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Fighting Trump’s power-grab: Last week, President Trump attempted to impound federal funds appropriated by Congress. This illegal maneuver is part of a pattern of Trump cloaking himself in imperial powers that our system of checks and balances was expressly designed to prevent. His firing of inspectors general without explanation to Congress, his grant of extra-governmental authority to Elon Musk, and his impairment of agencies like USAID are all similarly illegal and authoritarian actions.
While impoundment has been blocked for the time being by the courts, Democrats in Congress are seeking to end the chaos and make plain that Congress has the power of the purse and that Musk has no authority to access sensitive Treasury or national security information. Instead of acting like a courtier, the Speaker must behave like the leader of a separate and co-equal branch of government. On behalf of my constituents & the Constitution, I will continue to be assertive and unflinching in curbing Trump’s power-grabs at every turn.
Safeguarding science from RFK, Jr: I come from a family of doctors and cancer researchers, and Massachusetts' Fourth District is full of medical professionals. Last week, during his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made clear that, if appointed HHS Secretary, he would approach issues starting from a place of conspiracy rather than science.
RFK, Jr. demonstrated zero knowledge of Medicare and Medicaid, which collectively insure 150 million Americans, and repeatedly refused to affirm the safety and efficacy of vaccines, which have saved 150+ million lives in the last five decades. As HHS Secretary, he is likely to undermine the integrity of the National Institutes of Health, the Food & Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. In particular, he would make it harder to develop and distribute vaccines by undermining the program for adjudicating legal claims against vaccine manufacturers.
Regrettably, the Senate Finance Committee voted on party lines to approve RFK, Jr. for a full Senate vote. I expect he will be confirmed. As a Member of the House committee with jurisdiction over his department, I will be intense in my oversight of RFK, Jr, especially regarding vaccines.
The Monroe Doctrine & the Panama Canal: Secretary Rubio was in Panama to uphold the Monroe Doctrine. The problem is that Trump has the Doctrine backward: rejecting outside influence in the Western Hemisphere means getting tough on China, not Panama. In his first term, Trump allowed China to renew leases for marine terminal operations in the Canal Zone and build major infrastructure throughout Latin America. So far in his second term, he's rolled over on Chinese-owned TikTok, cut foreign aid to our allies in the Indo-Pacific who are standing up to China, and allowed the Communist Party to buy up his net worth in meme coins.
Rubio and Trump need to stop bullying a small ally and start finding a spine against America's actual adversary: the Chinese Communist Party. Here is a segment of my Fox News op-ed:
“An offense-defense approach to the Monroe Doctrine would put Xi Jinping on his heels. The Chinese president’s mercantilist strategy, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, relies upon state support and direction. Hamstrung by a weak economy at home, Xi would not be able to go deal-for-deal against a booming American economy doing business everywhere. Trump should be dialing up these tough tactics against a big, belligerent country, not bullying a small ally.”
Bringing home every hostage from captivity: It is wonderful news that Ofer Calderon, Yarden Bibas, and Keith Siegel have been brought home safe after 484 days in captivity.
Ofer’s relatives are my constituents. During his time in captivity, they told me about him as a loving father of four, carpenter, and adventure cyclist with an infectious smile and sense of humor who enjoys cooking Shabbat dinner with his family. Two of Ofer’s children taken hostage were previously returned home to Israel. Now, Ofer’s family is whole once again.
Investigating campus antisemitism: Since October 7th, 2023, Jewish and Israeli students have been harassed and intimidated. Too often, university administrators rolled their eyes or shrugged their shoulders.
In 2023 alone, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tracked an unprecedented 922 antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses—732 of which occurred between October 7 and the end of the calendar year. This reflects a staggering 1,217% increase over the last 20 years.
In September, I led a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) to convene an independent panel on the alarming rise of antisemitism on college and university campuses, particularly following the events of October 7, 2023. We requested the USCCR issue recommendations to Congress and the Administration in this report to help curb these trends.
The USCCR voted unanimously, 7-0, to undertake a year-long investigation into the surge in antisemitism on college and university campuses that will include findings on how the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education and the Department of Justice responded to this increase. The report is a necessary step to ensure that universities uphold their Title VI obligations to provide a suitable learning environment, free from antisemitism and dedicated to critical thinking.
Remembering those lost on Flight 5342: Last week’s collision was a horrific tragedy. Massachusetts lost six talented Bay Staters; I mourn for them and for all the individuals who perished. There must be a full and impartial investigation, encompassing both military and commercial aviation authorities, to determine what went wrong and how to prevent such crashes in the future.
Out of Paris, not out of clean energy: On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Today, America joins Iran, Libya, and Yemen as one of the few countries not signed onto the agreement. As with Trump’s withdrawal in 2017, this decision impairs global climate action and erodes our nation’s credibility on the world stage.
I joined 125 other Congressional Democrats to introduce a resolution condemning our withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. As a Member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, with jurisdiction over much of U.S. energy policy, I am committed to advancing clean energy solutions, from generation to transmission, regardless of the president’s climate denialism. In areas like permitting reform, nuclear fission & fusion, and geothermal R&D there is potential for bipartisanship that I am pursuing.
Phasing out PFAS in the same way as ozone-depleting chemicals: Polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as ‘PFAS,’ have been used in a variety of household and industrial products for 70 years due to their efficacy in oil-, stain-, and water-resistant applications. However, they are carcinogenic and also linked to other detrimental health and environmental impacts. Due to their chemical composition, PFAS degrade extremely slowly, earning them the name ‘forever chemicals.’
At my first hearing on the Environment Subcommittee, I pressed industry representatives and experts on adopting the same framework of essential, substitutable, and non-essential categories that the Montreal Protocol used to heal the ozone layer. Congress and the EPA must start the process of banning PFAS in production.
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