N.M. Delegation Statement on Trump Administration Reversing Pecos Watershed Protections

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Co-Chair of the U.S. Senate Stewardship Caucus, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), released the following statement in response to the Trump administration cancelling a withdrawal application that would protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.

“The Trump administration’s move to roll back protections of the Upper Pecos is troubling and disrespectful to local communities that have fought so hard to preserve it. This administration is once again choosing profit over our shared heritage. This decision is a direct threat to New Mexico’s waters, cultural identity, and way of life, and it blatantly disregards the voices of those who depend on them.

“New Mexicans have been overwhelmingly clear: The Pecos Watershed must be permanently protected. As President Trump continues to ignore community demands and generations of work to protect our cultural landscapes, watersheds, and sacred sites, we will continue to stand with New Mexicans and fight to defend the resources that sustain our environment, our traditions, and our future.”

Background on Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, Vasquez, and Stansbury’s Advocacy to Protect the Pecos Watershed:

The Pecos Watershed Protection Act has been introduced every Congress since 2020 to protect portions of the Pecos Watershed in northern New Mexico from new mining claims. The Village of Pecos, Santa Fe County, and San Miguel County have passed resolutions in support of the legislation.

In 1991, a toxic waste spill from a closed mine in the Upper Pecos Watershed caused more than 11 miles of fish kill in the river and resulted in decades and millions of dollars to clean up the mine. For years, there has been a community-led effort to protect the area from future mining claims to avoid similar threats and pollution.

Last April, the New Mexican Congressional delegation reintroduced their Pecos Watershed Protection Act after the Trump administration confirmed to Source New Mexico that it will reverse the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.

In December 2024, Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, Stansbury, and Vasquez sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service strongly urging the completion of the initial steps of the mineral withdrawal process in the Upper Pecos Watershed. Completion of these initial steps was key to begin safeguarding the lands, waters, and way of life in the Pecos from the dangers of future mining claims for two years.

In response to their letter, President Biden’s BLM and Forest Service initiated a process to propose a 20-year withdrawal to help secure the region’s water and air quality, cultural resources, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. The withdrawal, for lands in San Miguel and Santa Fe Counties, encompassed multiple Pecos River tributaries, including Dalton Canyon, Macho Canyon, Wild Horse Creek, Indian Creek, and Doctor Creek.

On December 16, 2024, the BLM and Forest Service initiated a 90-day public comment period to gather input on the proposal. During the comment period, the two agencies were scheduled to host a public meeting for the proposed Upper Pecos River Watershed Protection Area withdrawal on February 26, 2025. This public meeting was cancelled by the Trump Administration on February 19, 2025, with no further explanation. Local supporters speculated the action was in response to Secretary Burgum’s Order No. 3418, which requires agency reviews of all protected public lands. Despite the cancellation, the administration has received hundreds of public comments in support of the administrative mineral withdrawal.

On April 7, 2025, reporting from Source New Mexico revealed the Trump administration’s plans to reverse the BLM and the Forest Service’s decision to protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.

Additionally, during an Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Heinrich pressed U.S. Forest Chief, Tom Schultz, on visiting the Pecos Watershed. This followed a letter Heinrich sent last May inviting U.S. Forest Service Chief Schultz to Pecos.

Protection of the Upper Pecos Watershed has garnered widespread support from local leaders, farmers, business owners, acequia parciantes, Tribes, and recreationists alike.

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Hoeven: Grand Farm to Manage Nationwide USDA AgTech Network, Placing North Dakota Precision Ag Ecosystem Front & Center

Senator Secured $11 Million for Grand Farm-NDSU-ARS Cooperative Agreement, Laid Foundation for National AgTech Testing Program

WHEATLAND, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today announced that Grand Farm will serve as the National Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech (NPG-Ag). In addition, Grand Farm will be the first proving ground in the network, focused on weed control.

NPG-Ag builds upon the Grand Farm-North Dakota State University (NDSU)-ARS cooperative agreement that Hoeven previously worked to establish and fund.

As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven has secured a total of $11 million for the cooperative agreement to date, which helped secure Grand Farm’s role as National Program Manager.

This includes $2 million in additional funding that Hoeven provided in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 to create an ARS work site at Grand Farm, which USDA is utilizing to establish the Program Management Office for the NPG-Ag.

The new initiative will test and validate new and emerging precision agriculture technologies under real farming conditions.

Over time, the program will expand into other locations and priorities such as disease prevention, animal production and water management.

The goal is to help farmers make informed decisions when investing in the future of their operations, providing a standardized, data-driven process to evaluate the performance of new technologies.

As National Program Manager, Grand Farm will:

Facilitate the logistics of the National Proving Grounds Network, which will include technology companies, ARS and land-grant institutions like NDSU.

Lead engagement with technology companies looking to test new innovations.

Provide facilities and equipment to support technology testing and analysis.

“With Grand Farm serving as both the National Program Manager and the first proving ground for this USDA initiative, North Dakota’s technology ecosystem is front and center in efforts across the country to develop the next generation of precision ag technology,” said Senator Hoeven. “The cooperative agreement we established between Grand Farm, NDSU and ARS served as the genesis for the USDA National Proving Grounds for AgTech. When we provided an additional $2 million to establish an ARS work site at Grand Farm, USDA saw this as an opportunity to create a national network of businesses and land grant institutions, with Grand Farm managing the program. What this means for farmers – new technologies will be tested and proven to work in real-world conditions, giving our producers certainty when they invest in the future of their operations.”

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Collins, King Raise Ropeless Gear Concerns to Federal Policymakers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) are calling for continued engagement with Maine’s seafood industry stakeholders. In a letter to Eugenio Piñero Soler, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Senators urge NMFS to heed the well-founded concerns expressed by Maine’s lobstermen and fishermen regarding ropeless gear, and to include them in any further regulatory discussions.

“Maine lobstermen’s concerns about ropeless gear are well-documented and deserve serious consideration. It is important to give full and meaningful weight to concerns raised by fishermen regarding ropeless/on demand fishing gear as NMFS’s core strategy for North Atlantic right whale (NARW) conservation. We urge you continue to explore other options such as Dynamic Area Management with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and strongly encourage you to continue engaging fishermen directly as your agency approaches new rulemaking on this issue,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators continued, “You heard these concerns directly from lobstermen at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum during the Federal Fisheries Leadership seminar. Lobstermen shared with you firsthand their concerns about the cost of this technology, and the dangers of not knowing where gear is placed in the Gulf of Maine. Small vessels simply would not have access to capital, deck space, crew, or familiarity with high-tech systems to survive a transition to ropeless fishing.”

“We appreciate your willingness to listen, and we encourage NMFS to approach future rulemaking with a genuine commitment to flexibility and co-development directly with stakeholders. A single, uniform solution, particularly one that mandates technology that is not yet proven at scale, is not the right path forward for this fishery or for the conservation goals we share. We look forward to continuing this conversation and welcome the opportunity to work with you and your team directly,” the Senators concluded.

This action by Senators Collins and King is a continuation of their persistent joint efforts in support of Maine’s lobster fishery. In 2022, when NOAA rolled out its Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP), the Senators urged the organization to create regulations that are based on the best available evidence and not unfairly target the fishery. According to an estimate by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, adopting ropeless gear would cost Maine lobstermen at least $45 million due to the expense of trawling up, acquiring and adding weak points, purchasing specialized rope, lengthening groundlines, marking gear, and hiring additional crew to complete this work.

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

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Dear Administrator Soler:

Thank you for taking the time to attend the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in early March and engaging with Maine’s fishing community directly. As experienced firsthand, the Forum brings together fishermen, sea farmers, gear suppliers, state and federal scientists and regulators, and other stakeholders for education, collaboration, and commerce. We appreciate your attention to the serious issues facing Maine fishermen hearing directly from the industries about the impacts of federal regulation. This includes the ongoing discussion on the use of ropeless/on demand fishing gear in the Gulf of Maine.

Maine lobstermen’s concerns about ropeless gear are well-documented and deserve serious consideration. It is important to give full and meaningful weight to concerns raised by fishermen regarding ropeless/on demand fishing gear as NMFS’s core strategy for North Atlantic right whale (NARW) conservation. We urge you continue to explore other options such as Dynamic Area Management with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and strongly encourage you to continue engaging fishermen directly as your agency approaches new rulemaking on this issue.

In 2022, the Maine Delegation secured a six-year regulatory pause for Maine’s lobster industry, saving the industry from a misguided regulatory approach that would have shuttered our fishery. The regulatory pause language included funding to assist with gear modification and configuration, improve scientific understanding of NARW migration patterns, and invest in right whale-related research, monitoring, and conservation. Funding through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has enabled the Maine DMR to create the Maine Innovative Gear Library (MIGL), which began gear testing with participants in the summer of 2024 and has since expanded to four gear hubs spanning the coast from Brunswick to Addison. The MIGL program now has 33 active testers operating across all seven Maine lobster zones, with more than 3,200 hauls completed as of December 2025. While the sample size is small and does not inform the scalability of the technology, it is meaningful progress, and it speaks to the industry’s willingness to engage and provide critical feedback to NMFS that should be taken into consideration. MIGL expects to publish its full results later in 2026.

The program has made important strides, allowing our lobstermen to trial a variety of ropeless technologies in real-world conditions, and collect feedback and data on the use of these gear technologies. Initial data and interviews with lobstermen indicate that substantial issues must be resolved before this technology is suitable for broad implementation in Maine’s fishery. Notably, the lobster industry has raised a number of concerns with this technology, which is an important part of what the Maine DMR is documenting and assessing through this work.

Cost and increased trip time are among the most significant barriers; a study by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries estimated that a full transition to ropeless gear in the 2015-2019 timeframe would have resulted in an average of $40 million decline in annual revenue and 3.5 million fewer pounds (a 20% decline) of lobster landed for the Massachusetts lobster fishery—notably, a fishery that is considerably smaller than Maine’s fishery. MIGL interview data also identify time burden as one of the Maine lobster industry’s major operational concerns and the research is exploring the extent to which hauling time per trap increases with on-demand gear. With hundreds of traps per trip, that compounds into a material reduction in daily productivity—one that, for certain gear configurations, rivals the purchase cost of the equipment itself.

Interoperability is another unresolved and critical challenge. There are more than a dozen manufacturers currently developing ropeless systems, and currently, there is no demonstrated ability for those systems to communicate or integrate with one another at scale. Research conducted by MITRE determined that acoustic interoperability among on-demand gear systems has not been demonstrated in busy, mixed-gear fisheries alongside mobile groundfish and scallop operations. This matters not only for practical fishing operations, but for safety and enforcement. Without interoperability, it is difficult for fishermen to locate one another’s submerged gear and avoid dangerous conflicts. Yet despite this acknowledged gap, federal communications have at times suggested that the interoperability challenge is closer to resolution than the evidence supports.

As you are aware, industry groups including the New England Fisherman’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) have consistently and publicly shared their serious concerns about a required transition to ropeless gear as the primary management strategy to avoid conflicts with NARWs. In public comments submitted in response to Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, NEFSA wrote that ropeless fishing gear “presents serious safety risks to fishermen, increases the likelihood of vessel interactions and gear loss, and is fundamentally incompatible with mixed-use fishing grounds”. MLA has communicated similar concerns to the Senate and House Appropriations Committee, the Maine Delegation, and NMFS directly, warning that requiring full compliance with ropeless gear would result in, “a substantial increase in operating costs” and “would undermine Maine’s owner-operator model and could create pressure for consolidation of the fishery.”

You heard these concerns directly from lobstermen at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum during the Federal Fisheries Leadership seminar. Lobstermen shared with you firsthand their concerns about the cost of this technology, and the dangers of not knowing where gear is placed in the Gulf of Maine. Small vessels simply would not have access to capital, deck space, crew, or familiarity with high-tech systems to survive a transition to ropeless fishing.

We believe a patchwork of flexible, dynamic, adaptive approaches that reflect real-world conditions, ongoing technology development, and meaningful stakeholder input offers the best opportunity to maintain a successful fishery, protect right whales, and preserve the working waterfronts and coastal communities that depend on it. We are supportive of the state-federal partnership through which NMFS has been providing support and cooperation to Maine DMR to develop a dynamic management strategy that includes development of a monitoring plan. We encourage NMFS to provide additional engagement from the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office to make this a feasible management option, prior to the drafting and publication of future rulemaking.

We appreciate your willingness to listen, and we encourage NMFS to approach future rulemaking with a genuine commitment to flexibility and co-development directly with stakeholders. A single, uniform solution, particularly one that mandates technology that is not yet proven at scale, is not the right path forward for this fishery or for the conservation goals we share. We look forward to continuing this conversation and welcome the opportunity to work with you and your team directly.

Sincerely,

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Graham Attends Groundbreaking Ceremony for I-95 Bridges Replacement Project

LINK TO VIEW PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCDOT

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) this week attended the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of the construction to replace multiple bridges on I-95 that stretch across Lake Marion. Graham joined Governor Henry McMaster, U.S. Congressman James Clyburn (D-South Carolina) and officials from the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration.

Senator Graham led the South Carolina delegation in securing a $175 million federal grant to fund this project and praised the Trump Administration for delivering the dollars. This award was one of the largest federal discretionary grants ever received by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).

“I enjoyed being with Governor McMaster, Congressman Clyburn and our state DOT officials as well as federal highway officials for the groundbreaking of a new, modern bridge across Lake Marion that serves five South Carolina counties and the first of many to be replaced. This is one of the most consequential infrastructure projects in our state. I’m proud of the role my office played in securing $175 million in federal funding for this vital infrastructure project,” said Senator Graham.

Graham continued, “The current bridges constructed in 1968 need to be replaced as quickly as possible. If the bridges ever failed, it would create a 70-mile detour, which would create a traffic nightmare across the area. The new bridges, however, will accommodate more vehicles and have been outfitted to carry water pipes across the lake that will more efficiently supply clean water to the Lake Marion area of South Carolina. I’m pleased that by working together with federal, state and local officials, we set in motion the building of new bridges on I-95 that will be vital to the future of South Carolina’s economy.”


Heinrich, Luján Statement on President Trump’s 2027 Budget

Heinrich, Luján: “Trump’s budget is a slap in the face to working families in New Mexico”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement on President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget request, which will hurt New Mexico families by slashing funding for programs that help them afford the basics, all to fund the largest military spending request in history.

“This budget is a slap in the face to New Mexico families. Right now, New Mexicans are paying over $4 a gallon on gas and up to 13 percent more on their electricity bills. Instead of doing something about that, President Trump wants to slash the programs that help working people, all to fund the largest military spending in history. That’s not putting ‘America first’.

“After already gutting Americans’ health care to finance tax breaks for billionaires and expand an out-of-control ICE, the President is now pushing a budget that would drive up the cost of energy, groceries, housing, and child care even more; strip away programs that help families afford the basics like heating their homes and putting food on the table; eliminate housing assistance and force more Americans out of their homes; slash funding for public schools and make it harder for students to afford college; gut lifesaving medical research and mental health care; and abandon rural communities, farmers, and small businesses. It would also restrict access to America’s public lands and make communities more vulnerable to threats from extreme weather events.

“The President’s budget is the opposite of what New Mexico families want or need right now. With costs rising, we should be lowering families’ bills and investing here at home — not pulling the rug out from under folks. And that’s exactly what we plan to do: as New Mexico’s senators, we will do everything we can in the Senate to pass a bipartisan budget that actually puts working families first.”

President Trump’s FY27 Budget Request Proposes:

Ripping Funding Away from Feeding Children and New Mexico Families

Cuts $550 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which would mean a significant reduction in monthly fruit and vegetable benefits, from $54 to $13 for breastfeeding mothers and from $27 to $10 for young children.

Eliminates funding for the farm to school grant program and school equipment grants, which make it easier for schools to serve fresh, healthy American produced food in schools nationwide.

Making Communities Less Safe

Guts funding for grants to help keep communities safe by $1.42 billion and continues the Trump administration’s assault on nearly 30 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grant programs. This includes cutting Office on Violence Against Women funding by $181 million and diverting resources away from victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Wastes $152 million to turn the Alcatraz Island tourist site in San Francisco into an operational maximum-security federal prison. Ultimately, billions would be required to create a modern prison on a small island with no existing water, power, sewer, or transportation infrastructure. This vanity project by the Trump administration also ignores the critical repair-backlog needs for existing, crumbling Bureau of Prisons facilities.

Squanders over $30 million on President Trump’s partisan agenda of targeting political opponents, through a hoax “anti-fraud task force” that will report directly to the White House. This comes amid the elimination of agency teams tasked with investigating cryptocurrency scams and staff reductions in the DOJ’s public integrity office.

Diverts over $3 billion to continue President Trump’s unconstitutional federal law enforcement surges in U.S. cities. These politically motivated occupations prioritize the administration’s partisan agenda over public safety, while spreading fear and anxiety throughout local communities.

Slashes Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding by $1.4 billion — allowing the wealthy and large corporations to continue to cheat on their taxes and costing average Americans billions more in lost tax revenue. This follows the elimination of nearly all of the $46 billion earmarked for tax enforcement in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Increasing Energy Costs and Weakening America’s Energy Infrastructure

Eliminates the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which served 5.9 million households in 2024, including over 66,000 in New Mexico, and saved families $400-$600 on their energy bills. New Mexico received over $18 million in LIHEAP funding last fiscal year.

Cancels $15.2 billion in funding from the Infrastructure Law, slashing investments in American energy infrastructure. This comes at a time when we need every electron on the grid to increase reliability and reduce soaring electricity prices.

Eliminates the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) renewable energy programs, cutting $45 million in funding that is critical for energy projects to be built and produce American-made energy.

Guts the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by almost 65%, at a time where we need more renewable energy to combat Trump’s energy crisis. The budget also claims that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) “abolished” this office, which is illegal and violates Congressional intent.

Eliminates funding for workforce partnerships and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), which train the next generation of energy workers — hurting our ability to build the systems needed to power our future.

Slashes by over 40% the bipartisan program that works to ensure U.S. leadership on developing and deploying energy technologies, known as ARPA-E. ARPA-E also promotes revolutionary advances in energy research and cultivates early technological innovations.

Slashing Funding for New Mexico Veterans

Continues the administration’s pattern of disrespecting our veterans by slashing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) workforce, including at the Veterans’ Health Administration, which provides medical care to our nation’s veterans.

Eliminates over 25,000 unfilled positions at the VA, even though the Department has already lost 30,000 employees since January 2025. Eliminating vacant positions will only make it even harder for the VA to meet increased demand for services. More than one million veterans enrolled for VA health care and benefits as a result of expanded eligibility under the PACT Act.

Risking New Mexicans’ Health

Slashes funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by $15.4 billion.

Consolidates or completely eliminates programs across the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. This includes eliminating the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program and the Minority Fellowship Program, which aims to train emerging behavioral health professionals to respond to the health workforce shortage.

Cuts biomedical research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $5 billion and completely eliminates the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Fogarty International Center; National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health; and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Guts funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) by $129 million, which is responsible for supporting the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in its goal of using science-driven data to recommend health insurance coverage of preventive screenings, counseling services, and preventive medications.

Gutting Programs that Keep New Mexico Families Housed

Eliminates some and significantly reduces other federal programs that build more affordable housing and address New Mexico’s housing supply shortage, including in Indian Country. In 2024, these programs provided at least $69 million for housing programs in New Mexico.

Eliminates the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that cities and towns across the country use to improve the quality of life for their citizens every day. In 2024, New Mexico received $17 million in CDBG grants.

Eliminates the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), which New Mexico typically uses to expand homeownership and rehabilitate homes. In 2024, New Mexico received $9 million in HOME grants.

Eliminates the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. New Mexico typically receives around $1.5 million a year in HOPWA funding. HOPWA is the only federal program dedicated to the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Reduces funding to address and prevent homelessness. In 2024, New Mexico service providers received $18.5 million to serve individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Ripping Funding Away from New Mexico Students

Eliminates dozens of elementary and secondary education programs while slashing funding for K-12 education. The budget proposes eliminating programs that aim to improve student achievement in key subjects like math and reading, provide targeted support for bilingual and English language learner students, and connect teachers with evidence-based professional development opportunities.

Proposes a $1.5 billion cut to Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), which provides training and support for students pursuing in-demand careers in the trades.

Cuts the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) budget by $437 million. This slashes funding for building maintenance, operations, and construction at Tribal Colleges and Universities. New Mexico is home to four Tribal Colleges and Universities and 45 Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools. BIE schools, often in extremely rural and remote areas, already have to do more with less and less funding.

Eliminates funding for programs that provide targeted support for schools that serve Tribal students and families.

Eliminates funding for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, which support student success programs and efforts to improve outcomes for veterans, first-generation students, and low-income students.

Slashing Public Lands Funding and Threatening New Mexicans’ Drinking Water

Slashes the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) by $2.3 billion.

Cuts the National Park Service (NPS) budget by over $730 million. This drastic reduction would weaken the NPS by limiting its ability to maintain park staff, ensure visitor safety, and protect natural and cultural resources.

Eliminates the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) WaterSMART grants, gutting key investments in water security and conservation projects at a time when drought is ravaging the west and threatening drinking water supplies for millions of people in New Mexico.

Slashes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget by over $740 million. This reduction in BIA funding would prohibit meaningful improvements in quality of life, hinder economic opportunity, and fail to protect or enhance the trust assets of American Indians, Indian Tribes, and Alaska Natives.

Slashes two-thirds of the U.S. Forest Service’s mission areas, including the Research and Development program and the State, Private, and Tribal Forestry program. These programs strengthen partnerships across state, private, and Tribal lands, while ensuring Americans can recreate in forests.

Slashes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding by $1.9 billion, which will hinder the Corps’ ability to mitigate extreme flood risks — making Americans less safe.

Slashes U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding by $4.6 billion. This includes cutting the EPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs by over $2.5 billion. SRFs are crucial for states and local municipalities to access funding to provide safe drinking water and protect the health of their communities.

Eliminates additional funding for the Superfund Program, which is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills, and natural disasters.

Slashes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) funding by $442.3 million, including through zeroing out important programs that support cultural resource protection, wilderness management, and renewable energy development. Privatizing public lands for extractive only purposes will further restrict New Mexican’s access to their favorite and most sacred places.

Taking Funding Away from New Mexico Farmers and Rural Communities

Slashes funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by a fifth. USDA supports rural farmers all over the country with on-the-ground, in-the-community expertise and financial support.

Wastes $50 million to chaotically reorganize the USDA without any clear plans in place to ensure that the reorganization does not negatively impact customer service. The reorganization will likely result in rural communities and farmers waiting longer and longer to receive technical assistance and access to critical financing programs.

Eliminates $732 million for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Technical Assistance program, which helps farmers put together conservation plans and access USDA programs — including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program dedicated to helping farmers do more with less, install water saving drip irrigation systems, and plant cover crops that help farmers save money on fertilizers.

Guts funding for agricultural research and extension activities, which are critical to ensuring American agriculture is competitive with the rest of the world and provides key resources to help farmers and ranchers prepare and adapt in an uncertain environment.

Reduces funding for the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) by $61 million. AMS facilitates efficient and fair markets for American farmers, from cattle to specialty crops, providing stability for producers and keeping farmers farming. This cut would hurt the ability of the USDA to provide transparent prices for New Mexico cattle producers and further harm the ability of the USDA to purchase meat, specialty crops, and dairy products to be distributed to food banks and school meal programs.

Zeroes out foreign food aid that supports American farmers and is a lifeline for people living in extreme poverty across the world.

Decimates funding for USDA Community Facilities Grant projects by $659 million. This is funding that Congress uses to support communities purchasing new fires trucks and road maintenance equipment to rehabilitate essential public safety infrastructure in New Mexico and nationwide.

Hurting New Mexico Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Eliminates all funding for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), the only federal agency tasked with promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses.

Eliminates all funding for the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), which aims to help entrepreneurs overcome various challenges associated with running a small business. In 2024, SCORE helped start 190 new businesses in New Mexico.

Eliminates the Indian Loan Guarantee and Insurance Program, stripping access for American Indian and Alaska Native communities and individuals to vital capital investments.

Significantly reduces funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) Program, which is instrumental in helping New Mexicans access loans to become first-time homeowners and small business owners. This program also administers the New Market Tax Credits, which helps finance the construction of affordable housing.

Eliminates funding for Women Business Centers (WBC). WBCs were created to assist small businesses that are primarily owned by women. The Women’s Business Center in New Mexico (WESST) serves small businesses throughout the state in four locations.

Cutting Funding for Rural Airports and the Southwest Border Regional Commission

Drastically cuts funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Essential Air Service, which is crucial to ensuring New Mexicans living in rural communities can quickly, safely, and conveniently connect with the rest of the country.

Eliminates funding for the Southwest Border Regional Commission (SBRC), one of eight authorized federal regional commissions and authorities, which is a congressionally chartered, federal-state partnership created to promote economic development in the southern border regions of New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Texas. Congress first authorized the establishment of the SBRC in 2008.

In 2024, Heinrich secured an expansion of the SBRC’s jurisdiction to include the following counties in New Mexico: Bernalillo, Cibola, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Roosevelt, Torrance, Lea, and Valencia. These are in addition to Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra, Socorro, Lincoln, Otero, Eddy, Doña Ana, and Chaves Counties in New Mexico, which are already included within the SBRC’s jurisdiction.

In 2023, Heinrich led the introduction of the Southwest Border Regional Commission Reauthorization Act, legislation to reauthorize and fully fund the Southwest Border Regional Commission (SBRC). The bill was cosponsored by Luján and U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and former-U.S. Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.).

Eliminating Job Training and Worker Protections

Decreases the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) budget by $3.5 billion.

Eliminates Job Corps, cutting $1.6 billion from a program that provides free education and job training for low-income young people, including at two Job Corps centers in New Mexico, in Albuquerque and Roswell.

Eliminates the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), cutting $395 million from a federal job-training program for low-income older adults. In New Mexico, SCSEP is run through the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, which places eligible seniors age 55 and older in paid, part-time training roles at nonprofits and public agencies, including schools, hospitals, day-care centers, and senior centers.

Cuts $234 million from DOL’s worker protection agencies, which weakens federal workplace safety enforcement and eliminates Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Susan Harwood Training Grants aimed at supporting workplace safety training. Trump’s budget also forces OSHA to further engage in immigration enforcement by creating a newly elevated office under the DOL Secretary.

Cutting Disaster Recovery Funding and Eliminating Program that Combats Foreign Interference in American Elections

Cuts $1.3 billion from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant programs and eliminates the Next Generation Warning System Grant Program, which supports and improves local public media stations’ ability to provide emergency alerts and warnings to the public — including in rural areas. It also cuts the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), which provides critical training to first responders across the country and supports the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) at the New Mexico Tech.

Decreases the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) budget by $707 million and completely eliminates CISA’s Election Security Program.

Eliminates the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. The Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is responsible for investigating civil rights complaints made by the public against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman conducts independent oversight of immigration detention and promotes safe and humane conditions for detainees. And the Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman is responsible for assisting individuals and employers in resolving problems with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Gutting Funding for Space Exploration

Guts funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) by cutting the budget by $5.6 billion. Trump’s budget raids Science and Space technology programs that drive discoveries about Earth and the universe, improve weather forecasting and disaster response, and provide communities with the tools they need to stay safe and prepared.

Just last month, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed a bipartisan NASA Authorization Act that increase authorization levels by 2.5%, soundly rejecting the Trump administration’s efforts to decrease NASA’s budget.

Increasing Starvation Around the World and Risking Americans’ Health

Cuts funding for humanitarian assistance by at least $2 billion and rescinds an additional $1 billion in disaster aid. These programs deliver emergency food, shelter, and medical care in order to prevent global instability and displacement that can threaten American national security.

Completely eliminates $240 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program and cuts $1.2 billion from Food for Peace, programs that save children from starvation globally. Hunger can lead to radicalization, violence, and war. By cutting these programs, the Trump administration is actively making the world more dangerous and less stable.

Guts funding for global health programs by $4.3 billion. These programs combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases and help prevent outbreaks from spreading across borders and reaching the United States.

Slashes funding for international organizations by $2.7 billion, including the United Nations and peacekeeping missions. These institutions help prevent conflict and support regional stability.

Cuts funding for the U.S. Department of Treasury’s international programs by $642 million and rescinds funding from multilateral development banks. These programs support U.S. economic and strategic interests abroad by advancing global economic development and financial stability, particularly in developing countries.

Eliminates $315 million in funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, which supports democratic institutions and independent media in countries vulnerable to authoritarian influence.


Luján Statement on Trump’s Latest Threats to Kill ‘Whole Civilization’

Trump on 4/7: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Trump on Easter Sunday: “Open the F––– Strait, you crazy b–––s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

Albuquerque, N.M. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement on President Trump’s latest string of erratic social media posts in which the president threatened further escalation and attacks that amount to war crimes:

“President Trump’s latest social media posts offer no reassurance to the American people, our service members, or their families. His reckless, deranged, and immoral threats to destroy a ‘whole civilization’ are dangerous and have further escalated tensions, putting Americans and our allies at even greater risk.

“The American people did not vote for this war. The president dragged our nation into it without a plan, without congressional authorization, and without public support. Now, families here at home are facing rising costs and the consequences of his chaos.

“There is still no plan to end this war. My prayers are with our service members, their families, and all those in harm’s way. The American people deserve better than a president who treats war like another late-night post on his social media account.”

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N.M. Delegation Statement on Trump Administration Reversing Pecos Watershed Protections


Senator Markey Calls for Trump Removal Over Threat to Eradicate “Civilization” in Iran

Boston (April 7, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement calling for the Congress to remove President Donald Trump from office after threatening “a whole civilization will die” if Iran and the United States do not reach a deal to end the war that Trump started.

“With each passing day, it becomes increasingly apparent that Donald Trump is unstable and a clear and present danger, not just to the American people but to the world. He must be removed from office before he causes incalculable and unfathomable harm.

“At this point, a war powers resolution, although required under our constitutional order, will not be enough. We have a warmonger in the White House. He has threatened war crimes on an apocalyptic scale and appears eager to commit them, including through the possible use of nuclear weapons. We cannot fund this illegal war. The Congress must act now.

“The House and Senate must return to session. The House must pass articles of impeachment, and then the Senate must vote to convict and remove the President. Or, the cabinet and Vice President, with congressional concurrence, must invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump. His threats cannot be dismissed as mere rhetoric. This is as grave a moment as the world has faced in the nuclear era.”

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Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Merkley: Cuts in Trump’s Budget Request to Leave Lasting Scars on Public Lands, Tribes, and Human Health

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the release of President Trump’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2027:

“This budget request from President Trump and his Administration once again fails to meet the real needs of people in Oregon and across the nation who expect the federal government to tackle the greatest problems facing our environment, health, lands, air, and water, and not serve the President’s personal and petty agenda. This budget request for the federal agencies within the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction abandons critical programs, slashes essential government services, and backtracks from delivering the resources Tribal nations and native communities need to thrive.

“All Trump’s budget does is explode the Department of Defense’s budget to an eye-popping $1.5 TRILLION while Trump continues to spend billions of dollars a day on his illegal war with Iran that is putting servicemembers at risk and jacking up energy prices here at home. It’s an out-of-touch plea for more money for guns and bombs, and less for the things that matter to our communities, like taking on the environmental challenges that lead to wildfire and smoke threats, modernizing communities’ water infrastructure to ensure the basic need for clean water, acknowledging the threat of climate chaos, and fulfilling our trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribes. This proposal is dead on arrival.

“As Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee and of the Senate Budget Committee, I will push my colleagues to reject this budget, work together in a bipartisan manner, and enact legislation that protects our public lands, waters, and outdoor-driven economy and responds to the needs of Tribes and local communities across the country,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley.

Specifically, President Trump’s budget proposal includes the following cuts in the Interior-Environment titles:

Cuts $1.1 billion to core Tribal programs that are in place to uphold the federal government’s obligation and court-ordered trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal nations. This overall 29 percent cut would decimate core programs including road maintenance, housing, and programs for children and families. It includes a near elimination of funding for construction and maintenance of Tribal schools, where the current school conditions are severely dilapidated, often threatening the health and safety of children.

Cuts more than $1.1 billion, or 35 percent, from the National Park Service, devastating America’s beloved national parks. The request proposes to cut an additional 3,000 park rangers and other staff, coming after the previous cut of 2,500 staff. The administration again proposes for park unit responsibilities be shouldered by the states without proposing funding to manage this new unfunded mandate, burdening states and incentivizing them to sell off our public lands to the highest bidder. The devastating results would erase history, shut down recreation, collapse the economies of gateway communities, degrade unique and treasured natural areas, and damage threatened and endangered species. The request also proposes to add $111 million to continue partisan funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that funded 300 new Park Police officers, which the Administration has said was designed to establish its own premier law enforcement agency operating throughout Washington D.C. and not only focused on federal parks. Amassing this massively scaled up police force is an existential threat from an administration with a track record of intimidating protestors, threatening free speech, and desensitizing Americans to excessive police and military presence on the streets.

Cuts $323 million, or 19.6 percent from the Fish and Wildlife Service, decimating the fish and wildlife recovery and habitat restoration work critical to protecting important watersheds like the Klamath Basin, and eliminating important grant programs like State and Tribal Wildlife Grants that would critically harm state wildlife recovery plans that are meant to guide voluntary conservation actions to prevent species extinction.

Cuts $183 million for Bureau of Land Management conservation programs, which includes presidentially and congressionally-designated national monuments and other special areas, removing protections and resources from archaeological sites, highly-utilized recreation areas like the Wave in Arizona, the Rogue River in Oregon, the Bonneville Salt Flats and Moab in Utah, the Snake River in Idaho, and the Rio Grande Gorge in New Mexico, and critical habitat management areas for threatened and endangered species.

Cuts $1.571 billion, or 25 percent, from the Forest Service, which includes gutting all research and associated staff essential for improving wildfire risk reduction and creating innovative wood products and gutting all state, private and Tribal assistance grants essential for states to offset the costs of wildfire preparedness, support volunteer fire departments, provide private landowners with tools to fight pest and disease and benefit financially from their lands. This proposal eliminates the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program, which is responsible for advancing major timber sales and fuels reduction projects across the West, and cuts at least 5,000 Forest Service staff positions, which will negatively impact the Administration’s stated goals of improving forest management and increasing domestic timber production, as well as reducing the public’s recreation opportunities on their public lands.

Cuts funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by more than half by abandoning state and Tribal programs that build and maintain drinking water and sewer systems, and starving states of longstanding federal funding provided to pay for state work enforcing federal laws. The request would also effectively eliminate entire lines of public health research like clean air and would fire scores of chemists, biologists, toxicologists, and other research professionals.

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Merkley, Schumer, Warren, Markey, Whitehouse, Welch, Van Hollen Investigate IRS’ Massive Payout to LNG Exporters

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee—teamed up with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to launch a probe into the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) handling of tax subsidies for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.

The Senators are demanding answers following reports that Cheniere Energy—the largest LNG exporter in the United States—received a questionable $370 million tax break from Trump’s IRS for using LNG as “alternative” fuel.

“We write to clarify whether the Internal Revenue Service has determined that companies using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propelling LNG tankers qualify for credits under the Alternative Fuel Excise Tax (AFET). Providing tankers with AFET credits would unnecessarily waste taxpayer money while doing nothing to protect the environment, reduce costs for everyday Americans, or lessen the United States’ dependence on oil,” the Senators wrote to the IRS.

The Senators directed the IRS to provide justification for its determination and stressed the agency’s essential function in ensuring fairness for all taxpayers, not just billionaires, corporations, and fossil fuel companies.

As Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member, Merkley previously released a report detailing how the Republican “Big, Ugly Betrayal” law gave billions in new subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:

Dear Secretary Bessent,

We write to clarify whether the Internal Revenue Service has determined that companies using liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propelling LNG tankers qualify for credits under the Alternative Fuel Excise Tax (AFET). Providing tankers with AFET credits would unnecessarily waste taxpayer money while doing nothing to protect the environment, reduce costs for everyday Americans, or lessen the United States’ (U.S.) dependence on oil.

The AFET credit was created to decrease oil dependence by subsidizing the use of alternative fuels. The AFET credit provided 50 cents for every gallon equivalent of a nonliquid alternative fuel sold for use in a motorboat used by the taxpayer for the same purpose. While the tax code does not define “motorboats,” federal shipping regul ations have defined “motorboats” as ships no more than 65 feet long since 1965. It is safe to assume that in drafting the AFET credit, Congress understood motorboat to retain the meaning that had been in federal regulations for almost 50 years.

LNG Tankers are typically 1,000 feet in length. The more appropriate descriptor for an LNG tanker is the term “vessel,” which Congress def ines in 26 USC § 4221 as ships employed in fishing, whaling, foreign trade, or war. Vessels already receive special tax free treatment for using alternative fuels if they are “engaged in foreign trade or trade between the Atlantic and Pacifi c ports of the United States or between the United States and any of its possessions.” There is no indication that Congress intended to stack additional tax credits.

The AFET credit was intended to encourage the use of alternative fuels, but many LNG tankers are designed to operate by burning their own cargo. LNG in tankers is continuously evaporating and the gas mus t be removed, or “boiled-off,” from the tanks in order to maintain safe tank pressure. In new tankers, the boiled-off gas is used to fuel the tanker; if it were not removed, the gas would have to be flared or vented into the atmosphere or reliquefied back into LNG. Tankers burn this gas for propulsion because it allows for the utilizati on of a valuable resource that would be otherwise wasted and potentially hazardous. Qualifying LNG tankers for the AFET credit would allow companies to claim a tax credit for an activity they would have done regardless, on vessels that seemingly should not have qualified.

To help us understand this issue we ask that you answer the following questions and provide the following documents within 45 days:

Has the IRS determined that LNG tankers are motorboats for the purposes of the AFET? If so, do you plan to provide guidance to taxpayers?

Since December 30th, 1965, federal shipping regulations have defined a motorboat as no more than 65 feet. What evidence did you use to determine that Congress meant to deviate from this long-accepted definition of motorboat when drafting the AFET?

Before making the determination, were you aware that LNG tankers are built to use LNG that boils-off from their hold for propulsion because this gas would otherwise need to be vented into the atmosphere, flared or re-liquefied back into LNG?

Are there any other ships or vessels that you think might be eligible for AFET credits if motorboats are not limited to ships no more than 65 feet? What about container ships or car carriers?

Did the IRS produce any documents to support a decision that LNG tankers are motorboats under the AFET? Please provide any documents that exist, including the legal rationale for a decision.

Is it the position of the IRS that the term motorboat applies to vessels longer than 65 feet for purposes of 26 USC § 4081? If no, why? If yes, do you have plans to alert taxpayers moving forward? If yes, does the IRS plan to recoup funds from taxpayers who did not pay taxes in previous tax years because they did not categorize their boats as motorboats pursuant to the law?

Are there other tax provisions that may be implicated in a decision to determine that LNG tankers are motorboats for the purposes of the AFET? If yes, what are they?

Did you notify the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) about your decision to grant AFET credits for LNG tankers? If yes, please provide any documents that you provided to JCT. Please redact anything required by 26 USC § 6103.

What was your involvement in any decision to make LNG tankers eligible for the AFET? Who did you discuss this issue with within the IRS? Did you talk to any impacted party about LNG tankers being motorboats under the AFET?

What do you estimate the cost to the Treasury will be of classifying LNG tankers as motorboats for the purposes of the AFET?

Did you or your staff communicate with anyone in the White House, including President Trump, about a request for AFET credits for LNG tankers? If yes, please provide a list of names and dates of all conversations.

The IRS is designed to operate impartially to ensure that all taxpayers pay their fair share. We look forward to better understanding any IRS decision on this.

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NEWS RELEASE: Senator Moody Continues Fight to End the Fentanyl Crisis, Passing Cosponsored Legislation Aimed at Reducing Overdose Deaths Out of Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Ashley Moody is continuing the fight to end the opioid crisis, passing legislation she cosponsored to help medical professionals better detect when a patient is experiencing fentanyl poisoning. Tyler’s Law, which recently passed out of the Senate, directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose. It is named after a California teenager who died from fentanyl poisoning after a standard drug test at the hospital failed to detect fentanyl. Senator Moody is a cosponsor of the legislation and helped to shepherd the bill out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Senator Ashley Moody said, “As Attorney General, I fought to stop the death and destruction caused by the opioid crisis. During that time, Florida led the nation in fentanyl interdiction operations. I launched a program to ensure first responders had access to Narcan, and we took the Biden administration to court to force action at the border and stop the trafficking of deadly drugs from Mexico.

“Now, as a U.S. Senator, I’m continuing that fight. We passed the HALT Fentanyl Act to give federal prosecutors stronger tools to hold drug traffickers accountable, and the Tyler’s Law will help medical professionals quickly identify when someone is experiencing fentanyl poisoning. We have made significant progress, but this fight is far from over. I will continue working to protect Floridians from this deadly drug.”

Tyler’s Law would:

Require a Study of Fentanyl Testing – HHS would assess current hospital emergency department fentanyl testing rates, costs, and benefits.

Provide Guidance to Medical Professionals – HHS would issue recommendations for routine fentanyl testing in hospitals.

Enhance Diagnosis & Treatment of Fentanyl Overdose – The bill aims to improve fentanyl exposure diagnosis and guide prevention and treatment efforts.

Full bill text can be found here.

As Florida’s Attorney General, Senator Moody:

Chaired the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse and assembled a working group of experts to identify strategies and best practices for addressing the crisis.

Secured a massive multibillion-dollar settlement from major opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies.

Demanded Biden classify illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction and declare Mexican drug cartels smuggling fentanyl into the country as terrorist organizations. Two actions President Trump quickly executed during his first months in office.

Created the Helping Heroes program to provide free naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversal medication, to law enforcement and first responders across the state.

One of Senator Moody’s first actions in the Senator was supporting the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently place fentanyl-related substances as a class into Schedule I and enhance criminal penalties for traffickers.

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Murphy on Substack: Pay Attention When Your President Promises to Commit War Crimes

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) this week published a Substack article sounding the alarm on President Trump’s threats to wipe out Iran’s civilian energy infrastructure. Blasting Trump’s failed war of choice, Murphy warns the president’s unhinged call for mass war crimes against the Iranian people is a watershed moment for the United States.

Murphy laid out why Trump’s threats are unquestionably war crimes: “Of the many presidential firsts America has witnessed under Trump, this was perhaps the most jarring and diabolical. Am I sure that what he is planning to do if Iran won’t open the Strait are war crimes, you ask? Yes. And it’s not really a close call. The Geneva Conventions clearly limit bombing to military targets and some dual-use targets (sites used for civilian and military use). But Trump’s promise isn’t to target power or bridge infrastructure used by the military; he is calling reporters and telling them he is going to destroy EVERY power plant and bridge. That campaign will kill tens of thousands of innocent Iranians who work in the plants and travel on the roads. That’s a war crime.”

Murphy stressed Trump’s strategy of military escalation has only backfired: “[Trump’s] entire threat is to purposely terrorize innocent Iranians and hope the regime responds by meeting Trump’s demand. It won’t. Iran believes it is winning this war. And their immediate reaction to Trump’s early morning threat was to step up attacks on its neighbors. In my briefings from Administration intelligence officials, there is no evidence the regime is at risk of falling, and the U.S. attacks instead seem to be hardening Iranian antagonism toward the U.S., just as our strikes in Afghanistan pushed citizens back toward the Taliban.”

He ridiculed Trump’s fantasy of reopening the Strait of Hormuz by sparking chaos and civil war in Iran: “Trump’s advisors told him the entire point of the new bombing campaign would be to terrorize civilians. Why? Because targeting civilian infrastructure would create political turmoil and maybe regime change. If this regime won’t reopen the Strait, then maybe after killing thousands of innocent people, a civil war might break out that would lead to this regime’s downfall. If this plan seems macabre and insane, it’s because…well, IT IS.”

Murphy emphasized reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not a victory for the United States: “Even if Trump’s war crimes were successful in forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, how on earth is that a victory? The Strait was open before Trump’s disastrous war of choice that has spiked gas prices to over four dollars a gallon in the U.S. Did we really spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, throw the entire Middle East into chaos, hemorrhage the global energy market, and lose over a dozen American lives, just so we could commit a bunch of heinous war crimes to simply open a waterway that was open before we broke hell loose?”

Likening Trump to Vladimir Putin, Murphy argued we cannot ignore the gravity of an American president threatening to indiscriminately bomb civilians: “I raise the question of Trump’s promised war crimes because I worry deeply about our tendency to repeatedly look the other way at his norm-breaking. We do it all the time, and it’s never excusable. But on Sunday, he seemed to gain energy the more he bragged about committing war crimes. There was something unusually sinister about how off the rails his threats were, and we have to understand what the consequences are if this week our president proudly starts bombing civilians in Iran, like Putin bombs civilians in Ukraine.”

Murphy concluded by calling on Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment before it’s too late: “I wasn’t kidding when I responded to Trump’s Easter morning tweet that his Cabinet should start researching the 25th Amendment. It is possible he has come unglued in the face of a war he cannot win - a war that could be the world’s economic undoing and his political unraveling. The people around him - those that enable him - should stop him from committing these war crimes. And we should speak up loudly to make sure they do.”


Leader Schumer, Ranking Members Reed, Shaheen, Coons, And Schatz Condemn President Trump’s Threat Against Iranian Civilization

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations issued the following joint statement in response to President Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in Iran:

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump’s threat to extinguish an entire civilization.

“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water, or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure. It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people – grandparents, children, families – simply because they were born in Iran. President Trump’s reckless threat makes Americans less safe, further destabilizes our nation and economy, and puts at greater risk U.S. service members. It only serves to push us further away from the only viable solution to this war: a diplomatic one. The president must not follow through on this threat.”


Reed Condemns Trump’s Ominous & Escalating Iran Threat

PROVIDENCE, RI – After President Donald Trump posted a reckless threat on social media today ominously warning Iran that "a whole civilization will die tonight" unless Iran does “something revolutionarily wonderful,” U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, strongly condemned the president’s irresponsible rhetoric, stating:

“President Trump’s social media post goes beyond what any president should say or do. Threatening to eliminate a civilization is comparable to genocide. That is illegal, immoral, and should not be in the vocabulary of an American president. The ominous sentiment he’s suggesting would be a criminal act.

“Unfortunately, he’s put our professional military officers in a very difficult situation. They cannot carry out an illegal order.

“So, President Trump, once again, is involved in this ‘virtual, online argument,’ and I hope that it is all mere words, not actions. But the rhetoric is outrageous and unacceptable.

“I think the president’s behavior is setting back our chances of a peaceful ceasefire. Our allies are no longer just skeptical. They’re shocked and appalled. And they can’t tolerate even the suggestion, let alone the behavior, he’s talking about. And I think he’s not focused on realistically ending this conflict and he seems to have lost control. In fact, he’s become as fanatical as the regime leaders in Tehran.

“So now you seem to have two groups of fanatic leaders battling each other. That’s not a good outcome for the world or for peace.”


Rosen Announces $8 Million in Federal Funding for Harry Reid International Airport

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced $8 million in federal funding for Harry Reid International Airport. The funding comes from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and will go toward the reconstruction of several gates at Harry Reid International Airport, efficiencies, and other upgrades.

“Harry Reid International Airport plays a crucial role in our tourism economy, serving as a gateway to Las Vegas,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to announce $8 million in federal funding is going to Harry Reid International to renovate gates and help upgrade our airport. I’ll keep working across party lines to ensure our travel and tourism industry has the resources it needs to support good-paying jobs in Nevada.”

Senator Rosen has fought to ensure that Nevada’s airports have the funding and resources they need. She introduced legislation to pay TSA workers during the Republican-led shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which has been blocked several times by Washington Republicans. Last year, she also helped secure over $18 million in federal funding for airport improvements across the state. Senator Rosen also helped secure new firefighting vehicles for Harry Reid International airport through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that she helped to write and pass.


Ranking Members Schatz, Coons, Schumer, Shaheen, and Reed condemn President Trump’s threat against Iranian civilization

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Democratic Leader, Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in Iran:

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump's threat to extinguish an entire civilization.

“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water, or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure. It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people – grandparents, children, families – simply because they were born in Iran. President Trump’s reckless threat makes Americans less safe, further destabilizes our nation and economy, and puts at greater risk U.S. service members. It only serves to push us further away from the only viable solution to this war: a diplomatic one. The president must not follow through on this threat.”

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FOLLOWING HIS PUSH, SCHUMER SECURES FEDERAL PERMIT FOR BELOVED SENECA FALLS “RIGHT TO RUN” SO EVENT CAN CONTINUE AS PLANNED NEXT MONTH

Trump Order For National Parks Created Senseless Bureaucratic Red Tape That “Right To Run” Organizers Were Told Would Result In Them Not Getting Their Permit In Time This Year For Weekend Celebration

Schumer Immediately Sprung To Action Calling On the National Park Service To Expedite & Approve A Special Permit So The 10th Annual “Right To Run 5K/19K Race Weekend” Could Continue As Planned

Schumer: Seneca Falls “Right To Run” Celebration Is Back On!

After a senseless Trump Executive Order threatened Seneca Falls’ beloved “Right to Run” celebration, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced the National Park Service has heeded his calls and approved federal permits in time for the race on Mother’s Day. Schumer explained that event organizers were informed the NPS was unable to approve a necessary permit in time because of a recent Trump executive order, but, after Schumer demanded action, this prized Finger Lakes event can continue as planned.

“Seneca Falls 'Right to Run' celebration is back on! When I heard this beloved celebration was under threat because of a Trump executive order, I immediately called on the National Park Service to cut the red tape and approve these permits,” said Senator Schumer. “I’m proud to hear the NPS has heeded my calls in record time, and now the Seneca Falls celebration can continue as planned. Now families and athletes from across the country will be able to gather in beautiful Seneca Falls to celebrate the area’s significant role in American history this Mother’s Day Weekend.”

Right to Run Race Organizer Daniele Bonafiglia said, "We are incredibly grateful to Senator Schumer for recognizing the full weight of what this event means — to the variety of participants who walk and run our streets each year, to the local businesses and vendors who depend on this weekend, and to Seneca Falls' identity as a destination rooted in history, culture, and community pride. His swift action reflects a deep understanding that investing in women's history is investing in New York, and we are honored to have his support."

Schumer explained that event organizers were originally informed that the NPS was unable to approve a necessary permit in time because of a recent Trump executive order calling for the Department of the Interior to re-examine how public monuments and events occurring at those monuments characterize American history and values. The celebration starts at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, which, as part of the National Park system, is under the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction. However, following Schumer’s push, the NPS decided to approve necessary permits in time for the Mother’s Day weekend celebration. Schumer’s letter to National Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron can be found HERE.

With approved permits in hand, the weekend can now open Friday evening at the National Park’s outdoor Declaration Park amphitheater and adjoining Mynderse Street with local food and Finger Lakes wine and craft beer vendors, and local musicians. There will also be wellness workshops, nationally recognized artist exhibits, and the keynote address and opening ceremony in the National Park’s historic Wesleyan Chapel, where the 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention was held.

“We loved the swift support and action from Senator Schumer to make sure my moveable monument sculpture ‘Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring’ can be installed at the birthplace of women's rights,” said Tiffany Shlain, Artist & Emmy-nominated filmmaker and Keynote speaker to kick off the weekend celebration for The Right to Run.

The Right to Run is a decade-old tradition, led and organized by local Seneca Falls-based residents and community members, rooted in the history of the women’s rights movement and intentionally centered at the birthplace of that movement to elevate Seneca Falls as a national destination rooted in history, culture, and community. Hundreds of people will convene in downtown Seneca Falls on Mother’s Day weekend for the tenth year to celebrate Seneca Falls’ role as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement, while boosting the local economy by supporting Main Street restaurants and shops. The celebration brings together the athletic, arts, and literary communities for a weekend of programming that honors women’s rights while driving meaningful economic activity for the region.

Schumer has long supported Seneca Falls’ development as a nationally recognized cultural center and historical destination, securing over $5 million for the Women’s Rights National Historic Park and $500,000 to help complete construction of the National Women’s Hall of Fame at the historic Knitting Mill building in the heart of Seneca Falls.

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Ranking Members Shaheen, Coons, Schumer, Reed, Schatz Condemn President Trump’s Threat Against Iranian Civilization

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader, Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in Iran:

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump's threat to extinguish an entire civilization.

“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on and a moral failure. It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people – grandparents, children, families – simply because they were born in Iran. President Trump’s reckless threat makes Americans less safe, further destabilizes our nation and economy and puts at greater risk U.S. service members. It only serves to push us further away from the only viable solution to this war: a diplomatic one. The president must not follow through on this threat.”

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Slotkin Statement on President Trump’s Threat of U.S. Military Escalation against Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s message threatening U.S. military escalation in Iran.

“The President of the United States is taking his threats against the Iranian people to new extremes. Targeting civilians en masse would be a clear violation of the law of armed conflict as laid out in the Geneva Conventions, as well as the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual.

“This kind of focus on civilians is exactly what we accuse our adversaries of doing and what our military trains to avoid. It’s built into the rigorous drilling and routines that our military are trained on from their first weeks. If they are today or have been asked to do things that violate the law and their training, it puts them in very real legal jeopardy.

“I know that our service members up and down the chain of command know their duty and the law to refuse illegal orders. Even as the Commander-in-Chief tells the world otherwise. It’s moments like these that are why we made the video to service members last year. And I hope and believe our troops — especially those in command — will have the moral clarity to push back if they are given clearly illegal orders.”


U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on President Trump’s Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement after President Trump posted on Truth Social threatening “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran’s leadership doesn’t strike a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:

“America’s moral leadership and rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries in the world. President Trump’s threats this morning to destroy an entire civilization and commit the United States to another endless war in the Middle East are completely wrong. Threatening war crimes undermines our nation’s leadership in the world and opens U.S. servicemembers and civilians to reprisals and worse, both at home and abroad. President Trump is putting the lives of U.S. servicemembers at risk, distracting the nation from taking on other imminent threats to our national security like China and Russia, and leaving the U.S. military engaged in the Middle East for potentially years to come,” said Senator Smith. “Further, the President’s escalation of this war will continue to raise the already skyrocketing cost of gas and food here at home, making life even more unaffordable for Americans. The President must refrain from a dangerous, massive attack on Iran that will harm innocent civilians and instead bring this war to an end now.”

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ICYMI: Yellowhammer News: Trump used Tuberville’s Student-Athlete Act as blueprint for college sports executive order: ‘It’s simple’

AUBURN – In case you missed it, Yellowhammer News published a story detailing how President Trump’s recent NIL Executive Order mirrors the Student-Athlete Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) last month.

Read the Yellowhammer News article below or click here.

“Last week, President Trump came out with his highly anticipated Executive Order on college sports which is aimed to curb player eligibility and movement issues within the sport, something which has become deeply unpopular among the fanbase.

A week prior, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) introduced legislation which would essentially make the guidelines in Trump’s Executive Order permanent in what he was calling the Student-Athlete Act.

‘College athletics used to be about education, now it’s sadly all about making money,’ Sen. Tuberville said in announcing the Student-Athlete Act.

‘We can’t be having 25-year-old ‘students’ who graduated three years ago still competing in the NCAA. With my bill, a student-athlete gets five years to get their education, compete, and then move on. We also have to make sure students are getting a good education, which won’t happen if they are transferring every year. I’m all for student-athletes making money, but we have to create some national guidelines as the current system is broken. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this commonsense bill across the finish line.’

‘Glad to see President Trump take action to fix the broken transfer portal that’s ruining college sports,’ Tuberville wrote on X after the EO was announced.

‘I introduced the Student-Athlete Act last week. My bill would make the EO permanent. College athletes should get 5 consecutive years to play 5 seasons and 1 free transfer. After that, if you transfer, you sit out a year. It’s simple. I look forward to my bill being brought to a vote soon.’

Where things go from here remains to be seen, but seeing Trump and Tuberville take steps to try to fix a clearly broken system has to be encouraging for fans who are fed up with the way things have become over the last half decade.”

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

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Warner Statement on Anthropic's Project Glasswing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the following statement on Anthropic’s announcement of Project Glasswing, an initiative that brings together industry leaders in an effort to secure critical software:

“I applaud these leading companies for recognizing this threat and proactively sharing information, capabilities, and computing capacity to better protect our critical infrastructure. We are already seeing cyber threat actors using AI tools to improve their capabilities, putting government, businesses, and consumers’ security and personal information at risk. I have long worked to shore up the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure, from hospitals to government systems and more. As AI dramatically accelerates the discovery of new vulnerabilities, I hope industry will correspondingly accelerate and reprioritize patching.”

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Warren Calls on Thune to Bring Senate Back, Vote to Stop Trump’s War in Iran Amid Trump Threats to End the “Whole Civilization”

Warren: “This is Deranged…Congress Must Pull the Emergency Brake Now”

Link to Video

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a new video condemning President Trump’s threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran“ and called for Majority Leader Thune to bring the Senate back into session immediately to vote to stop Trump’s war.

“Congress needs to pull the emergency brake now. We should be voting to stop Trump’s war today…Every Republican who refuses to speak out, every Republican who ducks a question, every Republican who votes to let this war continue bears a portion of the responsibility for what is happening in Trump’s war,” said Senator Warren.

Senator Warren highlighted that American families are paying the price for Trump and Hegseth’s war in Iran.

“Gas prices are more than $4 dollars a gallon. Groceries are up. Life was already unaffordable and now you’re paying for Trump’s war while our service members fight and die in another forever war halfway around the world,” she said.

“We don’t know what will happen tonight…But I do know that Congress has the power and the responsibility to end Trump's war. Enough. Call your representatives. And tell these Republicans to grow a backbone and do their damn jobs,” she concluded.

Transcript: Senator Warren on Trump Threatening to Wipe Out the “Whole Civilization” of Iran

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I want to talk directly to people who are sick with worry that Donald Trump is threatening war crimes in Iran. In his words, if Iran doesn’t do what he says, their “whole civilization will die tonight.”

The President of the United States is threatening to bomb innocent people and civilian infrastructure in Iran. He’s threatening to commit war crimes. And he is threatening to do it in our names.

This is deranged. And it must stop.

Some say that this is just Trump negotiating.

No. Trump is threatening mass death if he doesn’t get his way. And it’s further evidence that Trump’s war and Trump himself have spiralled out of control.

Trump’s guy in charge of the war, Pete Hegseth, is thumping his chest that the United States has “complete control of Iranian skies” while our brave pilots get shot down.

And you are paying the price.

Gas prices are more than $4 dollars a gallon. Groceries are up. Life was already unaffordable and now you’re paying for Trump’s war while our service members fight and die in another forever war halfway around the world.

And for what? How is your life better because of Trump’s war?

It is the constitutional responsibility of Congress to not only declare war, but to end war.

Instead, when Republicans have been forced to vote, they have voted repeatedly to continue Trump’s war.

Republican Leader John Thunehune must call the Senate back into session immediately. And Congress needs to pull the emergency brake NOW. We should be voting to stop Trump’s war TODAY.

Make no mistake: Every Republican who refuses to speak out, every Republican who ducks a question, every Republican who votes to let this war continue bears a portion of the responsibility for what is happening in Trump’s war.

We don’t know what will happen tonight. Will Trump back down or will he commit war crimes?

But I do know that Congress has the power and the responsibility to end Trump's war. Enough. Call your representatives. And tell these Republicans to grow a backbone and do their damn jobs.

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Warren, Luján, Escobar, Underwood Lead 32 Lawmakers in Pressing Homeland Security Watchdog to Investigate Detainee Locator System Failures

“Without a functional locator system, DHS is effectively creating ‘disappearances’ on U.S. soil, and we urge the DHS Office of Inspector General to investigate this matter”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), along with Representatives Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), led 32 members of Congress in pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) failure to provide accurate information about where detainees are being held.

“Without a functional locator system, DHS is effectively creating ‘disappearances’ on U.S. soil,” wrote the lawmakers.

The DHS Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) allows the public to determine whether a person is in ICE custody and, if so, at which facility. ICE’s policy has historically been to update ODLS within eight hours of a person’s arrival at an ICE facility. But recent reports indicate that some individuals are not being accurately added to ODLS for days — and sometimes weeks. In some cases, individuals are deported before their location is ever added to the system, as was the case for Massachusetts resident Any Lopez Belloza.

ODLS has also become increasingly inaccurate since January 2025; in many instances, ODLS indicates that a person is being held at a particular detention center, but the facility will tell attorneys otherwise.

“When individuals in DHS custody cannot be located, their legal representation suffers,” wrote the lawmakers.

Attorneys have reported difficulties with filing habeas petitions because they do not know where their clients are located. Detainees also face an increased risk of missing court hearings or missing case deadlines when their attorneys cannot find them. Some families have reported that, by the time their loved one is found, they have already been deported.

The Trump administration is detaining people at unprecedented scale, exacerbating ODLS issues. There are currently more than 70,000 people in ICE custody, 80% more than in December 2024. Frequent transfers make ODLS updates more challenging, and matters are only made worse when individuals are held in unconventional detention settings such as military bases, state-run facilities like “Alligator Alcatraz,” ICE field offices, and soon, warehouses built for storing packages.

Some experts expressed concerns that these issues could be intentional — a way for ICE to remove people from jurisdictions with more protective laws or favorable judges. One ICE agent reportedly commented to a detainee that she was being transferred from California to Indiana “thanks to the laws in California.”

“To understand the full scope of this problem, the reasons for the ODLS’s reporting gaps, and the impacts of these gaps on detainees and their families, we request that your office conduct an evaluation of this matter,” concluded the lawmakers in their letter to the IG.

The lawmakers requested that DHS address the reasons that the ODLS system has suffered a reduction in timeliness, the types of information that ICE does not add to the ODLS, the practices ICE has for updating location information, and more.

Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) signed on to this letter.

Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Jesús García (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) signed on to this letter.

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Warren, Ryan Urge FCC to Protect Sports Fans from ‘Streamflation,’ as ESPN’s New Arrangements with NFL, MLB Threaten Fans with Higher Costs

In response to a request for comment from the FCC, lawmakers “encourage the Commission to act to protect sports fans from growing consolidation.”

ESPN NFL deal “concentrates market share and power with ESPN, to the detriment of fans and competitors.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.), in response to a request for comments by the agency, wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr with their concerns over recent changes in the sports streaming marketplace that have increased costs for viewers while affecting fans’ ability to watch nationally televised live sports and their local teams.

The lawmakers pointed out four major areas of concern:

Disney’s Acquisition of Fubo Has Decreased Competition in the Sports Streaming Market: In August 2024, lawmakers expressed concerns about a proposed joint venture (JV) between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney subsidiary ESPN that was projected to control more than 80% of nationally broadcast sports. Sports streaming platform Fubo filed a lawsuit to block the venture, but before the lawsuit could reach the merits stage, Disney announced its acquisition of Fubo, knocking out a competitor and abruptly ending the lawsuit.

“[I]n a surprising turn of events, and before the lawsuit could reach the merits stage, Disney announced its acquisition of Fubo in January 2025, which allowed the sports media giant to end the lawsuit, knock out a competitor, and grow its sports streaming dominance even more, significantly decreasing competition in the vMVPD market, while strengthening its ability to raise prices, hurting viewers and competitors,” wrote the lawmakers.

The Recent Deal Between Disney/ESPN and the NFL Harms Competitors and Gives the Sports Media Giant an Incentive to Raise Prices for Viewers: A year later, ESPN struck a deal to acquire the National Football League (NFL) Network, which included the distribution of NFL games, NFL RedZone, and NFL Fantasy. In exchange, the NFL acquired 10% of ESPN.

“By consolidating the production, operation, and distribution of the NFL Network under ESPN, while simultaneously granting the NFL a 10% stake in ESPN itself, the deal raises concerns of conflicts of interest and potentially disadvantages competing networks, streaming competitors, and distributors,” wrote the lawmakers.

ESPN’s New Arrangement with MLB.TV Could Raise Prices and Reduce Access for Baseball Fans: Most recently, Major League Baseball (MLB) and ESPN agreed to a multiyear deal allowing ESPN to produce and broadcast 30 regular season games, making ESPN the home of MLB.TV, and obtaining exclusive local in-market streaming rights for six MLB Clubs. Notably, ESPN will determine the price of MLB.TV, is requiring new MLB.TV subscribers to sign up for the service through ESPN’s own Platform, and has not committed to maintaining price stability for MLB.TV’s existing subscribers past the 2026 season.

“The anti-competitive nature of ESPN and MLB’s new deal raises serious concerns about potential downstream effects on consumers and competitors,” wrote the lawmakers.

Forced Bundling Has Inflated Streaming Prices and Has Forced Viewers to Pay for Services They Do Not Want: For viewers, the consolidation of the sports streaming market into “bundles” or “packages” has led to higher prices and fewer choices, a consequence of decreased competition in the market.

“The cost of watching live sports on television or via streaming becomes more expensive every year, and the options for tuning in become even more complicated,” wrote the lawmakers.

The FCC has broad authority to protect the public interest, and Congress has previously specifically directed the Commission to actively promote economic competition.

“To promote competition in sports media in support of the public interest, we encourage the Commission to act to protect sports fans from growing consolidation,” concluded the lawmakers.

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Welch Celebrates with New American Citizens at Naturalization Ceremony in Barre

BARRE, VT—This week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, celebrated with new United States citizens, their families and loved ones, and Vermont leaders at a Naturalization Ceremony held in Barre. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier presided.

“We all know that every country has its challenges, but what all of us today—right here, —believe is that it is up to us, and it’s within our power to aspire to the ideals of this great country that we live in and you, now, are going to be citizens of. It takes each of us, individually, to renew the promise of America—that all men and women are created equal. That each of us, if we put effort in, can achieve our highest potential. Where efforts are important, not just for our advancement, but for the strength of the communities that we come from,” said Senator Welch in remarks to the new U.S. citizens and their friends and loved ones. [We] can’t express to you deeply enough how grateful we are to you for inspiring us to continue the hard work of the blessings of this country, and the acceptance of, the responsibility that each and every one of us has every day to live up to the ideals of this country that we all love together.”

Vermont welcomed 24 new American citizens from 12 different countries—Australia, Bhutan, Canada, Congo, Costa Rica, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, India, Ireland, Jamaica, and Nepal.

View photos from the ceremony below and on Senator Welch’s website:

Senator Welch’s talented team of caseworkers can help Vermonters work with federal agencies and departments, including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State. For immediate assistance, please call Senator Welch’s office at (802) 863-2525, or visit welch.senate.gov.

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