Nick O’Neill says his wife woke him at an “ungodly hour” one recent morning. The app the couple founded, 5 Calls, was melting down under a crush of people contacting their members of Congress.

A flurry of White House executive orders and overhauls of federal bureaucracy are making civic engagement great again. People are trading tips on social media about 5 Calls and other apps that help them express their views to elected representatives — and they’re jamming Congress’s phone lines.