Press Releases
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
01.31.17
Whitehouse Statement on Trump Supreme Court Pick
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, United States Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch: "The most important question President Trump's nominee will face is where he will stand on the special interest politics that has stricken the Court. For years, a gang of five Republican appointees took direction from big right-wing lobbies. Their efforts have corrup… Continue Reading
01.30.17
Senate Judiciary Members: Is DOJ Doing Its Job to Review Trump’s Executive Orders?
Washington, DC - Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee want to know whether the Justice Department lawyers charged with ensuring that the President is following the law are actually reviewing Donald Trump's executive actions. On Friday, when asked if its Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) was performing its duty to review the "form and legality" of executive orders and proclamations, the Justice Department responded "no comment." While subsequent reports have suggested OLC may have reviewed at … Continue Reading
01.30.17
Whitehouse Statement on Trump Immigration Order
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the following statement on President Donald Trump's Executive Order restricting immigration to the United States: "President Trump's broad brush Executive Order on refugees doesn't discern women and children, local supporters, and employees who helped American troops and have to flee for safety, or other good reasons to keep a safe refugee process operating. None of the 9/11 terrorists came from these countries, and the last time 'America Fi… Continue Reading
01.30.17
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Senators Call on President Trump to Protect Americans from Higher Health Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Al Franken (D-MN) sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to change course and avoid further harm to Americans who depend on the financial assistance provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by protecting the cost-sharing subsidies that help lower o… Continue Reading
01.30.17
Senators Call on Sec. of State Nominee Rex Tillerson to Recuse Himself from All Matters Related to ExxonMobil
Washington (January 309, 2017) - As the Senate prepares to take its first full vote on the nomination of former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today led a group of nine other senators in calling on Mr. Tillerson to recuse himself from participating in any matter that could impact ExxonMobil for the entirety of his tenure at the department. Mr. Tillerson's Ethics Agreement includes only… Continue Reading
01.28.17
Whitehouse Statement on CBP Enforcement of Immigration Order and Ongoing Protests
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's enforcement of President Donald Trump's Executive Order on immigration despite stays issued by federal courts, and on the ongoing protests nationwide: "When a judge in this country hands down an order, you follow it. Period. As a prosecutor, if I received a direction from the court, I shut up and did it, even if I didn't like it. That's how the rule of law works. Secreta… Continue Reading
01.27.17
Whitehouse Urges Rhode Islanders to Find Out if They Qualify for Tax Break
Providence, RI - Rhode Island residents who make $55,000 a year or less may be entitled to an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and free tax preparation. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today joined the Rhode Island Community Action Association, Providence Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Coalition, Citizens Bank, and the United Way of Rhode Island, among others, to launch a public awareness campaign at the Rhode Island State House promoting the EITC and free tax preparation. "The Earned Incom… Continue Reading
01.27.17
Senators Renew Calls for DeVos to Come Clean on Dark Money Ties
Washington, DC - Today, after receiving no responsive information to previous requests, several members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) renewed their request to President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Elisabeth DeVos, to come clean about her connections to "dark money" groups. These groups, also known as 501(c)(4)s, allow political donors to avoid disclosing their identity and affiliations. DeVos has been directly involved in fundraisi… Continue Reading
01.26.17
Whitehouse Announces Opposition to DeVos Nomination
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Elisabeth DeVos to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: "Every Rhode Island student deserves the chance to learn and gain the skills they need to get ahead. The mission of the U.S. Department of Education is to give them that chance. Promoting quality education for children no matter where they live require… Continue Reading
01.26.17
Whitehouse Announces Opposition to Tillerson Nomination
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on the nomination of Rex Wayne Tillerson to serve as U.S. Secretary of State: "The United States represents to the world a model of democratic leadership and honesty. "Rex Tillerson has spent his career in an international oil company that was cozy with the worst foreign governments, particularly with Vladimir Putin's Russia, and that has been fundamentally dishonest with the world as to what Exxon knew… Continue Reading
01.26.17
Whitehouse Slams Pruitt’s Evasive Responses to Post-Hearing Questions
Washington, DC - Scott Pruitt, President Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, drew a stiff rebuke from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) for his evasive, misleading, or demonstrably false answers to Senators' questions for the record following Pruitt's confirmation hearing. Pruitt provided responses to Environment and Public Works Committee members' post-hearing questions for the record late Tuesday night. In the following statement, Whitehouse asks the still unanswered que… Continue Reading
01.24.17
Senators to Pruitt: Explain Yourself to the American People
Washington, DC - Senate Democrats want real answers from Donald Trump's nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt. After receiving evasive, misleading, and incomplete answers to their questions during his testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Committee members wrote to Pruitt today asking him to explain further his dubious record on environmental protection as Oklahoma Attorney General, his involvement in fundraising for shadowy dark money gr… Continue Reading
01.24.17
Whitehouse Presses Trump OMB Nominee on Tax Giveaways
Washington, DC - Today during a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioned President Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), about billions of dollars in wasteful spending through the tax code-on credits, deductions, and special rates for the wealthy and well-connected. Whitehouse pushed Mulvaney to address tax expenditures as OMB Director, should he be confirmed, to which Mulv… Continue Reading
01.24.17
Whitehouse Statement on Keystone XL and Dakota Access Executive Orders
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on the executive orders signed today by President Donald Trump advancing the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects: "Allowing the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to move forward is yet another example of President Trump putting fossil fuel interests first, ahead of the wellbeing of the American people. "The Keystone XL Pipeline would be a disaster for Americans' health and our environment, bot… Continue Reading
01.24.17
Whitehouse Announces Opposition to Sessions Nomination
Washington, DC - Following a business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the following statement with regard to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be U.S. Attorney General: "I have reviewed Senator Sessions's career as an attorney and in public office, as well as his testimony before the Judiciary Committee. I have reflected on my time as an Attorney General and U.S. Attorney in Rhode Island, where my job was to enforce the law f… Continue Reading
01.24.17
Whitehouse, Brown, Franken, Schakowsky Introduce Public Option for Obamacare
Washington, D.C. - As congressional Republicans try to tear down the law that has extended health insurance coverage to over 20 million Americans, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Al Franken (D-MN) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) have introduced the Consumer Health Options and Insurance Competition Enhancement (CHOICE) Act, to add a publicly operated health insurance option to individual marketplaces. The measure is intended to guarantee American consumers a… Continue Reading
