The road to a House majority runs through suburban America, where affordability still rings as the number one issue. Read the full piece here: www.therebuild.pub/p/the-battl...

69% of Dem targets are suburban districts. Meanwhile, Republicans are defending seats where their incumbents underperform by -3.4 points on average. Dems who champion specific policies on housing, healthcare & childcare affordability will win these crucial battlegrounds.

Progressives must reject the false choice between compassion & order. Chaos just prices families out. We need safe streets and affordable housing, not just “family values” talk from Trump while progressives shy away from basic order. www.therebuild.pub/p/a-progres...

Purity myths, anti‑profit politics, and ransom‑style discretionary reviews keep supply locked up. Until lawmakers break this three‑part addiction, rents rise, families flee, and the state shrinks from promise to museum piece. www.therebuild.pub/p/californi...

Extending Jones Act-style rules to global trade won't revitalize shipbuilding, it only increases costs for Americans. The path to competitiveness is through modernizing ports, automating infrastructure, and investing in our maritime workforce. www.therebuild.pub/p/how-marit...

This is not the only case of volatility in the trade world, tariffs have wrecked any ounce of certainty left, and these impending proposed fees, will continue to hurt an industry that is already seeing drops in volume.https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1911724263649714585

Even the administration is now considering walking it back, hinting the fees won’t be stacked, may be scaled by tonnage, and could have delayed implementation.

Translation: they know it was a mess. But we still do not know the full scale and impacts.

The proposed fees:

• $1.5M per call for China-built ships
• $1M if a carrier owns just one China-built vessel
• $1M for Chinese state-owned ships
• Potentially stackable

It’s unclear what will be implemented, but the uncertainty alone is already hurting trade.

And let's be real the U.S. already has has no global shipbuilding presence.

In 2022:

China built 1,794 large oceangoing ships

The U.S. built 5

We built zero container ships in 2024. Yet we’re writing policy like we’re a global maritime power. x.com/AlecStapp/s...

On April 17th, we'll learn if massive fees on Chinese-built vessels will move forward. This expansion of failed protectionism into international shipping has faced massive backlash with the CEO of the ACA stating the impact would ultimately be felt by the consumer.

Overall, Americans overwhelmingly believe Trump's tariffs will damage the U.S. economy (53% hurt vs. 31% help). This skepticism cuts across demographics but runs deepest among Black (62%) and Hispanic (60%) respondents.

Americans overwhelmingly expect retaliation against Trump's tariffs (81% likely), aligning with reality. China has already imposed 84% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, while the EU approved €21 billion in countermeasures on American products.

Americans remain skeptical about Trump's tariffs hurting U.S. global standing, with 52% believing they damage international relationships. Despite Trump's "America First" messaging, only 19% see tariffs improving our global position. Black + Hispanic voters (59%/55%) are most concerned.

Voters won't grasp Section 301 or the intricacies of trade law, but they acutely feel the pinch when grocery bills rise. The best messaging sounds mad on voters' behalf, that families' cost of living is caught in the crossfire of chaotic policy. www.therebuild.pub/p/fighting-...

Democrats learned this lesson the hard way under Biden: voters won't sacrifice their present economic comfort for abstract future benefits.

Democrats who make tariffs personal - connecting them directly to local industries and household budgets - are showing the way forward. The most effective voices highlight specific impacts on their communities, not abstract trade policy.

CO Gov. @jaredpolis shows how effective messaging looks: "Trump's tariffs will be a tax on Coloradans and American families, and increase the cost of everything from food to gas." His straightforward language that tariffs "make no sense" connects with everyday voters.

With Trump's tariffs taking effect April 2nd, Democrats need to understand this fight is just starting. The economic impacts will ripple through supply chains, affecting everything from manufacturing to agriculture long after implementation.