Washington, D.C., Nov. 24, 2025 — Blumenthal & Reed Lead Senators in Demanding Declassification & Public Release of Legal Memo on Lethal Caribbean & East Pacific Airstrikes
Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, led the Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in writing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requesting the declassification and public release of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) written opinion on the Trump Administration’s lethal airstrikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
‘Few decisions are more consequential for a democracy than the use of lethal force. We therefore believe that the declassification and public release of this important document would enhance transparency in the use of deadly force by our Nation’s military and is necessary to ensure Congress and the American people are fully informed of the legal justification supporting these strikes,’ the Senators wrote.
In addition to Blumenthal and Reed, today’s letter was signed by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services were finally allowed to review the Trump Administration’s classified OLC opinion in a closed setting last week. To date, the Trump Administration has carried out 21 unauthorized military strikes – primarily off the coast of Venezuela – that have killed 83 people.
The full text of the Senators’ letter is available here …
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2025 — Klobuchar, Luján, Schumer, Merkley, Hayes, Craig Lead Congressional Democrats in Introducing Legislation to Reverse SNAP Cuts and Restore Food Security for Millions of Americans
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research; Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in introducing the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025. The legislation would repeal all the devastating Republican cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) made in the Republican Budget Betrayal. U.S. Representatives Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Angie Craig (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congress has upheld a 50-year bipartisan commitment that Americans should not go hungry, but the Republican Budget Betrayal breaks that promise with the largest SNAP cuts in history. To fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, Congressional Republicans approved cuts that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will eliminate $187 billion in food assistance over the next decade, even as grocery prices rise and President Trump’s tariff costs increase. These Republican cuts will take meals from millions of Americans, including children, seniors, veterans, workers, and people with disabilities, while harming farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and grocers who rely on SNAP dollars. Additionally, the Republican Budget Betrayal creates a massive unfunded mandate on state governments that could force deep cuts or even eliminate SNAP entirely.
‘From gutting SNAP in their Big Beautiful Betrayal of a bill to refusing to provide food assistance to families in need during the shutdown, this Administration has taken every opportunity to make it harder for Americans to put food on the table,’ said Senator Klobuchar, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. ‘With this legislation, we will keep fighting every step of the way to restore food assistance to families in need and ensure the 42 million Americans — including veterans, seniors and children — who count on SNAP don’t go to bed hungry.’
‘What he is doing is sending a very chilling message across our entire nation, not only in the military, but the civilian workforce…Why would anyone speak out if they can go and try to prosecute a U.S. senator?’
‘He’s not going to stop me from speaking out and holding him accountable for the things that he does that are wrong and unlawful.’
… Arizona Senator Mark Kelly joined CNN’s State of the Union and NBC’s Meet the Press this morning to call out efforts by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to silence him for stating what the law says. Kelly made clear he will continue holding the administration accountable and won’t back down.
Washington, D.C., Nov. 25, 2025 — Joint Statement in Response to FBI Inquiry
Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) released the following joint statement:
‘President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress.
‘Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.
‘No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.
‘We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.’
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2025 — Van Hollen, Durbin Press Bondi, Patel for Answers on Unprecedented Political Purge of DOJ Employees
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ranking Member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel for answers on the unprecedented political purge of career Department of Justice employees.
‘It appears your unprecedented political purge of career Department of Justice (DOJ) employees is continuing at a rapid pace. Multiple public reports, including a statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association (FBIAA), suggest that DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have disregarded the law and fired even more FBI agents out of political spite over the past weeks. As the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) and the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversee and direct funding for both the DOJ and the FBI, we are writing to express our continued objections to such unprecedented and blatantly political actions. Your actions are having a direct and detrimental effect on FBI’s ability to maintain its national security mission. We urge you to stop the purges—our nation’s security is too important to be sacrificed for political games,’ the Senators begin.
They go on to cite examples of employees being targeted, and note, ‘All indications suggest these are illegal actions, which will undoubtedly have severe consequences for DOJ and FBI when these terminated employees join their other former colleagues in lawsuits against the agencies you are entrusted with protecting.’
The Senators press for answers, stating, ‘In addition, we request that DOJ and FBI provide the Senate CJS Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee the following information along with a follow-up briefing: 1) A full accounting on the scope of the FBI firings that occurred between October 27 and November 4, 2025; 2) The authority under which DOJ/FBI acted to terminate those employees; and 3) The precedent that exists for DOJ/FBI to terminate employees related solely to their case assignments.’
‘As Ranking Member of the Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we will continue to work to ensure the Department is following the letter of the law and the will of Congress. Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to receiving your response no later than December 3, 2025,’ they close.
The full text of the letter is available here …
Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2025 — Durbin Shares Story Of ‘Miss Diana,’ A Chicago-Area Teacher Who Was Pulled Out Of A Daycare & Unlawfully Detained For More Than A Week During ‘Operation Midway Blitz’
Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered another scathing rebuke of the Trump Administration’s so-called ‘Operation Midway Blitz‘ in Chicago. Since the operation launched nearly three months ago, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have used extreme tactics to unlawfully detain residents of Illinois or immigrants without a criminal record.
In his remarks on the Senate floor today, Durbin shared the story of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher and immigrant from Colombia who had employment authorization to work in the United States. Ms. Santillana Galeano was detained for a week by ICE before being released last week. Over the weekend, Durbin met with families enrolled at Rayito Del Sol and heard first-hand about the impact of the immigration raid on students and teachers.
‘Two weeks ago, a viral video showed federal agents storming through the doors of the Rayito Del Sol daycare and preschool center in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago. These ICE agents in their camouflaged uniforms and masks on their faces were dragging out a teacher while she screamed and cried “I have papers” in Spanish. That teacher’s name is Diana Santillana Galeano, but her students—little girls and boys between the ages of six months and six years—know her as “Miss Diana,”‘ Durbin said. ‘According to school officials, Diana had authorization to work, and agents did not present a warrant when they entered the building… They swooped her up out of this day care center. She disappeared, and no one could find her, not family and friends. And then she turned up in a facility in Indiana, and they released her from there.’
‘This past week, I visited with the parents of some of these students, about 12 of them. They, of course, expressed concerns for her, because they love her. Miss Diana is well-loved by all these kids. They also worried about the impact of this incident on their kids—the questions and the nightmares that followed as these little ones were forced to see and hear the Administration’s brutality in full view… It is outrageous that children were exposed to this. But the Trump Administration doesn’t give a damn,’ Durbin continued.
‘There used to be a time when ICE didn’t cross certain lines. DHS had policies against enforcement at schools and churches for this very reason. Not anymore,’ Durbin said.
Durbin reprimanded the Trump Administration for deliberately neglecting due process and legal procedures during ruthless immigration raids. Despite claims from the Trump Administration that DHS is only targeting ‘the worst of the worst,’ data has showed that less than three percent of 614 individuals arrested during ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ have any criminal record that DHS determined threatens public safety.
‘President Trump has touted ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ as a resounding success. But these raids aren’t targeted. The Administration is swooping people off the streets while they’re dropping off their kids at school or heading to work or simply looking Hispanic,’ Durbin said.
‘In a lawsuit challenging warrantless immigration arrests in Illinois, Judge Cummings read from a summary he and his law clerks compiled of more than 150 pending immigration cases in which arrestees were challenging their deportation. The judge said the circumstances of the arrests showed that “Operation Midway Blitz” is not targeting hardened criminals or “the worst of the worst,”‘ Durbin said.
‘In that case, the Trump Administration provided a list of more than 600 individuals detained during “Midway Blitz.” By their own data, just 16 of the 600 detainees have a criminal history that poses a high risk to public safety. Do you know what percentage that is? Less than three percent,’ Durbin said.
Durbin concluded his remarks by criticizing Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino’s leadership during ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ and warning his fellow Senators that they must stand up to the Trump Administration’s cruel, unlawful immigration policies or risk these policies being imposed on cities in their own states.
‘All of this confirms what I have been saying for months: what is happening in Chicago with “Midway Blitz” is political theater to spread fear, not reduce crime. They struck fear in the hearts of the kids at this day care center. They may never forget what they saw that day, when the agents came in with their camouflage and their masks and whisked this poor woman out to [try to] deport her,’ Durbin said.
‘Chicago deserves better. America deserves better. Reports indicate Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino is leaving the city of Chicago,’ Durbin said. ‘However, we expect immigration raids to continue in the city. And Mr. Bovino has already taken this Administration’s brutal tactics that they’ve been practicing in Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina. In just one weekend, DHS agents raided a church and arrested at least one U.S. citizen simply because he looked Hispanic.’
‘So, I ask my colleagues—especially my Republican friends, who value liberty and freedom as much as I do—what is stopping this government from deploying tear gas in your home city? What is stopping them from pointing guns at your constituents?’ Durbin asked.
‘Don’t look the other way out of personal or political loyalty to this President. Look straight in the eyes of the people you represent and tell them you stand for the Constitution and the well-worn history of this country, where we have tried to push back when tyrants emerge. It’s on all of us to call out these abuses of power and this trampling of civil liberties,’ Durbin concluded his remarks.
In response to the Trump Administration’s surge in federal law enforcement in Chicago and continuous threats to deploy the military in the area, Durbin has taken a number of steps to push back on these unlawful actions carried out by DHS and Secretary Noem under the direction of President Trump. Durbin’s actions to push back on the Trump Administration’s so-called ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ can be found here.
