Dear Neighbors,

Wishing everyone a Happy Passover and Happy Easter. It has been an eventful week, from the unnecessary extension of the funding fight over DHS to updates on Trump’s war in Iran and its impact on prices and the economy to important Supreme Court cases.

Please note that my offices are closed today for Good Friday. If you need assistance with a federal agency or would like to share your opinion on policy or legislation, please visit my website here.

In this week's E-Newsletter:
1. DHS Funding Fight
2. Iran Update
3. The Supreme Court
4. Trump Attack on Mail-In Ballots
5. AG Bondi Fired
6. Congressional Art Competition deadline extended.

DHS Funding
Late on Friday night, House Republican leadership abandoned the bill that passed the Senate unanimously and provided funding for TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other agencies within DHS while granting time for further negotiations on reasonable safeguards to rein in ICE and CBP that protect the rights of citizens and non-citizens from abuse by DHS agents.

Instead, Speaker Johnson brought to the floor the same bill that has failed to pass in the Senate over and over. For House Republicans to pass yet another messaging bill that doesn’t stand a chance in the Senate is an insult to every DHS employee and the thousands of travelers who have been inconvenienced over the past month.

Then, on Wednesday, we learned that Johnson is reversing himself AGAIN and will, in fact, bring up the Senate-passed bill after all. While there is no word on when that bill will come up for a vote in the House, this double-reversal represents yet another example of Johnson bowing to the extreme far-right of his party instead of working for the American people.

Iran
On Wednesday night, President Trump again tried to gloss over his disastrous war of choice in Iran and the profound consequences it is having on the economy. His speech failed to lay out the war's objectives or explain why he started it. He also failed to define a clear path out of the conflict that would see the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Recent reporting has also revealed that Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might not have grasped Iran’s ability to strike back at US bases and our allies in the region, despite US intelligence reports.

In a since-deleted video of Trump addressing a private luncheon at the White House, he made the claim that the US can’t fund childcare, Medicare, or Medicaid because of the costs of war - a war he started.

This is, of course, nonsense. For example, the cost of Congressman Bobby Scott’s Childcare for Working Families Act, which would cover daycare for three- and four-year-olds, is about $60 billion. This is less than ⅓rd of the $200 billion the Trump Admin is requesting to fund the Iran War, and it is only 1/25th of Trump's recently released $1.5 trillion defense budget.

Where we put our money is a reflection of our values. Clearly, Trump values the wallets of Defense Contractors above the health and well-being of children, seniors, and the working poor.

The Supreme Court
This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that will determine whether the President can limit citizenship for people born in the United States. The case is in response to an executive order Trump signed on the first day of his second term that would severely limit who qualifies for citizenship and runs counter to the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and 100 years of precedent set by prior Supreme Court rulings.

Most of the Judges sounded skeptical of the Trump Administration's arguments, but we’ll have to wait until they hand down their opinion.

Trump Executive Order on Mail-in Ballots
Also this week, President Trump revealed he is considering rigging the midterm elections with a new Executive Order that would create lists of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state and instruct the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to voters he deems fit.

Unsurprisingly, this proposed Executive Order is also unconstitutional. Article one, section four of the Constitution reads:

The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legislatures thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations

You’ll notice election law is left to the States and Congress. The President isn’t even mentioned.

Why is Trump doing this? Perhaps he’s seen his polling numbers, which indicate he is one of the most unpopular Presidents in decades. His policies have been disastrous, and he’s afraid to face the voters in the midterm elections. His solution appears to be eliminating the people’s ability to vote for a Congress that will hold him accountable.

Bondi out, Blanche Acting AG
It appears the spring cleaning in Trump’s cabinet is continuing as he fired Pam Bondi yesterday. Unfortunately, her replacement, Acting AG Todd Blanche, is no better and may be worse. Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney:

• Ordered the arrest of Mayor Baraka outside Delaney Hall
• Has bungled the Epstein files
• Got Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to a minimum-security prison after a secretive meeting

It’s not yet known who will be the long-term replacement for Bondi or who Trump will fire next. We’ll have to wait and see.