. And we will continue to fight, together, for the future our communities deserve.