Press Releases
Senators Demand Answers About Icahn’s White House Role
Washington, D.C. - In a letter sent to White House Counsel Don McGahn today, a group of Senators demand to know what role oil refining executive Carl Icahn is playing in President Donald Trump's White House, how he affected the selection of Scott Pruitt to be Trump's nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, and to what extent Icahn controls the destiny of an EPA regulation that Icahn claims will cost his business hundreds of millions of dollars. Senators Sheldon Whitehou… Continue Reading
02.10.17
Senators to White House Counsel: You Must Stop “Buy Ivanka’s Stuff” Conflicts of Interest
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) urged the White House Counsel to take decisive action to end the troubling pattern of apparently blatant conflicts of interest plaguing the Trump Administration. Counselor to President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, appeared on Fox News yesterday from the White House briefing room, entreating viewers to "go buy Ivanka's… Continue Reading
02.10.17
Whitehouse Statement on Price Confirmation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement today on the Senate's 52-47 vote to confirm Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) to be Secretary of Health and Human Services: "Right now, one-year-old Henry from Warwick, Rhode Island, who's battling cystic fibrosis, can no longer be denied insurance because of his pre-existing condition. Martha from Cranston doesn't have to worry about her son, who can … Continue Reading
02.09.17
Reed, Whitehouse Seek Answers About Outrageous Price Hike for Anti-Opioid Drug
Washington, DC - In an effort to ensure that lifesaving overdose prevention drugs remain accessible and affordable, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse are pressing for answers from a leading pharmaceutical company about the dramatic price hike for a life-saving medication used to respond to opioid overdoses. Recent reports unveiled that drug maker Kaléo Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures an easy-to-use injector device containing the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, raised i… Continue Reading
02.09.17
Whitehouse Statement on 9th Circuit Ruling Against Travel Ban
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling tonight against the Trump administration's executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain majority-Muslim nations: "Tonight, the Ninth Circuit denied the Trump administration's appeal and joined the growing list of authorities questioning the legality of this order and whether it does anything to make us safer. That's… Continue Reading
02.08.17
Whitehouse: “Let Liz speak!”
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) yesterday evening took to the Senate floor in support of his colleague, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who had been silenced by Senate Republicans after reading a 1986 letter from Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King's letter, which illustrated her thoughts on the character of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), had been submitted to the Senate decades earlier when Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship. Sessio… Continue Reading
02.08.17
Whitehouse Statement on Sessions Confirmation
Washington, DC - Tonight, the Senate voted 52-47 to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be President Donald Trump's Attorney General. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the vote: "So far, this President has shown little regard for what the Justice Department and the law have to say. He fired a top career Justice attorney when she disagreed with a legally dubious, poorly vetted, and un-American executive order.… Continue Reading
02.08.17
Whitehouse Lauds Top Republicans’ Carbon Fee Plan
Washington, DC - Today, prominent Republicans and business leaders are presenting a plan to confront climate change by placing a fee on carbon emissions. The group, the Climate Leadership Council, is unveiling its plan at the National Press Club and presenting it to White House officials. Members of the Council include top former Republican cabinet appointees Henry M. Paulson, Jr., James A. Baker, III, and George P. Schultz. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environme… Continue Reading
02.07.17
Schumer, Whitehouse, Warren Weigh in on Lawsuit Seeking Thousands of Emails Between Scott Pruitt and Fossil Fuel Industry
Washington, DC - Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) weighed in on a lawsuit filed today by the Oklahoma law firm Hall Estill and the Oklahoma American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Center for Media and Democracy against Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump's nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. The suit seeks to shake loose emails between Pruitt's office and the fossil fuel industry-an industr… Continue Reading
02.07.17
Whitehouse Statement on DeVos Confirmation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement today on the Senate's 51-50 vote to confirm Elisabeth DeVos to be Secretary of Education: "Vice President Pence's trip down Pennsylvania Avenue today shows just how hard Republicans have had to work to stack and jam President Trump's underqualified and conflicted nominees through the Senate. "Mrs. DeVos had every opportunity to make a convincing … Continue Reading
02.06.17
Senators to Trump: Expand Pell Grant to Make College More Affordable
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to help make college more affordable for American families, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined with 25 of their Senate Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump asking him to expand the Pell Grant beginning in FY 2017. Pell Grants are federal, need-based financial aid awarded to qualified undergraduate students. Pell grants help pay for tuition, but unlike student loans, they do not need to … Continue Reading
02.04.17
Whitehouse Statement on Judge Robart’s Decision
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today released the following statement on U.S. District Judge James Robart's decision on President Donald Trump's executive order: "Judge Robart's decision underscores how rash and destructive President Trump's executive order has been. The Court found no support for the President's claim that banning refugees and legal immigrants from certain Muslim countries makes Americans safer. Indeed it has not. If anything, this half-baked effort has given t… Continue Reading
02.03.17
Senators to Trump: Show Us Who Is Buying Access to the ‘Winter White House’
Washington, DC - The Trump Organization's Mar-a-Lago club has doubled its membership fees on the eve of the President Trump's first visit to what the administration calls the nation's "Winter White House." Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tom Udall (D-NM) want to know who is paying the hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary for unlimited access to the newly christened executive mansion in Palm Beach. They sent a letter to President Trump today to ask. "At $200,000, the Mar-a-Lago me… Continue Reading
02.02.17
Whitehouse, Graham to Launch Bipartisan Investigation Into Russian Influence on Elections
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today announced they will launch a bipartisan investigation into Russian efforts to influence democratic elections in the United States and abroad. The investigation will be conducted by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. Graham and Whitehouse are the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, respectively. Whitehouse and Graham issued the fol… Continue Reading
02.02.17
Whitehouse Votes ‘No’ on Mulvaney Nomination
Washington, DC - Today, in a business meeting of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) voted against the nomination of Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Whitehouse released the following statement on today's vote: "In the House, Congressman Mulvaney was all too willing to play Russian roulette with the full faith and credit of the United States. He voted repeatedly to let the federal government default on its… Continue Reading
02.01.17
Whitehouse Votes ‘No’ on Sessions in Judiciary Committee
Washington, DC - Today, during a business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) voted against the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to serve as U.S. Attorney General. "Senator Sessions has a long history of demonstrated, open hostility for bedrock civil rights laws, and failed repeatedly to vigorously distance himself from extremist hate groups that hold him up as a champion of their perverse ideologies," said Whitehouse in a prepared statement a… Continue Reading
02.01.17
Whitehouse: “Hard to Believe” Pruitt Is Powerless to Come Clean on Potential Conflicts of Interest
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wants to know why it can take over two years for Scott Pruitt's office to produce documents under Oklahoma's Open Records Act - and why he thinks Senators should get at the back of that line to get information on his record. Pruitt is Oklahoma's Attorney General and President Trump's nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. In a letter sent to Pruitt's office today, Whitehouse questions why Pruitt has brushed off request… Continue Reading
01.31.17
Whitehouse Slams Republicans for Undermining Norms of the Senate by Jamming Through Trump Nominees
Washington, DC - Today, Senate Republicans attempted to advance several nominations out of committee for full Senate consideration despite unanswered questions about their records. These included: Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, who has not answered questions from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and HELP Committee Democrats about her conflicts of interest; Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin, who has provided the Finance Committee misleading answers about foreclosure practices under h… Continue Reading
01.31.17
Whitehouse Votes ‘No’ on Trump Education Pick
Washington, DC - Today, in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse voted against President Trump's pick for Education Secretary, Elisabeth DeVos, citing a record of advocating for failed education policies and Rhode Islanders' overwhelming opposition to her nomination. Whitehouse noted in particular the comments of Barbara Pellegrino, an award-winning first grade teacher in the Warwick Public Schools, who attended a meeting with Whitehouse and Rho… Continue Reading
01.31.17
Whitehouse Statement on Firing of Sally Yates
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement on the firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates: "Sally Yates was a career prosecutor in the Department of Justice back when I was United States Attorney. She represents the faithfulness and independence we want from career lawyers in that Department. Firing her brings back Nixonian echoes of the Saturday Night Massacre, and displays an administration all too comfortable playing fast and loose with the rule… Continue Reading
