SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
November, 29 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Ariel Gold | CODEPINK national co-director | ariel@codepink.org | 510 599-5330
Medea Benjamin | CODEPINK co-founder | medea.benjamin@gmail.com 415 235-6517
Over 80 Organizations Urge Biden to Prioritize Ending U.S. Involvement in Yemen War
Today, over 80 organizations representing millions of people across the United States sent a joint letter to President-elect Joe Biden with an urgent request that he prioritize ending U.S. support for the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen, as he indicated he would during his campaign. The letter, from groups ranging from foreign policy organizations to faith-based groups, outlines the specific measures Biden should take through executive powers and by working with Congress.
WASHINGTON
Today, over 80 organizations representing millions of people across the United States sent a joint letter to President-elect Joe Biden with an urgent request that he prioritize ending U.S. support for the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen, as he indicated he would during his campaign. The letter, from groups ranging from foreign policy organizations to faith-based groups, outlines the specific measures Biden should take through executive powers and by working with Congress.
Acknowledging that when Biden comes into office, he will surely get pushback from those who want to keep the U.S. involved in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the signers of the letter felt it necessary to show that there is a broad constituency clamoring for an end to nearly five years of participation in this catastrophic war and for the U.S. to help the Yemeni people rebuild their lives.
"Before coronavirus, Yemen was already experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis on the planet," the letter reads, pointing out that the Saudi-led bombing campaign and blockade of ports has decimated the country's healthcare infrastructure and severely damaged access to clean water, sanitary systems, and nutrition. "Ending U.S participation would signal to millions of Yemenis living in Yemen and thousands of Yemeni-Americans who worry about their families in Yemen that weapon sales and geopolitical chess moves are not more important than their lives and the lives of their loved ones," the letter continued. "It would be a monumental first achievement for your administration that would be praised by Americans across the ideological spectrum."
"American involvement in this brutal catastrophe is shameful and must come to an end. Pulling the U.S. out should be among Biden's top priorities for his first days in office." -- Ariel Gold, CODEPINK national co-director.
Biden is given an opportunity to correct the wrong policy of supporting the Saudi war on Yemen in 2015 under the Obama administration. I hope that he now helps end the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, one that he helped create. -- Aisha Jumaan, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
"It's time for America to reclaim its moral compass and withdraw completely from any involvement in the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen." -- Hal Ginsgurb, Our Revolution
"As military veterans, we know the true cost of war. The victims of the armed Saud- led conflict in Yemen include starving children and countless people suffering from COVID-19. It is shameful to have American support for atrocities that only benefit weapon industries and Saudi royalty. If the United States will have credibility as a stabilizing leader in the international community, we need to start by prioritizing humanitarian aid and stop enabling warmongering." - Garett Reppenhagen former US Army Sniper, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace
"The American people have been calling on the United States to end all support for the Saudi-UAE coalition's disastrous war in Yemen that serves as the worst humanitarian crisis, said Yasmine Taeb, Senior Fellow at Center for International Policy. "The U.S. needs to prioritize human rights in our foreign policy and must stop providing arms to authoritarian or repressive governments that systematically violate human rights."
While millions of Americans recently finished their Thanksgiving feasts, millions of Yemenis will face famine without action by the new Congress and Administration. The new government should rapidly stop backing the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen -- begun under the Obama-Biden Administration, and ensure an end to the de facto blockade which is starving the Yemeni people. Through the recently-introduced War Powers Resolution, Congress is once again asserting its will to stop U.S. participation in this unconstitutional war. The Biden Administration should stop all participation in the war -- including intelligence sharing -- and refocus on true U.S. security interests rather than the whims of the famine-causing Saudi dictatorship." -- Isaac Evans-Frantz, Action Corp
Read the full letter here.
Signers:
Action Corps . American Friends Service Committee . Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain . Avaaz . Ayada Leads . Beyond the Bomb . Brooklyn For Peace . Campaign for Peace Disarmament and Common Security . Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community . CAPA DePaul . Center for Economic and Policy Research . Center for International Policy . Chicago Area Peace Action . Clearinghouse on Women's Issues . CODEPINK . Daily Kos . Demand Progress . Democracy for America . Democracy for the Middle East Now (DAWN) . Episcopal Peace Fellowship . Fellowship of Reconciliation . Feminist Majority Foundation . First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI . Franciscan Action Network . Freedom Forward . Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) . Friends of Sabeel North America . Grassroots Global Justice . Health Alliance International . Historians for Peace and Democracy . Indiana Center for Middle East Peace . Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project . Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project . Interfaith Community Sanctuary . Islamophobia Studies Center . Israel Palestine Mission Network PCUSA . Isuroon (Strong Women, Strong Communities) . Jetpac Resource Center . Jewish Voice for Peace Action . Just Foreign Policy . Justice for All . Justice Is Global . Kairos Center . Mass Peace Action . MADRE . MPower Change . NorCalSabeel . Organization for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain . Our Revolution . Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace . PAX Christi USA . Peace Action . PEACEWORKERS . Presbyterian Church USA . Progressive Democrats of America . Project Blueprint . Project South . Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft . Raytheon anti-war Campaign . Rethinking Foreign Policy . Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment . Revolving Door Project . RootsAction.org . Saudi American Justice Project . September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows . Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Justice Team . The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) . The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society . Tunisian United Network . United African Congress . United for Peace and Justice . U.S. Labor Against Racism and War . Veterans For Peace . WESPAC Foundation, Inc. . West Suburban Peace Coalition . Western New York Peace Center . Win Without War . Women's International League for Peace and Freedom-US . World BEYOND War . Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation . Yemeni Alliance Committee
CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
(818) 275-7232LATEST NEWS
With No Sense of Irony, Trump Rep Calls Teleprompter Operator's Alleged Insider Trading on Speeches a 'Disgrace'
"Public Citizen again calls on the CFTC to wake up and do its job of overseeing the prediction market industry and enforcing the insider trading laws," said the watchdog's government affairs lobbyist.
Jul 16, 2026
As Kalshi confirmed Thursday that it referred a White House teleprompter operator to federal regulators for flagged bets on its prediction market, President Donald Trump's press secretary denounced the suspended staffer's reported actions—without addressing any of the mounting outrage over how her boss has cashed in on his return to the Oval Office.
Citing unnamed sources, ABC News reported that Gabriel Perez, who has been one of Trump's teleprompter operators since his first presidential campaign, is in talks with federal regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) "to settle allegations he used his inside knowledge of the president's speeches to win more than $100,000."
"Of all Trump's closest aides, sources say Perez typically has the final eyes on nearly all of the president's prepared remarks—and is often known to take last-minute edits from Trump himself," the outlet detailed. Federal investigators reportedly found that Perez bet on words or topics mentioned by Trump in more than a dozen speeches.
While the CFTC declined to comment, Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, told multiple media outlets that "our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation. We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral."
Asked about the insider trading allegations on Thursday—just hours before Trump was set to deliver a prime-time address on election security—White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Perez has been put on unpaid administrative leave, at the direction of the president himself, and called his reported behavior a "disgrace."
"The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this," Leavitt also claimed.
As National Public Radio detailed Thursday:
In March, White House staff received a memo warning against using nonpublic government information to place bets on Kalshi and its biggest competitor, Polymarket.
The memo, which was reviewed by NPR, stated that it is a criminal offense for anyone inside the White House to "buy" or "sell" on the sites. Prediction markets offer "yes" or "no" contracts that change in price based on the speculation of bettors. Aides in the White House were told in the memo that misusing government information "is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated."
The US Department of Justice this year has charged at least two people for their use of Polymarket: US Army special forces soldier who allegedly gambled on the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and a Google software engineer accused of using internal company information to place bets; they've both pleaded not guilty.
However, in the case of Perez, "the CFTC alerted federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who declined to open a criminal investigation," according to ABC News. Instead, he's discussing a potential settlement that would require him "to give back his profits and refrain from making similar trades."
Responding to the reporting in a Thursday statement, Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at the watchdog group Public Citizen, noted that "betting on political events on the prediction markets has become highly profitable for a small handful of anonymous bettors."
"Ever since the American invasion of Venezuela and Iran, a few people have been placing very large bets moments before the events take place, and scoring millions in profits," he emphasized. "The timing and accuracy of these bets strongly suggest insider trading, probably by a few individuals in the know within the Trump administration."
The reported behavior by Perez "is further evidence of illegal insider trading on the prediction markets—an industry that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has let operate like the Wild West," Holman continued. "Public Citizen again calls on the CFTC to wake up and do its job of overseeing the prediction market industry and enforcing the insider trading laws."
The New York Times reported in May that the Trump administration has stacked CFTC with industry insiders who have systematically "mowed down" staffers interested in providing oversight on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
Meanwhile, according to recently unveiled annual financial disclosures, Trump made an unprecedented $2.2 billion—more than half of it from his family's cryptocurrency exploits—during his first year back in the White House.
Trump—who infamously bankrupted multiple Atlantic City casinos—also has plans to get into prediction markets. His social media company, Trump Media and Technology Group, said last October that it would soon launch a prediction betting marketplace on Truth Social.
Keep ReadingShow Less
New Trump Visa Rules Set to Make Life Harder for International Students, Journalists
One legal advocacy group said the rule change "will be costly, cause chaos, and cut legal immigration."
Jul 16, 2026
The Trump administration on Thursday finalized sweeping new visa restrictions that immigration advocates and higher education professionals say will make it significantly more difficult for international students and journalists to study and work in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is replacing the long-standing "duration of status" system—which allowed students to remain in the country as long as they complied with the terms of their visas—with fixed admission periods that generally cap student and exchange visitor stays at four years.
Foreign journalists, meanwhile, will see their visas limited to 240 days, while Chinese journalists will face an even shorter 90-day limit. Visa holders will have to apply for extensions if they need more time.
NEW: The Trump admin finalized a regulation which makes the largest changes to the student visa process in 50 years, along with changes to rules for exchange visitors and international journalists. 🧵on some of the most consequential changes set to go into effect in September.
[image or embed]
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) July 16, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed that “for nearly half a century, the outdated 'duration of status' system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud."
"For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the US indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the US," Mullin added. "By implementing clear, finite limits on these visas, the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders."
However, Todd Schulte, president of the bipartisan political advocacy and lobbying group Fwd.US, warned that “these new restrictions will only make it harder for international students and researchers to complete their studies in the US and contribute their education to the US workforce after graduating."
"These changes will hurt America’s global competitiveness, hinder businesses’ ability to hire US-educated talent, impose significant and unnecessary costs on universities and students, and increase the workload for federal agencies already struggling with backlogs and delays," Schulte added. "This rule will create more bureaucratic backlogs and delays and help grind the legal immigration system to a halt.”
"Have these people no understanding of how life works?"
The American Immigration Lawyers Association said the rule change "will be costly, cause chaos, and cut legal immigration."
David Bier, the immigration studies director at the libertarian Cato Institute, told Reuters that "international students, many of whom will have spent years in the USA, will now have just 30 days to find an employer to sponsor them or immediately be turned into illegal immigrants. Have these people no understanding of how life works?"
Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, said in an interview with The Washington Post that “DHS’ decision to end duration of status is a misguided and unnecessary policy shift that injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively."
Keep ReadingShow Less
AIPAC, 'Murky' Donors Spend $50 Million to Help Stevens Beat El-Sayed in Michigan
"They may have the money," said the progressive primary challenger. "But we have the many."
Jul 16, 2026
In what one congressional reporter described as a "full-court press" to stop progressive US Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other outside groups have spent nearly $50 million in support of fourth-term Congresswoman Haley Stevens ahead of Michigan's August 4 Democratic primary.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign finance filings, El-Sayed—the former director of Wayne County's Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services—raised more than double Stevens’ fundraising haul over the last three months. El-Sayed's campaign reported $4.6 million for the second quarter, while Stevens' team said it brought in $2.2 million.
However, outside spending for Stevens from what the Detroit Free Press described as "murky" groups has dwarfed the amount spent for El-Sayed. The political advertisement tracker AdImpact said that of the $46 million spent or reserved by the two campaigns for television ads, nearly three-quarters has been spent on behalf of Stevens or against El-Sayed.
Since the end date on the FEC disclosures, additional outside spending in support of Stevens is estimated to have soared to roughly $50 million, according to an analysis by Punchbowl News congressional reporter Ally Mutnick.
Last Friday, United Democracy Project (UDP), which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), disclosed that it has spent nearly $15 million on the Michigan US Senate race so far, including $9.3 million in support of Stevens and $5.7 million against El-Sayed.
El-Sayed has called Israel a “rogue state” that is committing “genocide and apartheid,” while urging an end to “unilateral blank checks” from the US. His claims are supported by findings from United Nations experts, an International Court of Justice advisory opinion, and governments and human rights groups around the world.
A separate political action committee, A Stronger Michigan, reported spending more than $12 million so far in support of Stevens' campaign, according to the nonprofit media outlet Bridge Michigan. Sludge's Minnah Arshad reported last month that the dark money group appears to be connected to Jeffries Murray, a longtime lobbyist whose clients have included the American Gas Association, Facebook parent company Meta, and military-industrial complex titan Northrop Grumman.
FEC filings show former Congressman Mike Rogers, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Senate, received $10.7 million in combined outside expenditures.
El-Sayed appeared undaunted by the outside spending disparity. "They might have the money," he said on social media Thursday. "But we have the many."
Citing Stevens' Wednesday vote against a failed amendment to cut off US military aid to Israel and new polling from Data for Progress, El-Sayed's campaign said that "86% of Michigan primary voters are less inclined to vote for a candidate who supports continued funding to Israel."
"Congresswoman Stevens had a choice: stand with the majority of Democrats who oppose unconditional military aid to Israel, or stand with the special interests funding her campaign," El-Sayed said after the vote. “She chose to side with AIPAC and Republicans to continue to fund a war machine that has taken the loved ones of many Michigan families."
"She made her choice. I’ll make mine," he added. "As Michigan’s next senator, I want to keep our hard-earned tax dollars here in Michigan to invest in Michigan healthcare and Michigan infrastructure rather than continuing to send bombs to a foreign government.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular