Senate Update: No Kings: Fighting Trump’s Illegal War, His Lawless ICE Operations and His Schemes to Rig the Midterm Elections

Over the past two months, I have been doing everything I can to fight back against a torrent of attacks on our democracy and constitution from Donald Trump and his corrupt administration. Overseas, Trump launched an illegal war of choice against Iran that is making us less safe, while here at home, he continues to violate peoples’ due process rights to implement his mass deportation agenda. For weeks, he and Republicans in Congress withheld funds from TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA to try to get Democrats to back off our demands to rein in his lawless ICE operations. At the same time, he is hellbent on trying to rig the midterm elections through a voter suppression scheme and issuing illegal executive orders to try to federalize control over elections.

Our fellow Marylanders and Americans are not letting Trump’s lawless actions go unanswered. Last weekend, I joined thousands of patriots across the state – from Laurel, Catonsville, Baltimore, and Aberdeen – for No Kings Day, to resist Trump’s efforts to dismantle our democracy. At each stop, the message rang loud and clear: Americans wouldn’t put up with a king back in 1776, and we will NOT put up with a wannabe king now. Trump, like other bullies, wants us all to cower in the corner, shut up, and go away. Instead, Marylanders joined with millions of our fellow Americans to stand up, speak out and fight back.

In the Senate, I will continue to push back with the same passion as our fellow Americans in Minneapolis and around the country.

Opposing Trump’s Illegal War of Choice with Iran 

During their campaign, Donald Trump and JD Vance repeatedly promised that they would not drag America into another war, especially one in the Middle East. They broke that promise when the United States and Israel launched an illegal war of choice against Iran – a war that is making America less, not more safe. The Trump Administration has only offered constantly shifting rationales and they have no endgame in sight. Just last night in Donald Trump’s address to the American people, he still could not justify this war nor provide a clear vision for moving forward – it was more of the same contradictions, lies and vague promises we’ve been hearing for weeks.

He’s trying to gaslight the American people. Over two weeks ago, he said “we won” – so why are we still there? It’s clear he has no plan to end this war of choice, so he’s resorting to the only thing he knows how to do: spread more lies. His delusions are endangering our country and the world.

They haven’t even been able to keep their stories straight behind closed doors. We have received a handful of classified briefings in the Senate because they refuse to hold public hearings with policymakers. That is a clear sign of the weakness of their case: they realize it cannot withstand public scrutiny.

That’s why right from the start, I have been sounding the alarm and speaking out on the Senate floor against the war and standing up for what the Constitution makes clear: only Congress can decide whether the United States goes to war. Yet, President Trump launched this regime-change war against Iran that is not in America’s best interest, without Congressional authorization.

As of today, 13 brave American servicemembers have lost their lives in this war. Hundreds more have been wounded. Their sacrifice deserves more respect than the President casually remarking that “sadly, there likely will be more...that’s the way it is.” 

Meanwhile, the conflict is escalating across the region – with more than 2,000 civilians killed, tens of thousands injured, and millions displaced so far.

The war has disrupted the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, significantly raising gas and diesel prices for Americans here at home. The administration clearly didn’t have a plan for these predictable consequences of their illegal war and have now resorted to easing sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil, fueling both Putin’s war machine and the Iranian regime as well. Trump continues to brush off concerns over the high energy prices, telling our European allies to deal with the problem posed by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – a problem that was the direct consequence of his reckless actions.

Public reports suggest that the Defense Department is expending munitions and missile defense interceptors at an alarming rate. An initial estimate from the Defense Department said that the United States has spent over $12 billion in just the first week of this war, and it continues to cost American taxpayers over $2 billion every day. In other words, this war has been a costly strategic blunder from top to bottom.   

This war has also resulted in devastating civilian harm from U.S. airstrikes. I have demanded transparency – including leading an effort with nearly the entire Democratic caucus pressing the Department of Defense for answers about a strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran that killed at least 168 civilians, most of them children. Even during armed conflict, the United States must abide by U.S. and international law, including the laws of war. Reports also indicate that strikes have damaged hospitals, cultural sites, and other critical civilian infrastructure. 

These actions undermine America’s credibility and national security interests around the world. That is why we are demanding a full investigation into these incidents and transparency about what happened, as well as accountability for any violations of U.S. or international law. 

Reining in ICE while Reopening TSA & Other Critical Agencies  

For weeks, we urged Republicans to stop holding TSA, FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Coast Guard hostage, and restore pay for these civil servants – while we continue negotiating meaningful reforms to ICE and Border Patrol.  

After Republicans rejected 14 attempts by Senate Democrats on the Senate Floor to do just that, they finally relented – but only after their inaction led to worsening chaos at airports across the country and considerable hardship for unpaid federal workers. We also demanded that this funding agreement include no funding for Trump’s lawless ICE and Border Patrol – operations that have instilled fear in communities across the country, violated individuals’ constitutional rights on a vast scale, and killed U.S. citizens, including Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Trump and Republicans thought they could hold funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security hostage to pressure us into backing down on our demands to rein in Trump’s ICE army. They wanted a blank check. We did not back down. The Senate ultimately passed our proposal by a unanimous bipartisan vote and, earlier today, reaffirmed that plan and sent the House a clean bill. The Republican-controlled House failed to pass it today, but Trump has called upon them to fall in line. There is no good reason for House Republicans to delay any longer. We should fully fund TSA, FEMA, CISA, and the Coast Guard now.

As I have said repeatedly, I will not support one more dime for Trump’s out-of-control immigration agencies without changes that the majority of Americans support, like an independent investigation into the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to ensure accountability. We can't trust Trump’s DHS to conduct a credible independent investigation when they call the victims of their deadly violence “domestic terrorists,” and won’t even apologize to their families for their killings. Meanwhile, they’re denying local law enforcement authorities in Minneapolis access to evidence. It is unacceptable to shield wrongful actions from accountability.

The fight against a lawless ICE also continues here in Maryland, where we continue to respond to reports about the Trump Administration’s mass deportation operations and ICE detention facilities. ICE spent more than $100 million in taxpayer funds to buy a warehouse in Washington County – and they intend to use that facility to detain up to 1,500 people. Thankfully, a federal judge has temporarily halted construction at the facility due to a lawsuit filed by the Maryland Attorney General’s office.   

Donald Trump pledged to go after the “worst of the worst” but has focused primarily on thousands of people that DHS’s own data reveal pose no risk to public safety. The overwhelming majority of Marylanders do not want ICE terrorizing our communities nor their mass detention facilities in our state, and I will continue fighting against Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Protecting Our Elections Against the Misnamed "SAVE America Act"

Instead of working to lower prices or help American families facing the consequences of an illegal war, Trump and Republicans spent much of the last few weeks trying to jam through the Senate the deceptively named “SAVE America Act,” which is, in fact, a Trojan Horse to make it harder for millions of American citizens to exercise their right to vote. I spoke out on the Senate floor against this completely fraudulent bill because we cannot stand by as Trump and his Republican lackeys spread lies about the purpose and impact of their scheme.

And just this week, Trump signed a purely political executive order as another step in his unconstitutional effort to try to federalize and seize control over voting. He’s taking this outrageous step because we are standing up in the Senate to block his voter suppression bill. We must keep fighting back because the truth is that none of this is about election security. It’s about enabling Trump to rig the midterm elections so he can evade accountability for his broken promises and failed policies.

This bill would require certain kinds of ID to demonstrate you're an American citizen to register to vote – such as a passport or an original birth certificate. But for those without either document, if they want to vote, they will have to spend lots of time and money to get one. That's a poll tax. In America, we don't have to pay in order to exercise our right to vote.

This is a scam. Indeed, Donald Trump himself said that Republicans need to pass this bill to “guarantee” them a win in the next midterm election. In other words, they want to purge American citizens – targeting those they think are likely to vote against Republicans – from the voter registration files.

We cannot stand by and let this happen. Kings don’t like elections, but I will continue to sound the alarm and put a stop to their un-American efforts to rig them in their favor.

Demanding Transparency on the Epstein Files 

It’s completely unacceptable that the Trump Administration continues to hide documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Time and again, Trump tries to distract from the truth here. The American people – and especially the survivors of Epstein’s crimes – deserve transparency and accountability. 

During an Appropriations Committee hearing last year, Secretary Lutnick made a big show of telling us that he cut off all contact with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005. But documents from the Epstein files revealed that he visited Epstein’s private island years after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. When I confronted him with his lie at a more recent hearing, Lutnick admitted that in 2012 – after Epstein was convicted – he did take his family, as well as their nanny, to visit Epstein on his island.

Following the hearing, Senator Jeff Merkley and I pushed Secretary Lutnick to provide a full accounting of his interactions with Epstein, including records of meetings, communications, and business dealings. Since then, he has agreed to appear before the House Oversight Committee. I will closely monitor that hearing.

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is continuing to stonewall the public, releasing documents that expose survivors’ identities while shielding powerful individuals connected to Epstein. It’s clear Trump and his cronies want to keep the American people, and the victims, in the dark. 

That is unacceptable. I will continue pushing for full transparency, so the full truth comes out. No one is above the law.  

Delivering for Communities Across Maryland 

While I fight Donald Trump’s assault on democracy and our freedoms, I am inspired by my fellow Marylanders and Americans who also refuse to back down in the face of these threats. Instead, they have partnered with us to protect our shared values and help our communities in the face of such challenging times. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with members of the Montgomery County Jewish community at a forum hosted by the Tikvat Israel congregation in Rockville. We had a meaningful conversation about the need to combat the rising threat of antisemitism and my work in the Senate to invest in the security grants to protect synagogues and other houses of worship. We must fight back against antisemitism and call it out in our community and country. We must make clear that hate, racism and bigotry in all their poisonous forms have no place here. That’s why we must also call out virulent anti-Muslim statements made by members of Congress. We must also push back against the Trump Administration’s efforts to erase our history. At a time when so many seek to divide us, we must be able to express strong differences of opinion on important issues in a respectful and civil manner.

In Anne Arundel County, I joined local leaders to celebrate several projects made possible with the help of federal investments we secured, including funding for the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County to expand housing and job training programs for survivors of domestic violence, investments to rehabilitate the Meyer Building at Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, resources to support community-based gun violence prevention programs, upgrades to the county’s Joint 911 Public Safety Center, and support for the Anne Arundel County Food Bank to expand food distribution to families in need. 

I also visited communities on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, including Kent County, to announce federal funds we secured to support the installation of a backup generator at the county’s EMS headquarters to ensure emergency services remain operational during power disruptions. And, in Queen Anne’s County, we announced federal funds we obtained to help the Town of Barclay construct a new community center and town hall, expanding its capacity to serve local residents. 

In Prince George’s County, we marked the delivery of federal funding to support youth and community programs in Greenbelt and Bladensburg, including improvements to the Springhill Lake Recreation Center and repairs to the Greenbelt Youth Center roof so it can continue serving local families. 

In Western Maryland, I joined local leaders in Frederick for the kickoff of the PACT Task Force, a regional effort bringing together government officials, health providers, nonprofits, and community leaders to protect access to care as we confront cuts to the Affordable Care Act, to Medicaid and to food programs resulting from what Trump and Republicans called their “Big, Beautiful Bill.” We also celebrated federal funding secured to build out the Biomedical Research and Training Center at Hood College – as part of the Maryland Tech Council’s BioHub initiative to train students and workers in biotechnology. 

And in Annapolis, we announced the long-awaited release of more than $35 million in federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the Annapolis City Dock resiliency project. This investment will fund critical flood protection and stormwater improvements to safeguard roughly 1,200 feet of the historic waterfront from increasingly frequent tidal flooding. 

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the solemn two-year anniversary last week of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, on March 26, 2024. We all remember where we were when we learned the Key Bridge fell, and on this day, our hearts are especially with the families of the six Baltimore workers who lost their lives. 

Out of this tragedy, Team Maryland came together. And alongside our local leaders and state partners, we worked to quickly secure federal support for this project, and to tackle the immediate clean-up necessary to reopen the channel to the Port of Baltimore. Federal Team Maryland also fought tooth and nail to secure a 100% federal cost-match for the bridge replacement with the Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act, and we’re continuing to fight to ensure that promise is upheld.  

Thank You 

As we continue to face historic challenges to our democracy and our country, I salute you for staying engaged. With your help, I will continue fighting for Marylanders – and for a brighter future for all Americans – in every way I can.  

Onwards, 

Chris Van Hollen 

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