then buy 60 senators for a bag of bubblegum and two spools of string.

The old senators will think that’s a good deal.

They had the "We the people" platform, started by Obama. But Trump started ripping it apart, and Biden pulled the plug on his first day in the office.

And even then instead of being people driven, the US administration would choose what they want to address or not. For all the excesses of EU bureaucracy, there are plenty cases like this where it prevents politicians from ignoring people's concerns; they can still refuse to act, but at least the petition system forces them to go on record.

Many US states have official citizens initiatives systems, but not on the Federal level, no.

Some states allow citizens to propose ballot measures if they get enough support, which then get put up to vote in the next election and become law, but both parties hate the practice and fight it wherever they can. No such thing exists at a national level though.