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Elliott Abrams, U.S. special representative for Venezuela, testifies during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Elliot Abrams Confirms to Senate Hearing That US Still 'Working Hard' to Overthrow Maduro in Venezuela
Admission was latest sign that high pressure campaign on Venezuela's leftist government—including crushing economic sanctions—remains.
Aug 04, 2020
The U.S. Special Representative to Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a Senate panel Tuesday that despite a number of failed previous attempts, the Trump administration is continuing efforts to foment the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, elected democratically by the Venezulean people two years ago.
"Obviously we hope that [Maduro] will not survive the year and we are working hard to make that happen," Abrams told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The comments by the the White House's top envoy were the latest sign that Washington will continue to apply pressure on Venezuela after over a year of failed attempts to install opposition leader Juan Guaido as president despite Maduro's victory in the May 2018 election.
The Trump administration has recognized Guaido as the nation's rightful leader after the Venezuelan politician, then the leader of the National Assembly, declared himself president in January 2019.
Progressives and left-leaning lawmakers alike have decried the administration's attempts to overthrow Maduro. In May 2019, as Common Dreams reported, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told liberal podcast Pod Save America that "the idea that we would intervene militarily in Venezuela is literally unbelievable."
"I will do everything I can to see that U.S. troops do not get involved in a civil war in Venezuela," said Sanders.
\u201c.@medeabenjamin w/sanity & truth about Venezuela policy, something we likely won't get in today's Senate hearing with Trump's hitman for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. #HandsOffVenezuela\u201d— CODEPINK (@CODEPINK) 1596548900
CodePink executive director Medea Benjamin on Tuesday, noting that the coronavirus pandemic was keeping her out of the hearing room, condemned Abrams and the Trump administration for their campaign of sanctions and pressure on Venezuela.
"The sanctions the Trump administration is imposing are strangling the people of Venezuela in a form of collective punishment," said Benjamin.
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The U.S. Special Representative to Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a Senate panel Tuesday that despite a number of failed previous attempts, the Trump administration is continuing efforts to foment the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, elected democratically by the Venezulean people two years ago.
"Obviously we hope that [Maduro] will not survive the year and we are working hard to make that happen," Abrams told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The comments by the the White House's top envoy were the latest sign that Washington will continue to apply pressure on Venezuela after over a year of failed attempts to install opposition leader Juan Guaido as president despite Maduro's victory in the May 2018 election.
The Trump administration has recognized Guaido as the nation's rightful leader after the Venezuelan politician, then the leader of the National Assembly, declared himself president in January 2019.
Progressives and left-leaning lawmakers alike have decried the administration's attempts to overthrow Maduro. In May 2019, as Common Dreams reported, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told liberal podcast Pod Save America that "the idea that we would intervene militarily in Venezuela is literally unbelievable."
"I will do everything I can to see that U.S. troops do not get involved in a civil war in Venezuela," said Sanders.
\u201c.@medeabenjamin w/sanity & truth about Venezuela policy, something we likely won't get in today's Senate hearing with Trump's hitman for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. #HandsOffVenezuela\u201d— CODEPINK (@CODEPINK) 1596548900
CodePink executive director Medea Benjamin on Tuesday, noting that the coronavirus pandemic was keeping her out of the hearing room, condemned Abrams and the Trump administration for their campaign of sanctions and pressure on Venezuela.
"The sanctions the Trump administration is imposing are strangling the people of Venezuela in a form of collective punishment," said Benjamin.
The U.S. Special Representative to Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a Senate panel Tuesday that despite a number of failed previous attempts, the Trump administration is continuing efforts to foment the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, elected democratically by the Venezulean people two years ago.
"Obviously we hope that [Maduro] will not survive the year and we are working hard to make that happen," Abrams told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The comments by the the White House's top envoy were the latest sign that Washington will continue to apply pressure on Venezuela after over a year of failed attempts to install opposition leader Juan Guaido as president despite Maduro's victory in the May 2018 election.
The Trump administration has recognized Guaido as the nation's rightful leader after the Venezuelan politician, then the leader of the National Assembly, declared himself president in January 2019.
Progressives and left-leaning lawmakers alike have decried the administration's attempts to overthrow Maduro. In May 2019, as Common Dreams reported, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told liberal podcast Pod Save America that "the idea that we would intervene militarily in Venezuela is literally unbelievable."
"I will do everything I can to see that U.S. troops do not get involved in a civil war in Venezuela," said Sanders.
\u201c.@medeabenjamin w/sanity & truth about Venezuela policy, something we likely won't get in today's Senate hearing with Trump's hitman for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. #HandsOffVenezuela\u201d— CODEPINK (@CODEPINK) 1596548900
CodePink executive director Medea Benjamin on Tuesday, noting that the coronavirus pandemic was keeping her out of the hearing room, condemned Abrams and the Trump administration for their campaign of sanctions and pressure on Venezuela.
"The sanctions the Trump administration is imposing are strangling the people of Venezuela in a form of collective punishment," said Benjamin.
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1,000+ 'Hands Off!' Protests Planned Across US Saturday in Mass Mobilization Against Trump
"Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line," wrote one union.
Apr 04, 2025
In what one outlet has reported is slated to be the largest single-day action to resist the Trump administration since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are planning to mobilize on Saturday to say: "Hands Off!"
A list of locations for the events, which are not all slated to start at the same time on Saturday, can be found here.
Trump and Musk "think this country belongs to them," according to a website for the Hands Off! events. "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history."
"They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They're handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich," according to the website's about page, which also notes nonviolent action is a "core principle" behind the events.
A spokesperson for the events told Common Dreams on Friday afternoon that the events have generated over 500,000 signups nationally, a number that is "growing rapidly," and there are over 1,000 events taking place on Saturday, a number that is "also growing steadily."
The actions are the latest warning sign for the Republican Party under Trump, who has allowed Elon Musk to play a core role in his administration, particularly in the administration's efforts to carry out cuts to federal personnel and spending.
Musk poured millions of dollars into a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election that took place on April 1—helping to make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history by one tally—only to have his preferred candidate, judge Brad Schimel, lose.
"This is a huge signal from a battleground state that Americans are genuinely upset, genuinely angry, I think, with Trump and with Musk," said John Nichols, a correspondent for That Nation, when recapping the outcome of the race on Democracy Now!
Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—are supporting the action as partners.
"People nationwide are rising up at hundreds of events to say one thing loud and clear: Hands Off!" wrote SEIU on the platform X, which is owned by Musk, on Friday. "Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line."
The environmentalist iIll McKibben wrote on Bluesky on Wednesday: "Expect to see a lot of gray hair at the April 5 Hands Off rallies—we've been organizing like crazy at Third Act," a group that mobilizes Americans over the age of 60.
In early February, anti-Trump "Movement 50501" protests took place nationwide and protestors united under the slogan #TakedownTesla have also targeted Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, in recent weeks.
Lawsuit Says Union-Busting Trump Order Is 'Unconstitutional' Attack on Working Class
One union leader called President Donald Trump's executive order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States."
Apr 04, 2025
A coalition of labor unions representing federal workers across the United States sued the Trump administration on Friday over its recent order aimed at stripping union rights from more than a million government employees, a move that the lawsuit characterizes as a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
The suit, brought by unions that collectively represent more than 950,000 federal workers, stems from a March 27 order titled "Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs," in which President Donald Trump cites a provision of a 1978 law to deny collective bargaining rights to certain government workers on national security grounds.
But the unions behind the new lawsuit say the national security justification is a smokescreen to hide the true intent of the order: further eroding workers' organizing rights.
"Federal employees have had the right to join a union and bargain collectively for decades—through multiple wars, international conflicts, and a global health emergency during President Trump's first term," said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "During all that time, they served the American people with honor and distinction. No one, including President Trump, ever suggested unions were a national security concern."
"Trump's newest order to revoke union rights is a clear case of retaliation," he added. "But I've got news for him: We are not going anywhere."
The lawsuit points specifically to language included in a fact sheet the White House released in conjunction with Trump's March 27 order. The document claims that "certain federal unions have declared war on President Trump's agenda," citing AFGE lawsuits against the administration and legal actions by Veterans Affairs unions.
Shortly after Trump signed the order last week, the administration sued AFGE and many of its local affiliates in federal court in an attempt to cancel dozens of collective bargaining agreements between unions and federal agencies. Reuters noted that the administration claimed the union contracts are impeding "Trump's abilities to purge the federal workforce and protect national security."
"The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration's union-busting tactics silence us."
The unions' new lawsuit states that the "avowedly retaliatory nature" of Trump's executive order and its "attempt to punish federal unions who engage in politically disfavored speech and petitioning activities and decline to 'work with' the president renders it unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
The lawsuit also notes that billionaire Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a top Trump lieutenant, has used his social media platform to promote a recent post that attacked several federal workers' unions by name.
"The president's unlawful executive order attacking federal unions is not only an attack on a million federal workers but is a direct attack on all workers who seek a collective voice to bargain for a better future," April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Friday. "This is blatant retaliation against brave workers who dared to exercise their First Amendment rights to criticize this administration's authoritarian overreach. The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration’s union-busting tactics silence us."
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), called Trump's order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States" and said it is "clear that this executive order is retaliation for federal unions fighting back against the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the civil service."
"This is yet another direct attack by the President not only on federal employees, but also veterans, working families, and the very fabric of our democracy," said Erwin. "However, federal workers' collective bargaining rights are protected by law and President Trump does not have the right to unilaterally eliminate them. NFFE and our allies are confident the rule of law will be upheld, and the critical rights of working people will be protected."
Poll Has AOC Leading Schumer by Nearly 20 Points in 2028 New York Primary
"What AOC is doing is leadership—and people see that," said one observer.
Apr 04, 2025
A poll released Friday from the progressive think tank Data for Progress has Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez besting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a Democrat, by 19 points in a hypothetical matchup in the 2028 New York primary for a U.S. Senate seat.
According to the poll, which was was first shared exclusively with Politico, 55% of voters said they would cast a ballot for Ocasio-Cortez or leaned toward supporting her, and 36% said they would support Schumer or leaned toward supporting him, with 9% undecided.
The only subgroup that supported Schumer over Ocasio-Cortez were moderates, who favored Schumer 50%-35%, with 15% undecided. Ocasio-Cortez carried all other subgroups with an outright majority, except for voters over the age of 45, 49% of whom said they would support her or leaned toward supporting her.
The poll—while several years out from the actual race—comes in the wake of Schumer's decision to throw his support behind a Republican-backed spending bill in early March, a move that roiled his own party and prompted calls for him to step aside from his leadership position in the Senate.
The episode also sparked murmurs among some Democrats that Ocasio-Cortez should consider a primary bid against Schumer in 2028.
The poll was conducted March 26-31 and surveyed 767 likely Democratic primary voters in New York state. According to Data for Progress, the polling indicated that the hypothetical matchup between Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer is "relatively static" and does not shift when voters are offered more information about the respective candidates.
Ocasio-Cortez recently declined to speak about a potential run for Senate in 2028, according to Politico.
"Replacing Chuck Schumer with AOC would be an incredible upgrade. I guess we'll have to wait four more years…," wrote Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation.
Zephyr Teachout, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law, shared Politico's reporting on the poll and wrote: "Good morning to leadership and fighting oligarchy!"
"What I mean is that what AOC is doing is leadership—and people see that," added Teachout, who also highlighted that the poll found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, 84%, want their leaders to do more to resist the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Another observer, market researcher Adam Carlson, highlighted that despite Schumer's loss in the hypothetical race, most respondent subgroups still view him favorably, according to the poll. Besides "very liberal" voters and those between ages 18-44, Schumer stands at over 50% "favorable" among all other subgroups surveyed.
"People just want a changing of the guard," said Carlson.
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