Latest in Politics
Senators slam Trump nominee for racist, antisemitic rhetoric ahead of confirmation vote
Jeremy Carl, President Trump’s appointee for assistant secretary of state for international organizations, faced intense criticism over his history of anti-semitic and racist beliefs.
read moreAs shutdown looms, testimonies conflict between DHS officials and Minnesota Attorney General over ICE violence
WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic senators questioned ICE’s methods during testimony by DHS officials about violence conducted by ICE during Operation Metro Surge, the recent immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“Americans protesting shouldn’t give ICE the right to exert lethal force,” said Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Pa.
The hearing came just a day before a deadline for Congress to pass a DHS funding bill or risk a partial shutdown. Democrats have demanded that ICE carry ID, stop wearing masks and cease racial profiling.
Just before the hearing, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said that the surge operation would come to an end and that Minnesota would see a “significant drawdown” in federal officers.
Paul and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, together presented a New York Times video of the lead-up to Alex Pretti’s shooting. The senators took turns stopping the video and making comments.
“I don’t see a hint of something that was aggressive here,” Paul said, pausing the video when Pretti put his hands up.
Commissioner U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rodney Scott argued, however, that Pretti wasn’t complying with the ICE agents. “He’s fighting back non-stop.”
The DHS officials testifying at the hearing maintained that the ICE agents’ violence responded to violence from protestors in the city. “Officers are taught to employ force when they feel there is a threat,” said Rodney Scott, Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Scott and Tom Lyons, Acting Director of ICE, declined to answer questions from a senator about whether or not Renee Good or Alex Pretti were domestic terrorists. Lyons indicated that making such a judgement would impede on the ongoing investigations into the incidents.
“If you say it would impede or bias your investigations, why wouldn’t it impede for Secretary Noem and Steven Miller to say the same thing?” asked Sen. Hassan, D-N.H., referencing comments the Noem and Miller made about Good and Pretti.
Despite the bipartisanship on display by Paul and Peters, the rest of the committee split down the middle regarding ICE’s actions.
Republicans largely defended ICE agents.
“These are American citizens exercising their Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights,” said Senator Moreno, R-Oh.. “We can’t judge them off of a video.”
Democrats criticized the use of force against protestors.
“A lot of the federal reasons for targeting Minnesota are not based on the law,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in an earlier panel before the committee.
He mentioned President Donald Trump’s TruthSocial post after Operation Metro Surge was announced that it was ‘retribution,’ implying it was a reaction to the state’s democratic voting record.
He also took issue with the Trump administration’s justification for sending ICE agents and other federal troops to Minnesota because of the state’s tolerance of illegal immigration.
Ellison said that Minnesota does not have a large population of illegal immigration.
“Every rationale the administration has offered for this surge is a pretext,” he said.
Ellison’s comments sparked outbursts from some Republican lawmakers, who accused him of dispatching ‘trained activists’ to ICE operations and urging them to intervene.
“People are dead because you encouraged them to put themselves in harm’s way,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said, raising his voice. “A tragedy was going to happen, and you encouraged it, and you ought to feel damn guilty about it. You disgust me.”
“Do you want me to respond?” Ellison responded. “That was a nice theatrical performance. But it was all lies.”
Other Republicans accused Ellison of being complicit in the financial fraud in Minnesota tied to Somalian daycares, about which there was a hearing last week.
Later in the hearing, Lyons indicated that he had requested an increase in staffing in Minnesota in response to the protests and had, thus, called for Operation Metro Surge. He declined to comment on Homan’s decision to withdraw ICE from the city.
However, Ellison approved of the Border Czar’s call.
“It’s a good thing,” he said.
Ellison also praised the people of Minnesota for standing up for their rights amid the operation.
“I’ve never been prouder to be a Minnesotan. I’m so proud of the people who helped their neighbors who stood up for their First Amendment rights.”
Lyons indicated that what set Minnesota apart from the deportation efforts elsewhere in the country is an aspect of cooperation with local law enforcement, which he said was absent during Operation Metro Surge. However, Minnesota Commissioner Paul Schnell had testified less than an hour prior that local law enforcement did not receive communication on behalf of ICE.
“There has not been efforts to coordinate or discuss their targets,” Schell said during the earlier panel in front of the committee.
Sen. Gallego, D-Az., presents Associated Press photo of ICE agents with military grade weapons arriving at Teyana Gibson Brown’s doorstep in Minnesota. Her husband, a Liberian immigrant, was arrested during the raid. (Isabel Papp/MNS)
Director Lyons also spoke out strongly against proposals to unmask ICE agents, citing threats to the agents and their families. “These are honorable men and women,” he said. “They don’t want to be masked.”
Scott denied that officers have entered churches, elementary schools, and hospitals to arrest aliens. He affirmed that suspects went into these locations seeking sanctuary but denied officers targeted churches. However, the Trump administration cancelled a Biden administration rule that classified these locations as ‘sensitive zones’ that ICE cannot enter.
However, Sen. Fetterman, D-Pa., pointed out that even if the DHS were to shut down this Friday, there would be little functional change or limits to ICE operations, which are directly funded by the Big Beautiful Bill. But other departments within the DHS, like Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard, and Federal Emergency Management Agency would face significant funding cuts and obstacles to their operations.
“A shutdown wouldn’t have any meaningful impact on ICE, you have practically unlimited money right now,” Fetterman said. “But you’re going to punish all these other parts.
Congressional Black Caucus members slam Trump administration policies on Black History Month centennial
WASHINGTON — In honor of the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Wednesday criticized the Trump administration for economic and civil rights policies they say harm Black Americans.
In her opening remarks, caucus chairwoman Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-NY., said President Donald Trump has been attacking democratic freedoms through his administration’s efforts to roll back civil rights, voting access, and social programs.
“It is critical that we gather in this moment, given what we are up against across the country,” Clarke said. “Our communities are voicing deep concerns about the threat posed by Donald Trump and his allies.”
Despite Trump’s assertions that he’s supported by the Black people, many Black leaders tell a different story.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, said Black communities suffer from the failed policies of the president and members of the Republican Party.
“Under the Trump administration, the Black unemployment rate is up, the Black home ownership rate is down, and health care is being ripped away from millions of Americans, disproportionately impacting Black and brown communities and lower income white communities throughout the nation,” Jeffries said.
Trump’s 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act laid the groundwork to take away healthcare from roughly 15 million people and threatened housing access for more than 170,000 people while abandoning discriminatory practices for families of color.
The House also passed the SAVE Act Wednesday, which prohibits states from processing voter registration applications for federal elections unless applicants provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
“Right now we see pieces of legislation like the SAVE America Act intended to be passed, to pass racist legislation to advance concerted efforts to compress and suppress the Black vote,” said Shavon Arline-Bradley, the President of the National Council of Negro Women.
The press conference came after President Trump posted, and later deleted, an AI-generated video of former President Obama and former First-Lady Michelle Obama as apes last Friday. The post received bipartisan condemnation over the weekend, with Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, telling Medill News Service Trump’s actions were “reprehensible.”
“The incredible accomplishments of Michelle and Barack Obama don’t deserve to be treated that way, and that’s not what people expect from the presidency,” Morial said.
In a statement to the BBC, White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended the President’s actions. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public,” she told reporters.
According to a Pew Research Study on the 2024 presidential election, Trump “won 15% of Black voters – up from 8% four years earlier.”
In a proclamation honoring this year’s Black History Month, Trump’s message of unity focused on the impact Black Americans’ have had in the greater scheme of America’s history. In his remarks, he cited the accomplishments of “our greatest Americans,” like Frederick Douglass and Jackie Robinson.
“As President, I am fighting to restore the Nation that these titans helped build, and to make America greater than ever before,” Trump said.
Caucus members called for robust protections for democracy and urged to promote legislation and efforts against the Trump administration’s policies.
“We commit today to fight, and fight, and fight until hell freezes over, and then, I can assure you, we will fight on the ice,” Morial said.
Latest in Education
Repubs and Dems clash over parental opt-out rights in education after Supreme Court ruling involving LGBTQ+ books
A House subcommittee debated parents’ right to opt their children out of lessons because of religious conflicts in public schools, after Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling.
read moreHouse conflicted over One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes to federal student loans and solution to rising college costs
WASHINGTON — In a debate over how to best address rising college tuition, the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee discussed the consequences of recent changes to federal student loan policy on American families.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Republicans blamed administrative bloat for the college affordability crisis. Democrats pointed to a lack of state and federal investment in higher education, unchecked privatization and for-profit colleges.
Average tuition for both public and private four-year colleges has essentially doubled over the last 30 years, after adjusting for inflation, according to CollegeBoard. Both parties emphasized the importance of higher education for a strong American workforce and economy.
“We all agree there is a college affordability crisis in this country,” said Alma Adams, D-N.C., the subcommittee’s top Democrat. “Where we disagree is on the solution.”
Republicans praised their work to change federal loan policy in H.R. 1, now commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or The Working Families Act. The law imposes new borrowing caps, restructures the repayment system, reduces Pell Grant eligibility and reduces safety nets.
“The Working Families Tax Cuts simplified student loan repayment plans from over 50 options down to just two: a fixed ‘mortgage’ style plan and a ‘repayment assistance plan’ that provides targeted relief to borrowers in need,” committee Chairman Burgess Owens, R-Utah, said.
Owens said that the law will also hold schools accountable for student outcomes and ensure that their degrees improve their financial prospects. He said he is confident that restoring market incentives in higher education will lead to better pricing for students.
“The title of this hearing really should be about working families getting run over by the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said. “Again, I know they’re trying to rebrand the H.R. 1 to a different title, but the fact of the matter is, most people in this country have sort of figured out what a scam it is.”
Witness Julie Margetta Morgan is president of The Century Foundation and previously worked in the U.S. Department of Education. She said that the bill leaves students with two options: not attending college because it is too expensive or taking on risky private loans.
“These loans are going to have a higher interest rate, and they are going to have fewer options for people when they get in trouble on paying their loan,” Morgan said. “They don’t have the forgiveness option, they don’t have the income-based repayment options.”
Columbia economics and education Professor Judith Scott-Clayton said, in general, federal student loans have been a safe option for students because they offer many protections, including income-based repayment options, interest rate subsidies and very low default rates.
“All that being said, I think we’re definitely at a moment right now where there is so much chaos going on in the student loan repayment world,” Scott-Clayton said.
Scott-Clayton said families’ hesitation and anxiety about taking on student debt are not unreasonable at this time.
She said universities are feeling pressured because they can’t necessarily count on a guaranteed supply of families willing to pay what they charge every year, especially since the education sector is under fire and students are very price-sensitive.
Wellesley College Economics Professor Phillip Levine created MyinTution, which gives families access to a projected cost of attendance once financial aid is factored in, called the net price.
“It relies on very basic financial characteristics, how much money did you make last year, a few basic asset categories, what do you have in the stock market, that sort of thing,” Levine said. “It is very valuable for the institution to make it possible for prospective students to get off of the sticker price.”
Bob Onder, R-Mo., emphasized bipartisan legislation to improve college price transparency. His Student Financial Clarity Act creates a universal net price calculator and expands the college scorecard for students to compare costs across institutions.
Evan Bertis-Sample is a Northwestern University student from a low-income family. He receives the maximum financial aid package from Northwestern and also takes out a subsidized federal student loan each quarter to cover housing costs.
“I’m a first-generation student, so no one in my family before me has really had to deal with this type of stuff,” Bertis-Sample said. “So I had no advice given to me, so navigating what student loans look like, what financial aid packages are, and how to interpret them was definitely a big struggle.”
The committee has approved the Student Financial Clarity Act, and Onder said he is hopeful the bill will be brought to the House floor soon.
Repubs, Dems divided over school choice solution amid struggling education system
WASHINGTON — In a debate over how to fix the struggling American education system, senators disputed policies that allow public education funds to follow students to schools of their choice, including private schools.
“Traditional schools work for many students, what we’re asking though is to give the parent the choice if it does not,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
During the committee’s Wednesday hearing on school choice, senators discussed the implications of giving taxpayer dollars to private schools that can discriminate and deny admission to certain students. While Republican senators argued that the majority of Americans supported school choice, Democrats said voters had historically opposed private voucher initiatives.
The hearing came during National School Choice Week, an opportunity for the Trump administration to celebrate the return of education to the states through investment in charter school expansion and a federal tax credit for education scholarships. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the committee’s top Democrat, also released a report Wednesday detailing how Trump’s privatization of public education threatens public schools and working-class students.
“We should not be creating a two-tier education system in America,” said Sanders. “Private schools for the wealthy and well-connected, and severely underfunded and under-resourced public schools for lower-income disabled and working-class kids. Unfortunately, that is precisely what the Trump administration and my republican colleagues in Congress are doing.”
Among its provisions, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” created the first federal school voucher program at a cost of up to $51 billion a year, which Sanders said is more than the bill gives to the Title I program, which serves low-income students, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act combined.
Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association and middle school social studies teacher, said that the rapid expansion of school privatization in Arizona has led to schools losing funding because Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program draws directly from the public schools’ general fund.
“There is no cap on it, so it’s almost like turning on a water faucet and letting it go,” Garcia said to the committee. “This year alone, it will be $800 million out of our general fund.”
Garcia said she believes taxpayer money should go to schools that have some accountability and transparency to ensure that every student is accepted and treated fairly.
While public schools are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, disability, religion and sexual orientation, private schools are not subject to the same admission requirements.
Of the private schools analyzed in Sanders’ report, 48% did not provide all students with disabilities with the services, protections and rights provided to those students in public schools, and 17% charged different tuition based on a family’s religious beliefs.
Vice President of Advocacy and Development for Oakmont Education, Cris Gulacy-Worrel, called concerns over private schools turning away students a “red herring,” saying she wants to see the focus shift to addressing the systemic failure to teach students reading and math.
“I think that’s a distraction from the real question, are kids really safe in a district school that has been failing them, that has a reading proficiency of say 0% like Baltimore,” she said.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., noted that on a busy day for the Senate, there is still nothing more important than the future of American children’s education.
“I hope that’s something we can continue to engage in and have that substantive, thoughtful conversation about education and not let our kids’ education get caught up in just the partisan bickering and the arguing that so often encapsulates this building, unfortunately,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said.
Health & Science
Prescription drugs lack country-of-origin labels. Senators object.
The FDA allows drug manufacturers to keep confidential information about where prescription drugs and their ingredients are produced.
read moreThe Doomsday Clock moves closer to apocalypse than ever
WASHINGTON – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday clock to 85 seconds to midnight on Tuesday, the shortest the metaphorical countdown to apocalypse has ever been in the clock’s 79-year-long history.
The science-oriented advocacy group emphasized the threats of artificial intelligence, climate change and nuclear war. The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board said the global rise of nationalistic autocracies and the erosion of democratic institutions increased the risk of global issues. These political shifts, combined with rapid developments in the biotechnological threats, have significantly increased the probability of a man-made catastrophe.
“Every second counts. And we are running out of time,” said Bulletin President and CEO Alexandra Bell.
The combined threats present such a substantial risk to humanity that the people of the world should call on their leaders to fight these global challenges, according to the group of scientists and other experts.
NUCLEAR THREAT
The Bulletin specifically criticized the United States, Russia and China for expanding and modernizing their nuclear arsenals while favoring “grandiosity and competition over diplomacy and cooperation” in international relations.
For example, deploying weapons in space, such as President Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, could trigger a competition with other great powers and increase the risk of a space-based war, said Steve Fetter, a member of the Science and Security Board.
Another reason the clock moved closer to midnight was that the leaders of nuclear-armed states have recently threatened to use nuclear weapons on the battlefield, said Jon B. Wolfsthal, a member of the Science and Security Board. Wolfsthal noted that Russia and Pakistan had both made such threats recently.
Previously nuclear weapons played a role in deter warfare and force adversaries to negotiate, he said.
This shift to actively threatening to use nuclear weapons came as the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), was set to expire next week.
“So for the first time in generations, both of these countries will be free to deploy as many nuclear weapons as they want or believe they need,” warned Wolfsthal.
BIOTECHNOLOGICAL THREAT
Another biological threat that the Bulletin said could pose a radical departure from life as we know it in the future would be the development of mirror-image life, synthetic organisms made from molecules that are the reverse version of those used in nature. According to the Bulletin, a self-replicating mirror cell could plausibly spread throughout all ecosystems and eventually cause the widespread death of humans, other animals, and plants. Yet, experts said scientists would not have the capability to create mirror life for at least another decade.
Despite the risk, researchers in some countries continue to compete to develop mirror life, said Asha M. George, executive director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense.
George said biotechnology is advancing so rapidly that the international community has failed to designate which experiments are too risky to perform.
She also warned that non-state actors continue to seek biological agents for use in terrorism, such as ricin, a toxic chemical made from castor seeds.
“We keep seeing these incidents all over the place. We have ricin incidents occurring here in the United States pretty frequently,” said George.
THREAT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
According to the Bulletin, the evolution of AI also poses threats across multiple sectors. Biological risks now include people using AI to design new pathogens for which humans have no effective defenses. The United States, Russia and China are incorporating AI across their defense sectors, despite the potential dangers of such moves.
The Bulletin specifically criticized the Trump administration for revoking a previous executive order on AI safety. The board stated the move reflects a “dangerous prioritization of innovation over safety.”
The board also warned that AI “hallucinations” can generate misinformation and undermine the fact-based public discourse required to address global threats.
“We are living through an information Armageddon that’s brought by the technology that rules our lives,” said Maria Ressa, Cofounder and CEO of Rappler and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. “Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without these three, we have no shared reality. We can’t have journalism. We can’t have democracy, the radical collaboration this moment demands becomes impossible.”
CALL TO ACTION
By moving the clock forward, the Bulletin hoped to encourage experts and average people to exert pressure on leaders and governments “to do the right thing,” John Mecklin, the Bulletin’s editor-in-chief, said in an interview
“National leaders—particularly those in the United States, Russia, and China—must take the lead in finding a path away from the brink. Citizens must insist they do so,” the group’s statement said.
For example, grassroots movements and private sector pressure in the past have demanded government action to switch to cleaner renewable energy, which is now more economical and convenient than fossil fuels, said Ines Fung, Bulletin Science and Security Board member.
In closing, members of the Science and Security Board urged the public around the globe to ensure that government action is sufficient to counter the existential threats facing society.
“The destruction has happened. We’re standing on the rubble of the world that was. Now it’s time to create, to build the world we want that is more compassionate, more equal, more sustainable,” said Ressa.
Lawmakers question health insurance CEOs on rising costs
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers grilled five health insurance CEOs at a hearing Thursday, with Republicans and Democrats agreeing that U.S. health care costs are rising, particularly after the expiration of COVID-era tax credits.
The CEOs hailed from UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Elevance Health, Cigna Group and Ascendium, among the nation’s largest health insurance companies.
Ascendium CEO Paul Markovich and UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley broke with their peers, arguing that higher input costs, not insurer behavior, are driving price increases. When asked if his firm is actually doing enough to lower prices for consumers, Markovich said, “No, because it just costs too much.”
“The cost of health care insurance fundamentally reflects the cost of health care itself,” Hemsley said. “It is more an effect than a cause.”
Lawmakers pushed back, citing vertical integration, which is when a single company controls multiple parts of the health care supply chain. Rep. Greg Murphy, R-MD., called the practice “disastrous and criminal.”
“I don’t want to hear about the fact you’re not taking profits,” Rep. Murphy said. “We know how money gets moved around in these companies. The C-suite executive salary compensation is a slap in the face to the average American who goes bankrupt because they cannot afford health care.”
Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., pressed the executives on their multimillion-dollar pay.
“I’m wondering if you support the notion of, say, a public option where we’d have some bureaucrat making, say, $250,000 a year, 1% of the $25 million you guys make,” Rep. Moore said.
All five CEOs said they support Trump-backed transparency reforms aimed at cracking down on fraudulent enrollments and holding insurers accountable for coverage denials. Still, the committee chairman rebuked them.
“Its a shame it’s taken a congressional testimony for you all to put patients over profits,” Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo.
Despite bipartisan agreement that costs are rising, lawmakers split sharply over the cause. Democrats argued that prices have climbed since Republicans, at President Trump’s urging, allowed federal health care subsidies to expire.
“A theme of this Congress has been Republican silence,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass. “As our colleagues on the other side rubber-stamp everything that the president says and does.”
Republicans blamed health care costs on the Affordable Care Act, enacted under President Barack Obama in 2010.
“After 15 years of a Democrat-created health system under Obamacare, prices have only gone up, not down,” said Rep. Smith. “To be fair, blame can also be directed at federal mandates, draconian pricing rules and open-ended subsidies intended to expand coverage and make it more affordable. Over time, these policies in many cases have had the complete opposite effect.”
In its written testimony submitted ahead of the hearing, UnitedHealth said it will provide rebates to customers enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans in 2026.
Latest in Environment
Experts discuss climate communication and local climate action
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted their 50th Climate Conversations event on Tuesday at the National Academy of Sciences Building.
read moreWildfire bill sparks partisan clash at House hearing
WASHINGTON — Wildfire legislation aimed at reducing fire risk exposed partisan divisions Tuesday, as Democrats used a House Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing to criticize the Trump administration.
California’s Palisades and Eaton fires exploded within hours of each other on Jan. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles County. The wildfires charred 59 square miles and claimed 31 lives.
In response to this fast-moving natural disaster, the House introduced the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) on Jan. 16, 2025. The legislation aims to improve forest health and mitigate wildfire spread through active forest management. It passed the House with bipartisan support on Jan. 23, 2025, and now awaits a vote in the Senate. Yet, at Tuesday’s hearing, it sparked major partisan debate and broader concerns about wildfire response.
One of the key features of the bill would remove impediments to logging, including provisions that promote prescribed burning and forest thinning in fire-prone areas. Experts say the legislation will give the U.S. Forest Service permission to begin projects with little public oversight.
Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee, Jared Huffman, D-Calif., urged the committee to have a more nuanced conversation. He said that logging alone will not mitigate wildfires.
“There is a notion that there’s this simple thing if we just fix our forests, we’ll all be safer from catastrophic wildfire,” Huffman said. “Those scenes in Los Angeles right there had very little to do with forests.”
Huffman agreed that some aspects of the FOFA could help in proactive fuel management, but rejected the idea that timber harvesting would make communities safer, calling it a false narrative. He pointed instead to infrastructure and shrub vegetation as key factors in the Los Angeles fires.
Yet, several Republican representatives argued that forest management is an effective strategy against wildfires. They instead attacked environmental regulation, including the National Environmental Policy Act, for delaying fire management efforts.
“The environmental laws adopted in the 1970s made active land management all but impossible. So nature has now returned to do the gardening her way by burning it out,” Tom McClintock, R-Calif. said.
Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., agreed, arguing that unmanaged forests would inevitably burn.
“We have the ability to manage properly, including burning but also including grazing, harvesting, and shouldn’t we be using some of that wood to be able to build homes right here in America rather than importing that wood from other countries?” Tiffany said.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats focused on other issues. In his opening statement, Huffman condemned the administration for damaging the agencies that manage public land.
“I would love to bridge this disconnect where we say we care about these things, but we will never ask any hard questions of the Trump administration, even as it runs roughshod over the budgets and the agencies that we count on to do these things,” Huffman said.
Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., said the timing of the hearing was troubling, citing the administration’s failures and what she described as “profound mismanagement” of the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“It is difficult to take hearings like this seriously or to meaningfully discuss solutions when the administration charged with disaster response continues to hollow out FEMA and fails the communities that depend on it,” Dexter said.
Ranking member of the subcommittee Joe Neguse, D-Colo., did not ask any questions to the witnesses. He did not view this as a hearing scheduled in good faith, as the administration refused to approve disaster declarations for multiple wildfires that had occurred within the last year.
“I just have to be candid with you that I find it very difficult to take my colleagues on the other side seriously right now,” Neguse said. “If they were serious about wildfire resiliency, wildfire mitigation, assisting communities, they could start by joining us in convincing the Trump administration to grant these disaster declarations.”
Republican representatives did not address these concerns in Tuesday’s hearing. If FOFA passes in the Senate, the bill would be sent to the president for approval.
Is climate change a losing message for Democrats?
WASHINGTON — With the United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and environmental regulations being dismantled under the Trump administration, Democrats are reexamining whether climate change still resonates in American politics.
Earlier this week, the United States officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a global treaty adopted in 2015 to combat climate change. That followed major environmental rollbacks, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to ignore health costs in air pollution considerations, and the Trump administration’s dismantling of climate research facilities.
Despite President Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to roll back climate change action, some Democrats seemed reluctant to use the issue to appeal to voters, which dismayed some of the party’s strongest climate advocates.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, posted a thread on social media platform X last week calling on his party to continue talking about climate, despite setbacks.
“When leaders don’t talk about something, enthusiasm falls among voters. In politics, you can often make your own wind, or you can make your own doldrums,” Whitehouse posted.
Other Democrats see climate change as a losing message in a polarized political landscape. Last fall, Democratic Party-aligned think tank Searchlight Institute concluded that elected leaders’ best strategy in battleground states should be to stop talking about climate change entirely. “[V]oters are looking for immediate help with rising costs rather than solutions to abstract problems,” according to Searchlight.
Their study found a 50-point gap between Democrats and Republicans in whether they consider climate change a top concern. Among Democrats, 71% considered it a high priority, compared to 21% for Republicans.
Yet despite all Trump’s efforts to dismantle programs to address climate change, a growing silence on climate change messaging has been felt nationwide. A recently published biannual report, Climate Change in the American Mind, found that only 17% of Americans say they hear about global warming in the media “at least once a week,” the lowest percentage since the question was added in 2015.
This study, co-published by Yale and George Mason climate communications researchers, explored why climate messaging has struggled and how it can better connect with the American public. Its findings were based on a national representative survey.
They said politicians should improve at informing voters how climate change impacts everything they care about, from health care to energy prices.
According to their Fall 2025 report, 64% of Americans said they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming. Yet even among liberal Democrats surveyed, global warming was only a mid-tier priority when it comes to determining who to vote for in the 2026 congressional elections.
John Kotcher, one of the report’s primary authors and interim director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, said part of that disconnect stems from the fact that voters don’t immediately recognize how climate change has affected their lives.
“The issues that people say they do care the most about, like the economy, cost of living, healthcare: those are all affected by climate change,” Kotcher said. “And so really it becomes, then a question of, how do we connect climate change to the things that people care about?”
Kotcher believed that instead of framing climate change as a distant threat, addressing how it currently affects American communities could help make more voters care.
“When you draw those connections, even those individuals who maybe aren’t fully convinced that climate change is something they should care about, they start tuning in and listening and getting more interested in the issue,” Kotcher said.
Kotcher explained that climate change is not the political loser that some elected officials make it out to be. Their Fall 2025 report finds 59% of registered voters want to vote for a candidate who supports action on climate change. Only 13% say they want to vote for a candidate who opposes action on climate change.
A Pew Research Center 2024 report showed that majorities across party lines backed policies addressing climate change, including tax credits for carbon-capture technology. Further, Trump’s recent climate rollbacks have been deeply unpopular. For example, 77% of registered voters opposed ordering all federal agencies to stop researching global warming.
For Kotcher, talking about climate change remained an urgent issue.
“You need a whole chorus of different voices talking about the issue, not just climate scientists, not just politicians, but a whole host of different actors who are affected by this, whether it’s health professionals or business executives,” Kotcher said.
Whitehouse urged Democrats to keep fighting and speaking out on climate change despite their past track record in climate messaging. The solution isn’t staying silent.
“There’s not a binary choice between crap messaging and abandoning ship,” Whitehouse posted over X. “There’s a fight to be had, while there’s still time.”
Latest in National Security
Despite ongoing violence, Israel-Syria relations ease under U.S. involvement
U.S.-facilitated Israel-Syria coordination is emerging as a possible stabilizing force — but lawmakers/witnesses repeatedly tied it to fears about minorities and whether the new Syrian government can be trusted.
read moreChina’s “lawfare” campaign threatens to marginalize Taiwan
WASHINGTON –– Experts on China-United States relations warned Wednesday that the U.S. had failed to respond to Beijing’s escalating campaign of “lawfare” and political coercion to marginalize Taiwan.
Lawfare refers to legal action taken as part of a hostile strategy against a country or group.
“The People’s Republic of China is using law not merely to justify force, but to substitute for it through legal and quasi-legal means,” said Julian Ku, a professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University.
The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the Chinese Communist Party highlighted a bipartisan concern that China’s campaign against Taiwan goes beyond military threats and that legal efforts like economic coercion and targeted propaganda isolate Taiwan diplomatically. Witnesses cautioned that if Congress and the administration focus only on preventing armed invasions, Taiwan risks losing its sovereignty and legitimacy before any military conflict even occurs.
“If U.S. policy focuses only on deterring invasion, it will miss how Beijing is already changing the status quo against Taiwan and in its favor,” Ku said.
Witnesses discussed how Beijing has persistently distorted United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, which transferred China’s seat at the UN from the Republic of China government in Taipei to the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. This resolution recognized the mainland as the only legitimate representative of China. However, witnesses argued that the resolution addressed representation, not sovereignty. It did not explicitly state that Taiwan is part of the PRC, nor did it determine Taiwan’s international legal status.
“Resolution 2758 did not determine Taiwan’s international legal status,” said Ku. He warned that repeated bureaucratic references to Taiwan as a “province of China” from Beijing in legal documents and state media have normalized this claim.
Shirley Kun, an independent Indo-Pacific security specialist and former Congressional Research Service analyst, described the effort as political warfare.
“This distortion of reality is political warfare,” Kun said. “It’s more than just a diplomatic annoyance.”
Kun said Beijing has paired its lawfare strategy with economic and informational pressure, including export bans and targeted sanctions often timed around elections. She warned that U.S. defense planning must account for sustained coercion and not just a potential 2027 military timeline.
Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, testified that Beijing’s lawfare tactics have accelerated.
“The PRC’s use of peacetime coercion against Taiwan is vastly increasing in scope and scale,” Rapp-Hooper said. “[Its purpose] is to demoralize the people on Taiwan so that they conclude that their status quo is untenable and they must submit to the PRC.”
Several lawmakers pointed to the Trump administration’s December approval of an $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan (the largest in history) as evidence of continued U.S. commitment. The package includes advanced systems such as rocket launchers and drones. Republican lawmakers especially described the arms sale as a clear effort of deterrence and protection to Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“I commend the president for approving this historical sale and sending a clear message to China that the United States and this administration stands against their coercion and backs the people of Taiwan,” said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky.
However, Ku cautioned that military assistance alone does not counter what he says is a “parallel erosion” of Taiwan’s standing in legal and institutional areas.
“I don’t think the United States in any administration has sided with Taiwan,” Ku said. “Effective deterrence must deny not only invasion but coercive success below the threshold of armed conflict.”
Witnesses urged Congress to reaffirm the Taiwan Relations Act, an agreement that defined unofficial relations between Taiwan and guarantees U.S. protection, to reduce the risk of misinterpretation and reinforce longstanding bipartisan policy foundations. They argued that countering Beijing’s campaign would require attention not only to missiles and military drills but also to language and institutional practices.
“Taiwan has a single threat and adversary, and that is the People’s Republic of China,” Rapp-Hooper said. “Taiwan’s most important partner is the United States.”
Lawmakers urge engagement with Turkey to remove Russian forces in Syria
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers at a U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing Tuesday spotlighted Turkey as a key regional partner in efforts to remove Russian forces in Syria.
“An increased military presence by Turkey and northern Syria naturally puts the Russian presence under pressure and on path for total removal,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., chairman of the Helsinki Commission.
Turkey has controlled the northern part of Syria since 2016 through its Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. It has interfered with several Russian operations, including plans to target Idlib, a city in Syria, aimed at eliminating groups opposed to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Lawmakers said the U.S. must cooperate with Turkey to counter Russian aggression and restore American credibility in the region.
However, the U.S. alliance with Israel complicates foreseeable cooperation with Turkey, given ongoing tensions between the two Middle Eastern countries. Turkey repeatedly criticized Israel for its assault on Gaza, with President Recep Tayyip calling Israel a “terror state” in 2023, while Israel has said it wants to keep Syria as a buffer zone. This leaves the U.S. with two options — side with one country or find a way to maintain both alliances.
Lawmakers discussed solutions to maintain both alliances with experts calling for engagement-based policies rather than maximum-pressure tactics like sanctions.
“If, in fact, by enticing and engaging our allies like Turkey and the Gulf to come in… we can get economic investment and economic stabilization and reconstruction going,” said Richard Outzen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “We start a virtuous cycle that actually lowers the tension among the different Syrian groups but also among our occasionally fractious allies.”
Tensions may not subside with all allies, however. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., pointed to ongoing U.S. tensions with NATO, which she said could help the U.S. coordinate with Turkey. Michael Doran, senior fellow and director at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, responded that NATO does not play a large role in Middle Eastern conflicts.
“The European allies in this scenario are going to play a secondary role,” Doran said. “There’s been a pretty clear distinction since the Suez Crisis — the Europeans take care of European security, and the United States and its Middle Eastern allies take care of Middle Eastern security.”
Beyond partnering with regional allies, the committee emphasized that the U.S.’s main focus should be on internal reform to Syria’s military and economy. Following the fall of Assad in 2024, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa initiated numerous projects to stabilize Syria, including the construction of the Damascus Towers City, the expansion of the Damascus airport and the development of a subway system.
However, the committee addressed issues regarding Syria’s dependence on Russia for resources used for al-Sharaa’s projects. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, focused on Russian wheat and oil, asking how the U.S. can provide a stable supply chain.
Anna Borschevskaya, the Harold Grinspoon senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that much of the Russian resources are “stolen from Ukraine to begin with.”
A few lawmakers raised concerns about whether Syria’s new regime will not fall into the same predicament seen during Assad’s time in office. Ellzey asked whether Al-Sharaa could be trusted, to which Outzen responded that “no trust should come into play when talking about the Middle East.”
“The quickest way to protect all of them is to institutionalize and reform the Syrian military,” Outzen said. “…Then we can trust.”
Latest in Living
Amid anti-ICE protests, peace-marching Buddhist monks deliver a non-controversial message to thousands in DC
Buddhist monks walked across the country from Texas to DC in the name of peace. They concluded the 2,300-mile journey this week, and shared messages that experts say are up to interpretation.
read moreAmid anti-ICE protests, peace-marching Buddhist monks deliver a non-controversial message to thousands in DC
WASHINGTON — Tears welled in Cynthia Flanders’ eyes Wednesday as she reflected on a group of Buddhist monks’ walk to promote peace. Wearing a beanie that read “it’s okay not to be okay,” Flanders traveled from her Michigan hometown to the Washington region solely for this experience.
“When I heard that they were marching to remind us of the peace that each one of us has, every time I say that, it brings tears to my eyes because I’m so touched by that reminder, you know?” Flanders said. “I’m here to get back in touch with a warm, soft, less brutal heart, and remember we’re all connected.”
The monks’ 4-month, 2,300-mile walk journey to DC came at a time when anti-ICE protests have popped up around the country, but the monks avoided political comments about ICE or anything else, Brandon Dotson, a Georgetown University professor of Buddhist studies, said in an interview with the Medill News Service.
“I think we can interpret it in that context and say, ‘Well, this is an opportune time to talk about non-violence, to talk about peace, when we do have so many voices in our country that are promoting violence,” Dotson said. “But I don’t think that [the monks] are necessarily leading us to that conclusion.”
In fact, their public statements at a Lincoln Memorial ceremony on Wednesday afternoon did not advocate particular religious principles, but rather urged kindness and mindfulness practices.
“Love and kindness does not need power, money, or a title,” said Walk for Peace leader Bhikkhu Pannakara as he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial. “It is simply the choice to stop before hurting, to sharpen before speaking, If each person takes just one second to ask, will this hurt anyone? The world would already be kinder.”
Dotson said this nonpolitical approach may protect them from potential criticism.
“For their sake, I hope that they’re not going to be too politicized, just because it is dangerous in our country, especially as an immigrant and as a foreigner, to be putting your head above the parapet,” Dotson said. “So I think what they’ve done has been very skillful.”
Regardless of what prompted them, Flanders said she was touched by the monks’ reminders of peace during this moment in politics that has frustrated her.
“I’ve been really, quite filled with anguish about what is happening in our country and how people feel so divided,” Flanders said. “My heart has felt very brittle and in anger about things that I feel are unjust.”
Flanders and longtime friend Amy Moore have engaged in transcendental meditation, a practice that draws from Buddhist principles, since attending Iowa’s Maharishi International University 50 years ago. Moore, who lives in Utah, was compelled to travel across the country to support the monks. After meeting up in DC, the two friends spent three days walking alongside the monks.
“I’ve been following the monks and I have been praying for peace forever,” Moore said, arm in arm with Flanders.
Moore was one of the first people to arrive at the monks’ first DMV appearance at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday. She said that as she watched the crowd grow, a warm and joyful energy was “palpable.”
After concluding their march in Maryland on Thursday, the marchers posted to Facebook: “Every welcome, every smile, every offering, every prayer, and every step you took with us brought us to this beautiful moment of completion today.”
In Photos: ‘Walk for Peace’ Buddhist monks complete Unity Walk on Embassy Row
WASHINGTON — On the 108th day of their walk across much of the U.S., a group of Buddhist monks arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the final leg of their ‘Walk for Peace’.
The monks, who began their pilgrimage in Fort Worth, Texas, described the walk as a spiritual journey promoting peace, compassion and unity.
After an interfaith ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral, the monks were joined by others for a Unity Walk down Embassy Row.
D.C. police escorted the monks down the street with cars, motorcycles and police bikes.
Latest Business
Energy officials remain optimistic on AI data centers while electricity rates climb
Policymakers and executives gathered last week for the 2026 Energy Policy Outlook Conference, where AI data centers were top of mind.
read moreEconomists clash over price controls in addressing affordability challenges
WASHINGTON — As Americans struggle with the affordability crisis, a panel of top Democratic‑aligned economists at the Center for American Progress on Tuesday debated whether price controls should be the centerpiece of an affordability agenda.
The think tank gathered the economists at a time when people want leaders who will address the affordability crisis because of “the underlying sense that things that are really important for middle class life, including health care, housing, child care, just the price of goods food, are just increasingly much more expensive and increasingly out of reach,” said Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.
The economists disagreed about whether price control would be an effective policy to address affordability concerns. In the panel, Neale Mahoney of Stanford and Bharat Ramamurti, formerly of the White House National Economic Council, said that carefully designed, time-limited price caps on essentials like rent, utilities and insulin could provide immediate relief.
“I see price controls as a bridge, not a destination. I don’t think we should be aspiring for a world where we’re using price controls all the time, but we have to accept the fact that we’re in a world where affordability is front of mind for people and creating real harm in their everyday lives,” said Mahoney.
On the other side, Tara Sinclair of George Washington University and Ben Harris of Brookings Institution countered that price controls risk repeating past mistakes by creating shortages, distorting price signals, hiding inflation and attacking the suppliers. They urged policymakers to instead build more housing and energy supply and expand income-based support such as extended child tax credit.
The child tax credit allows eligible taxpayers to reduce their federal income tax liability by up to $2,200 per qualifying child, which is indexed to inflation.
Harris emphasized that the credit was enormously effective at addressing affordability concerns for families, especially after the pandemic. “And you can design that much easier to go to exactly the people who need it most,” said Harris.
He also specified that such policies could be created in a revenue-neutral way so it doesn’t spark excess demand and could be implemented on any level of the government with a taxing authority.
Opposingly, Ramamurti pointed to the $35 Medicare insulin cap as proof that well-designed price controls on essentials can be both popular and effective.
“I think that often the choice is, should we do a pairing of a temporary price control with the supply side measure, or should we do nothing? Or should we just keep waiting and biding our time, letting the supply side issue worsen in the process to reach that perfect political moment?” he said.
He also pushed back on the idea that such measures always get extended, noting that they can be time-limited. Ramamurti cited Mexico’s post‑COVID experience, where aggressive caps on gas and groceries helped contain costs and contributed to the incumbent party’s reelection.
“And as somebody who’s sitting here living through the second Trump administration, I wish that we were a bit more open minded than the Biden administration about those types of aggressive maneuvers,” said Ramamurti.
However, Sinclair contended that the insulin price cap addressed a unique market failure and exemplified the benefit of highly specific, interventionist policies. She warned that using such a model as a blueprint for housing or electricity would be problematic, as general price controls fail to address the more complex, systemic issues inherent in those broader sectors.
“Nothing is not the other option here,” said Sinclair. “Those [alternatives] allow those demand signals, like the normal economic models of putting money in people’s hands, letting them spend it on what they want and where they want it.”
Tesla, Waymo execs testify in Senate’s self-driving vehicles debate
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers questioned Tesla and Waymo executives about the safety and privacy of their self-driving cars at a Senate Commerce, Science, & Technology Committee hearing Wednesday.
Rules on self-driving cars currently differ state-to-state, and lawmakers from both parties agreed that Congress should implement federal regulations — though they remained concerned about the safety and privacy of autonomous vehicles.
Chairman and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, expressed support for self-driving cars because they can’t drive drunk or distracted, which are leading causes of collisions. Cruz also said as a father of teenage girls, he “can’t wait for the day” that autonomous vehicles allow his daughters to avoid the risk of sexual harassment.
But lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns over safety, pointing to a series of incidents in Austin, Texas, where Waymo robotaxis failed to yield to school buses more than two dozen times.
“Safety is our top priority,” said Dr. Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer. “We are working with the Austin Independent School District to collect data on different lighting patterns and different conditions, and we’re also incorporating those learnings into our systems.”
Peña also defended a separate incident in Santa Monica, Calif., where a Waymo vehicle struck a child who suffered minor injuries. He said Waymo’s analysis found that the robotaxi avoided what would have been a more serious accident if a human were driving.
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey introduced the “Stay in Your Lane Act” to address automotive vehicle safety. The bill would require manufacturers to define the driving conditions in which their systems are safe to operate, so that they would be prohibited from driving in unsafe conditions.
Sen. Cruz said he’s worried the disjointed state-by-state regulations could inhibit American development, allowing China to take the lead.
“If Congress fails to act, we are not going to stop innovation. We will simply push it elsewhere,” Cruz said.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-OH., shared this concern and pressed Peña on employing foreign-manufactured vehicles.
“You said in your testimony that we’re locked in a race with China. It seems like you’re getting in bed with China,” Moreno said.
Peña countered by saying that by having a stable auto supply, Waymo is helping the technology scale faster, which gives the U.S. an advantage over China in innovation. Moreno called it “completely ridiculous” that this is helping the American economy.
A second bill championed by Markey, the AV Safety Data Act, would mandate more vehicle data to be reported, such as mileage and incidents on the road. Markey said transparency should be a prerequisite to federal regulations.
“We need more honesty from the industry,” Markey said.
Both bills remain in committee review.
SOTU: Health Care
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Congress should approve his plan to replace Obamacare with a new health care program that would provide “affordable alternative” insurance options and criticized Democrats for trying to impose “a socialist takeover of our health care system.”
“A good life for American families requires the most affordable, innovative and high-quality health care system on earth,” Trump said in his third State of the Union address.
Trump said he has proposed health care plans that would be up to 60% cheaper than the Affordable Care Act plans. Both the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond when asked if a specific replacement plan has existed or ever will.
The president blamed Democrats for not providing the American people with the health care reforms he has promised.
“As we work to improve Americans’ health care, there are those who want to take away your health care, take away your doctor, and abolish private insurance entirely,” said Trump, referring to the Democrats.
Democrats stood up at this comment, pointed their fingers at Trump and shouted “YOU.”
Trump said 130 Democrats endorse legislation to impose a “socialist takeover” of the health care system by “taking away the private health insurance plans of 180 million.”
Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are pushing for a “Medicare for All” plan that would end private health insurance while other candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are pushing to expand on Obamacare.
“We will never let socialism destroy American health care,” Trump said.
Trump emphasized the administration’s efforts to protect patients with pre-existing conditions, to which Democrats threw up their hands and shook their heads in disagreement. Led by House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate and House Democrats brought more than 80 patients, doctors and health care advocates from across the country as guests to the speech.
“President Trump will speak to an audience filled with Americans who are suffering because of his broken promises on prescription drug costs and his all-out assault on Americans with preexisting conditions,” Pelosi said in a press release Tuesday morning.
The president also called upon Congress to pass legislation to lower prescription drug prices.
“Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay,” the president said.
Democrats responded to this by booing and holding up three fingers to represent H.R. 3, legislation proposed by the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate certain drug prices. The bill has been on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk for over a month after being passed in the House.
Generic prescription drug prices dropped 1% in 2018, the first price drop in 45 years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump said it was the first time in 51 years. Brand-name drug prices, however, are still increasing.
Trump said the administration will continue to make health care more transparent by requiring hospitals to make their prices negotiated with insurers public and easily accessible online. He also pointed to the passage of administration-backed legislation called “Right to Try,” which allows terminally ill patients access to drugs not fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration if they feel they have tried all other options.
He also said he has launched new initiatives to improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer’s and those struggling with mental health challenges, in addition to pursuing new cures for childhood cancer and AIDS.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday afternoon to further discuss Trump’s health care policies and overcoming pharmaceutical barriers in particular.
Trump Sticks By Wall in State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s call for a wall to secure America’s southern border in his State of the Union address Tuesday night was no surprise to opponents.
Jennifer Johnson, the policy director at the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said Trump continually characterizes the southern border as a violent area.
“More of a reality check, these are families and children seeking protection, fleeing spiraling violence and poverty,” she said.
Chris Montoya, who served as a Customs and Border Protection agent for 21 years, said that “crime rates are pretty low in border cities. Being a border patrol agent is one of the safest law enforcement jobs. All those things together means a safe border.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., invited as his guest a mother who had been separated from her children at the border.
Other Democrats brought undocumented immigrants as their guests, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
Rep. Sheila Jackson, D-Texas, was enthusiastic about their attendance at the address. “Their presence here today is representative of the big tent that America is,” she said.
In his address, Trump attributed what he called at crisis at the border to America’s “reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools, and hospitals that are so crowded you can’t get in.” He referenced San Diego and El Paso as being cities that were once violent, and now safe with the addition of physical barriers.
Trump also mentioned the prevalence of MS-13 within the country. “They almost all come through our Southern border,” he said.
Montoya said MS-13 members do enter through the southern border on rare occasions, but it is uncommon for CBP agents to make an arrest.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin is the ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee for Border Security and Immigration. He said nothing changed in Trump’s rhetoric. “If we’re waiting on him, we’re not going to get this solved,” he said.
Washingtonians alternately protest, celebrate the State of the Union
WASHINGTON – DC-area residents had very different reactions to President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address Tuesday night. But whether they celebrated or denounced the event, emotions were strong.
Around 40-50 people gathered at each of two intersections near the Capitol ahead of the address — far fewer than the 400 people who protested last year, according to Resist DC, the community action group that organized both years’ protests.
People lined the sidewalks along the streets that President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump cabinet members’ motorcades were expected pass by. They held homemade signs lit with string lights so they would be visible to government officials in their cars and chanted anti-Trump messages to music and drums.
Eileen Minarick, 70, said she was protesting simply “because the state of our union is terrible.”
Elsewhere in the city, local bar patrons gathered to drink beer, compete in presidential bingo and watch the State of the Union.
Grassroots activist group CODEPINK hosted a number of guest speakers, including actor Danny Glover, for a lively discussion before the main event. Topics ranged from the Bolivarian revolution to ending domestic violence.
Anita Jenkins, spokeswoman for Stand Up for Democracy, riled the crowd with a call to establish the District of Columbia the 51st state in the United States.
“The people of D.C. have no representation… We have nobody to speak for us,” she said. Modifying the words of America’s early founders, she said, “Taxation without representation is a rip-off.”
As President Trump appeared on the projector, shouts of disapproval rose from the bar patrons. The State of the Union 2019 had begun and the energy was energetic in its moroseness.
Across town, the atmosphere was also charged. Members of DC Young Republicans and Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans filled a restaurant for a celebratory viewing party.
“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall… but the proper wall never got built,” said Donald Trump. He paused and then said, “I’ll get it built.” Hoots and hollers erupted in the bar and two girls were seen smiling and hugging each other.
Though Trump stressed unity in his national address, DC-area residents remained divided in their reactions.
2020 Candidates Alternate Cheers, Hisses to Trump Wall, Immigration Proposals during State of Union
WASHINGTON – Several Democratic 2020 presidential candidates expressed their displeasure with many of President Donald Trump’s policies during the State of the Union address Tuesday.
Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., could be seen shaking their heads when Trump mentioned controversial topics such as his commitment to building a border wall and the dangers of migrant caravans heading to the U.S. southern border.
Harris, who announced her candidacy on Jan. 21, shook her head and visibly mouthed, “They’re not,” as Trump said, “Large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States.”
In a Facebook Live address before the State of the Union, Harris told viewers, “It’s a moment for a president to rise above politics and unite the country with a vision that includes all Americans, not just the ones who may have voted for them. It’s a moment to bring us together.”
Early in the address, Harris was often reluctant to give Trump a standing ovation, asking her colleagues, “Really?” as they cheered the president’s comments about space exploration.
The candidates and their Democratic colleagues booed and hissed as Trump labeled the numerous investigations into his campaign finance and relationship with Russia “ridiculous partisan investigations.”
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,” he said. “It just doesn’t work that way!”
Democrats cheered later as Trump mentioned that women have filled 58 percent of new jobs in the past year. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, pointed at the newly elected House Democrats, who stood up and chanted, “USA, USA.”
“I think he didn’t realize that all the female jobs he created were for [congresswomen],” Gillibrand said after the speech.
The Democratic candidates stood and applauded with everyone in the chamber when Trump recognized World War II veterans, a SWAT team member and a childhood cancer survivor.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sat stoically as Trump denounced socialism. Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, is widely considered likely e to enter the presidential race. Unlike Sanders, Gillibrand and Harris stood and applauded as Trump said, “America will never be a socialist country.”
TRUMP STRIKES CHORD WITH WOMEN, FALLS FLAT ON BIPARTISAN BORDER WALL PITCH
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump got one of his biggest rounds of applause during his State of the Union address Tuesday night when he noted that Congress now has a record-high number of elected women, but it wasn’t lost on the crowd that when the women rose to cheer they were mostly on the Democratic side of the aisle.
“Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before,” Trump said as the women lawmakers rose to clap and celebrate. He then advised them “Don’t sit. You’re going to like this.”
“Exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than at any time before,” he said. There were 117 women elected to Congress in 2018.
Bipartisan chants of “USA! USA!” filled the chamber as both the Democrats and Republicans broke into uproarious applause. Many of the Democratic women wore white and donned pins that read “ERA YES,” in a nod to the women of the suffragette movement.
Trump called his list of priorities “the agenda of the American people” in his second State of the Union address Tuesday, which was delayed a week because of the 35-day government shutdown, which didn’t end until the previous Friday. The address was the first the president has delivered before the new Democratic majority in the House.
The president remained on-script for the duration of the 84-minute speech and touted his administration’s achievements from the past two years. He also laid out several legislative priorities going forward, including a “smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier,” an infrastructure bill and the eradication of HIV and AIDS.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., was glad that health care was a topic in the speech, while Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., described the speech as “terrific.”
“We haven’t gotten that right when it comes to protection our citizens with pre-existing conditions, correcting all the problems and costs associated with the ACA,” French said. “I like that he kept an emphasis on that while also tackling the prescription drug process.”
For Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., laying out these broad initiatives wasn’t enough.
“I wrote down a number of initiatives — defense spending, cancer research, transportation, infrastructure — and never heard anything of how we’re going to pay for them,” he said.
The president also pushed his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and to reduce drastically the number of troops in Afghanistan.
Among Democrats, reactions were mixed as Trump highlighted his achievements. When Trump lauded the U.S. increase in gas and oil production, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has championed a Green New Deal to address accelerating climate change, remained seated.
Many Democrats applauded Trump’s push for a new infrastructure bill and decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who sat behind Trump with Vice President Mike Pence, was clearly following a printed version of the speech. She applauded when Trump mentioned criminal justice reform and bipartisan efforts on lowering drug costs and furthering women’s rights.
After praising a recent bipartisan effort to secure criminal justice reform, Trump shifted to a project he said would require the same bipartisan effort: a southern border wall.
“Simply put, walls work and walls save lives,” he said. “So let’s work together, compromise and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”
However, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was not encouraged by the president’s attempt to strike a bipartisan tone.
“I just don’t think he is to be trusted,” she said. “This is not a president who is working for the middle class of this country.”
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said that while parts of Trump’s speech were good, he was too combative at times.
“There should have been more emphasis on the fact that the government was shut down and we all need to work together to bring it back,” he said. “Blaming the Democrats is not going to keep the government open.”
Freshmen members of Congress excited, disappointed at their first State of the Union address
WASHINGTON — Before attending his first State of the Union address, Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, D-N.J., felt a sense of excitement and joy, but also feared the president might once again fan partisan flames by rehashing controversial issues.
“I hope that right now, he doesn’t talk about closing the government again. I hope he doesn’t talk right now about declaring a national emergency. I would so much rather see that we try to work together and get something done. That requires flexibility on Democrats side as well. Both sides have to do this,” said Van Drew.
Partisanship is the reason the approval rating for Congress is so low, but issues like border security, and infrastructure deserve cooperation between the two parties, said Van Drew.
“Rather than just argue and disagree and investigative and be hurtful on both sides, maybe we can actually get something get done.”
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Chris Pappas, D-N.H.
Although having been full-fledged members of Congress for a little over a month, the freshmen class of senators and representatives still retains a “sense of awe” about the State of the Union address, said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H. Pappas said he hoped Trump would strike a conciliatory tone with Democrats, allowing lawmakers to avoid a second government shutdown.
Pappas brought a transgender military veteran from his home state to hear the president as a symbol of his hope that Trump’s transgender military service ban will be lifted.
“That doesn’t make us any safer and in fact plays politics with the military,” he said.
In addition to passing social justice reform, Pappas said he would like Trump to speak about the opioid crisis, prescription drug costs and infrastructure — and Trump did.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.
In Illinois Rep. Sean Casten’s dreams, Trump’s State of the Union address would make climate change a priority, but said his expectations were low. Trump did not in fact mention the environment.
“Truth is what I hope he doesn’t say is what I fear he will say,” Casten said, “which is that he’s going to threaten to shut down the government again if he doesn’t get a wall.”
Casten’s guest was Julie Caribeaux, the executive director of Family Shelter Service, which receives federal aid and provides support for victims of domestic abuse. He said domestic violence victims are some of the “primary victims” of Trump’s rhetoric.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-NY, was hoping for a message of bipartisanship and unity, things that “the American people are calling for.” Trump did call on Congress to act together on many issues.
Brindisi’s top priorities this year are trying to find common ground with the Republicans on immigration reform, infrastructure and lowering prescription drug costs. On infrastructure, he said he specifically wanted to hear Trump’s ideas on investing in job training programs. Trump mentioned all the issues, but with little specificity except that he wants a border wall and enforcement to stop what he called “caravans of migrants” heading to the southern border.
“Those are things that I talked about during the campaign that many people back in upstate New York are calling for and those are things I hope he does say,” Brindisi said.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev.
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., said she gets excited every time she walks onto the House floor, and Tuesday was no exception. Although there were parts of the speech she did not agree with, namely Trump’s insistence on a border wall, Lee said she appreciated the call for bipartisanship.
Lowering prescription drug prices, investing in infrastructure and a comprehensive border control strategy — these are all components of his speech Lee said she could agree with.
“These are all ideas I can get behind and they work together to produce some results for American families,” she said.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Rep. Deb Halaand, D-N.M.
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., said she was dismayed about Trump’s urgency regarding funding for a border wall.
“I wasn’t surprised. Let’s put it that way about the president’s speech. I mean, of course, we don’t want a wall,” said Halland. “He instilled fear and everybody about the danger, you know, the danger that’s coming across the border.”
Haaland hopes to focus on promoting awareness about climate change and wished the President would be more receptive to the diverse issues and people around the country.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., said he enjoyed his first State of the Union in a historical sense, but wanted President Trump to address issues he feels are important, including raising the minimum wage and healthcare.
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill.
He said while the president did mention lowering prescription drug costs, there was another area of healthcare that was not noted, such as the millions who do not have healthcare at all.
“He wrapped himself around a lot of patriotism and recognition of your courageous battles and victories and but in the end, I think he failed to address important things more,” Garcia said.
Post-SOTU Interviews with Illinois Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowski and Cheri Bustos
Our Alex Lederman sat down with Illinois Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowski and Cheri Bustos after the State of the Union to hear their thoughts on President Obama’s address.
Schakowski — Evanston’s congresswoman since 1999 — said “(Obama)’s vision of what makes our country strong was so human and so true.”
Bustos said Obama is focused on the future — our children and grandchildren — and working together to solve the nation’s problems.
Medill’s State of the Union night on social media
Medill on the Hill produces live State of the Union broadcast
WASHINGTON — It was the third day of reporting for the 21 students in Medill on the Hill. It also happened to be the day the president would deliver his final State of the Union address.
Months ago, buoyed by the excitement of the possibilities and the folly of youth, some of us came up with the idea of taking Medill on the Hill to a new level — producing live TV while also finding new ways of storytelling for the website and social media.
On State of the Union night, Jan. 12, the Washington web team led by Alex Duner and Celena Chong managed the flow of copy and constant web updates streaming in from reporters around Capitol Hill and elsewhere in D.C. There also was a constant stream of @medillonthehill tweets and snapchats as well as several Periscopes.
Tyler Kendall, Allyson Chiu and Shane McKeon were responsible for the main story, and Chiu said the experience was, “the highlight” of her journalism career.
“It was hectic, crazy and we were definitely all running on adrenaline by the end of the night,” she said.
Other reporters were assigned to stories on specific issues the president mentioned, or how local college students reacted to the speech. One even tweeted the speech in Spanish.
My task was to produce the Washington end of a live television broadcast.
Nine months ago Jesse Kirsch came back from 2015 Medill on the Hill with an idea for Carlin McCarthy, another producer with the Northwestern News Network, and me.
He said, with the optimism of a television anchor, that for the 2016 State of the Union we should produce a live broadcast with analysts at our home studio in Evanston and reporters in our D.C. bureau and on Capitol Hill. I said, with the skepticism of a television producer, that I thought he was crazy.
It took long nights, patience and a lot of support from the Medill faculty and staff, but we pulled it off.
Jesse opened the show in Evanston and before we knew it Isabella Gutierrez was doing a live hit from the Washington bureau. Then we were live in Statuary Hall with Noah Fromson, followed by a live report from graduate student Ryan Holmes on what to watch for just minutes before we streamed the live feed of President Barack Obama addressing a joint session of Congress for his final State of the Union.
We did a live interviews with Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, wrote scripts while we counted down the seconds until they were read and gathered quotes from senators and members of Congress. Alex Lederman also provided quick-turn video interviews with two congresswomen.
Associate Producer Geordan Tilley, who interviewed Durbin, was nervous before the show, but she said she is proud of the Medill effort.
“I thought the show was some of our best work, Tilley said. “Especially considering how many firsts were involved, not the least of which was our first time going live.”
Medill Today | Wednesday, February 12, 2026
Amid anti-ICE protests, peace-marching Buddhist monks deliver a non-controversial message to thousands in DC
by Melody Xu | February 12, 2026 | Featured, Living | 0 Comments
Buddhist monks walked across the country from Texas to DC in the name of peace. They concluded the 2,300-mile journey this week, and shared messages that experts say are up to interpretation.
Senators slam Trump nominee for racist, antisemitic rhetoric ahead of confirmation vote
by David Sun | February 12, 2026 | Featured, Politics | 0 Comments
Jeremy Carl, President Trump’s appointee for assistant secretary of state for international organizations, faced intense criticism over his history of anti-semitic and racist beliefs.
Amid anti-ICE protests, peace-marching Buddhist monks deliver a non-controversial message to thousands in DC
by Melody Xu | February 12, 2026 | Featured, Living | 0 Comments
Buddhist monks walked across the country from Texas to DC in the name of peace. They concluded the 2,300-mile journey this week, and shared messages that experts say are up to interpretation.
As shutdown looms, testimonies conflict between DHS officials and Minnesota Attorney General over ICE violence
by Isabel Papp | February 12, 2026 | Featured, Politics | 0 Comments
On the brink of the Friday funding deadline, DHS and Minnesota testify in front of a Senate committee regarding ICE action.
House Democrats scrutinize ICE tactics, demand accountability
by Gloria Ngwa | February 12, 2026 | Featured, Immigration | 0 Comments
Democrats and witnesses call out ICE’s aggressive tactics amid Trump’s immigration crackdown and call for reforms.