Finding job satisfaction while unemployed

 Dear Senator;

I'm sorry you lost your job responsibilities. But you allowed it to happen. First you said nothing while DOGE fired hundreds of government employees. Now that the government is unfunded, the president is firing even more. You abandoned your right to control the purse strings. It's no wonder the Democrats haven't budged on the shutdown: they can't be certain that the money they voted to spend will actually be spent. Firing employees saves money, but it also keeps government services from being provided. Citizens suffer when governments stop providing services.

You currently control both houses of congress as well as the executive branch. And you've wasted this opportunity by allowing the president to rule by his whims instead of by respecting constitutional norms. Since you have the power, why don't you use it instead of handing it over to the executive branch without a whimper of resistance? 

By doing nothing, what gets damaged? Only the very integrity and authority of the Constitution itself. Earlier in October, the president informed Congress that the United States is at war. Only Congress, not the president, has authority to declare a war, yet you've remained silent as Trump usurps your authority. Worse than silent, in fact. When Democrats put forth a measure to block the president from sinking boats in the Caribbean Sea, the Republicans blocked it. Rand Paul was one of the only two Republican senators supporting the measure. He wondered why we sank boats instead of intercepting them, “If anyone gave a you-know-what about justice, perhaps those in charge of deciding whom to kill might let us know their names, present proof of their guilt and show evidence of their crimes.”

You know even less than names and evidence. You only have the presidents statements that he's going after drug smuggling terrorists. The problem is Venezuela plays a minimal role as a source of smuggled drugs. So why is Trump really sinking Venezuelan boats? Some argue that the president is trying to unseat Nicolás Maduro from power. So why doesn't he say so? Moreover why can't you be bothered to find out what his illegally declared war is really about?

It's a shame that flights are cancelled and delayed because unpaid flight traffic controllers call in sick. You senators do the least you can to end the shutdown while continuing to draw your salaries. Perhaps you should be investigated for impersonating lawmakers.