Friends,
For too long, Washington has defined “national security” as weapons, war, militarized enforcement, surveillance, and ever-growing defense budgets.
But a nation is not secure when its people cannot afford to live.
A parent choosing between groceries and medicine is not secure. A senior watching rent, food, and utilities outrun a Social Security check is not secure. A veteran waiting for care is not secure. A worker putting in forty hours and still falling behind is not secure.
And a democracy drowning in corruption, self-dealing, intimidation, and concentrated presidential power is not secure either.
President Trump and Republicans’ proposed 2027 budget exposes these warped priorities. The Trump administration is seeking roughly $1.5 trillion in defense resources while proposing deep cuts to nondefense programs Americans depend on.
The accompanying chart makes the imbalance even clearer: war represents 65.77% of the spending shown, while Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development together represent just 18.38%.
Meanwhile, Americans are being squeezed by higher costs, tariffs, healthcare insecurity, housing costs, and policies that threaten programs like Medicaid and food assistance.
This is happening while Trump and his family continue facing extraordinary questions about conflicts of interest and profiting from proximity to presidential power, from cryptocurrency ventures and foreign business relationships to government decisions affecting industries in which the Trump family has financial interests.
We have watched public institutions weakened, watchdogs attacked, loyalists elevated, pardons granted to political allies, independent agencies pressured, and government power increasingly treated as something belonging to one man rather than the American people.
That is not national security. That is concentrated power.
Real national security begins with whether people are safe, free, healthy, housed, fed, represented, and able to build a decent life.
Real National Security Means Security for the People
❤️ Caring for veterans and military families is national security.
🏥 Affordable healthcare is national security.
🩺 Public health and disease prevention are national security.
🏠 Safe, affordable housing is national security.
🍎 Food security is national security.
📚 Strong public education is national security.
🎓 Affordable higher education and job training are national security.
💼 Good jobs, unions, and fair wages are national security.
💸 Lowering costs and tackling inflation are national security.
🧠 Mental healthcare is national security.
🛒 Protecting families from unnecessary tariffs, price shocks, and corporate price-gouging is national security.
🧒 Affordable child care is national security.
👵 Protecting Social Security and Medicare is national security.
💊 Affordable prescription drugs are national security.
💧 Clean water is national security.
🌎 A safe and livable climate is national security.
🔥 Disaster preparedness and resilient communities are national security.
⚡ Reliable, affordable energy is national security.
🏭 Resilient domestic manufacturing and supply chains are national security.
🌾 Family farms and a resilient food system are national security.
🗳️ Free, fair, accessible elections are national security.
📰 A free and independent press is national security.
⚖️ Equal rights and the rule of law are national security.
🏛️ Independent courts and institutions that answer to the Constitution instead of one politician are national security.
🔎 Independent inspectors general, watchdogs, and government transparency are national security.
💰 Stopping presidential self-dealing, influence-peddling, dark money, and corruption is national security.
🚫 A government that cannot be bought by billionaires, corporations, foreign interests, or presidential family businesses is national security.
🔐 Privacy and protection from warrantless mass surveillance are national security.
🤝 Strong, stable communities are national security.
🧑🤝🧑 Keeping families together and treating immigrants with dignity and due process are national security.
🚨 Stopping masked immigration agents from terrorizing communities, carrying out unlawful seizures and detentions, or using deadly force without accountability is national security.
🌍 Strong alliances and respect for international law are national security.
🕊️ Diplomacy, conflict prevention, and peace are national security.
🇺🇸 A democracy where no president is above the law is national security.
America absolutely needs the ability to defend itself. But defense cannot become an excuse for pouring unlimited money into weapons and militarization while treating the basic security of the American people as optional.
What exactly are we defending if people cannot afford healthcare, housing, food, education, child care, or retirement?
What are we defending if corruption goes unanswered?
What are we defending if elected leaders can enrich themselves, intimidate watchdogs, weaken democratic institutions, and demand personal loyalty from government officials?
At America’s 250th anniversary, we should choose a different definition of strength.
Invest in people. Lower costs. Protect Social Security and Medicare. Defend healthcare. Build affordable housing. Strengthen public education. Care for veterans. Protect clean air and water. Defend voting rights. Root out corruption. Hold power accountable.
We need to spend our national wealth making Americans stronger, healthier, safer, freer, and more economically secure.
Because the strongest America is not simply the America with the most weapons.
It is the America where democracy works.
Where government serves the public rather than the powerful.
Where every person is treated with dignity.
Where nobody is above the law.
And where ordinary people have the security and opportunity to thrive.
Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait
People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.
💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today
The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.
🎭 Take Action» Keep Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center
🕊️ Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Pentagon funding for Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran
🪖 Take Action» Demand accountability for Pete Hegseth
⚖️ Take Action» Tell Congress to impeach and convict Trump for launching an illegal war with Iran
🚨 Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Trump and Hegseth from depleting our weapons and leaving troops exposed
Thanks for taking action!
💥 The dream is unfinished. We rise to carry it forward. **MARCH ON WASHINGTON UPDATES**
As America marks 250 years, we are gathering to defend voting rights, civil rights, liberty, justice, and power to the people. Take action>>
📍 Attend in person
📺 Watch the livestream
🙋 Volunteer
🤝 Become a partner
📢 Invite your community
On Friday, August 28, 2026, join people from across the country for the March on Washington: Defend the Vote at the Lincoln Memorial.
🗳️ Sign up to attend in person or view the livestream or get more information:
🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People
People power grows when people choose to be part of it.
This movement belongs to all of us, and every person who joins, stays connected, and helps carry the work forward makes us stronger.
Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing, organizing, speaking truth to power, and holding leaders accountable to the people they serve.
Stay with us. Help us grow. Keep building power to the people.
I think that people are realizing how backwards our fiscal policy is. I just hope they're also opening up to policies that actually change things.
His ignorance, cockiness, stupidity NEEDS TO GET CHECKED IMMEDIATELY yet we see comments and criticism toward Mr. Schumer and other democrats. How does one expect to get anything accomplished without a democratic majority and/or bipartisan action? What does it take for well meaning people to understand convicted felons are good convincing liars? I agree with all the aforementioned information in this posting. It just boggles the mind how gubernatorial members of Congress and the right wing partisan SCOTUS justices could be so blindsided. Despite not being a lawyer, we read the comments of experts in their respective fields that supports what all of us are seeing. IT WILL BE IMPERATIVE THAT EVERY VOTER DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO CAST YOUR BALLOT IN UPCOMING PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS. He criticizes former presidents including OBAMA but did you ever see PRES OBAMA AND OTHERS BEING SO STUPID TO INSTIGATE WAR WITH IRAN? Iranians and their leaders are smarter than TRUMP can even dream about. The scariest thing is that he and his cohorts LACK the military experience and knowledge to take these deadly actions which potentially can awaken the deadly cells of terrorist. What history did he ever learn except how to be a cheater and a liar and wanna be millionaire all his life?