Hill Heat

Join clergy, faith leaders and people of moral conscience in a powerful stand of prayer and moral resistance against injustice, corruption and oppression. Every first Wednesday of the month, we’ll gather in D.C. to examine the impacts of policy violence on the most vulnerable communities.

As you prepare to join us for Moral Witness Wednesday on April 2, 2025, at 11 am Eastern, understand that your presence embodies a powerful response to our nation’s urgent moral crisis. We gather as clergy, faith leaders, and people of conscience, guided by our shared spiritual traditions and sacred texts, to resist injustices harming the most vulnerable among us. The Prophet Micah challenges each generation, asking profoundly, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). This call is our clarion imperative today.

In a moment when systemic racism, economic oppression, xenophobia, and attacks on human dignity are institutionalized in policy and practice, our moral witness is not only necessary—it is sacred. Our Wednesdays represent acts of public theology, truth-telling, and prophetic resistance, grounded in our understanding of scripture, the rich heritage of liberation and womanist theology, and the lived experiences of communities enduring injustice. As you sign up, you affirm your commitment to stand courageously, collectively voicing an unequivocal “No!” to hatred, oppression, and corruption and a determined “Yes!” to justice, love, and the sacred dignity of all humanity.

Thank you for answering this call and joining the ranks of prophetic voices nationwide who declare boldly, “We will not be silent anymore.”

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Supreme Court in DC, 1 1st St NE, Washington, DC 20543 Virtual/Online Locations

Moral Witness Wednesday: A National Call for Justice, Love, & Truth-Telling, convened by Bishop William J. Barber, II, and faith leaders nationwide. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 11:00 AM ET, we will gather at the United States Supreme Court to speak prophetically against injustice, corruption, and oppression. Through prayer and moral resistance, we will declare that we will not be silent anymore. Clergy: Please wear full vestments of your faith tradition to symbolize our collective moral witness. Join us in this movement for justice and share this call to action with your communities. We must stand together.

A full committee hearing entitled “Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions.”

Legislation:

• S. 1099, to limit the authority of district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief. Josh Hawley, introduced March 25, 2025

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nominations of Ms. Katharine MacGregor to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior and Mr. James Danly to be Deputy Secretary of Energy.

Nominees:

• Katharine MacGregor to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior
• James Danly to be Deputy Secretary of Energy

Kate MacGregor, who was Legislative Director for Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and also served as Professional Staff handling energy and public lands-related issues on the House Natural Resources Committee before being Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior in Trump’s first term, currently serves as the Vice President of Environmental Services for NextEra Energy.

“I don’t want to be too flippant about it, but they’re not fucking around,” said Joe Balash, who was Interior’s assistant secretary of lands and minerals management in the first Trump administration, about MacGregor. Balash was chief of staff for Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan (R).

James Danly is head of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s Energy Regulatory Group. Danly began his legal career as an associate in the energy regulation and litigation practice at Skadden in September 2014 and was admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 2015.

In that job, he worked on enforcement cases and other issues before FERC and represented clients such as Exelon Corp., FirstEnergy Corp., NextEra Energy Inc., PacifiCorp and Hydro-Québec, as well as two financial players with interest in energy, Barclays PLC and BlackRock Inc.

Two years later, in September of 2017, he was named general counsel at FERC by the Trump White House. He then served as a FERC Commissioner.

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Sean Duffy, United States Secretary of Transportation

A subcommittee hearing with the fascistic title, “Unleashing the Golden Age of American Energy Dominance.”

Witnesses:

• Democratic witness: Megan Gibson, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
• Matthew Jensen, Director, Office for Fiscal and Regulatory Analysis, America First Policy Institute
• Glen Sweetnam, Distinguished Fellow, Energy Policy Research Foundation
• Kevin Dayaratna, Acting Director, Chief Statistician, and Senior Research Fellow, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Elliot Brandt, CEO, American Israel Public Affairs Committee
• Talin Yacoubian, Co-Chair, Armenian Assembly of America
• Ian Bickford, President, American University of Afghanistan
• Peter Yeo, President, Better World Campaign
• Paul Hazen, Executive Director, U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council
• Bill O’Keefe, Executive Vice President, Mission, Mobilization, & Advocacy, Catholic Relief Services
• Blake Selzer, Director of Government Affairs, Edesia Nutrition
• Mark Viso, President and CEO, Food for the Hungry
• Sania Nishtar, CEO, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
• Giulia McPherson, Executive Director, Global Campaign for Education-US
• Chris Collins, President & CEO, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB and Malaria,
• Chris Whatley, Executive Director, The HALO Trust
• Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute
• Stan Soderstrom, Executive Director Emeritus, Kiwanis
• Shari Bryan, Executive Director, Mines Advisory Group – US
• Spencer Knoll, Director of U.S. Policy and Advocacy, Malaria No More
• Tamara Cofman Wittes, President, National Democratic Institute
• Jennifer Cervantes, Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers
• John Nanni, Member, Rotary’s Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States
• Carol Jenkins, CEO, World Learning

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will hold a hearing entitled, “Artificial Intelligence: Examining Trends in Innovation and Competition,” to examine the competitive landscape within the AI sector, emphasizing the importance of solutions that preserve economic dynamism, technological innovation, and America’s global leadership. It will address several critical issues, starting with the competitive landscape within the AI industry itself.

Witnesses:

• Neil Chilson, Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute
• Joseph Coniglio, Director of Antitrust and Innovation, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
• Jessica Melugin, Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Alvaro Bedoja, FTC Commissioner illegally fired by Donald Trump, Center for Privacy and Technology, Georgetown Law

Prior to the Abundance Institute, Chilson was a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. He joined CGO from the Koch Industries’ group Stand Together. Previously, Chilson was the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) chief technologist. Chilson practiced telecommunications law at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP before joining the FTC in January 2014. Chilson holds a law degree from the George Washington University Law School and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harding University.

This is a markup of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The Committee is scheduled to consider the following measures:

• H.R. 2390, the Maritime Supply Chain Security Act
• H.R. 2351, To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to update the policy of the Coast Guard regarding the use of medication to treat drug overdose, and for other purposes | View Text
• Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) to H.R. 252, the Secure Our Ports Act of 2025
• H.R. 2035, the American Cargo for American Ships Act
• H.R. 188, the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayers Act
• H.R. 248, the Baby Changing on Board Act
• ANS to H.R. 1373, the Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act of 2025
• H.R. 1948, To authorize the International Boundary and Water Commission to accept funds for activities relating to wastewater treatment and flood control works, and for other purposes
• ANS to H. Res. 137, Designating the House Press Gallery (Rooms H-315, H-316, H-317, H-318, and H-319 of the United States Capitol) as the “Frederick Douglass Press Gallery”

On April 2, the Supreme Court will hear Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case that could allow states to block Medicaid patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers. This means millions of people—especially Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people, and those with low incomes—could lose access to cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment, and more.

Take action with us!

Join Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 2, from 9 am to 2 pm, to hear from storytellers and providers about how this case could harm patients, and make our voices heard!

Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, claiming anything standing in their way is illegal, and daring the American people to stop them.

On Saturday, April 5, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!

Ahead of these mobilizations, join movement leaders, experts, and more for a mass call on Tuesday, April 1, to make sense of the Trump administration’s unprecedented power grab, efforts to remove limits to its power, and what we can do to confront it on April 5 and beyond.

This event is being organized by MoveOn, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, and the Not Above the Law Coalition in support of the Hands Off day of action and future actions.