Remembering Those Who Paid the Ultimate Price

Remembering Those Who Paid the Ultimate Price

Ahead of Memorial Day, I delivered remarks on the Senate floor about the importance of remembering those who paid the ultimate price for our country. I spoke about the life of Hoosier Thomas Forest Riddle, who died after serving in World War I, and the Hoosiers in Monroe County who honored his service decades later.

In the summer of 2004, vandals snuck into Pleasant View Cemetery and smashed a statue of Private Riddle to pieces, breaking it at the knees and severing its head. This was not simply the destruction of a piece of art. Knowingly or not, it was the desecration of a promise. We do not glory in war, but we do honor the glorious deeds of the men and women who, at the last resort, are called to defend our liberties.

The memory of those who do so is as sacred as our flag. And if you doubt this, visit Pleasant View Cemetery in Monroe County.

The people of Unionville were heartbroken when the monument to Private Riddle was knocked down. So, Edith Clark, the cemetery’s caretaker, paid $600 to have the sculpture restored and resurrected; then the community held a bake and yard sale to help her recover the cost.

Today, he shows wear – the brim of his hat is broken, the bayonet from his rifle is lost, part of his ear is missing and so are a few fingers. But Private Thomas Forest Riddle stands once more, and his memory remains. His watch continues, and our gratitude goes on.

We remember Private Riddle and all who have given their lives for our freedom on this Memorial Day.

To watch my speech, click here.

Iran's Nuclear Program Must Be Dismantled

I joined with 51 of my Senate Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump regarding the Trump administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran. The letter calls on the administration to secure a deal that results in the full dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, including permanently ending the regime’s capacity to enrich uranium.

In our letter, we wrote: “We write to express our strong support for your efforts to secure a deal with Iran that dismantles its nuclear program, and to reinforce the explicit warnings that you and officials in your administration have issued that the regime must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment. We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did. The Iranian regime should know that the administration has Congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated.”

Read the full letter here.

TAKE IT DOWN Act Becomes Law

I was glad to see President Trump sign our TAKE IT DOWN Act into law to protect victims—especially young women and children—from harmful deepfakes. I helped introduce this bill earlier this year.

This legislation will criminalize the publication of non-consensual, sexually exploitative images—including AI-generated deepfakes—and require platforms to remove images within 48 hours of notice.

We are increasingly seeing instances where predators are using generative AI to create exploitative nonconsensual images of individuals. This bipartisan win builds on existing federal law to protect Americans, particularly young women and children, from harmful deepfakes and establishes a requirement for websites to take down this type of explicit and disturbing material. This is a sensible step to protect Americans and establish appropriate guardrails.