You asked, we answered. Here are the answers to your most-asked questions from Trump’s first two months in office.
I want to know how Trump’s Executive Orders are affecting people in Minnesota. Are there any protections for residents?
Unfortunately, Trump’s executive orders are affecting people nationwide. In Minnesota, Trump’s executive orders impact federal employees, immigrants, students, high school athletes, and more. The U.S. Attorney General even threatened to sue Minnesota for protecting transgender athletes.
Donald Trump also just signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, impacting more than 860,000 students in Minnesota and jeopardizing critical resources for students with disabilities, early learning programs, broadband access, transportation, and more.
Fortunately, Minnesota progressives have worked hard to make Minnesota a safe place for abortion-seekers, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and working families. And there are some protections for Minnesotans in our state constitution. The Minnesota constitution guarantees protection to Minnesota residents from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender identity and gender expression, and sexual orientation. This constitutional amendment may protect high school transgender athletes from Trump’s anti-trans executive order.
Abortion rights are also still protected in Minnesota. Our progressive leaders in the Minnesota House and Senate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz worked tirelessly to fight back against conservatives trying to eliminate access to reproductive health care by passing the The Protect Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act).
The PRO Act protects the right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, the right to fertility treatment, and the right to an abortion. The bill also protects reproductive rights at all state government levels, meaning that a city or county cannot limit reproductive rights or abortion access.
I don’t understand how Elon Musk has so much assumed power. How is this being allowed?
It couldn’t be clearer that Donald Trump’s #1 priority is lining the pockets of his billionaire friends like Elon Musk. Since Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Elon Musk is already 70 billion dollars richer. Meanwhile, Trump is planning trillions of dollars in tax breaks for large corporations and billionaires like Elon Musk while cutting health care and public education funding to pay for it.
In Musk’s role as a senior advisor to Trump, he is not allowed to make government decisions himself. He is only allowed to advise the President. The White House claims Musk is not the administrator of DOGE, so he is not technically breaking the law when DOGE makes government decisions that benefit his own interests.
What are progressives doing about Trump?
This week, while conservatives in Congress are reducing federal funding for Medicaid, progressives in the Minnesota House introduced a bill to raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy to help offset any cuts to this crucial program that hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans rely on for health care.
Minnesota’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, has sued the Trump administration several times this year to fight for the rights of Minnesotans. Ellison’s lawsuits include defending trans athletes, protecting birthright citizenship, and opposing Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education.
Governor Walz also announced a new website to help federal employees who have recently been fired by Donald Trump or are facing employment uncertainty.
Have more questions?
We know politics are a whirlwind right now. We are here to help answer your questions so we can stay informed together and organize to take on Donald Trump and his unelected billionaire friends. You can direct message us with your questions at @abettermn on Instagram or Facebook, or sign up to join us in the fight.
