U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

Big Tech Is Jeopardizing Your Data Privacy. Here’s How Congress Can Protect It.

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

When you are online, you are the product. Data on every website you visit, video you watch, post you share, or message you send is collected and monetized. While relying on the mass collection of Americans’ personal and private information, this business model has made social media companies among the most valuable on earth. Yet for years, Americans have had few safeguards to protect their “virtual you,” jeopardizing their privacy and exposing them to the predations of fraudsters, criminals, and even foreign actors.

As far back as 2014, a single data broker reported to the Federal Trade Commission that it held information on 1.4 billion consumer transactions and over 700 billion data elements. Another broker’s database covered approximately $1 trillion in consumer transactions. Fast forward ten years and the problem had only magnified. In 2024, the FTC reported that none of the nine social media and streaming companies it studied—including Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok—provided a complete list of the third parties with which they shared user information. Many even collected personal information on non-users, meaning that Americans who took care to avoid these platforms could still have their data stored by them.

Online platforms use artificial intelligence to analyze the data they collect to infer biographical information on users, including their marital status, household income, location, and hobbies. Yet many lack written retention or deletion policies, leaving Americans with little ability to control their personal data once it has been collected.

This mass invasion of Americans’ data privacy poses serious risks to their safety, especially from foreign criminals and state actors. The 2024 FTC report noted that social media platforms shared users’ personal information with third parties located in other countries, including Communist China and Hong Kong. A year earlier, researchers at Duke University discovered that personal information about thousands of U.S. service members—including their addresses and health conditions—could be purchased from data brokers for as little as 12 cents per record. Cybercriminals routinely target the companies that collect such data, with 2025seeing more than 3,300 data breaches or exposures that generated 278 million victim notices.

Americans—not Big Tech—should be in charge of their data, which is why I have led the fight in Congress for more than a decade to establish a national privacy standard. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, I led the Data Security and Breach Notification Act, bipartisan legislation that would have required entities holding Americans’ personal information to maintain security protections and to notify consumers following a data breach.

In one of my first acts as a U.S. Senator in 2019, I wrote to the FTC urging the agency to investigate Google and Facebook for potential privacy and data-security violations after several consumer data breaches. On Data Privacy Day in 2021, I reintroduced theBROWSER Act to require platforms to disclose their privacy policies in plain terms and to give consumers a real choice to opt in before sensitive data is collected or shared. And in 2020 and again in 2021, I joined Senator Wicker (R-Miss.) in introducing theSAFE DATA Act, comprehensive federal privacy legislation designed to give Americans greater control over their personal information, increase transparency, and strengthen data-security requirements.

Across my time in Congress, I have also led the effort to hold Big Tech accountable for treating children as a profit source and monetizing their information with little or no oversight. As Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, I helped lead a 2021 hearing examining children’s online privacy and manipulative marketing practices. The following year, Senator Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and I introduced the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act to ensure that online platforms are safe for children by design. This legislation passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee last month, and we look forward to getting it to President Trump’s desk as soon as possible.

Through it all, I have remained committed to establishing a national data privacy framework. Ten years after I introduced the Data Security and Breach Notification Act in the House, I chaired a hearing for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law examining how a national data privacy framework can protect Americans’ personal information across state lines, empower consumers, and promote responsible innovation.

Americans have every right to protect their privacy—whether in the physical world or the virtual space. Big Tech has repeatedly failed to protect it. It’s on Congress to finally take action.

Blackburn, Warner Reintroduce Bill to Increase Transparency of Medicare Advantage Benefits for Seniors

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the Medicare Advantage Supplemental Benefits Transparency Act, legislation that would require Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to publicly report the supplemental benefits they offer and the extent to which beneficiaries use them.

“Transparency in Medicare Advantage plans is long overdue,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Medicare Advantage Supplemental Benefits Transparency Act would ensure beneficiaries receive the full value they’ve been promised by requiring plans to publicly report the supplemental benefits they offer and how often seniors actually use them.”

“We need clear and accessible data in order to properly evaluate the effectiveness of the Medicare Advantage program,” said Senator Warner.“This legislation will make sure we can ensure the sustainability of Medicare and better evaluate plans, so seniors have the best coverage for their needs.”

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the use of Medicare Advantage has skyrocketed, with more than half of eligible beneficiaries nationwide choosing to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. However, there is currently no statutory requirement to specifically report on supplemental benefits, making data on available benefits and their utilization unreliable. Senator Blackburn’s legislation would ensure this information is available to understand beneficiary use of supplemental benefits and their impact on the sustainability of the Medicare program.

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS TRANSPARENCY ACT

Specifically, the legislation would require Medicare Advantage plans to report enrollee-level data on supplemental benefits to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as report eligibility for benefits, the types of benefit categories offered, and data on utilization of and payments for such benefits. There is currently no statutory requirement to specifically report on supplemental benefits, making data on available benefits and their utilization unreliable.

Click here for bill text.

Blackburn Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Prison Staff Heads to President Trump’s Desk

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed her bipartisan legislation, the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act, to help address the increasingly pervasive sexual assault and harassment of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees by inmates:

“No law enforcement officer should have to fear for their safety when they show up to work,” said Senator Blackburn. “I am pleased the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act—which will help us end the appalling sexual abuse of prison staff by inmates—has passed the House and is heading to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.”

This legislation is also co-sponsored by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). Representative Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

BACKGROUND

According to a February 2023 report by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG), a staggering 40% of 7,000 surveyed BOP staff stated they had been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by an inmate.

At United States Penitentiary Thomson in Illinois, there were over 300 incidents of inmate-on-staff sexual harassment in a single year. USP Thomson houses only 875 inmates.

The DOJ OIG report, combined with BOP staff testimonials on this troubling problem, strongly suggests that BOP’s reporting and corrective procedures for inmate-on-staff sexual assault and harassment are inadequate, creating an institutional culture that lacks accountability and endangers BOP employees.

THE PRISON STAFF SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ACT

The Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act will require:

The BOP to fully implement the recommendations in the Inspector General’s 2023 report regarding mitigating inmate-on-staff sexual harassment and assault and to fully ascertain the scope of the problem;

The DOJ OIG to conduct an analysis of punishments for sexual harassment and sexual assault in BOP facilities; and

The U.S. Attorney General to promulgate a rule adopting national standards for prevention, reduction, and punishment of sexual assault and harassment of BOP staff by inmates.

Click here for bill text.

ENDORSEMENTS

This legislation is endorsed by the American Correctional Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Council of Prison Locals 33.

RELATABLE

Blackburn, Ossoff Introduce Bill to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Prison Staff

Blackburn, Ossoff Launch Inquiry to Protect Federal Prison Staff from Sexual Assault and Harassment

After Meta’s Historic Settlement, Congress Must Protect Children Online

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

For years, Big Tech has treated our children as nothing more than a profit source while exposing them to appalling harms. Now, the industry is beginning to face accountability.

In a historic settlement with 47 states, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties to resolve claims that it designed its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, to foster harmful addiction among minors. The Big Tech giant also agreed to implement several safeguards for children, including a default two-hour time limit for minors, restrictions on push notifications during school hours, and the ability for teenagers to turn off autoplay.

This settlement is a victory for parents across the country who have fought for accountability after losing their precious children to social media harms, and the bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general who secured the settlement deserve tremendous credit. More than anything, it shows that Meta is terrified of accountability in open court, settling the case in just the second week of trial before CEO Mark Zuckerberg could testify.

It should come as no surprise that Meta wanted to avoid a prolonged trial. For years, my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee have heard from parents, child safety advocates, and whistleblowers who have provided overwhelming evidence that the Big Tech giant has put profit over children’s safety, fostering addiction among minors while turning a blind eye to the consequences. During the California trial against Meta earlier this year, Zuckerberg testified that there is no link between prolonged social media use and worse mental health outcomes—yet the company’s own research showed the exact opposite. Internal Meta documents revealed that 100,000 children on Facebook and Instagram were receiving sexually explicit messages from adults each day, yet top executives refused to adjust algorithms to end the abuse. While Zuckerberg repeatedly testified before Congress that children under the age of 13 are not allowed on Meta’s platforms, other internal documents showed that the company developed “social products” to target children as young as six.

The reason is simple: Meta wanted to keep children doomscrolling as long as possible. The more time minors spent on its platforms, the more data the company could collect to sell to advertisers. Now, for the first time, Meta will be required to implement substantial restrictions on how often and how long children can spend on its platforms.

While the changes imposed under this settlement are a first step toward giving kids and parents the tools they need to take back control of their online lives, we can’t stop here. Under the settlement, Meta is only required to implement safety measures for 10 years, and other social media companies are not currently covered. While states can attempt to force changes company-by-company through litigation, only Congress can establish a uniform national standard governing how online platforms must protect children by designing with safety in mind.

My bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month, would save lives by ensuring safety by design isn’t optional for Big Tech companies. At the heart of the legislation is a duty of care requiring all social media platforms to prevent foreseeable dangers to children, including sexual abuse, illicit drugs, and self-harm.

Almost every industrial sector has safety by design standards—whether you’re buying a toaster, driving a car, or flying on a plane. The virtual space is the lone exception. When children are online, they have no protections from drug dealers, sexually explicit material, or human traffickers. The Kids Online Safety Act would ensure that they do.

In the weeks ahead, I look forward to bringing this legislation to the Senate floor for a vote and ensuring that every child has the protections they need and deserve.

Blackburn, Duckworth Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Counter Communist China’s ‘Gray-Zone’ Aggression Against Indo-Pacific Partners

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve our nation’s capabilities to counter the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) intimidation and coercion tactics in the Indo-Pacific, which actively threaten the safety of our partners in the region as well as our national security. Known as ‘gray-zone tactics,’ these actions are aimed at disrupting regional stability while stopping just short of armed conflict—a dangerous strategy that sets the stage for even harsher intervention by the PRC in the future. The Senators’ bipartisan Countering Gray Zone Aggression by the People’s Republic of China Act would direct the State Department to enhance cooperation with our Indo-Pacific partners and better address the growing threat of PRC aggression in the region.

“Communist China is constantly devising ways to evade detection and act maliciously towards our allies through cyberattacks, economic coercion, information warfare, and other ‘gray-zone’ tactics that undermine the U.S. and our allies without using open military conflict,” saidSenator Blackburn. “This legislation would strengthen our ability to counter the CCP’s malign geopolitical interests and its increasingly aggressive tactics in the Indo-Pacific.”

“Increasing PRC aggression in the Indo-Pacific doesn’t just impact our partners in the region—it threatens America’s economic and national security,” said Senator Duckworth. “We are Pacific nation, and we depend on a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the PRC works to undermine regional stability through its gray-zone tactics, our bipartisan bill would help ensure the U.S. better coordinates with our partners and deters these efforts that pose a real threat to our security.”

BACKGROUND

Over the past several years, an emboldened China is intensifying its aggression in the South China Sea and the Strait of Taiwan; ramming Philippine vessels, enhancing maritime capabilities, building artificial islands and deploying various other economic and military coercive methods just shy of armed military conflict – otherwise known as gray-zone tactics. These actions are designed to exploit ambiguity to pressure U.S. Indo-Pacific allies and partners, and advance the PRC’s core geopolitical interests, at the calculated risk of potential kinetic escalation.

COUNTERING GRAY ZONE AGGRESSION BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ACT

The bipartisan Countering Gray Zone Aggression by the People’s Republic of China Act would increase U.S. monitoring and deterrence capabilities of gray-zone tactics by the PRC, enhance public oversight of these tactics, and increase cooperation with Indo-Pacific allies by:

Directing the Secretary of State to submit a strategy for better monitoring PRC behavior in the Indo-Pacific and identify relevant branches, programs and actors to enhance Indo-Pacific oversight.

Requiring the task force to track, formulate and strengthen tools for the purpose of countering and mitigating gray-zone operations and evaluate progress and performance indicators to report back to Congress.

Instructing the Department of State to identify additional key areas for collaboration with our Indo-Pacific allies and partners and with private stakeholders, with the intent of strengthening our collective capabilities to deter this aggression by the PRC, to the benefit of U.S. national interest, the global economy and those in the region.

Click here for bill text.

Blackburn, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Restore State Authority Over Insurance

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently reintroduced the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act. The legislation would abolish the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, returning sole regulatory authority over the insurance industry to the states.

“Insurance regulation has long been, and should remain, a responsibility of the states,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act would eliminate unnecessary federal overreach, cut red tape, and return power to the states.”

“The Federal Insurance Office is a redundant, ever-expanding, unaccountable entity that infringes upon states’ authority to regulate the insurance industry,” said Senator Cruz. “This legislation will rein in bureaucratic overreach by the federal government and empower state regulators to focus on what is best for consumers in their states.”

“The Federal Insurance Office does not need to exist. It’s an Obama-era expansion of the federal bureaucracy created to intrude on states’ rights,” said Senator Lee. “Our bill will formally abolish this needless expense and return insurance regulation to the states, where it has always belonged.”

BACKGROUND

In 1945, Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act, solidifying states’ regulatory authority over the insurance industry. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which granted the FIO specific financial stability, monitoring, and international responsibilities. However, these responsibilities duplicate functions within an industry that has long been regulated at the state level and traditionally overseen by state insurance regulators.

The Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act would eliminate the FIO and restore primary regulatory authority over the insurance industry to the states.

Click here for bill text

Blackburn & Blumenthal Statement on Meta’s Landmark $17 Billion Settlement in Case About Social Media Harms to Kids

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement after Meta reached a landmark settlement with 47 states and agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties over claims it harmed children with social media addiction:

“This massive settlement shows how terrified Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are of accountability in open court. We applaud the bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General for forcing Meta to start paying a real price for the harm its products have caused an entire generation of young people. The product design changes imposed under this settlement are a first step toward giving kids and parents the tools they need to take back control of their online lives, but they can be strengthened. Meta notes that these terms are only required to stay in place for 10 years—we must ensure permanent change. We also need safeguards that apply across the board—to all social media companies—not just Instagram and Facebook. This settlement once again demands that Congress pass the Kids Online Safety Act into law before the end of the year.”

Blackburn and Blumenthal are the lead sponsors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would provide kids and parents with better tools to protect themselves online, hold Big Tech accountable for harms to kids, and provide transparency into black box algorithms. The legislation has 75 total co-sponsors and was approved by the Senate in a bipartisan 91-3 vote last Congress.

President Trump’s Border Enforcement Is Delivering for the American People

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Tennesseans and Americans across the country want to feel safe in their own communities, and there is no better way to ensure that happens than enforcing the rule of law—especially at the southern border. Since returning to office last year, that is exactly what President Trump has accomplished, ending Biden’s border crisis and securing incredible wins for the American people.

Under the last administration, cartel profits soared as criminal organizations exploited our open border to ramp up their trafficking operations. Thanks to President Trump’s strong border enforcement, human-smuggling related transactions fell 62 percent in 2025 compared with the year before, the Treasury Department announced last week. In July, the Department of Homeland Security recorded its 15th straight month of zero illegal aliens released into our country, while border apprehensions were down 96 percent from their peak under Biden.

With the border secure, the administration has focused on apprehending criminal illegal aliens and removing them from our country. This month, an ICE investigation led to the sentencing of a criminal illegal alien from Colombia who stole the identity of a U.S. citizen to gain residency in our country for more than 20 years and vote in multiple elections. The agency also lodged an immigration detainer against a 47-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who committed a hit-and-run against multiple pedestrians in downtown Nashville, leaving two victims in wheelchairs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, meanwhile, recently filed an opening brief in its fight to reinstate human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the criminal illegal alien Democrats championed as a hero after the administration moved to deport him last year.

As of May, the administration had deported close to 900,000 illegal aliens, while 2.2 million chose to leave our country rather than face deportation proceedings. This effort is especially important as our country continues to deal with the consequences of Biden’s open border. Just last week, police in northern Virginia arrested a Salvadoran illegal alien—who was released into our country by the Biden administration in April 2024—for stabbing and murdering a 42-year-old mother on a jogging trail near her home.

The American people want such violent criminals removed from our country. Yet Democrats are continuing to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens. According to a new report, Democrat legislators across 32 states have introduced more than 240 bills supporting illegal aliens. Among the measures: prohibiting federal law enforcement from wearing masks and protecting themselves from doxxing, banning ICE officers from government property, and preventing the administration from opening new detention facilities.

The reason is simple: Democrats want to abolish ICE. They don’t believe in immigration enforcement. In fact, they don’t believe we should have a border at all. If given the opportunity, they would roll back all of President Trump’s progress and take our country back to the Biden years that saw millions of illegal aliens pouring across our border.

The good news: Republicans are in charge—and there is nothing that will stop us from keeping our border secure, deporting criminals, and enforcing the rule of law.

Blackburn, Colleagues Introduce Bill to End Federal Funding for Harmful Gender Transition Research on Minors

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and several of their Senate colleagues recently introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act to prohibit the use of federal funds for any research or publication promoting gender transitions for minors. The legislation would shield American children from permanent medical and psychological damage, in line with President Trump’s agenda to keep tax dollars from funding child mutilation.

“Taxpayers should not be spending a penny on research done by those who want to push harmful gender transition surgeries and radical gender ideology on our kids,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act would prohibit the use of federal funds for any research or study on gender transition surgeries for minors.”

“Why is the federal bureaucracy in the child mutilation business?” said Senator Lee. “Americans don’t want to pay millions for these disturbing studies where hundreds of kids are experimented on with puberty-blocking drugs. President Trump rightly halted this attack on America’s kids. Our bill will codify his agenda to keep federal dollars out of gender transition research involving minors.”

“God creates every child male or female in His perfect image,” said Senator Lankford. “For too long, taxpayers have been forced to fund sex-rejecting studies on kids. The result has been irreversible physical harm, mental health crises, and families torn apart. President Trump has led the effort to shut down these grants across the federal government, and Congress needs to make it permanent. This bill ensures that not one more taxpayer dollar funds research designed to harm children.”

This legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). It is endorsed by Students for Life Action and the American Principles Project.

BACKGROUND

Between 2019 and 2023, nearly 14,000 children were prescribed puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones, and more than 5,700 were subjected to surgical procedures like mastectomies or genital reassignment.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14187, directing our government to stand up for these victims and restrict funding, programs, and health coverage for these procedures.

PROTECTING OUR KIDS FROM HARMFUL RESEARCH ACT

Specifically, the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act would prohibit the use of federal funds for any research, observational study, or publication relating to gender transitions in individuals under the age of 18, which is conducted for the purpose of affirming a minor’s asserted identity or perception of his or her sex, if such is incongruent with the minor’s biological sex.

Click here for bill text.

Blackburn, Blumenthal Press TikTok for Intentionally Withholding Safety Features From Children

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to TikTok regarding a recent report that the social media company endangered children by knowingly withholding an algorithmic safety measure from millions of American users to determine whether the safeguard would reduce engagement on its platform.

In the letter, Senator Blackburn and Senator Blumenthal requested a prompt response to a detailed list of questions, including whether TikTok conducted a risk assessment before the experiment, what the results of the experiment were, and how many U.S. users TikTok has placed in experiments that withheld safety features. Senator Blackburn and Senator Blumenthal’s Kids Online Safety Act would require social media platforms like TikTok to design their products with child safety in mind.

New Report Reveals TikTok Conducted Harmful Experiment on 15 Million U.S. Users

“According to reports, TikTok developed changes to its recommendation algorithm intended to prevent users from being repeatedly and intentionally exposed to potentially harmful content, including videos concerning sadness, loneliness, extreme dieting, and other sensitive subjects. In December 2021, TikTok publicly announced that it was testing ways to avoid recommending clusters of similar content that could be harmful when viewed repeatedly. TikTok did not disclose, however, its depraved decision to intentionally withhold these protections from approximately 10 percent of its U.S. users—a control group that reportedly represented approximately 15 million Americans at the time… TikTok appeared fixated on whether the safety measure would affect user engagement or the ‘stickiness’ of the platform —trying to put the price tag on safety. Even more troubling, this control group, presumably intentionally, included minors.”

TikTok Intentionally Disabled Safety Filters for a 16-Year-Old Who Later Died by Suicide

“One of those minors was 16-year-old Chase Nasca. According to an internal TikTok report, Chase was placed into a ‘backtest’ experiment in January 2022, meaning that TikTok’s ‘filter bubble prevention strategies did not take effect on this user by design.’ In the weeks that followed, TikTok reportedly recommended Chase thousands of videos involving themes of sadness, hopelessness, loneliness, suicide, and self-harm. Chase died by suicide in February 2022. TikTok’s own internal review reportedly examined the 7,563 videos Chase viewed during the final two weeks of his life and found that 73 percent contained themes such as sadness or personal struggles, while nearly 10 percent violated TikTok’s own policies. TikTok intentionally withheld from Chase the exact safety protections that were developed to interrupt precisely this deluge of abuse.”

Despite Warning, TikTok Actively Pushed Videos on Self-Harm, Suicide, and Eating Disorders to Children

“These revelations are appalling, but they are made even more sinister because TikTok was on notice about the effects of its recommendation algorithms on children. In 2021, we spearheaded a series of hearings examining the repeated failures of social media companies to protect children online. On October 26, 2021, our Subcommittee on Consumer Protection convened a hearing at which TikTok testified before Congress about the safety of its platform. At that time, we raised concerns that social media platforms were prioritizing engagement and profit over the safety of children and that recommendation algorithms could drive young users into increasingly extreme and harmful content. Those concerns were not hypothetical. At the hearing, we discussed reports of children being pulled into algorithmic ‘rabbit holes’ involving extreme dieting, eating disorders, and other harmful material. TikTok was directly confronted with evidence about the precise danger at issue here: recommendation systems repeatedly serving harmful content to children. At the time, we requested documents from TikTok about its research and data on teenage mental health issues—in response, TikTok sent the Subcommittee screenshots of its website and publicly-available third-party reports. Yet just months later, your company nevertheless decided that millions of users could be denied an available safety protection in order to measure the effect that protection would have on engagement… The reported decision to intentionally withhold an available safety intervention from minors underscores why voluntary promises from companies like TikTok are insufficient and why meaningful transparency and accountability are necessary.”

Click here to read the full letter.

Under Trump, Crime Is Plummeting in Memphis and Across the Country

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Nationwide, crime is plummeting. Since last year, homicides are down 18 percent, reaching their lowest rate since at least 1900—126 years. Meanwhile, burglaries have dropped by 13 percent, robberies by 17 percent, and carjackings by 47 percent. For millions of Americans, this has meant safer streets, fewer victims, and peace of mind for their families.

This trend is a victory for the American people—and a direct result of President Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement resources where they are needed most, including right here in Tennessee.

Last week, I had the honor of visiting the Memphis Safe Task Force joint command center and meeting with leaders of the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, and Shelby County police departments. Their message was clear: By coordinating local, state, and federal resources, the task force has been remarkably effective at getting violent criminals off the streets and transforming entire neighborhoods for the better.

Just two years ago, Memphis was the most dangerous city in America, averaging more than one murder per day—worse than Bogota, Mexico City, and Islamabad. It’s why, when I met with now-FBI Director Kash Patel ahead of his Senate confirmation vote, I asked him to surge federal law enforcement to Memphis to help get this crime crisis under control. Since launching last year, that’s exactly what the task force has accomplished, making more than 11,000 arrests, apprehending more than 1,200 known gang members, locating 185 missing children, and seizing more than 2,000 illegal firearms. As a result, downtown Memphis is being reinvigorated with new businesses and restaurants while the city invests $74 million in public safety infrastructure to ensure that the Beale Street Historic District remains one of the nation’s top tourist destinations.

This dramatic turnaround is only possible because the Trump administration has empowered law enforcement officers to do their jobs. Few people are more essential to this effort than our nation’s chief law enforcement officer, the U.S. Attorney General. That’s why, earlier this month, I was honored to vote to confirm Todd Blanche to lead the U.S. Justice Department.

Mr. Blanche comes to the position with tremendous experience, having already served as Deputy Attorney General and Acting Attorney General. In his time at the department, he has played a big role in the success of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which was one of the many reasons I voted to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Blanche affirmed to me that Memphis will remain a top priority for his department and will serve as “a poster child of what we should do in cities across this country.”

To that end, the Justice Department recently announced a Model Cities Initiative that will replicate the incredible success we’ve seen in Memphis by distributing $300 million in public safety funding to American cities, and I look forward to working with Attorney General Blanche to ensure that Tennessee continues to lead the way in fighting crime.

When I talk to Tennesseans, they want to make certain that our laws are enforced, that criminals are locked up, and that their communities are safe. With the Memphis Safe Task Force and initiatives across the country, the Trump administration is delivering exactly that.

Congress Just Took a Big Step to Protect Children Online. We Must Finish the Job.

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Chase Nasca had his whole life ahead of him. He was a star soccer player and honors student at his high school in New York. He loved spending time with his family, and had no history of mental health issues. But at the start of 2022, his friends noticed a disturbing change in his behavior. Before, Chase would share amusing, lighthearted videos from TikTok. But almost overnight, he started to send them posts about suicide. Within a month, Chase killed himself by walking in front of a train near his home. He was 16 years old.

When Chase’s parents gained access to his TikTok account, they discovered that the app had for weeks fed him a steady stream of pro-suicide posts until the day he died, including videos that glorified killing oneself by stepping infront of an incoming train. What his parents did not know at the time was that TikTok intentionally disabled safety features for Chase—and 15 million other U.S. users—that would have prevented these posts from flooding his feed.

According to internal company documents obtained by Bloomberg, TikTok rolled out safety features for some users but withheld them from Chase and millions of others to determine whether their new guardrails would decrease user activity on the platform. In other words, they refused to protect Chase until they knew how much it would affect their bottom line. After blocking the safety features from his account, TikTok’s internal report found that Chase’s feed became a “filter bubble” pushing on him thousands of videos on mental health struggles, self-harm, suicide, and depression.

Such blatant negligence by a multibillion-dollar corporation is appalling. But it marks just the latest example of how Big Tech has repeatedly put profit over children’s safety.

Earlier this year, juries in New Mexico and California found that social media companies have designed their platforms to addict minors—no matter the consequences. During the New Mexico trial, prosecutors revealed that Meta decided to encrypt messages on its platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, even though employees warned that the move would enable child predators. Internal documents disclosed in the California case, meanwhile, showed that the Big Tech giant actively recruited underage users—despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s assurances to Congress that children are not allowed on the platforms.

Like Meta, TikTok repeatedly lied about the safety of its platform. Just two months after completing an internal report on Chase’s death, the social media company told members of Congress that it “does not believe that use of the platform has caused users to commit suicide,” adding that “the safety of the TikTok community is of the utmost importance to TikTok.”

It’s far past time for Big Tech to face accountability. That’s why, last week, the Senate Commerce Committee passed my bipartisanKids Online Safety Act, which would require social media companies to make their platforms safe for children by default. At the heart of this legislation is a duty of care that would compel platforms to prevent foreseeable harms to children, including sexual exploitation, self-harm, and illicit drugs. Without that duty of care, Big Tech will maintain the status quo and continue to design products that addict, exploit, and harm America’s children.

Enforcing a duty of care has earned the support of 76 bipartisan Senate co-sponsors who understand that Americans are not interested in hollow reforms that allow Big Tech’s business model to remain intact. We cannot leave online child safety to chance by delaying action or by passing toothless reforms.

In the coming weeks, the entire Senate will have the opportunity to pass this legislation and help send it to President Trump’s desk. When we do, the Senate will send a clear message to Big Tech: the era of profiting off our children is over.

Blackburn & Blumenthal Celebrate Commerce Committee Passage of Bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation’s passage of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) by voice vote:

“For years, heartbroken parents have demanded Congress take action to protect America’s children from Big Tech’s exploitation, and today is a major victory for the courageous families who refused to give up,” said Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal. “The Senate has repeatedly shown that there is broad, bipartisan support for a version of KOSA that creates a duty of care to protect kids from online predators, addictive algorithms, and harmful product design. We want to thank our large, diverse, and determined coalition for standing with us today, and we look forward to getting this bill to the President’s desk.”

BACKGROUND

Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal first introduced KOSA in February 2022, following reporting by the Wall Street Journal and after spearheading a series of five subcommittee hearings with social media companies and advocates on the repeated failures by tech giants to protect kids on their platforms.

The Senate version of KOSA would require platforms to enable the strongest privacy settings by default, force platforms to prevent and mitigate specific dangers to minors, provide parents and educators new controls to help protect children, and require independent audits and research into social media companies.

More information about KOSA can be found here, and a list of some 240+ organizations that have endorsed the bill can be found here. Statements of support from stakeholders can be found here.

Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Permanently Restore Biological Sex Standard in Title IX

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jim Justice(R-W.Va.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Title IX Clarification Act, which would ensure Title IX anti-discrimination requirements tied to federal education funding are based on biological sex and not “sexual orientation or gender identity:”

“The Biden administration weaponized Title IX to force women to compete with men in sports and allow men to invade women’s spaces,” said Senator Blackburn. “Thankfully, President Trump restored common sense in Title IX, and now Congress must codify these protections for women into law to prevent future abuse. The Title IX Clarification Act would ensure that common sense, not leftist ideology, governs federal education funding tied to Title IX requirements to protect young women.”

“President Trump has taken decisive action through executive orders to protect young women on campuses across the country. Now, we must ensure these protections are codified into federal law,” said Senator Britt. “We saw the Biden-Harris Administration cave to the woke mob and allow Title IX to be abused in ways that permitted biological men to infringe on girls’ sports and spaces. We cannot let that happen again, and this legislation will restore regulatory clarity to ensure it does not.”

“I’ve been blessed to spend many years coaching young ladies in West Virginia, and I can tell you this: they work their tails off and earn every opportunity they get. At the end of the day, they deserve a fair shot. That’s exactly what the Title IX Clarification Act is about. It puts common sense back into the law, protects the opportunities Title IX was meant to guarantee, and stands up for our girls and young women. Fighting for our female athletes is a fight I’ll take every single day,” said Senator Justice.

“We cannot allow the radical left’s campaign to succeed in undermining Title IX protections. While far too many activists refuse to acknowledge the differences between biological men and women, I am proud to join Senator Blackburn and my colleagues in this common-sense effort to ensure women and girls continue to receive equal access to educational opportunities,” said Senator Budd.

“Even after Idaho’s historic win to keep men out of women’s sports at the U.S. Supreme Court, the rights promised in Title IX remain under threat,” said Senator Risch. “The Title IX Clarification Act further guards these protections, clearly defining the biological differences between men and women, so that generations of young girls can continue participating in sports and other educational opportunities on a level playing field.”

“The original intent of Title IX was to protect women’s educational and athletic opportunities,” said Senator Crapo. “In a recent decision on Idaho’s first-in-the-nation law to ensure these opportunities do not go to biological males, the Supreme Court of the United States correctly ruled Title IX allows states to apply a biology-based understanding of maintaining separate sports categories. The Title IX Clarification Act preserves the existing framework of the law while making clear its protections are based on the biological definition of sex.”

“Title IX exists for a simple, obvious reason: women deserve their own spaces and proper protection under the law. That has been clear for all of human history, and we only need to clarify it now because of Democrats’ radical gender ideology,” said Senator Scott. “I’m grateful my daughters had Title IX protection; we shouldn’t make it meaningless to appease the radical left. I’m proud to join Senator Blackburn on this commonsense bill.”

“We need to protect fairness and opportunity for women. For 50 years, Title IX has leveled the playing field. Democrats continuously undermine these protections in their attempts to redefine biology. The Title IX Clarification Act would clearly define an individual’s sex is based solely on biology. President Trump reaffirmed this commonsense reality by executive order and now Congress must codify these protections. Passing this bill would keep men out of women’s sports, restrooms, and locker rooms,” said Senator Ricketts.

“The left is weaponizing their radical gender ideology to undermine Title IX, which goes against its entire purpose: to protect women and girls. It’s critical we codify President Trump’s Title IX protections and match biological reality rather than the left’s dangerous gender identity beliefs. I’m proud to work alongside Senator Blackburn to protect women’s sports and set the record straight,” said Senator Daines.

“Boys are boys, and girls are girls - it’s common sense. Title IX was created to protect women and girls, and that’s exactly what this bill does by making clear that federal law is rooted in biological reality - not political ideology. We owe it to current and future generations to ensure opportunities under Title IX are protected,” said Senator Sheehy.

House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) led introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also co-sponsored this legislation.

BACKGROUND

For more than 50 years, Title IX has protected equal educational opportunities by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. In recent years, however, woke ideology has sought to redefine the law beyond Congress’ original intent, creating uncertainty for schools and undermining protections for women and girls.

At the beginning of his second term, President Trump revoked a Biden-era Executive Order that directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to interpret Title IX anti-discrimination language “on the basis of sex” to cover “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

TITLE IX CLARIFICATION ACT

The Title IX Clarification Act would clarify that the term “sex” refers only to an individual's biologically determined status as male or female where Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Specifically, this legislation would:

Restore Title IX's original meaning by affirming Congress’ original intent to protect women's educational opportunities;

Address concerns raised by the Supreme Court during the January 2026 oral arguments regarding transgender participation in women's sports. During those arguments, Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that Congress has not clearly defined Title IX's requirements for states accepting federal funds and suggested that any departure from the historical understanding of "sex" as biological sex raises Spending Clause concerns unless Congress acts explicitly; and

Establish clear statutory definitions of "male" and "female" within Title IX, eliminating ambiguity and preventing taxpayer dollars from being used to support ideological redefinitions of sex.

Click here for bill text.

ENDORSEMENTS

This legislation is supported by the Family Research Council (FRC); Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF); American Principles Project (APP); Family Policy Alliance (FPA); Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC); and Heritage Action.

Blackburn Statement on Senate Judiciary Committee Advancing Todd Blanche Nomination for U.S. Attorney General

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after voting in the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance President Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as U.S. Attorney General:

“As Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche has already proven he will hold fraudsters accountable for stealing billions of taxpayer dollars, crack down on violent crime in cities like Memphis, and restore a one-tiered system of justice after four years of the Biden DOJ’s corruption under Merrick Garland,” said Senator Blackburn. “The American people sent President Trump back to the White House to return the DOJ to its core mission of enforcing the rule of law, and I am confident Todd Blanche will continue to deliver on that mandate once he is confirmed as Attorney General.”

RELATED

While Democrats Embrace Failures of Socialism, Tennessee Charts Path to Prosperity

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

When I served in the Tennessee State Senate, one proposal dominated the legislature more than any other: whether to adopt a state income tax. While Tennessee had survived up to that point for two centuries without taxing wages, advocates had no shortage of government programs they wanted to fund. They bought into the illusion that they knew better than Tennessee families about how to spend their hard-earned money.

Their plan failed. From every corner of the state, Tennesseans descended on the state capitol to make their voices heard in opposition to the tax. In the state senate, I was honored to champion their cause, leading a statewide grassroots campaign to ultimately defeat the proposal. We won that battle because we upheld a simple truth: Tennesseans do better when they have more money in their pocketbooks—not less.

The outcome of that fight set the course for Tennessee’s incredible economic success over the last two decades. With one of the lowest tax burdens of any state in the country, we have been a magnet for job creators, from small business owners to major corporations. Since the income tax was defeated, Tennessee’s economy has tripled in size while total wages have soared. Our state has become a hub for automotive manufacturing, health care, nuclear energy, quantum computing, finance, and more. None of this would have been possible if we went down the path of higher taxes and bigger government.

Under President Trump’s leadership, this success has reached new heights. With the passage of Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts Act, or One Big Beautiful Bill, Tennessee families are saving more money than ever before. We lowered taxes on tips and overtime, secured an enhanced child tax credit, and increased the standard deduction claimed by 90 percent of filers. As part of the law, I was especially honored to secure a $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors, eliminating taxes on Social Security for 88 percent of recipients.

While Republicans fight for greater prosperity, Democrats are embracing the failed economic agenda of socialism: higher taxes, lower wages, fewer choices, and less opportunity. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani has led the charge. Earlier this year, the far-left mayor unveiled a $127 billion budget for the city while proposing billions in new taxes. As a result, New Yorkers could see more than half of their income taken through taxes.

In return, Mamdani has promised city residents one failed government program after another. Drawing from the communist playbook, he unveiled a plan last week to establish government-run grocery stores that will use taxpayer dollars to sell products below market price. As a result, small business owners will be at a competitive disadvantage, making it even more difficult to start and run a privately owned grocery store. As one Cuban immigrant told the New York Post, “They did this where I come from. … In the end, it all costs more, and you get less.”

In response, people are voting with their feet. Between July 2024 and July 2025, the blue states of New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts lost a net 477,000 residents fleeing high taxes and burdensome regulations. Since 2020, that number is more than 3.6 million. Instead, they are heading to red states like Tennessee, which is one of the top destinations in the country for families and small business owners.

Americans don’t want socialism. They want the best opportunity to chase their American dream and raise their families in freedom. And there is no better place on earth to do that than Tennessee.

Blackburn to Newsmax: Senate Should Remain Until SAVE America Act Passes

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called on the Senate to remain in session until it passes the SAVE America Act during an appearance on Newsmax’s Wake Up America. Last week, Senator Blackburn led her colleagues in taking to the Senate floor to urge the Senate to pass the bill following President Trump’s address to the nation on election integrity. Watch the video Senator Blackburn released on her X account here.

Click here to download Senator Blackburn’s interview on Newsmax.

Click here to watch the video Senator Blackburn posted on X.

Sen. Blackburn to Newsmax: Senate Should Remain Until SAVE America Act Passes
Brian Freeman
Newsmax

Senate Republicans are prepared to remain in Washington as long as necessary to pass the SAVE America Act, backing President Donald Trump's call to delay the chamber's planned summer recess until election integrity legislation reaches his desk, Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Newsmax on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Republican said on ?Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that the GOP is willing to work weekends, split the legislation into smaller pieces, or pursue any other legislative strategy necessary to enact the bill, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

"Whatever it takes, if it is staying here, if it's breaking the bill in pieces, doing pieces one at a time, whatever we need to do to make certain that we pass the SAVE Act is what we need to do," Blackburn said. "We're all in on getting the SAVE Act passed."

Her comments came after Trump urged Senate Republicans to remain in session until the legislation is approved, writing on Truth Social that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., "should not allow the United States Senate to leave town until it passes the SAVE America Act," while also renewing his call to eliminate the legislative filibuster if necessary.

Although Thune has indicated there are not enough votes to abolish the filibuster, Blackburn dismissed suggestions that Republicans are wavering on the underlying legislation, arguing the conference remains united behind strengthening election security.

"No one has worked harder than President Trump to make certain that we exercise election integrity," she said. "Those of us that comprise the steering committee, which is the conservatives in the Senate, have been saying for months, we will stay here weekends and until we can get this passed, because we know this is important."

Blackburn said she has already begun advancing portions of the legislation individually after leading Senate Republicans last week in an effort to move forward with a voter identification provision.

She also highlighted legislation she has introduced that would encourage states to verify voter registration rolls against the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which contains information on individuals who are not U.S. citizens and are therefore ineligible to vote in federal elections.

According to Blackburn, 26 states already compare their voter rolls against the federal database, while 24 do not. She said expanding that practice would strengthen election integrity nationwide.

RELATED

VIDEO: Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Urging Senate to Pass SAVE America Act Following President Trump’s Address to the Nation

VIDEO: Blackburn Asks Democrat Lawmakers Why They Fear SAVE America Act

Blackburn, Graham Introduce Legislation to Incentivize Every State to Submit Voter Rolls to DHS

Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Introducing Legislation to Keep Biological Men Out of the Daughters of the American Revolution

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.),Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act, which would amend the Daughters of the American Revolution’s (DAR) federal charter by adding a membership eligibility requirement to bar biological men from becoming members. The DAR has made headlines for adding a “non-discrimination” clause that allows biological males to become members.

“The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded by women for women, and its founders would be appalled that the organization is now allowing biological males to become members and undermine the legacy of real women who helped build our nation,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act would amend the DAR’s federal charter to stop the organization from erasing biological reality and ensure it is reserved for the real daughters of the American Revolution.”

“The Daughters of the American Revolution are called ‘Daughters’ for a reason—this organization is meant to honor the legacy of American women and their ancestors, not pander to a distorted sense of reality manufactured by far-left radical Democrats,” said Senator Britt.“Whether in women’s locker rooms or time-honored organizations like DAR, it is our job to protect women and girls in spaces that are rightfully theirs. I’m proud to cosponsor this commonsense legislation.”

“It’s right there in the title: ‘DAUGHTERS’ of the American Revolution,” said Senator Lee. “Congress created this group in 1890 to recognize the American women preserving our history, but their D.C. chapter is now admitting biological men. The woke invasion of every feminine space has to stop – there’s already a group for Sons of the American Revolution! Our bill will reverse this needless policy to give the women who built this organization the protection and legitimacy they deserve.”

“There’s a reason the founders of this group named it the DAUGHTERS of the American Revolution,” said Senator Tuberville. “They had the common sense to recognize what a woman is; unlike the woke Left that apparently doesn’t understand the differences between female and male anatomy. Alabama has over 4,000 members in the DAR, and they shouldn’t have to be putting up with this woke nonsense. Amending the eligibility requirements to reflect the founders’ vision is something all of my colleagues should be able to get behind.”

“Daughters of the American Revolution was founded specifically for women to honor our patriotic forebears,” said Senator Cramer. “Today’s Daughters meticulously research their genealogy to prove direct lineage to the heroes of the past, drawing inspiration from the accounts of the women who came before them. Their stories and heroism are rooted in their lives as women, and as a federally chartered organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution should reflect and honor this biological reality. Our legislation ensures membership eligibility is crystal clear.”

U.S. Representative Ben Cline (R-Va.) led introduction of the Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act in the House of Representatives earlier this month.

BACKGROUND

The DAR adopted a non-discrimination provision that its current leadership has interpreted to allow men masquerading as women to become members.

This bill would amend the DAR’s federal charter to add an eligibility requirement that limits membership to an individual that is a woman and otherwise satisfies the genealogical and membership qualifications established by the corporation.

The term “female” is defined as “a person who naturally has, had, will have, or would have but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that produces, transports, and utilizes the large gamete (ova) for fertilization.”

Click here for bill text.

ENDORSEMENTS

This legislation is supported by Heritage Action, Concerned Women for America Action Committee, American Principles Project, Senior Legal Counsel of Independent Women, and the Alliance Defending Freedom.

From Medicaid to Elections, Fraud Exploded Under Democrats. Republicans Are Rooting It Out.

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

If there is one word to describe Democrat governance nationwide, it is fraud. State governments have a responsibility to safeguard benefits programs and elections, yet blue states have taken little to no action to protect them. Instead, they have put fraudsters and illegal aliens ahead of taxpayers and American citizens. Under President Trump’s leadership, Republicans are bringing this malfeasance to an end.

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. froze $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over widespread, suspected fraud in both states. Under Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s tenure, government spending in California has surged from $209 billion a year to more than $350 billion, driven in large part by a doubling in state Medicaid spending. The California State Auditor has repeatedly flagged billions of these expenditures as questionable payments, including to potential fraud operations, but state Democrats have continued to push the money out the door.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D.) has similarly overseen billions in fraud, especially through the state’s Medicaid program. Pervasive scam operations, where front businesses bill millions for nonexistent services, could help explain why Minnesota has the second highest per enrollee Medicaid spending under Obamacare.

California and Minnesota aren’t the only Democrat-run states that have turned a blind eye to fraud. In New York, Dr. Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, warned that Chinese organized criminal groups have stolen millions of dollars through fraudulent Medicaid billings. Within a single one-mile radius in New York City, 64 adult care centers billed to Medicaid, which distributed $2.1 billion to the neighborhood.

Such blatant theft from taxpayers should outrage every American. Yet for years, Democrats have allowed these schemes to flourish. Now that Republicans are exposing their failures, they are trying to duck accountability. During a recent Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Medicaid fraud, just one of the committee’s seven Democrat members showed up.

While encouraging fraud in government programs, blue states have also opened the door to fraud in federal elections. Just last week, New Jersey disclosed that the state registered 6,600 noncitizens to vote, among whom at least 400 cast ballots in federal elections. New Jersey is one of 14 states that does not require any ID whatsoever to vote and refuses to compare its voter rolls with the federal SAVE database, which verifies a person’s immigration status.

States that use the SAVE database, including Texas and Ohio, have discovered thousands of noncitizens on their rolls. President Trump recently announced that the Department of Homeland Security estimates that approximately 278,000 noncitizens are registered to vote nationwide. He noted that this figure is likely an undercount as blue states refuse to cooperate with his administration’s anti-fraud efforts.

While Democrats are encouraging fraud, Republicans are rooting it out. Just this month, I joined several of myRepublican colleagues in launching the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force, which will work hand-in-hand with the administration to examine waste, fraud, and abuse across federal programs. I also introduced the Fraud Accountability Act to make clear that fraud counts as a deportable offense under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that any deportable offense can lead to denaturalization.

Republicans are also continuing to fight for the passage of the SAVE AMERICA Act, which would require individuals to present an ID to cast a ballot and proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, while also requiring states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. If we need to break apart this legislation piece by piece to get these provisions across the finish line, that’s exactly what we must do. For example, my Election Security Partnership Act, which I led alongside Senator Graham, would incentivize states to submit their voter registration lists to DHS to identify ineligible voters, including noncitizens.

Make no mistake: The era of rampant fraud is over. Republicans are delivering accountability.

Blackburn Sounds the Alarm on Communist China’s Infiltration of American Judiciary

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Letter Urges Federal Judicial Center to Cut Ties with Environmental Law Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to Director of the Federal Judicial Center, Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, about a concerning new report regarding the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Climate Judiciary Project, which has reportedly provided training to more than 2,000 judges on far-left climate ideology.

The ELI has worked for decades to advance the People’s Republic of China’s national security and energy policies. Earlier this week, President Trump called for a review into the far-left climate manual for judges.

More Than 2,000 U.S. Judges Received Far-Left Climate Training from CCP-Linked Group

“I write to express my deep concern about a revealing new report regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration of our nation’s judiciary. The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) has worked for decades to advance the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) national security and energy policies. And now, under the guise of educating American judges on ‘the scientific and technical evidence before them,’ ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) has reportedly provided training to more than 2,000 judges on far-left climate ideology. When judges receive continuing education and training, it should pertain to the impartial, fair administration of justice—not political, left-wing programming from a CCP-linked group.”

For Three Decades, ELI Has Worked to Advance Chinese Interests and Undermine American National Security

“According to the national security organization State Armor, over the course of three decades, ‘ELI’s work has uniformly advanced Chinese strategic and national security interests while undermining American national security . . . and simultaneously pushing America toward dependence upon energy sources dominated by the PRC.’ In 2018, that very same group launched its Climate Judiciary Project ‘in coordination with the [Federal Judicial Center] . . . in response to demand from the judiciary for education about climate science.’ While the stated goal was to provide ‘neutral, objective information to the judiciary,’ it’s clear that ELI’s goal was to ‘make judges more receptive to climate litigation’ and, even more troubling, ‘target’ judges in states ‘where [climate] cases were being brought.’ The substance of CJP’s programming is equally as concerning. According to State Armor’s report, CJP’s materials instruct judges on how to ‘frame’ climate change matters and ‘influence colleagues who may be “opposed to action on climate change.”’ The CJP programming also includes material that has little to do with standard continuing legal education content, including lesson plans on ‘implicit bias’ and ‘Resistance to Change.’ Critically, according to the report, the majority of CJP’s materials were ‘created by scholars who have called for liability for oil and gas companies,’ including a scholar who has labeled the oil and gas industry as ‘diabolical.’”

ELI Lesson Plans Steer Judges to Rule in Favor of Far-Left Climate Lobby, Threatening Judicial Independence

“Ultimately, as State Armor notes, these lesson plans are not standard judicial educational materials. Instead, they are blatant efforts to encourage judicial activism, attempting to steer judges across the United States to rule in favor of the far-left climate lobby. The Federal Judicial Center states that its mission is to ‘support the efficient, effective administration of justice and judicial independence.’ It is clear, however, that—through its partnership with the ELI—your organization has done the exact opposite. The federal judiciary should be in no way linked to a left-wing, CCP-affiliated group that pushes climate activism. For all of these reasons, I urge you to immediately cease any judicial programming that involves ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project in any way.”

Click here to read the full letter.