Working Families Tax Cuts Invest in Farmers and Ranchers

Washington, D.C.—Agriculture’s fundamental role in our communities is clear. Every day, farmers and ranchers in Idaho and across the country work hard to ensure Americans and populations around the world are well fed, which is why today is observed as National Agriculture Day. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts law led by U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), that hard work is now supported by policies that will help farm families continue to produce abundantly with more certainty about federal tax and agricultural policy affecting their operations.

“Agriculture is the cornerstone of Idaho’s economy, accounting for 20 percent of our gross state product,” said Crapo. “Providing certainty in our tax code, while extending and enhancing other pro-growth provisions, will make it easier for producers to access the capital they need to buy new equipment and weather lean years and ensure family farms can be passed down for generations to come.”

Key wins:

Permanently doubles the death tax exemption so family farms can stay in the family

Permanently restores full expensing for new farm equipment and vehicles

Makes permanent the small business deduction claimed by hundreds of thousands of family farms and ranches

Allows deferral of capital gains tax on farmer-to-farmer land transfers

Allows banks to exclude a portion of interest income on farm loans, helping them provide farmers and ranchers more affordable loans

Extends the farm safety net and supports investments in agriculture and research programs

What they are saying:

“My first thought is, if you like to eat, you will help us with this. . . . When you buy that piece of equipment, you’re expected to pay it off in three to seven years. That’s usually what the finance is at. Those are pretty hefty bills that come to play. Being able to use that 100 percent depreciation, it freed up money so I can make those payments.” – Jolene Riessen, Iowa farmer

“The extension of the tax provisions are a lifeline for American farmers, especially as it relates to fruits, vegetables, and flowers. If you think about all the headwinds that American farmers are experiencing—between labor, increasing costs, access to markets—the extension of these provisions provide much needed relief.” – Cathy Burns, President and CEO, International Fresh Produce Association

Click HERE to learn more about how the Working Families Tax Cuts support American agriculture.

Click HERE to learn more about the Finance Committee provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts.

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Sen. Cruz Delivers Opening Remarks on Arctic Frost

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, chaired a hearing titled Arctic Frost: The Modern Day Watergate. The hearing focused on public new Arctic Frost records, including Biden Department of Justice subpoenas for now-FBI director Kash Patel and an additional 430 conservative organizations and individuals.

Click here or the image above to watch Sen. Cruz’s opening remarks.

Sen. Cruz’s opening statement as prepared below:

Fifty years ago, Watergate exposed a simple but profound abuse of power: operatives tied to a sitting President broke into a building to secretly gather information from their political opponents by bugging offices and seizing documents.

And what followed was just as troubling: efforts to use the powers of government to conceal it—to pressure investigators, to shut down inquiries, to avoid accountability. Even though that operation failed in its ultimate objective, the American people did not treat it lightly. The consequences were swift and severe.

The President of the United States resigned in disgrace, facing near-certain impeachment. And dozens of officials—more than forty individuals connected to the scheme—were indicted or jailed.

Because the attempt itself was the offense. In our law, we recognize a simple truth: a failed crime is not an insignificant one. A man who pulls the trigger and misses is no less guilty than the one who hits his mark. The intent is the same. The danger is the same. The crime is the same.

And if Watergate taught us anything, it is that even a single abuse of power—carried out by a handful of individuals—can shake the foundations of our Republic.

But what we confront today—the Biden Administration’s Arctic Frost scheme—is not a single act. It is a modern Watergate—trading a break-in at one office for a digital sweep into approximately 100,000 private communications, more than a dozen Senators, and thousands of individuals’ lives. But even that comparison falls short. It is something far broader: an operation that aligned Democrats across all three branches of government.

The Biden Executive Branch—through the DOJ and FBI—wielded investigative power against political opponents. Democrat-appointed judges in the Judiciary—through warrants, secrecy orders, and deference—failed to serve as a meaningful check.

And members of the Legislative Branch—who should be the first line of oversight—chose instead to look the other way. And just like Watergate, these officials deserve to be investigated, tried, impeached, and brought to justice.

So, let’s examine how this operation was carried out—step by step.

In early 2022, senior leadership within the Biden Department of Justice made the decision to open an investigation targeting President Trump and his campaign apparatus. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Chris Wray all personally approved the opening of the investigation.

On April 4, 2022, they signed a confidential memo bearing each of their signatures. That fact matters. Because Watergate was carried out in secret—by operatives who were not brazen enough to act with formal, written authorization from the highest levels of the Department of Justice.

Arctic Frost was fully authorized, formalized, and executed—through the official powers of the United States government—by partisan Democrats.

Then, in the fall, came nearly 200 subpoenas. We’re talking about information pertaining to hundreds of entities and individuals. Over 400 Republican-aligned groups and individuals, including the most sensitive categories of personal data, had information gathered, retained, and, in some accounts, shared across offices.

Watergate was about a handful of files in a single office. This reached into tens of thousands of private communications—emails, records, and personal data. Toll records, bank records, donor lists, law firm records, and other personal files relating to every major conservative organization were subpoenaed:

Donald Trump’s campaign, the RNC, the Conservative Partnership Institute, Save America PAC, America First Policy Institute, and even MyPillow. Watergate broke into an office. Arctic Frost reached into the private lives of thousands of Americans.

Meanwhile, conservative leaders found themselves equally violated. The Biden Administration sought the phone records of nearly 20% of Republicans in the Senate, including myself.

Without our knowledge, the FBI took our cellphone data, including information about with whom we were talking, how long we were talking, and from where we were calling. Toll records are not trivial—they are a map of your life, giving insight into your relationships, your movements, and your patterns.

Such invasive subpoenas were granted by Judge Boasberg, a Democrat-appointed judge, on the premise that any one of us—as duly elected United States Senators—might destroy evidence, tamper with witnesses, or obstruct justice.

Recently, even more troubling facts have continued to emerge. Biden’s DOJ subpoenaed the toll records of now-FBI Director Kash Patel and now-White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Both were, at the time, private citizens and key members of President Trump’s 2024 election campaign. Now imagine the reverse.

Imagine, for one moment, that President Trump’s Department of Justice had secretly obtained the phone records of Senator Schumer—and of nearly 20 percent of Senate Democrats—without their knowledge.

Imagine if a Republican Attorney General, a Republican FBI Director, and a Republican-appointed judge had all signed off on a covert effort to sweep up the communications, location data, and call histories of every Democrat-affiliated organization and individual in the U.S.

Would anyone in this room call that routine? Would Democrats call that normal law enforcement activity? Would the press shrug its shoulders? Of course not. There would be wall-to-wall outrage. There would be cries of authoritarianism. There would be emergency hearings, demands for resignations, and talk of impeachment before the sun went down.

Arctic Frost is the culmination of a gross pattern of abuse of power by Democrats. In 2016, Obama’s FBI began spying on the Trump campaign just a month before Election Day.

In 2020, Biden’s FBI met with Senators Johnson and Grassley in an effort to throw off their investigation into the infamous Hunter Biden laptop, calling the laptop “disinformation”—a claim we now know is false.

For years, Democrats have exhibited a pattern of abusing public law enforcement powers for the sake of politics—a pattern this Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Grassley, is now working to uncover and expose.

Because no administration—Republican or Democrat—has any business turning the surveillance powers of the federal government against its political opposition.

Fifty years ago, this nation was confronted with an abuse of power—and it responded not with indifference, but with accountability. We were tested then. We are being tested again now. The question before us is simple: Will we uphold the same standard—or abandon it?


Daines on Fox News: Stop the Nonsense, End the DHS Shutdown

“Our Airports Look Like Walmart on Black Friday”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Martha McCallum on Fox News to discuss his meeting at the White House to end the DHS shutdown.

Watch the full interview HERE.

Daines on his meeting at the White House on ending the DHS shutdown:

What happened yesterday at the White House was extraordinary. I got to give tremendous credit to President Trump and his team. The president saw what was going to happen right now at this moment in history a year ago when we put an extra $150 billion in the Homeland Security budget as part of the reconciliation package a year ago, anticipating the insanity and the craziness of the far-left who wanted to defund police, defund DHS, defund ICE, and completely go back to open borders. Because we have those extra funds, we were able to create a deal that will allow us to open DHS back up in totality, fund the TSA agents, and make sure the flying public is not having to wait four, five, six hours in airports. These images of airports around the country, it looks like a Walmart on a Black Friday with these huge lines. This is nonsense. The Democrats have blocked this now 14 times in the last 39 days. It’s time to end the nonsense.

Daines on the SAVE Act:

You can’t pass a pure voter ID law only using reconciliation. You can put financial incentives to discourage voter fraud. We can do that. But this will be in addition to what Mike Lee is working on the floor. This fight doesn’t end. We continue that battle on the floor. Again, it took 60 days the last time this process was used to get bipartisan consensus to get to 60 votes to actually get a law passed.

… we’ve had this battle now for two weeks. This is going to continue after we get back, after the Easter break. And this fight continues. The last time they did this, again, it was 60 days. I think this battle will continue. We’re going to have to have the Democrats agreeing with their voters who overwhelmingly support voter ID to realize in many states that Democrats currently serve from, like New Hampshire, they have voter ID laws and citizenship laws. This is just common sense.

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Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Arctic Frost

Durbin: “As the title of this hearing makes clear, the majority is wasting this Committee’s time and resources on another baseless, partisan witch-hunt.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing entitled “Arctic Frost: A Modern Watergate.” Instead of allowing Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to testify, Senate Judiciary Republicans are proceeding with a wasteful series of eight subcommittee hearings to relitigate the 2020 presidential election, despite numerous other issues worth examining within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Today’s subcommittee hearing is the second hearing in the series.

In February, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Democrats in again calling for Smith to testify publicly under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as he has offered to do, as well as request unredacted versions of the Special Counsel’s report, including Volume II, which is still being blocked from public release by President Trump’s Department of Justice.

Key Quotes:

“Last week, America lost a man who devoted his life in service to our nation. Robert Mueller earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart serving as a Marine and risking his life in Vietnam, and he led the FBI after 9/11, helping to secure our nation after the worst terrorist attack in American history… How did President Donald Trump respond to the news of Robert Mueller’s passing? [He said] ‘Good, I’m glad he’s dead.’ Those reprehensible words should be condemned by every member of the Committee on both sides of the aisle.”

“Unfortunately, under Republican leadership, this Committee has been complicit in the attacks on Robert Mueller, spending years spreading debunked conspiracy theories about his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. We’re here today to attack another Special Counsel investigation led by another honorable public servant. As the title of this hearing makes clear, the majority is wasting this Committee’s time and resources on another baseless, partisan witch-hunt.”

“Let me draw attention to the issues the Committee should be addressing instead of this farce today. Over the past year, President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and Director of the FBI Patel have systematically dismantled the Federal Bureau of Investigation… These purges are making every American less safe. Most recently, Director Patel reportedly fired at least six agents and several other FBI personnel who had been assigned work related to President Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.”

“These terminations were seemingly to save face with President Trump in response to the negative press Director Patel received for his embarrassing appearance chugging beer at the Olympic Games. Several of the fired agents were reportedly part of a global counterintelligence squad [whose responsibilities include investigating espionage and cyber threats from Iran]. In other words, Director Patel’s political retribution has weakened the FBI’s ability to counter Iranian threats at the exact time that not only America but certainly the men and women in uniform needed them to keep themselves safe.”

“Watergate is the story of a President who engaged in a vast illegal conspiracy to remain in power and used his control of the levers of government to obstruct investigations into his own misconduct. Back then, the Senate stood up for the Constitution and the rule of law, exposing [President] Nixon’s corruption by investigating the serious allegations against him.”

“Today, Senate Republicans waffle between indifference to outright celebration of President Trump’s brazen misconduct, despite the real danger it poses. We cannot continue on this course. The American people face real challenges, from citizens being summarily executed for exercising their First Amendment rights to the skyrocketing price of the cost of living under this Administration.”

“This hearing will not help a single person other than Donald Trump and the Republican majority should do better for their constituents… This hearing is an attempt to throttle a dead horse to a gallop.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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Durbin Introduces Legislation To Stymie Plastic Pollution In Waterways

The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act would prohibit the discharge of plastic pellets into waterways

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, which would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to prohibit the discharge of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastic into waterways from facilities and sources that make, use, package, or transport pellets. The pellets are being consumed by fish and marine life—and in turn, humans—and create additional damage to ecosystems.

“Because only nine percent of all plastics end up being recycled, most plastic waste ends up in landfills, incinerated, or worse—finding its way into our rivers, lakes, and oceans,” Durbin said. “The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act would begin to address the plastic problem that is plaguing our nation’s waterways and wildlife.”

“Oceana thanks Senator Dick Durbin for tackling plastic pollution by reintroducing the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act,” said Christy Leavitt, Senior Campaign Director at Oceana. “Plastic pellets are small, yet their impact is vast and destructive because they easily spill into our oceans, lakes, and rivers and are difficult to clean up. Plastic pellets are worsening the plastic pollution crisis, and Congress must pass this essential bill to safeguard our coasts and communities.”

“Our fish and wildlife – from the smallest shrimp to the largest whales – are choking on plastic. Plastic pellets, used to manufacture common products, are a big part of the problem. Sen. Durbin’s Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act would save wildlife and our waterways by stopping companies from dumping and spilling plastic pellets. Environment America urges Congress to pass this bill immediately,” said Lisa Frank, Executive Director of Environment America.

“From the Great Lakes to the mighty Mississippi, our waters support healthy wildlife and communities. But with an estimated 22 million pounds of plastic entering the Great Lakes every year, plastic waste is polluting our waterways at an alarming rate. Spilling and dumping plastic pellets during the manufacturing process is an unnecessary source of waste. We applaud Illinois Sen. Durbin’s Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act for working to address this often unseen, but harmful pollution from plastic pellets and urge Congress to pass this bill quickly,” said Emily Kowalski, Associate Director of Environment Illinois.

“Plastic pollution is all too common in Illinois and beyond. Last spring, volunteers participating in the International Plastic Pellet Count found these microplastics on the Wild Mile, at Lake Michigan’s Clark Street Beach and near Shedd Aquarium. Globally, participants found nearly 50,000 plastic pellets. Shockingly, that’s still only a tiny fraction of the trillions of pellets polluting our environment and potentially harming our health. Thank you to Sen. Durbin for introducing the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act to halt the flow of microplastic into our waterways,” said Grace Vickers, Beyond Plastic Associate at PIRG.

U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) are cosponsors of the legislation.

U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA-49) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill has been endorsed by Oceana, Environment America, Environment Illinois, and PIRG.

Plastic pellets, or nurdles, are the pre-production building blocks of nearly all plastic goods. Due to the low cost of producing these pellets, they are often washed down drains or dumped if they come in contact with other materials like dust and dirt. They are also often spilled both in the shipping and production process—eventually finding their way into our waterways, including the Great Lakes.

Each year, it is estimated plastic pellet pollution contributes significantly to the 22 million tons of plastic that end up in the Great Lakes. The shorelines of the Great Lakes are littered with plastic pellets, with a majority of beaches on all five Great Lakes recording significant pollution levels of these pellets (19.1 pellets per m2). These pellets not only are showing up on beaches, but are building up on the bottom of the lakes and are being consumed by fish and marine life, ultimately ending up in our food and consumer products. Plastic pollution has become so prevalent that researchers estimate 86 percent of the pollution on Great Lakes beaches are partially or entirely made up of plastic.

Approximately 250,000 tons of plastic pellets end up in the oceans annually. The Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, contain some of the highest levels of microplastics nationwide compared with other water sources.

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Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Arctic Frost

Durbin pressed the majority witness on the benefits of Jack Smith testifying under oath considering Republicans’ refusal to allow him to testify

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing entitled “Arctic Frost: A Modern Watergate.” Instead of allowing Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to testify, Senate Judiciary Republicans are proceeding with a wasteful series of eight subcommittee hearings to relitigate the 2020 presidential election rather than fulfilling their obligation to conduct oversight over the Trump Administration. Today’s subcommittee hearing is the second hearing in the series.

Durbin first questioned Margot Cleveland, Of Counsel at New Civil Liberties Alliance and Senior Legal Correspondent at The Federalist, about the benefit of Jack Smith testifying under oath given her characterization of him.

“You have accused him [Jack Smith] of being a hyper-aggressive prosecutor, partisan… running some sort of partisan protection racket, unconstitutionally appointed, a litany of constitutional misconduct, guilty of a fishing expedition, [and the list goes] on and on. Would there be value for you to be able to ask Mr. Smith questions about your assertions?” Durbin asked.

Ms. Cleveland repeatedly dodged Durbin’s question and stated that she has not seen enough background information to ask him questions under oath.

Durbin stated, “The point I’m getting to is [that] for the last six months, Democrats on this Committee have said to Republicans on this Committee: bring Jack Smith into this room, sit him down in front of the microphone, put him under oath, and ask whatever questions you have. All these assertions, bill of particulars issued by some of the witnesses today, would have to be confronted by him directly, under oath in a public hearing for America to see… They’d [Senate Republicans on the Committee] would rather have the hearings than have the answers.”

Durbin then questioned Christopher O’Leary, former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counterterrorism official and current Senior Vice President for Global Operations at The Soufan Group, about the integrity of the FBI given President Trump’s weaponization of the FBI and Director Kash Patel’s poor leadership and disregard for the institution.

“What is the future of the FBI?” Durbin asked.

Mr. O’Leary responded, “What the FBI deserves, and needs is an unbiased leader, somebody with investigative and operational experience, leadership experience, and a commitment to public service and justice. Unfortunately, I do not see that in the current [FBI] Director [Patel]. He does not have any background or experience and lacks the character and the disposition to carry out the duties that the American people deserve, and the country is less safe under his leadership.”

Durbin responded, “I agree with your conclusion, and a great deal has to be done to rehabilitate and resurrect this great agency.”

Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available herefor TV Stations.

In February, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Democrats in again calling for Smith to testify publicly under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as he has offered to do, as well as request unredacted versions of the Special Counsel’s report, including Volume II, which is still being blocked from public release by President Trump’s Department of Justice.

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Durbin Receives Champion Of Justice Award From Legal Services Corporation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today received the Champion of Justice Award from the national Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in recognition of his decades of work increasing access to justice for Americans.

LSC is the largest funder of civil legal assistance in the country, supporting 130 local legal aid organizations that provide free assistance to low-income Americans. Nationally, LSC grantees served 1.8 million people in 2024. In Illinois, LSC funds Legal Aid Chicago, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, and Prairie State Legal Services, which served 66,927 people in 2023 and closed 28,511 cases in 2024. Unfortunately, due to limited resources, LSC grantees must turn away about 50 percent of eligible clients, and a 2022 study on the “civil justice gap” found that low-income Americans did not receive any or enough legal help for 92 percent of their substantial civil legal problems.

“Although I’ve had the honor of representing the state of Illinois in Congress, I started my legal career as a small-town attorney. Because of that work, I’m acutely aware of the wide disparity in the ability of Americans of different economic means to access the civil justice system,” said Durbin. “Legal aid changes lives for the better and improves our communities. I’ve been proud to support the LSC—and will continue to with my remaining time in Congress—and I’m grateful for this recognition.”

Photos of Durbin receiving the award are available here.

President Trump has threatened to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation. His Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget requested $21 million to be used “for the closure of the [LSC].” Such closure would be devastating for LSC grantees, which rely on LSC for nearly a third of their funding. Currently, LSC is funded at $540 million for FY2026, $20 million less than its previous funding level and far short of the $2.132 billion it requested for FY2026.

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Durbin Statement On Colin McDonald Confirmation To Be Assistant Attorney General Targeting ‘Fraud’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Colin McDonald to be Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division:

“After gutting key divisions that actually investigate and prosecute fraud, the Trump Administration announced this newly-created vessel for targeting political enemies under the guise of ‘fraud enforcement.’

“I never received answers to questions about this Division’s formation, and I believe Mr. McDonald is more committed to scoring political points for President Trump and the enriched fraudsters he has pardoned than he is to actually fighting fraud.

“If the Trump Administration were serious about tackling fraud, it’d start from within the White House. I vote no.”

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Durbin: Trump Wants To Pass The SAVE America Act Because He’s Worried About The Outcome Of The Midterm Elections

Durbin: “Historically, the President’s party doesn’t do well in an off-year election. So, he is trying to find ways to diminish the number of voters in America in certain areas.”

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined the specific provisions in Republicans’ SAVE America Act that would prevent Americans from exercising their right to vote, including rejecting common IDs to register to vote and penalizing married Americans who changed their last names.

Under the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, driver’s licenses and other government-issued IDs, including a REAL ID, alone would not be sufficient. According to a nonpartisan study by the Brennan Center and the University of Maryland, more than 21 million Americans who are eligible to vote—or about one out of every ten voting age citizens—do not have documents readily available to prove their citizenship.

“First, you’re going to have to pay a fee for a passport, $165. You may have to wait three, four weeks, maybe even a month or more. So, if you’re trying to get a passport in time to register to vote for the election, you better think ahead a few months and you better have the money, $165, to get the job done,” Durbin said. “And there’s other proof you can use and that’s your birth certificate. But of course that is not always easily available for everybody. Do you know where your birth certificate is—a copy that you can use? … And then there’s a complication on the birth certificate if you’re a married woman. You may have taken his [your husband’s] name now, so your birth certificate doesn’t reflect the name that you use legally today.”

Addressing Republicans’ manufactured argument that American elections are not secure because noncitizens are voting, Durbin explained that federal law already bans noncitizens from participating in American elections and that cases of illegal voting are extremely uncommon.

“Why would we change all of those [rules for registering] to vote with new standards of proof? Because of the argument on the other side that there are illegal aliens voting in America. Well, they better take care if they try that—it is against the law today without any change [to legislation] on the Senate floor if you try to vote and you’re not legally an American citizen,” Durbin said.

During his speech, Durbin recounted a 2024 Bipartisan Policy Center analysis of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud database which found only 77 instances where noncitizens successfully cast ballots from 1999-2023, each of which faced investigation by the appropriate authorities.

“We have the most accurate and valid voting system in the world. There’s no doubt about it. To try and create the impression otherwise is just plain wrong—the facts don’t back you up. Then what is this all about? Why would we have to pass this bill before any other measure or legislation? That’s what President Trump said,” Durbin said. “A proposal was brought to him to make sure that people working at the airport are paid on time, and he said I’m not taking that up until you pass the voting bill. Why is it so important to him to change the process to register to vote? Because it is going to create chaos in this situation for the next election, which is only a few months away. He’s worried about the outcome. Historically, the President’s party doesn’t do well in an off-year election. So, he is trying to find ways to diminish the number of voters in America in certain areas.”

Durbin concluded, “We need to protect the right for legally eligible Americans to register to vote and to vote. We shouldn’t have a poll tax like a new passport fee of $165 to make you eligible to go register to vote… If it’s a true constitutional challenge, if it’s a true legal crisis, let’s change it. But 77 in 24 years, that to me doesn’t strike me as any kind of crisis. It is a crisis that is being created by the Republican leadership to push a bill that is unnecessary. Many people fought and died for our right to vote. We shouldn’t have it taken away from us because we stacked up bureaucracy in the path towards registration. That doesn’t make sense.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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Ernst Recognized for Championing Renewable Fuels

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was recognized with Growth Energy’s America’s Fuel Award for her work promoting renewable fuels to increase U.S. energy independence and lower prices at the pump.

Ernst has been a leading advocate for homegrown, Iowa biofuels, securing access to E15 for the summer driving months, while continuing the call for permanent, nationwide availability that would lower costs and increase demand for Iowa crops.

Download this picture with Senator Ernst here.

“I’ve spent years championing Iowa biofuels, and I’m truly honored to be recognized for that work,” said Ernst. “Homegrown energy is good for America’s economy, national security, and our rural communities. I will continue the charge to secure permanent, year-round E15 to expand choice at the pump and improve energy affordability.”

Background:

Ernst has kept up the drumbeat to secure permanent year-round E15 following President Trump’s announcement in Iowa earlier this year, and reiterated at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing that it is well beyond time for Congress to deliver a bill to his desk.

Recently, she worked to add value to Iowa-grown crops by ensuring the final 45Z clean fuel production credit rule recognizes a wide array of on-farm practices.

Ernst helped introduce the Farmer First Fuel Incentives Act, which became law in the Republican-passed Working Families Tax Cuts to extend the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit to 2029, remove arbitrary environmental penalties against American farmers, and ensure domestic feedstocks are prioritized for biofuel production.

Ernst’s bipartisan Ethanol for America Act would remove regulatory roadblocks and ensure E15 can be offered to folks filling up their cars using existing infrastructure at local gas stations across our nation.

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Fischer Bill to Expedite Wildfire Disaster Relief Passes Senate

WASHINGTON –Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senator Deb Fischer’s (R-NE) Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act to expedite ag producers’ access to federal disaster relief under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP).

Download video Fischer’s remarks here

Download audio of Fischer’s remarks here

Fischer’s remarks as prepared:

Mr. President,

My home state of Nebraska is currently facing devastating wildfires – the worst in our state’s history.

Yesterday, I along with Senator Ricketts, Congressman Smith, and Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen welcomed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to Nebraska to meet with first responders and ag producers who have experienced incredible damage.

Across the state, more than 800,000 acres and counting have burned, turning grasslands to ash. We saw this firsthand up close.

Family farms and ranchers have watched hundreds of miles of fences burn. They have done everything they can to protect livestock.

The coming weeks and months will be difficult. Fences will need to be rebuilt. Grazing plans will need to change. Entire seasons of work will likely need to be reconsidered.

While recovery will be difficult, we should do everything in our power to ensure that disaster recovery programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture can support our farmers and ranchers during this difficult time.

It was feedback from ag producers in previous years’ wildfires that led me to introduce my bipartisan Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act.

The goal of this legislation is to expedite federal cost-sharing following natural disasters, just like the wildfires burning across Nebraska right now. My bill would ensure that the Emergency Conservation Program eligibility can be triggered faster in response to a wildfire and provide flexibility for the producers completing the rehabilitative work.

In times of crisis, Nebraskans deserve relief, not additional burdens. The Emergency Conservation Program’s current distribution system too often fails to provide the support it was designed to offer. We need to streamline the recovery process, so we can restore agricultural land more quickly following emergencies like these tragic wildfires.

This legislation won’t solve all the challenges Nebraska’s producers are facing, but it would meaningfully improve this disaster recovery program.

Mr. President, that’s why I’m asking my colleagues to join my bipartisan effort to improve the Emergency Conservation Program. Farmers and ranchers not only in Nebraska – but across America – will have more security and stability because of it.

Background

The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) were created to help to reduce the burden of natural disasters by providing producers with financial and technical assistance to repair and restore their land.

These programs, however, are often slow to respond to wildfires, floods, and other disasters. This means producers face significant delays and red tape when trying to get access financial assistance.

For many producers, that significant time delay forces them to put off needed repair work, or risk beginning the recovery process without a guarantee of federal help.

The Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act would address these issues by reforming the programs. The bill would specifically give producers impacted by disasters the option to receive an advance on cost-sharing relief that is based on existing USDA estimates.

This expedited option would ensure family farmers and ranchers in dire need of help could begin the critical work of restoring their property to productive levels.

The Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act would also reframe eligibility for relief from wildfire damage to include any wildfire caused or spread due to natural causes, as well as wildfires caused by the federal government.

###


Gallego Introduces Bill to Give TSA Agents Bonuses

Bill provides 10% bonus to TSA and DHS workers who kept airports safe without a paycheck

WASHINGTON– Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced a bill to provide Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who report to work but have not been paid during the shutdown with a 10% bonus upon the agency’s reopening. Many Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who are being paid by funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would not be subject to this bill, as they have been paid during the shutdown.

“For weeks on end, TSA agents have been showing up and keeping our families safe. And they’re doing it without a paycheck as Republicans play politics with their livelihoods,” said Senator Gallego. “They’ve blocked every effort to fund TSA and other DHS agencies, while ICE continues to get paid. These workers deserve to be recognized for their sacrifice.”

Senate Republicans have now—on 11 separate occasions—blocked bills to fund TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Coast Guard, and other important DHS functions, and they’ve blocked pay for TSA 8 times in a row. President Trump insists that Republicans reject any solution to fund TSA or DHS until Congress passes his “SAVE America Act.”

Read the full bill text HERE.


Grassley Releases New Arctic Frost Records, Raising Additional Questions about Jack Smith’s Conduct and Candor

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today delivered remarks at a Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Arctic Frost, Jack Smith’s failed election case against President Trump that began at the Biden Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Grassley additionally made public new Arctic Frost records provided by the Department of Justice and Verizon, including two of Smith’s subpoenas for now-FBI Director Kash Patel’s phone records. Grassley released the documents alongside Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights.

Video and a transcript of his remarks follow.

Prepared Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

“Arctic Frost: A Modern Watergate”

Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

VIDEO

Thank you, Chairman Cruz, for your leadership on this matter.

Today is the second in a series of Arctic Frost hearings that I’ve authorized as Chairman.

I started my investigation into Arctic Frost in July 2022 based on credible whistleblower disclosures.

Senator Ron Johnson has since joined the investigation, and I appreciate our joint work.

Our goal is to publicly release as many records as possible.

The public has a right to know how their taxpayer dollars have been used and who was involved up and down the decision-making chain.

Today, we’re making new records public.

Some records are dated January 2023, before Jack Smith’s team secretly sought most member tolling data.

The records include a wish list created by Smith’s team naming 14 members of Congress for whom they wanted to seek tolling data. Some of those members are senators on this very Committee.

But, the list notes that Smith’s team already knew these members had communications, to include text messages for some members, with individuals associated with President Trump.

And Jack Smith was certainly aware of this effort. To quote from the emails we’re making public today, “before we tell Main (as in main Justice), we’re going to fire off subpoenas for so many members tolls I should make sure Jack’s aware.”

Another record states that it’s “unlikely that many of those members will cooperate with our investigation.”

The same record also says the members “likely have a valid Speech or Debate privilege immunizing them from compelled testimony.”

I’ve already publicly released other records showing Smith’s team was warned that subpoenaing congressional information could violate the Speech or Debate clause.

I’ve also publicly released 197 subpoenas seeking sensitive financial information from over 400 Republican groups and individuals. Some of the information sought included legislative branch communications.

Even with these constitutional concerns, Smith’s team secretly sought and obtained member of Congress tolling data. And when one phone company pushed back, Smith backed down. That calls into question the necessity of obtaining member data.

Another record calls into question Jack Smith’s assertion that the House January 6th Committee materials “comprised a small part of the Office’s investigative record.”

This new record says of the January 6 report, “Leadership team fully read and reviewed. Last weekend we went over it page by page and incorporated into our investigative plan.”

Indeed, this same record that we’re making public today says that Smith’s team will be “logging all information contained in the report.”

The record also states Smith’s team will “leverage” the report to “avoid needless interviews and focus the interviews we perform on underdeveloped topics.”

Overall, the records create additional questions about Smith’s conduct, need for member data and candor to the court and the public.

The Democrats have criticized us for not bringing Jack Smith before us at the beginning.

If we’d followed the Democrats’ premature and ill-advised strategy, we wouldn’t have had a great deal of information we now have that shows Jack Smith misled Congress and the public, if not outright lied.

And lastly, today, we’re also making public two subpoenas for the toll records of FBI Director Patel, along with the non-disclosure orders that kept them secret.

This Committee’s work will continue.


Grassley, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Study Economic Impact of Concentration in Livestock Industry

Click HERE for audio

WASHINGTON – Senate Agriculture Committee members Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Livestock Consolidation Research Act, bipartisan legislation to support research into the economic impact of livestock market consolidation on farmers, ranchers and consumers.

“Consolidation in the meat and poultry industry impacts Iowa producers and consumers alike, and right now, they’re feeling the squeeze. The current patchwork of available data isn’t enough to tackle this problem. Our bipartisan legislation will work to address ag concentration by providing farmers, ranchers and shoppers a full picture of how the market is working,” Grassley said.

“Just a handful of large companies dominate the meat and poultry processing industry, which means higher prices for consumers and shrinking earnings for farmers. On top of that, farmers and ranchers are dealing with the worst farm economy in thirty years, skyrocketing input costs, and a cost-of-living crisis at home. We can all see that this market concentration spells disaster,” Smith said. “Our bipartisan bill would bring to light the impact of this consolidation on farmers and consumers and help us create the best possible solutions to fix the problem. I look forward to working with Senator Grassley and my colleagues to pass this legislation as part of a Farm Bill.”

Click HERE for audio of Grassley discussing the legislation.

Background:

Cattle producers often make pennies on the dollar due to a lack of transparency and competition in the cattle processing industry, where just four companies control 85% of the market. The lack of competition means farmers get less for their products, while consumers pay more at the grocery store.

The Livestock Consolidation Research Act moves beyond existing research to discover the impact of this consolidation on farmers and ranchers, as well as the downstream impacts on consumers. The legislation directs the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service to conduct this research.

Grassley and Smith plan to push for the bill’s inclusion in the research title of the Farm Bill, which could form a base of data to inform future decisions. The bill has been endorsed by the National Farmers Union.

The full text of the legislation is available HERE.


Grassley Supports Colin McDonald to be Fraud-Fighting Assistant Attorney General

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the Senate’s vote to confirm Colin McDonald as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Fraud Enforcement Division, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) voiced his support for McDonald’s nomination on the Senate floor. Under Grassley’s leadership, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced McDonald’s nomination last Thursday, following his February confirmation hearing.

Video and a transcript of Grassley’s floor remarks are below.

VIDEO

Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

“Nomination of Colin McDonald to be Assistant Attorney General”

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Today, we’re voting on Colin McDonald to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Historically, the president and the attorney general have organized the Justice Department to address the pressing needs that faced our nation.

I commend President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for doing so now to address the ongoing crisis of federal program fraud.

Republicans and Democrats can and should agree that fighting fraud – particularly fraud on the American taxpayers – is important work. And that is true now more than ever.

The Judiciary Committee held multiple hearings on the recent fraud in Minnesota.

Since then, other fraud schemes have been identified around the country.

These shocking fraud schemes target federal programs that were designed to help children with autism, the elderly and small businesses.

However, the victims of federal program fraud are not just the intended recipients of program funding.

The American taxpayers, who entrusted the government with their hard-earned money, are victims as well.

Mr. McDonald understands this, and he will fight to protect all victims of fraud.

In his hearing, Mr. McDonald committed to “prosecute criminals who exploit the generosity of our country by stealing from taxpayer-funded programs. Every dollar stolen is a dollar that didn’t put bread on the table, that didn’t reach the hospital bed, that didn’t meet the need identified by Congress. Fraudsters should never be allowed to rip off the United States of America.”

I agree with Mr. McDonald.

What happened in Minnesota and around the country is unacceptable. We, as elected officials, need to support the Justice Department in stopping this fraud.

Confirming Mr. McDonald as the head of national fraud enforcement is a critical first step.

Mr. McDonald is the right person to lead this effort.

He’s spent his entire career in public service as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California.

As a prosecutor, Mr. McDonald handled an array of criminal offenses, but he specialized in the investigation and prosecution of fraud: money laundering, unlawful transactions and tax crimes.

He’s tirelessly worked to protect the rights of victims.

He’s never shied away from hard cases – he’s run towards them.

And at every turn, he’s advocated with candor and the highest ethical standards.

In doing so, he’s gained the respect of his colleagues, his opposing counsels and even the judges he’s appeared before.

I believe that the American people will be in good hands with Mr. McDonald working on their side, and I encourage my colleagues to support his nomination.


Heinrich, Luján Join Push to Stop Department of Education’s Weaponization of Civil Rights Investigations

Senators demand Education Department drop politicized investigations as tool of partisan agenda, expose dismantling of protections for students

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and 13 other Senate Democrats in urging the Department of Education to reverse its efforts to weaponize the Office of Civil Rights to carry out the Trump administration’s ideological agenda.

The senators point to a series of alarming actions taken by the Department of Education, including cases targeting transgender student protections and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, gutting protections for students in public schools and institutions of higher education, calling attention to the mass firings and lack of investigations into cases alleging sexual, racial, religious, and disability harassment in schools.

The senators wrote in part: “The Department has severely undermined OCR’s capacity to carry out its mission."

“Beyond its diminished output, the types of cases OCR is choosing to investigate, or not investigate, are concerning, and OCR has failed to provide transparency into its work. The Department has neither updated its public database listing OCR’s open investigations since January 2025 nor released its annual report for the 2025 fiscal year, as required by law [...] OCR is also reportedly neglecting to investigate and resolve cases involving racial harassment,” the senators wrote.

In March 2025, the Department issued Reduction in Force (RIF) orders to about half of its staff and closed seven of its twelve regional offices, and issued further RIFs during the government shutdown.

“The RIFs and closures of seven of OCR’s regional offices left millions of students without dedicated regional investigators to conduct field visits, gather facts in person, resolve investigations, and enforce agreements. In many cases, the Department provided no communication or updates whatsoever to students, families, or schools as investigations stalled and complaints piled up. These breakdowns in communication and access to OCR employees created uncertainty and frustration for students, their families, and schools, as they waited for updates on their complaints and investigations,” the senators wrote.

With the growing backlog of cases and remaining employees left with doubled caseloads, the senators emphasized how “the Department is now expected to rely upon hundreds of employees it attempted to fire to work through this self-inflicted caseload backlog." The senators are demanding answers to the timeline of actions taken that led the department to veer off course and increasingly become part of the administration’s ideological agenda.

In addition to Heinrich, Luján, and Schiff, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary McMahon and Assistant Secretary Richey:

We write to express our serious concerns about the current crisis at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR’s mission is to provide remedy to students who are denied their right to an education free from discrimination. Unfortunately, the Department of Education (the Department) has severely undermined OCR’s capacity to carry out this mission through unprecedented personnel cuts and the injection of political considerations into OCR’s investigatory work. These choices are gutting protections for students in our nation’s public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. We urge the Department to reverse OCR’s partisan turn and to ensure that it can carry out its intended mission, as required by statute, to protect the civil rights of all students.

In March 2025, the Department issued Reduction in Force (RIF) orders to 299 OCR employees —about half of its staff—and closed seven of its twelve regional offices. These employees were placed on administrative leave and prohibited from working, costing taxpayers a reported $38 million through the end of 2025. During the government shutdown in October, the Department issued RIFs to an additional 137 OCR employees. Had the Department not been enjoined by federal courts and the November government funding agreement, it would have fired 436 OCR employees overall, 90 percent of its workforce, completely decimating the office.

Before these RIFs, OCR was already understaffed. Even with insufficient staffing, OCR impressively resolved more complaints from 2021 to 2024 than it had the previous four years. Despite its recent track record of success, these RIFs left its remaining employees with doubled caseloads and a backlog of 24,000 complaints. That is an unacceptable outcome. When caseloads balloon, investigators are forced to spend less time gathering evidence or ensuring schools provide legally required remedies. Higher caseloads mean more delays, more dismissals, and more students falling through the cracks of a system that is supposed to safeguard their civil rights.

Indeed, the RIFs and closures of seven of OCR’s regional offices left millions of students without dedicated regional investigators to conduct field visits, gather facts in person, resolve investigations, and enforce agreements. In many cases, the Department provided no communication or updates whatsoever to students, families, or schools as investigations stalled and complaints piled up. These breakdowns in communication and access to OCR employees created uncertainty and frustration for students, their families, and schools, as they waited for updates on their complaints and investigations.

Publicly available data, court documents, and a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveal OCR’s diminished output due to RIFs and field office closures. In 2025, OCR reached 174 formal resolution agreements with school districts and colleges, a steep decline from the 518 OCR reached in 2024. OCR reached 57 of these agreements in January 2025, before the current Administration assumed office. From March 11 to June 27, 2025, OCR resolved 290 cases through voluntary agreements, mediation, or technical assistance and resolved through dismissal an additional 96 complaints due to insufficient evidence. OCR roughly kept this pace between June 27 and September 23, 2025, resolving an additional 333 complaints. By contrast, OCR resolved 595 cases through mediation or voluntary resolutions and 119 due to insufficient evidence during the final three months of the previous Administration. And from March 11, 2025, to September 23, 2025, OCR dismissed 90 percent of the over 7,000 complaints it received, a rate far outpacing that of the previous Administration. These patterns show OCR under the current Administration is not adequately processing and evaluating complaints, a total abdication of its Congressionally-mandated duty to investigate and resolve alleged civil rights violations in our nation’s schools.

Beyond its diminished output, the types of cases OCR is choosing to investigate, or not investigate, are concerning, and OCR has failed to provide transparency into its work. The Department has neither updated its public database listing OCR’s open investigations since January 2025 nor released its annual report for the 2025 fiscal year, as required by law. In 2025, OCR reached zero sexual harassment resolution agreements after January 20. By contrast, OCR reached 27 agreements of sexual harassment cases in 2024 and 8 agreements between January 1, 2025 and January 20, 2025. That means hundreds of open, urgent cases— including 483 assigned to investigators subject to the RIFs—involving sexual harassment in our nation’s public schools, colleges, and universities were left languishing for over a year. Since the March 2025 RIFs, OCR has reportedly opened fewer than 10 sexual violence investigations. Resolution agreements in cases involving disability discrimination, historically the bulk of OCR’s caseload, also decreased sharply, from 390 in 2024 to 104 in 2025.

OCR is also reportedly neglecting to investigate and resolve cases involving racial harassment. Internal data allegedly shows that over 1,000 racial harassment investigations initiated by OCR during previous administrations—most of them involving discrimination against Black students —are still open. After January 2025, OCR has reportedly opened only 14 racial harassment investigations and reached two resolution agreements, a sharp decline from the previous year’s total of 26 resolution agreements. Additionally, OCR has not reached a single resolution agreement in a case alleging antisemitism—amid the unprecedented surge of hate targeting Jewish communities nationwide—or any other shared ancestry discrimination since January 2025.

Rather than responding to and initiating investigations into the 24,000 pending cases in its backlog, the Department appears to have elevated investigations pursuing this Administration’s partisan priorities, including by initiating at least 27 directed investigations without the presence of a complaint. These investigations are not in the best interest of students and are not enforcing the civil rights protections they are entitled to under law but are instead focused on penalizing schools, colleges, and districts for failing to comply with the president’s partisan, political agenda. In some cases, OCR is putting schools in the impossible position of either acceding to its harmful demands or violating state and local laws or binding federal court rulings which protect transgender student rights and promote on-campus equity.

OCR is abusing its power to withhold federal funding from schools by ignoring its investigatory procedures and due process protections, as outlined in its case-processing manual. For instance, in August 2025, OCR threatened Denver Public Schools’ federal funding after its directed investigation found the presence of multi-stall, all-gender bathrooms and district policies supporting transgender students in violation of Title IX. Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education claims that OCR did not conduct any field investigations, interview any witnesses, or respond to the district’s requests for clarification and mediation. With its September 2025 decision to revoke Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) grant funding from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), OCR attempted to withhold federal funding before it concluded its open investigations into the district’s transgender student policies and its Black Students Success Plan. OCR also sought to withhold MSAP grant funding from New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) after alleging that its transgender student policies violated Title IX. This occurred even though OCR had not opened a formal investigation into NYCPS or given the district any notice, hearing, or opportunity to respond to a complaint.

These politicized investigations fundamentally subvert OCR’s role as an enforcer of civil rights laws in service of protecting students and instead turn it into a weaponized arm of the Administration’s political agenda. The Department is ignoring and abandoning students who are the victims of discrimination—whether due to their race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), age, or disability—while simultaneously opening investigations which make our nation’s schools less safe and accessible. Students whose civil rights have been violated should never serve as political pawns. They deserve justice and an equal opportunity to pursue an education. The federal government is obliged to protect students from all forms of discrimination, and OCR must therefore investigate and resolve complaints without bias or a harmful ideological agenda.

On December 15, 2025, the Department issued a return-to-duty notice to 85 OCR employees subject to the March 2025 RIFs to work through OCR’s overwhelming caseload. The Department officially rescinded the RIF notices for those employees and reinstated them on January 8, 2026. Despite the apparent return of some of the fired employees, we are concerned about OCR’s commitment to and capacity to investigate and resolve the vast majority of the complaints it receives. The Department is now expected to rely upon hundreds of employees it attempted to fire to work through this self-inflicted caseload backlog. The Department has also not revealed any plans to reopen the shuttered field offices, which means that employees in closed offices are reportedly working remotely. Additionally, the Department’s recent rhetoric, including its proclamation that it is “aggressively pursuing” cases involving transgender youth competing in sports based on their gender identity, has shown that the Department is continuing to use OCR as an ideological arm of the Trump Administration rather than an enforcer of civil rights law.

Given the lack of publicly available data on OCR’s investigatory work and its increasingly ideological agenda, we request answers to the following by April 10, 2026:

What assessments on OCR’s current capacity and case backlog did the Department make before deciding to reinstate the employees subject to the March 2025 RIFs?

How many full-time employees (FTE) are currently employed at OCR as of March 20, 2026, and how many FTE serve in investigator positions?

What is the average current caseload per OCR investigator (not including managers) as of March 20, 2026?

What is the average number of cases each OCR investigator is responsible for monitoring as of March 20, 2026?

What was the average caseload per OCR investigator on March 11, 2025? What was the average caseload per OCR investigator on January 8, 2026?

Have all reinstated investigators been assigned active cases and comparable caseloads? If not, please explain why.

Does the Department intend to reopen the regional offices it closed in March 2025?

When and how will OCR restore transparency and provide current updates with publicly available information on pending cases under investigation?

When will OCR submit to Congress the statutorily required Annual Report for FY2025?

How many complaints has OCR received since January 20, 2025?

How many of these complaints have been dismissed since then, and for what reasons

Please provide these figures by month and by type of discrimination alleged.

Since January 20, 2025, how many OCR investigations have been resolved through voluntary resolution agreements? How many cases have been resolved through mediation? Please provide these figures by month.

How many investigations has OCR opened since January 20, 2025? Please provide a list that includes the name of the institutions, institution type, type of discrimination alleged, and date. Please specify if each investigation was initiated by a complaint or through OCR’s own direction.

Has OCR received any guidance from the White House or the Department of Justice on which types of cases it should prioritize? Please provide any such communication.

It is time that the Department shift its priorities to allow OCR to carry out its Congressionally directed mission and ensure recourse to discrimination and harassment for students of all backgrounds in our country. We look forward to your response.

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Hickenlooper, Colorado Colleagues Demand Spending Authority for the Colorado SBDC

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, along with U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen, Jason Crow, Jeff Hurd, and Diana DeGette, urged Administrator Kelly Loeffler to take action over the Small Business Administration’s failure to provide spending authority for the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The Colorado SBDC is the only statewide, nationally accredited business assistance program.

“As of writing, Colorado’s SBDC has not received a Notice of Award for its 2026 funding totaling more than $2.25 million, including its 2026 CR1 portion of $742,000 awarded to most SBDC Networks by early February. We urge you to release Colorado SBDC’s spend authority immediately and request additional explanation for the agency’s delay,” wrote the lawmakers.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of Colorado’s economy, constituting approximately 99 percent of Colorado businesses. Small business employment growth exceeded the national average over the past two decades, and, in Colorado, SBDCs were responsible for the creation of 1,800 jobs statewide in 2024. The absence of SBDC grant funds will jeopardize this continued expansion and add further strain for business owners in our state. Because of the delay of Colorado’s SBDC fund authorization, the network was forced to reduce services for small business owners…” continued the lawmakers.

“Any further delay in Colorado SBDC fund authorization will leave lasting damage on the state’s economy, undermine the success of small enterprises in rural and local communities, and erode small business owners’ trust in the SBA at a time of increasing macroeconomic uncertainty,” concluded the lawmakers.

Since Congress developed the SBDC program through the Small Business Development Centers Act in 1980, SBDCs have provided numerous resources and served as a critical element of small business development. In Colorado, over $81 million in 2024 sales growth is attributed to SBDC programming. Additionally, in 2026, Congress further recognized the influential role of SBDCs by increasing SBDC funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Administrator Loeffler:

We write with concern over the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) failure to provide prompt spend authority for Colorado’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). As of writing, Colorado’s SBDC has not received a Notice of Award for its 2026 funding totaling more than $2.25 million, including its 2026 CR1 portion of $742,000 awarded to most SBDC Networks by early February. We urge you to release Colorado SBDC’s spend authority immediately and request additional explanation for the agency’s delay.

In 1980, Congress authorized the SBDC program through the Small Business Development Centers Act (Pub. L. 96-302). Administered by the SBA, SBDCs became an integral part of small business development, providing free and accessible training, counseling, technical assistance, and resources for small businesses across the country. This program has been a success – in Colorado, over $81 million in 2024 sales growth is attributed to SBDC programming. Congress has recognized the important role SBDCs play in fostering sustainable small business growth and expansion, and increased SBDC funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 (Pub. L. 119-75).

Small businesses are the lifeblood of Colorado’s economy, constituting approximately 99 percent of Colorado businesses. Small business employment growth exceeded the national average over the past two decades, and, in Colorado, SBDCs were responsible for the creation of 1,800 jobs statewide in 2024. The absence of SBDC grant funds will jeopardize this continued expansion and add further strain for business owners in our state. Because of the delay of Colorado’s SBDC fund authorization, the network was forced to reduce services for small business owners. Should the network experience further delays, it will have to furlough or lay off staff and potentially shut down service centers, most of which support businesses in rural areas of the state. These potential actions will have a devastating effect on Colorado’s more than 700,000 small business establishments and their 1.2 million employees.

Any further delay in Colorado SBDC fund authorization will leave lasting damage on the state’s economy, undermine the success of small enterprises in rural and local communities, and erode small business owners’ trust in the SBA at a time of increasing macroeconomic uncertainty.

We look forward to your response and stand ready to work with you to ensure the swift authorization of 2026 funding for Colorado’s SBDC.

Sincerely,

###


Hoeven: FAA Awards Over $2 Million to Dickinson Airport

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $2,425,000 from the Airport Improvement Grant (AIG) program to expand an existing aircraft rescue and firefighting building by 2,692 square feet to enhance safety at Dickinson Municipal Airport Authority. This grant will fund the final phase of construction.

“It’s vital that airports like Dickinson have the funding they need to help enhance safety and to continue meeting federal standards to support reliable air service for residents, businesses and emergency response needs across western North Dakota,” said Hoeven.


Civil War battle site in Warren County to be preserved courtesy of grants

By Caleb Salers

A Civil War battle site in Warren County will be preserved courtesy of a series of grants.

The National Park Service has awarded Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants of more than $91,000 to protect 90 acres along the banks of the Yazoo River, where Union troops disembarked their transport ships the day after Christmas 1862 to begin pushing toward Vicksburg from the north. This land is known as the Chickasaw Bayou Battlefield.

Funding was awarded through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, alongside an additional matching grant from the Mississippi Historic Sites Preservation Fund and donations made by members of the American Battlefield Trust. The money will be used to protect the land permanently, adding to significant preservation activities that have happened at Chickasaw Bayou in recent years.

“Every acre of hallowed ground that we preserve is an opportunity for us and for future generations to have a better understanding of the formative conflicts that have shaped our nation. As we approach America’s 250th, it is ever more important to protect and secure historic battlefield land,” said David Duncan, president of the American Battlefield Trust.

The American Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program promotes preservation of America’s most historically significant Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlegrounds, which will play a role in the nation’s 250th anniversary this year. The latest round of grant awards also included funding for properties at Glendale and New Market, Va.; Chattanooga and Stones River, Tenn.; Fort DeRussy, La.; and Kennesaw Mountain, Ringold Gap and Rocky Face Ridge, Ga.

“Chickasaw Bayou Battlefield is home to countless stories that deserve to be told for generations to come. I am proud to support the American Battlefield Protection Program in continuing to preserve the power of place,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said.

“It is a gift to call the beautiful landscape of Mississippi home and an honor to protect the history of our land. The ongoing success of the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program is a testament to the importance of preserving places like Chickasaw Bayou,” U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) added.

Funds from the American Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program have been used to save approximately 36,000 acres in 20 states, including some of the most famous battlefields in American history: Antietam, Md.; Appomattox and Fredericksburg, Va.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Charleston, S.C.; Princeton, N.J.; Saratoga, N.Y.; and Shiloh, Tenn.


Senate Unanimously Passes Sullivan-Whitehouse Bill to Combat Illegal Foreign Seafood Harvest

By Office of Senator Dan Sullivan

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) celebrated the Senate’s recent unanimous passage of their Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act. The FISH Act would combat foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by blacklisting offending vessels from U.S. ports and waters, bolstering the U.S. Coast Guard’s enforcement capabilities and partnerships, and advancing international and bilateral negotiations to achieve enforceable agreements and treaties. The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.). House companion legislation has been introduced by Representatives Nick Begich (R-Alaska), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).

“The geopolitics of the North Pacific and the Arctic are changing dramatically, with Russia and China increasing their aggression and ruinous activities near Alaska’s waters,” said Sen. Sullivan. “One particularly insidious threat is Chinese and Russian trawl fleets that ignore basic seafood harvest rules and best practices, and ravage fish stocks without regard for any other users or future generations. These fleets, which literally utilize slave labor in many cases, are a cancer on fisheries throughout the world and in Alaska and undercut our fishermen, who fish sustainably. I want to thank my Senate colleagues for advancing our FISH Act and helping us fight back against IUU fishing on behalf of our fishermen and coastal communities.”

“I was glad to work with Senator Sullivan, my longtime partner on oceans issues, to pass our bipartisan FISH Act through the Senate. By cracking down on illegal pirate fishing, we are leveling the playing field for hardworking Rhode Island fishermen who play by the rules,” said Sen. Whitehouse, co-founder of the Senate Oceans Caucus.

“Alaska seafood is sold in over 100 countries. Therefore, our fishermen and seafood processors must compete in the challenging global market,” said Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “U.S. and Alaska seafood is regulated, harvested, and processed under the highest standards. In fact, in many cases, the U.S. sets the global standard. Unfortunately, numerous fisheries across the globe continue to operate illegally and unregulated. When these unchecked seafood products enter the global marketplace, they undercut the value of responsibly produced seafood. This impacts not only the marketplace but drives down the economic returns to Alaska’s fishing communities. Thank you, Senator Sullivan, for addressing this inequity and fighting for fairness on behalf of Alaska’s seafood industry.”

“Thank you, Senator Sullivan, for working to level the playing field for U.S. fishermen,” said Gabriel Prout, 3rd generation commercial fisherman, FV Silver Spray, and president of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “While my family and I are out fishing Alaska crab, we can rest assured that you are working hard to address this problem that has cost Alaska fishermen over a billion dollars over the years.”

“I want to thank Senator Sullivan and Senator Whitehouse for working together to protect Alaska fishermen,” said Matt Alward, president of United Fishermen of Alaska. “Alaska’s seafood sector is facing very serious challenges. Illegal, unreported and unregulated foreign fishing exacerbates these challenges by undercutting lawful and sustainably caught American seafood. I’m grateful that Senator Sullivan is taking the issue seriously and working to crack down on IUU fishing through the FISH Act.”

“Silver Bay Seafoods commends Senator Dan Sullivan for his strong support for Alaska’s fishing industry. Alaska fisheries are highly regulated and sustainably managed,” said Cora Campbell, president and CEO of Silver Bay Seafoods. “This bill increases accountability for countries that do not have the same standards, which will help level the playing field and improve competitiveness of American sourced seafood.”

“Illegal fishing, and the human rights abuses associated with it, puts our oceans and fishers at risk. The United States must be a leader in holding bad actors accountable and leveling the playing field for U.S. fishers,” said Oceana Illegal Fishing & Transparency Campaign Director Dr. Max Valentine. “The FISH Act would help lift the veil on the identities of those involved in these illicit activities. Oceana thanks Sen. Sullivan and Sen. Whitehouse for their dedicated work to fight illegal fishing and protect American fishers and consumers.”

“NFI believes strongly in supporting concrete solutions to stopping and combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing,” said Lisa Wallenda Picard, president & CEO of National Fisheries Institute (NFI). “Where it occurs, IUU fishing harms effective fishery management measures and undercuts harvesters that fish legally and responsibly. NFI applauds Senators Sullivan and Whitehouse for the FISH Act and for understanding that there needs to be a process that targets bad actors where they are, instead of imposing regulatory burdens and costs on American seafood companies. We view the FISH Act as the definitive statute on IUU and look forward to its enactment.”

“Illegal fishing practices are uniquely destructive to global fisheries and the billions of people that depend on them,” said Molly Masterton, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “By shedding a light on bad actors who benefit from skirting the law, the FISH Act takes important steps to better enforce against global illegal fishing and associated labor abuses in the seafood sector. Paired with tools to root out illegally harvested seafood from the U.S. market, it will also help level the playing field for U.S. fishing communities who play by the rules.”

Key provisions of the FISH Act:

Direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels and owners that have engaged in IUU fishing.

Direct the administration to address IUU fishing in any relevant international agreement.

Direct the U.S. Coast Guard to increase its work with partner countries and increase at-sea inspection of foreign vessels suspected of IUU fishing.

Direct the administration to report to Congress on how new technologies can aid in the fight against IUU fishing, the complexities of the seafood trade relationship between Russia and China, and the economic costs of IUU fishing to the U.S.

In April 2025, President Trump signed an executive order, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,” directing the Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force to assess seafood competitiveness issues and collectively develop a comprehensive seafood trade strategy. Among these strategies, the USTR will examine the relevant trade practices of major seafood-producing nations, including IUU fishing and the use of forced labor in the seafood supply chain.

In April 2025, the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee unanimously passed the FISH Act from committee.

On June 12, 2025, Sen. Sullivan, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, chaired a hearing on the threat of foreign IUU fishing to America’s and Alaska’s fishermen and coastal communities.

In October 2025, The FISH Act passed the Senate as part of the Senate version of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, but was not included in the final bill that was signed into law.


We asked every lawmaker in Congress what they're doing to end the DHS shutdown

By Arden Farhi, Olivia Rinaldi, Allyson Ross Taylor

Early this week, Senate Republicans and the president appeared to be edging closer to a framework for ending the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which is now in its second month — but a breakthrough has remained out of reach.

CBS News contacted all 532 House and Senate offices (there are three House vacancies) about the DHS funding impasse and asked what lawmakers are doing to end the shutdown.

How would they restore DHS funding? What's their message to Americans waiting in hours-long airport security lines? And what do they have to say to unpaid TSA workers who are about to miss their second full paycheck Friday?

Senate: Partisan blame game

Twenty Senate offices responded substantively to CBS News's inquiries.

Republicans blamed Democrats for blocking efforts to fully fund DHS. The House of Representatives has twice passed such a bill with a handful of Democrats signing on, but in the Senate, Democrats have held up the bill over demands for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement reforms after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in January.

"It makes me angry. The Department of Homeland Security has now been shut down for over a month. And it's important to understand that it's Senate Democrats doing this," said Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi.

Some Democratic lawmakers have pushed to separate out ICE and CBP funding and vote to open the rest of the department. On Tuesday, Senate Republican leaders floated a version of that idea, proposing to fund every component of DHS except for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations unit, which is flush with cash in spite of the shutdown because of funding that was separately passed by Congress last summer.

GOP Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas criticized the idea of isolating ICE funding this week. "Breaking that apart or selectively defunding components is dangerous, which is why I've been fighting every day on the Senate floor and exploring every avenue to fully fund the agency."

Several lawmakers expressed gratitude for the unpaid TSA workers.

"Americans should not be waiting in line for hours at the airport and all of our DHS workers should be paid, which is why we continue working to find a path forward. We truly appreciate our TSA agents and are working to get them paid," said Kami Capener, a spokesperson for GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota.

Almost every Democrat who responded blamed Republicans for refusing to reopen most of DHS while continuing to negotiate on immigration enforcement funding. ICE has already received tens of billions in funding separately through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year.

"I'm with the American people in demanding accountability to rein in ICE and CBP's lawlessness — anything short of that is a nonstarter for me," said Sen. Alex Padilla of California.

Democrats are seeking ICE policy changes like requiring agents to use body-worn cameras, banning the use of masks during enforcement operations and obtaining judicial warrants in certain cases.

Sen. Martin Heinrich of border state New Mexico told CBS News, "I will not support funding ICE without a restoration to the rule of law."

Some Democrats took shots at President Trump who has previously said he would not sign any bill until Congress passes his election bill, the SAVE America Act, which includes voter ID requirements, proof of citizenship for voter registration and restrictions on transgender rights.

"Our federal workers deserve their paychecks. Travelers deserve functioning airports. And most importantly, Americans should not be pawns in the president's political games," Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said.

CBS News interviewed some members in person, while other lawmakers were reached by phone and email.

"Republicans could end this farce any time by joining Democrats to fund TSA and pay these dedicated federal workers," said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon.

House: "It's the Senate's turn"

More than 60 House members responded substantively to CBS's questions.

Several Republicans suggested there was little they could do since it is up to the Senate to act.

"Now it's the Senate's turn, and Democrats need to stop stalling and get the bill to the President's desk," said Florida Republican Rep. Mike Haridolopos, who voted for the House bill to fully fund DHS. "Thirty-nine days in, the results are obvious: hourslong lines, missed flights, families stranded. And for what? Political leverage?"

"Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they are choosing chaos at our airports over a commonsense solution," said Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat from California, and a co-sponsor of a bill that would pay TSA workers while immigration enforcement negotiations continue.

GOP Rep. Nick LaLota of New York visited TSA employees at LaGuardia Airport in New York Tuesday, he told CBS News on "The Takeout." He said the department should be funded at its pre-shutdown level if lawmakers cannot reach a deal.

"We should pay our TSA agents," LaLota said. "I'm flexible…I can sign on to a deal that doesn't get 100% of what I want."

Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, signaled a similar flexibility: "I'm willing to support whatever compromise the Senate reaches to secure 60 votes." The House will likely have to vote again on whatever bill passes the Senate.

"Republicans in the House of Representatives have done our job, twice," GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas told CBS.

Rep. Kevin Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, is the author of the legislation to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. In a statement to CBS News, his spokesperson said, "Of course he is doing everything he can to get DHS funded," as the funding lapse enters its 40th day.

Though the legislation is held up in the Senate, House members continued to point fingers across the aisle.

"I am imploring my Republican colleagues to join Democrats in passing legislation to pay TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and Secret Service while Congress works to secure essential ICE reforms," Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin told CBS News. "Senate Democrats have put forward numerous resolutions to pass TSA funding that Republicans have blocked."

"Democrats have fought tirelessly to fully fund agencies like TSA while we push for an overhaul of Trump's brutal ICE policies that have gotten three Americans killed in the streets," Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida told CBS News.

Several House members noted the lasting impact the DHS shutdown will have on public servants.

"I know exactly who pays the price for a shutdown. It's not members of Congress. It's TSA agents, air traffic controllers, Coast Guard servicemembers, and FEMA personnel," GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa said.


Senate Democrats Force War Powers Vote as Trump's War in Iran Spirals Out of Control

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the fourth week of Donald Trump’s war with Iran, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) forced a vote on Murphy’s War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in and against Iran. Senate Republicans blocked the measure.

Since Trump started this war nearly 30 days ago, 13 U.S. service members have been killed, gas prices have spiked all across the country, inflation is rising and the region has become a tinderbox. Last week, in a desperate move to alleviate the energy crisis Trump created, the administration announced it was lifting sanctions on Iranian oil, essentially cutting a $14 billion check to the very country the U.S. is currently fighting. As Trump’s deeply unpopular war spirals out of control, his Republican allies in Congress refuse to hold public hearings with members of the administration. The senators’ move to force debate on the floor today is part of their continued efforts to demand public hearings and stop Trump’s unauthorized war of choice.

“The consequences of this war are stunning in their scope: higher prices for American businesses and American families, a potential global recession, the wasting of billions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and new conflicts in the region that didn't exist before the war began,” said Murphy. “If our Republican colleagues will not do their duty, if they are going to engage in an effort to hide the consequences of the war, if they are going to refuse to ask questions of our incompetent national security leaders at the White House, who have waged this war without planning for the foreseeable consequences, then we will force a debate and a vote on this floor. This war is not going to make more sense the longer it goes.”

“We are at war, a war the American people never asked for and Congress is doing nothing,” said Booker. “No oversight, no hearings, no checks and balances as this administration spends freely and recklessly. Already, $25 billion has been poured into Donald Trump’s war with zero accountability. And while that money disappears overseas, Americans are feeling the consequences here at home: cuts to health care for millions, rising energy costs, billions stripped from veterans’ services, and deep cuts to school meals and support for children with special needs. That same $25 billion could insure more than 3 million Americans, provide free school lunches to 30 million children, or offer housing assistance to millions of families. Congress swore an oath to defend the Constitution — not to rubber-stamp this president’s decisions. We must do our job.”

“It’s outrageous that my Republican colleagues continue to allow President Trump to bypass Congress on so many issues, but especially one as important and solemn as whether to send our nation’s sons and daughters into war,” said Kaine. “A majority of Americans across the country oppose war with Iran and want President Trump to focus on lowering costs at home. I’m going to keep pressuring my colleagues to have the basic courage to hold hearings on this crisis, reassert our constitutional responsibilities, and end President Trump’s war of choice against Iran.”

”We are on the cusp of American boots on the ground. And as goalposts have continued to shift, I ask my Senate colleagues: will that still be your red line? Or will the President be allowed to put American Special Forces in harm’s way for a war that Congress has not authorized. And a war whose true purpose is kept hidden from most Americans. It is time to put a stop to this war, before its costs rise further still. It is time for the Congress of the United States to do its job,” said Schiff.

“Donald Trump is raising costs on Americans at the same moment he’s spending billions on a war that Wisconsin families did not choose,” said Baldwin. “What Donald Trump spent in three weeks is what it would have cost to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for a year. We are demanding public hearings so Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio can answer, under oath, why we are using taxpayer dollars on this illegal war, instead of bringing down the cost of health care, housing, groceries, and childcare for the families I represent.”


Lankford Releases Statement on Alan Armstrong’s Appointment to the US Senate

WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), senior senator for Oklahoma, released the following statement after Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Oklahoma businessman Alan Armstrong to fill the vacancy created by Senator Markwayne Mullin’s resignation and confirmation to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security, and serve the remainder of the term through the 119th Congress.

“Congratulations to my friend Alan Armstrong on his appointment to serve our state in the United States Senate,” said Lankford. “I am grateful he and his family are willing to sacrifice their time to serve. Markwayne leaves large boots to fill, but with Alan’s strong background in energy and an understanding of what powers our economy, he brings real-world experience at a critical time for the American economy. I look forward to working with him to support Oklahoma workers, strengthen our energy independence, and keep costs low for families.”

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Lankford Releases Statement on Confirmation of Mullin as Secretary of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Chairman of the Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), released the following statement after the Senate confirmed Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to serve as Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security.

“Markwayne Mullin grew up in Westville, OK, built a business from the ground up, and has spent his life stepping up when it matters most,” said Lankford. “He knows how to lead and how to get results. He’ll bring that same focus to DHS he had in his over decade of service to Oklahomans in Congress to keep Americans safe. I will be praying for now Secretary Mullin and his family as he makes this transition to lead in this new role.”

Background

Prior to the confirmation vote, Lankford spoke on the Senate floor in support of Sen. Mullin’s nomination. You can watch his remarks HERE. You can download it HERE.

You can view Lankford’s introduction of Sen. Mullin at the HSGAC hearing last week HERE. You can download it HERE.

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Senator Markey Supports Latest Resolution to Stop Trump’s Illegal Iran War

Washington (March 24, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after voting for the third time to prevent the Trump administration from further military action against Iran without congressional approval. Senator Chris Murphy’s resolution failed, 47-53, after Republicans once again blocked bringing the Iran War to an end. Thirteen U.S. servicemembers have now lost their lives in the war, and gasoline prices in the United States have gone up 35 percent – or $1 per gallon.

“As Trump prepares to send more troops to the Middle East, the costs of Trump’s illegal war will only grow in number and severity, with the cost to human life, the cost to American and Middle East security and stability, and the cost of oil and gasoline. This war is an ever-expanding quagmire with no clear exit that is only making us less safe. We must end this war now,” said Senator Markey.

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