Senator Chris Van Hollen

Tomorrow, the Senate will take a key vote on the $1.1 TRILLION defense bill.

It not only fails to rein in Trump’s Iran war, it also has a provision touted by PM Netanyahu to MANDATE more U.S. defense cooperation with Israel.

None of this is in our national security interests. I will vote NO.

▶

Trump has tried to pit Americans against one another to distract from the real fight: the fact that he and his billionaire buddies are rigging the system against workers.
 
We must call it out at every turn.

▶

Blanche can't keep it straight.

I said it once, I'll say it again: Acting AG Blanche isn't acting on behalf of the American people. He's ACTING like he's still Trump's personal lawyer.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Blanche slips! 😬 KENNEDY: Are you and President Trump friends? BLANCHE: I'm his lawyer. Was his lawyer.

▶

As data centers & heat waves strain our grid & Americans risk power blackouts, Trump is stalling clean energy across the country, including a MD offshore wind project that could power over 700k homes.
 
Trump's attacks on clean energy are hurting Americans & their pocketbooks.

To Trump, rigging the midterms is more important than helping end our housing crisis.

While millions can barely afford to make rent, let alone own a home, Trump still refuses to sign our bipartisan housing bill to help address this crisis.

Tells you what you need to know.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Q: What are your plans for the housing bill? TRUMP: I don't know. I think it's so unimportant when compared to the SAVE America Act. It's very bipartisan. That means the Democrats like it.

▶

Students with disabilities are students first. For 50 years, the Dept of Education has been tasked with ensuring students with disabilities have the opportunity to learn & grow.

The Trump admin's decision to move that responsibility to HHS & DOJ will only hurt these students. It's shameful.

▶

Less than two months ago, Blanche committed to meeting with survivors of Epstein's abuse.

Today, all the sudden, he says he can't.

What changed?

▶

For 146 days, Trump & Republicans have told us, against all evidence, that the next strike, the next week, the next month will bring victory in Iran.

That kind of logic is how forever wars begin.

When you're digging yourself into a hole, the best way out is to stop digging.

▶

How many people must die & how high must prices go before Trump & his admin see this is a senseless war? 

Tomorrow, Hegseth will have to answer for this mess. And I'm working to bring up my war powers resolution this week to put every Senator on record.

End it now.

▶

Palestinian pediatrician, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, has spent 18 months in Israeli prisons without trial or charge. His lawyer reports his life is in immediate danger, following torture and poor treatment in prison.
 
He must be released immediately.

Detained Gaza doctor almost unrecognisable after injuries in Israeli jail, lawyer says

Hussam Abu Safiya faces ‘tangible danger to his life’ following 18 months in prison without charge or trial

It is sickening that the President would downplay the loss of 18 American soldiers killed during his ongoing Iran war & brag about how it’s not AS bad as some of the other disastrous American wars he promised he'd never repeat.

Trump is using an unprecedented web of nonprofits, cultural organizations, and other groups to stash away over half a billion dollars for his corrupt policies and pet projects, donated by corporations & the ultra-rich.
 
This is corruption on a scale we've never seen before.

The Mystery Money Powering Trump’s Second Term

The president and his allies have built a network of groups financed by wealthy donors and businesses that is advancing his priorities with little public disclosure.

Netanyahu is simply lying here when he says there has been transparency about these killings.

We have been seeking justice for 9 Americans, including Saif Musallet, killed by settlers or Israeli security forces on the West Bank in the last 4 years.

In none of these deaths has justice been served.

▶

Trump continues to use his pardon power as a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for his political allies.
 
From Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police to financial fraudsters to polluters — it seems there’s no crime he won't pardon.
 
He's making a complete mockery of our justice system.

Trump pardons a major donor and violators of the Clean Air Act

The pardons continue a pattern in President Donald Trump’s second term of railing against the Biden administration while granting clemency to political allies and donors.

ICE shot & killed 2 more people within a week, bringing the total to 10 since Trump's return.

We know from the cases of Renee Good & Alex Pretti, that DHS will lie to avoid accountability.

We must get the truth and end this killing spree.

▶

🚨 Nearly 1 million people who invested in Trump's crypto coin have lost a combined $3.8 BILLION so far.

But while they lost money, Trump made millions. In 2025 alone, he raked in $636 MILLION from his crypto coin.

Scamming people to pad his profits, that's the story of Trump's presidency.

▶

Today's hearing with Secretary Hegseth confirmed the Iran war is a war in search of a mission.

Hegseth talks a lot about 'winning,' but given multiple chances to explain what winning means, the best he could do was rehash disproven talking points.

This war must end, NOW.

▶

After losing in court, the Trump admin is now threatening election officials in Maryland and across the country to get access to voter rolls.
 
This is yet another outrageous attempt to sow doubt in our democracy & intimidate states.
 
We must hold the line.

marylandmatters.org/2026/07/08/j...

Justice Department threatens Maryland's top election official with criminal charges - Maryland Matters

Maryland's top election official is being threatened with criminal charges by the Justice Department, the latest effort by the Trump administration to pressure state elections officials and cast doubt...

The Trump admin has restored gun licenses for a number of gun stores that were found to be selling to minors, convicted felons, & more.

Gun violence has taken too many lives in America, anyone found to be enabling it should not be let off the hook, they should face justice.

Gun shops who lost licenses under Biden got them back under Trump | CNN Politics

Nearly a dozen stores that had their licenses revoked under Biden have now been allowed to sell firearms again under Trump, a CNN investigation found.

Last Sept, Trump & Lutnick leaned on the Kazakh president to get mining rights for a startup called Kaz Resources. Around the same time, their sons were investing & working a deal.

Now the admin may give Kaz up to $1.6 BILLION in govt loans, directly helping their investment.

Endless corruption.

Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.

Just last week, the Trump admin halted the project to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. Now, they're all too happy to stroke Trump's ego & put his face on a coin.

Our currency should honor the best of America, not those who've done everything to destroy its founding promise.

We will fight this.

US Mint to begin producing $1 coins featuring Trump

The newly unveiled coin appears to skirt around restrictions on living presidents gracing currency.

Not enough people are paying attention to this. The UAE is fueling the civil war in Sudan, arming the RSF who the Trump admin admits is committing a genocide. And yet, this admin refuses to hold them accountable.

We should be asking why.

x.com/nickkristof/...

Since his first admin, Trump has been trying to stop our efforts to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

Tubman is an American hero — a giant of our history — who singlehandedly freed hundreds of enslaved people.

I won’t stop fighting to honor her with this deserved recognition.

Treasury scraps plans to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill

The Treasury Department has scrapped plans for Harriet Tubman to be on the $20 bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday. In response to a question about the status of the bill from Spectr…

I’m thinking of the 2 American soldiers killed, those injured, & the 1 still missing after yesterday’s attack in Jordan. I am praying for them & their loved ones.

This senseless war should never have been started and it needs to end NOW. 

www.axios.com/2026/07/18/i...

Two U.S. troops killed in Iranian missile attack on Jordan

They are the first combat deaths since fighting resumed in recent days.