Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., is leading a progressive charge against President-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, seeking to ratchet up the pressure to stop him from becoming Trump’s White House counselor.

He and a coalition of some three-score progressive, religious and ethnic organizations are protesting Bannon’s appointment as chief White House strategist and senior counsel in the Trump administration. They delivered petitions with more than 1 million signatures to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday demanding Bannon’s removal from Trumps White House-in-waiting and calling on congressional leaders to force Trump’s hand.