Washington, D.C. – Our nation is grieving the loss of a true American patriot, Charlie Kirk, following his tragic assassination at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Charlie championed freedom, and he was a role model for millions of young people across our country.
We are going to miss him desperately, and I join so many other Americans who are mourning with his family and praying for justice to be served. I encourage every person who is mourning this tremendous loss to honor his legacy by supporting the movement he championed to realize a conservative, prosperous, and free United States of America.
We will not allow Charlie’s life and legacy to be forgotten, and we will not stop fighting to eradicate the rot of political violence in our nation that claimed his life.
Listen to my conversation with Todd Starnes about Charlie’s life here.
Weekly Rundown
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised that “in the Metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine.” And for once, Mr. Zuckerberg’s statement rings true. That is, for pedophiles, groomers, and all kinds of disgusting bad actors. This week, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, I led a hearing to examine new allegations from six whistleblowers that Meta buried child safety research.
Two former Meta researchers testified at the hearing about the toxic culture of the company. Ahead of the hearing, I led a press conference with Senators Klobuchar, Moody, Blumenthal, and two parents, Brian Montgomery and Maurine Molak, who lost their children following exposure to harms on social media.
During the hearing and the press conference, I renewed my call to pass my Kids Online Safety Act, which passed the Senate in a 91-3 vote last year to require Big Tech companies like Meta to make their platforms safer by design for children. Time and time again, Meta has failed to protect our children, choosing instead to exploit them to make an extra buck. Read more here, and click here to watch the full hearing.
President Donald J. Trump answered my call to do whatever it takes to Make Memphis Safe Again, and I applaud his decision to send the National Guard to Memphis following his successful efforts to reduce violent crime in Washington, D.C. Time and time again, President Trump has stepped in to restore law and order in blue cities that refuse to protect their own citizens, and I will continue working alongside the Trump administration to hold left-wing officials accountable for the consequences of soft-on-crime agendas. Read more here.
The 19 terrorists who hijacked the planes on September 11th, 2001, were in the country on temporary visas and held a combined 30 state-issued licenses. Giving illegal aliens licenses is a direct threat to the safety and security of every American. On the 24th anniversary of 9/11, I introduced the Stop Greenlighting Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act to restrict certain federal grants for states that issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
We are a nation of laws, and states should not be rewarding illegal aliens for breaking our immigration laws by handing out driver’s licenses like candy. American cities and states that willfully defy federal immigration law to protect illegal aliens must be held accountable. Read more here.
Thanks to President Trump’s crime crackdown, car thefts are down 36%, robberies are down 62%, and homicide is down 57% in Washington, D.C. By deploying National Guardsmen to our nation’s capital, the President has empowered law enforcement to track down and apprehend criminals across the city. In the last month, there have been more than 1,700 arrests in D.C., including members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
At the same time, authorities have rescued missing children and cleared out dozens of homeless encampments that served as crime havens. Read more about President Trump’s success in my weekly column here.
The millions of Americans living with kidney disease deserve access to the highest-quality care available. Outdated payment policies haven’t kept up with rising costs and have limited access to breakthrough technologies. Dialysis providers, particularly in rural areas, face financial strain as reimbursement levels have not kept pace with inflation.
To strengthen Medicare’s kidney care benefits, I introduced the bipartisan Kidney Care Access Protection Act, which would ensure patients can access innovative treatments while modernizing Medicare’s payment system so that facilities can keep their doors open. Read more here.
Marsha’s Roundup
ICYMI
Last week, I joined a press conference highlighting the success of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. If local leaders won’t keep their communities safe, President Trump will. Watch the full press conference here, and click here to watch and download my remarks.
