Battle Born Collective is a Democratic pollical strategy firm that works to help push left-of-center legislation and streamline political maneuvers of like-minded politicians and groups. Founded in 2021 by Rebecca Kirszner Katz and Adam Jentleson, aides to the late U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), this group has been at the forefront of the media messaging campaign to end the Senate filibuster rule and pass widespread changes to national voting laws and procedures. Battle Born Collective partners with the environmentalist group Sunrise Movement and, according to the New York Times, offers its services for free, its work being funded by private Democratic-aligned donors. ¹

Filibuster Opposition

In January 2022 Battle Born Collective signed onto a letter with over 60 left-progressive organizations calling for an end to the Senate filibuster rule to facilitate passage of Democratic-sponsored legislation. Signatories included Fix Our Senate, environmentalist group Evergreen Action, left-of-center political action groups People’s Action, Our Revolution, and Bend the Arc Jewish Action, and Demos, as well as voter-mobilization groups Black Voters Matter Fund and DemCast USA; the letter was criticized by Republicans who drew attention to the fact that several of its signatories were funded by the “dark money” lobbying group Sixteen Thirty Fund. ²

Executive director and frequent spokesperson of Battle Born Collective, Adam Jentleson, criticized President Joe Biden for his early reluctance to advocate a workaround of the Senate filibuster rule in order to pass changes to voting legislation. In a New York Times op-ed, Jentleson referred to this as a “Jim Crow”-style double standard, pointing out that workarounds had been used to pass other legislation. He also suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris could circumvent any supermajority requirements by parliamentary procedure if she overruled an attempt to filibuster and 50 Senators backed her. ³

Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have been particular objects of criticism by Jentleson and Battle Born Collective due to their refusal to join the other 48 Democratic senators in modifying the legislative filibuster. Jentleson openly speculates that Sinema is either planning to run as an independent or expects the Democratic Party to lose ground in the 2022 midterm elections. ⁴ In a Washington Post op-ed, Jentleson speculated that Manchin’s refusal to cooperate with the rest of the Democrats is simply due to a “bruised” ego. ⁵

White House Letter on Immigration

In March 2021, Battle Born Collective signed a letter to the White House, urging President Joe Biden to act quickly to pass legislation such as the DREAM Act and the SECURE Act that would grant paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The letter expressed fear that Republican “intransigence” would prevent any such legislation from being passed. The letter was also signed by Justice Democrats, New Deal Strategies, Sunrise Movement, and United We Dream. ⁶

People

Adam Jentleson is the co-founder and executive director of Battle Born Collective, and former deputy chief of staff to the late former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Jentleson is also a columnist whose work appears in GQ, the New York Times, Washington Post, and other periodicals. He is also the author of Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy. ⁷

Jentleson drafted a battle plan for Democrats following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, which was published by the New York Times and referenced by CNN and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. Suggested actions included raising constant procedural objections to “gum up the works” and bring confirmation procedures for a new justice to a halt. ⁸ In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Jentleson referred to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) as “uniquely ghoulish.” ⁹

Rebecca Kirszner Katz, co-founder of Battle Born Collective, is the founder of political strategy group New Deal Solutions. She is also the director of the Brooklyn-based social services group Red Hook Initiative. In addition to working as a top political strategy aide for Sen. Reid, she is a partner at political strategy firm Hilltop Public Solutions and a former special advisor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NY). ¹⁰

Tre Easton is the Deputy Director of Battle Born Collective. He is the former legislative assistant to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for LGBT issues and environment. ¹¹

1. Lerer, Lisa. “Progressives Made a Splash, Can They Pass Bills Too?” New York Times. February 6, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/us/politics/sunrise-movement-progressives.html
2. Carney Jordain. “60 Groups Uge Senate Democrats to Reform Filibuster for Voting Rights.” The Hill. January 3, 2022. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/587961-60-groups-urge-senate-dems-to-reform-filibuster-for-voting-rights?fbclid=IwAR0CyzZFCl9V3xavblcudXmDwwztS25zKFq4o2QpRc_Qg_twre5sI7pHt2g
3.  Jentleson, Adam. “When Will Biden Join the Fight for Voting Rights?” New York Times. August 29, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/opinion/biden-voting-rights.html
4. ^[1] Battle Born Collective. “What is Sinema Doing?” Battle Born Collective. July 21, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://battleborncollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BBC-Memo-What-is-Sinema-Doing.pdf
5. Jentleson, Adam. “Here’s How Democrats Can Build Back Better, and Appease Manchin.”  Washington Post. December 22, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/22/manchin-build-back-better/
6. Battle Born Collective. “Formatted Progressive Orgs Letter to the White House.” Battle Born Collective. March 30, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://battleborncollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Letter-to-the-White-House-on-Immigration.pdf
7. “Adam Jentleson.” Gentleman’s Quarterly. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://www.gq.com/contributor/adam-jentleson
8. Jentleson, Adam. “Democrats Need a Plan. Fast.” New York Times. September 21, 2020. Accessed January 24, 2022.  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/opinion/ruth-bader-ginsburg-senate-democrats.html
9. “All in with Chris Hayes: 12/8/21.” MSNBC. December 8, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022.  https://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/transcript-all-chris-hayes-12-8-21-n1285856
10. “Red Hook Initiative: Rebecca Kirszner Katz.”. Accessed January 24, 2022.  https://theorg.com/org/red-hook-initiative/org-chart/rebecca-kirszner-katz
11. “Tre Easton.” Linkedin. Accessed January 24, 2022.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tr%C3%A9-easton-602b9551?challengeId=AQF-mTKP4V0EiwAAAX6OLMB9TtTTpdTw6zrxKyTCxXAA5WzKh14UD_sntjovs9wHAvnW1m5qzQz8-cbuRwuaHc5aBVt7cfV93w&submissionId=44648844-ea54-cd16-504b-bf4574b7b37e