Only six months into his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has already wrought unprecedented chaos upon the government and society of the United States. He issued more than 20 executive orders (EOs) on his inauguration day alone, bypassing Congress and seeking to impose what many have called a fascist agenda. Among the most radical were EO 14158, which established the now infamous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and EO 14169, which froze virtually all U.S. foreign aid.

I am one of the many in Washington who have lost their job as a result of EO 14169. Until recently, I worked for a high-profile organization, implementing projects that advanced and defended human rights in Ukraine. As we reeled from the executive order’s fallout, one of the questions that I heard time and time again from Ukrainians was: “Why aren’t Americans doing anything?”

Only six months into his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has already wrought unprecedented chaos upon the government and society of the United States. He issued more than 20 executive orders (EOs) on his inauguration day alone, bypassing Congress and seeking to impose what many have called a fascist agenda. Among the most radical were EO 14158, which established the now infamous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and EO 14169, which froze virtually all U.S. foreign aid.

I am one of the many in Washington who have lost their job as a result of EO 14169. Until recently, I worked for a high-profile organization, implementing projects that advanced and defended human rights in Ukraine. As we reeled from the executive order’s fallout, one of the questions that I heard time and time again from Ukrainians was: “Why aren’t Americans doing anything?”

It’s not a surprising sentiment. Since the final years of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has witnessed three impressive mass protest movements. The first was the Revolution on Granite in 1990, in which students occupied what would become Kyiv’s Independence Square to demand early parliamentary elections, reject a proposed Union Treaty with Moscow, and call for the nationalization of Communist Party property. Tens of thousands marched in solidarity with the students.

The second was the Orange Revolution of 2004, in which more than 500,000 people gathered in the square to protest rigged presidential elections. The third and likely the most well-known to an international audience is the 2013-2014 Euromaidan,........

© Foreign Policy