Washington, D.C., September 4, 2025 — Rep. Andrea Salinas Delivers Floor Speech on Border Patrol Arrest and Unconstitutional Treatment of Wildfire Fighter and Constituent
Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) spoke on the House Floor to call out President Trump and his Administration for the arrest and unconstitutional treatment of her constituent — a wildland fighter dispatched to Washington State to combat the Bear Gulch Fire …
‘Mister Speaker, I rise to call out the Trump Administration for their arrest and unconstitutional treatment of my constituent.
‘Last week, my constituent was working as a wildland firefighter to combat the Bear Gulch Fire when CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] stopped his crew and arrested him…’
‘He was brought to the United States when he was four years old. The United States is the only home he knows.
‘For the past three years, he has bravely served as a wildland firefighter, putting his life on the line to protect us.
‘Arresting a firefighter–who is actively fighting a wildfire–does not make our communities safer.
‘For roughly 48 hours after his arrest, the Trump Administration violated my constituent’s constitutional rights. Despite requesting a phone call and his attorney, he was denied.
‘Let me be clear. Immigrants deserve to be treated with dignity. The Constitution deserves to be followed. Communities deserve safety from wildfires, and first responders deserve to do their job unimpeded.
‘Anything less is a slap in the face to the values we share as Americans.’
[Read more: Rep. Salinas issued a statement on the arrest of her constituent.]
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 4, 2025 — Senator Alsobrooks Files Resolution of Disapproval Against RFK – Again
Today, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), along with 22 senators, filed a Resolution of Disapproval that states the Senate and the American people have zero confidence in RFK Jr. and calls for his removal.
Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Senators Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Coons (D-Del.), Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Duckworth (D-Ill.), Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kaine (D-Va.), Kim (D-N.J.), Markey (D-Mass.), Murray (D-Wash.), Padilla (D-Calif.), Reed (D-R.I.), Rosen (D-Nev.), Sanders (D-Vt.), Smith (D-Minn.), Warren (D-Mass.), Warner (D-Va.), Warnock (D-Ga.), Welch (D-Vt.), and Van Hollen (D-Md.) signed the Resolution of Disapproval.
Stand Up for Science, Protect Our Care, Public Citizen, Reproductive Freedom For All, Accountable.us, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Defend Public Health have endorsed the resolution.
This comes after Senator Alsobrooks and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released a damning 54 page report [called: COSTS, CHAOS, AND CORRUPTION: 203 DAYS OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.’S DISASTROUS LEADERSHIP] chronicling at least one example of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s costly, chaotic, and corrupt actions from every day he has served as Secretary.
Senator Alsobrooks was the first Senator to call on RFK Jr. to resign or be fired on May 10.
This resolution also comes just after RFK Jr.’s disastrous hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2025 — Alsobrooks: RFK, Jr is destroying our public health institutions. He should be fired.
Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) released the following statement after news that CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired from the CDC – less than a month into her role – and four other CDC officials have now submitted their resignations.
‘For the last four months, I have called on RFK to resign or be fired because I knew he was dangerous for America, but firing CDC Director Susan Monarez has shocked even me. All of RFK’s actions have been building to systematically dismantle the CDC and ultimately destroy our public health institutions: firing hundreds of dedicated CDC staffers, slashing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the public trust in their recommendations, and his violent rhetoric and vaccine misinformation that then spurred an attack on the public health officials who keep us safe. It is not Dr. Monarez or other CDC leaders who should have lost their jobs; it should be RFK.’
Washington, D.C., September 2, 2025 — Klobuchar, Cantwell, Blumenthal, Wasserman Schultz, Colleagues File Amicus Brief Urging Circuit Court to Protect the Independence of the Consumer Product Safety Commission
“…Keeping Americans safe—from banning lead paint, to ensuring electronics aren’t fire hazards, to making swimming pools safe for kids….”
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) led 23 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief urging the Fourth Circuit to preserve the independence and effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in response to President Trump’s illegal firing of the CPSC’s three Democratic Commissioners – Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka.
‘For over 50 years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been free from politics so it can remain focused on its core mission of keeping Americans safe—from banning lead paint, to ensuring electronics aren’t fire hazards, to making swimming pools safe for kids. Last year alone, the Commission recalled 153 million unsafe items,’ said Sen. Klobuchar. “By illegally firing the three Democratic commissioners, the President has undermined the independent structure of the Commission and its critical work— we can’t let that happen.’
‘For 53 years, the bipartisan, independent CPSC has put consumer safety first,’ said Sen. Cantwell. ‘Now, President Trump has put politics first by illegally firing the three Democratic CPSC Commissioners. By injecting politics where it doesn’t belong, the President is undermining the safety of children, seniors, and everyone else. I’m proud to stand with Congressional Democrats in pushing back against this illegal and partisan power grab.’
‘The Trump Administration is laying waste to lives and taxpayer dollars by illegally dismantling the bipartisan, independent Consumer Product Safety Commission—the nation’s only watchdog tasked with protecting children and families from unsafe products. Our brief makes clear that the Trump Administration lacks the authority to do away with this critical, bipartisan agency and fire its Democratic Commissioners without cause. Independent agencies like the CPSC were established by Congress for the very purpose of ensuring unbiased, nonpartisan decision-making prioritizes the long-term interests of the public. President Trump’s actions to decimate the CPSC fly in the face of the law and threaten the health and safety of every American,’ said Sen. Blumenthal.
‘Every day, the Consumer Product Safety Commission stops unforeseen tragedies in homes across America. If Trump succeeds in taking a wrecking ball to the CPSC, dangerous products will endanger children’s lives, and more families risk horrible accidents,’ said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. ‘I have had the pleasure of working with the CPSC closely, in a bipartisan manner, on drowning prevention and pool safety for over a decade. I’m proud to lead this amicus brief with Senators Klobuchar, Cantwell, and Blumenthal to fight for an independent CPSC.’
The brief argues that, under the Constitution, Congress has the authority to structure federal agencies and create multimember, independent agencies whose board members are protected from removal without cause – highlighting the 90 years of Supreme Court precedent allowing Congress to enact for-cause removal protections.
Under the laws creating the CPSC – and 30 other independent government agencies and boards – a commissioner can only be removed by the president ‘for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.’
The brief also details how maintaining the CPSC’s independence is critical to its ability to fulfill its Congressional mandate to protect Americans from unreasonable injury risk.
Along with Klobuchar, Cantwell, Blumenthal and Wasserman Schultz, the brief was filed by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Robin K. Kelly (D-IL), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Norma Torres (D-CA).
