MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

“Despicable and unlawful behavior from a man who wants to be king and wants to harm everyone who calls this country home. It is an assault on students and educators that will undermine public education, threaten civil rights, and harm our most vulnerable students in Massachusetts and across America.”

Watch Pressley Uplift Essential Federal Role in Education on House Floor

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement condemning Trump’s expected and unlawful executive action to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Last month, Congresswoman Pressley delivered a floor speech in which she affirmed the essential federal role in public education and our democracy.

“The federal role in education is both essential and clear. For decades, the federal government has provided essential funding to our schools and our students. Federal dollars and programs address teacher shortages, administer financial aid, support students with disabilities, collect data on disparities, enforce civil rights protections, keep the lights on in our public schools, and so much more. That is the federal role. Dictating what can be taught, gutting essential programs, tearing books off the shelves of school libraries, and using the bully pulpit to attack our kids and taunt their race, gender, or who they love as Donald Trump is trying to do here is clearly not the federal role.

“This latest executive action is despicable and unlawful behavior from a man who wants to be king and wants to harm everyone who calls this country home. It is an assault on students and educators that will undermine public education, threaten civil rights, and harm our most vulnerable students in Massachusetts and across America.

“Congress created the Department of Education and only Congress can abolish it. We will fight this every step of the way, in the courts and in community. Every child deserves a free and fair public education—that is foundational to our democracy and the American dream.”

Full video of Congresswoman Pressley’s February floor speech is available here.

Congresswoman Pressley has been leading voice in Congress speaking out against Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s unprecedented assault on our democracy and federal agencies, and she has been a steadfast advocate for protecting the essential services that federal workers and agencies provide.

• On March 11, 2025, Rep. Pressley spoke out against the U.S. Department of Education’s mass layoffs of over 1,300 workers, which effectively guts the agency.
• On March 11, 2025, Rep. Pressley voted against Republicans’ shameful government budget bill, which would harm vulnerable families and provide a blank check for Elon Musk and Donald Trump to continue their unprecedented assault on our democracy. She later issued a statement condemning its final passage in the Senate.
• On March 11, 2025, Rep. Pressley joined 13 of her colleagues on a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers and the immediate release of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, whose illegal abduction is an attack on his constitutional right to free speech and due process.
• On March 4, 2025, Rep. Pressley walked out of the House chamber in protest during Donald Trump’s presidential joint address to Congress.
• On March 4, 2025, Rep. Pressley welcomed Claire Bergstresser, an Everett constituent, dedicated public servant, AFGE union member, and former HUD worker who was unjustly terminated as part of Musk and Trump’s assault on federal agencies, as her guest to the presidential joint address to Congress.
• On February 28, 2025, Rep. Pressley led 85 lawmakers in a letter urging the Office of Special Counsel to immediate reinstate and expand protections for all unfairly fired federal workers.
• On February 28, 2025, Rep. Pressley joined over 200 Democrats in filing an amicus brief defending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before a U.S. District Court.
• On February 26, 2025, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley discussed what true government efficiency looks like and denounced Elon Musk and Donald Trump for utilizing DOGE to gut the essential services that keep people safe, fed, and housed.
• On February 25, 2025, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley condemned Elon Musk’s abuse of government efficiency through the fraudulent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• On February 25, 2025, Rep. Pressley delivered a floor speech in which she railed against Republicans’ cruel budget resolution that would slash Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion.
• On February 20, 2025, Rep. Pressley and her Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs issued a statement condemning the Trump Administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti.
• On February 13, 2025, in a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley emphasized the critical role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in safeguarding consumers and sharply criticized Donald Trump and Elon Musk for halting the critical work of the agency.
• On February 10, 2025, Rep. Pressley rallied with Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member Maxine Waters, and advocates to protest Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s unlawful takeover of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• On February 11, 2025, in a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley criticized the Trump-Musk administration for halting the critical work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with crypto scams on the rise.
• On February 10, 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement slamming the Trump Administration’s harmful cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to support hospitals, universities, and research institutions conducting lifesaving research.
• On February 10, 2025, as Trump and Musk threaten to dismantle the essential work of the U.S. Department of Education, Rep.  Pressley delivered a powerful floor speech to affirm the role of public education in American democracy.
• On February 6, 2025, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley delivered a powerful rebuke of Republicans’ efforts to gut diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and eliminate essential services for vulnerable communities.
• On February 5, 2025, Rep. Pressley rallied outside the U.S. Department of Treasury to protest Elon Musk’s unlawful assault on federal agencies and our democracy.
• On January 30, 2025, Rep. Pressley slammed Donald Trump for blaming the tragic plane crash at Reagan National Airport, which killed over 60 people, including some families from Massachusetts, on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
• In January 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement slamming Trump’s illegal freeze on federal grants and loans and its harmful impact on vulnerable communities.
• On January 23, 2025, Rep. Pressley delivered an impassioned floor speech condemning Republicans’ cruel anti-abortion bill that criminalizes providers and denies families care.
• On January 23, 2025, Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues to reintroduce the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, a bill to repeal an outdated law that has been used to target innocent immigrants without due process rights.
• On January 22, 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Trump Administration’s harmful executive actions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement after attending Mayor Michelle Wu’s State of the City Address in Boston.

“Tonight, Mayor Wu laid out a powerful vision for Boston and I am so grateful to have her as our leader in this time of consequence. With our city, Commonwealth, and country at a critical inflection point, Mayor Wu understands the urgency this moment demands and she is the steady, empathic leader that Bostonians deserve,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “From delivering essential services and reducing energy costs to addressing our housing crisis and strengthening Boston Public Schools, Mayor Wu made clear that she is building a vibrant, inclusive city for everyone. I look forward to continuing to partner with her to meet the moment and deliver for our shared constituents.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Text of the Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led 62 of their colleagues in the House and 23 of their colleagues in the Senate in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the Trump Administration redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, which the administration recently canceled on questionable legal authority:

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “The July 1, 2024 Federal Register notice extending Haiti’s TPS cited ‘grave insecurity, gang violence, socio-economic collapse, and environmental disasters’ as an ongoing crisis warranting protection. However, your February 2025 notice asserts that the 18-month period lacked justification. This decision ignores the overwhelming evidence that Haiti remains an unsafe place for anyone to return to. These conditions cited on the July 1, 2024 Federal Register Notice have worsened. Armed groups now control over 90% of Port-au-Prince, terrorizing civilians with widespread kidnappings, sexual violence, and indiscriminate killings. The UN reports that at least 5,601 people were killed in Haiti last year as a result of gang violence, over 1,000 more than the total killings for 2023. As of September 2024, nearly half the population of the country— 5.5 million Haitians—require urgent humanitarian aid, with 1.6 million facing ‘catastrophic’ food insecurity. Gang sieges and arson attacks have internally displaced over 1,041,000 people.”

The CROWN Act passed the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2022 but was blocked in the Senate.

The Members continued, “The decision to rescind Haiti’s TPS designation is not a thoughtful policy in the best interest of the United States. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump explicitly singled out Haitian TPS recipients in rallies and interviews. This rhetoric mirrored his 2017 termination of Haiti’s TPS designation, which a federal court blocked for violating the Administrative Procedure Act and failing to consider country conditions. The administration’s current vacatur revives this legally dubious playbook, seeking to destabilize the lives of Haitian immigrants through shortened protections and heightened uncertainty.”

“We request that you extend and redesignate Haiti for TPS for the statutory maximum of 18 months. Failure to extend and redesignate TPS would violate the INA’s requirement for data-driven decisions and abandon over 500,000 Haitians to a warzone the U.S. government has explicitly deemed unsafe. Congress intended TPS to be both a humanitarian tool and a pragmatic response to unstable conditions abroad. While DHS has discretion, that authority must be exercised with diligence, transparency, and fidelity to the law,” they wrote, before requesting responses to a series of questions regarding the legal basis and humanitarian and national interest considerations that led to the administration’s questionable decision to cancel Haiti’s TPS designation.

House Signers (64): Pressley, Clarke, Adams, Amo, Beatty, Beyer, Carson, Casar, Castor, Cherfilus-McCormick, Chu, Clark, Davis (Danny), Frost, Garcia (Jesus), Garcia (Sylvia), Goldman, Hayes, Hernandez, Jackson (Jonathan), Jacobs, Jayapal, Jeffries, Johnson (Henry), Latimer, Lee, Lofgren, Lynch, Magaziner, McClellan, McGovern, McIver, Meeks, Meng, Mfume, Moulton, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pallone, Pingree, Pocan, Quigley, Ramirez, Raskin, Scanlon, Schakowsky, Scott (Bobby), Sewell, Soto, Suozzi, Swalwell, Thanedar, Thompson (Bennie), Tlaib, Tonko, Trahan, Vargas, Veasey, Velazquez, Wasserman Schultz, Waters, Watson Coleman, Wilson (Frederica)

Senate Signers (24): Van Hollen, Blumenthal, Booker, Coons, Cortez Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Gillibrand, Heinrich, Hirono, Kaine, Kim (Andy), Klobuchar, Markey, Padilla, Reed, Sanders, Schumer, Shaheen, Warner, Warnock, Warren, Welch, Whitehouse

This letter has been endorsed by more than 100 organizations, including: UndocuBlack Network, African Communities Together, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Church World Service, Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), FWD.us, Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Family Action Network Movement, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Muslim Advocates, National Employment Law Project, National Partnership for New Americans, Nigerian Center, Presente.org, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Quixote Center, Refugees International, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), The Advocates for Human Rights, The Border Network for Human Rights, United African Organization, Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center, Witness at the Border, Baker Interfaith Friends Refugees International, Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, TPS-DED AAC, Haitian Support Center, Faith In Texas, Center for Law and Social Policy, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), Just Neighbors, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Immigration Hub, New York Immigration Coalition, Human Rights First, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Oasis Legal Services, Immigrants Rising, Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, National Immigrant Justice Center, Borderlands Resource Initiative, Alianza Americas, Community Solutions, NH Conference, United Church of Christ Immigrant & Refugee Support Group, Immigrants Act Now, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, National Bar Association, Gainesville Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Cameroon Advocacy Network, Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants – LORI, Women Watch Afrika, International Refugee Assistance Project, Sanctuary for Families, Minnesota Freedom Fund, scaleLIT, Win Without War, Urban Mom Collective National Black Mom Coalition, We Are All America, Westside Justice Center, Freedom for Immigrants, Partners In Health, Service Employees International Union, SEIU, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA), Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, EqualHealth’s Campaign Against Racism,  Immigration Center for Women and Children, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), Refugee Advocacy Lab, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, CASA, Immigration Law & Justice Network, Immigrant ARC, National Immigration Project, The Sidewalk School, TPS-DED AAC, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, United African Organization, United We Dream, Urban Mom Collective National Black Mom Coalition, We Are All America, Westside Justice Center, Win Without War, Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center, Witness at the Border, Women Watch Afrika, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, Working Families United, Hope Border Institute, Washington Office on Latin America, La Raza Community Resource Center (SF), Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), Alianza Americas, The Episcopal Church, MomsRising, Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc. (CAB), Asian Law Caucus, and the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA).

The text of the letter can be read here.

As Representative for the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, Congresswoman Pressley serves as Co-Chair for the House Haiti Caucus and represents one of the largest Haitian diaspora communities in the country, with approximately 46,000 Haitians and Haitian-Americans living across the state and over half in the Boston metropolitan area. Additionally, Massachusetts is home to more than 4,700 Haitians with Temporary Protected Status.

• On February 20, 2025, Rep. Pressley and her Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs issued a statement condemning the Trump Administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti.
• On November 14, 2024, Rep. Pressley and her Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs issued a statement condemning violence in Haiti and calling on the Biden Administration to halt all deportations to Haiti.
• On September 25, 2024, Rep. Pressley and her Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs issued a statement condemning the false and dangerous lies about Haitian, Latino, and Asian immigrants.
• On September 20, 2024, Rep. Pressley and her Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs joined colleagues and advocates at a press conference to stand in solidarity with Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio and across America, and to demand accountability for the harmful and false narratives perpetuated by Republicans.
• On June 28, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the Biden-Harris Administration’s extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 
• On April 23, 2024, Rep. Pressley, alongside Co-Chairs Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), led a group of 50 lawmakers urging the Biden Administration to redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), pause on deportations back to Haiti, extend humanitarian parole to any Haitians currently detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention centers, end detention of Haitian migrants intercepted at sea, and provide additional humanitarian assistance for Haiti.
• On April 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs led a letter to House Ways and Means Committee leadership emphasizing support for the early renewal of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Acts, commonly known as HOPE/HELP. 
• On April 12, 2024, Rep. Pressley joined Haitian-led activists, organizations, and a directly impacted person in Haiti for a press call urging federal action to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
• On March 27, 2024, Rep. Pressley joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and her colleagues on the Massachusetts congressional delegation in urging the Biden Administration to expedite visa processing for Haitians, particularly  for relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
• On March 18, Rep. Pressley, Senator Markey, and the House Haiti Caucus led 67 lawmakers on a letter urging the Biden Administration to extend TPS for Haiti and halt deportations.
• On March 12, 2024, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Cherfilus McCormick and Yvette Clarke issued a statement on the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
• On March 6, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the recent jailbreak and State of Emergency in Haiti.
• On December 8, 2023, Rep. Pressley and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke urged the U.S. Department of State to withdraw U.S. support for an armed foreign intervention in Haiti and encourage negotiations for a Haitian-led democratic political transition.
• On December 6, 2022, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the Biden Administration’s extension and re-designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti.
• On December 1, 2022, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Cori Bush, and Rep. Mondaire Jones led 14 of their colleagues on a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Department to extend and redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
• In September 2022, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Velázquez led 54 of their colleagues on a letter calling on the Biden Administration to immediately halt deportations to Haiti and provide humanitarian parole protections for those seeking asylum. The lawmakers’ letter followed the Administration’s resumption of deportation flights to Haiti as thousands of Haitian migrants continue to await an opportunity to make an asylum claim at the border. 
• In September 2022, Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues on the House Oversight Committee in demanding answers regarding the inhumane treatment of migrants in Del Rio, Texas, by Border Patrol agents on horseback and pushing to Biden Administration to end the ongoing use and weaponization of Title 42.
• On August 17, 2022, Rep. Pressley, along with Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Val Demings, Yvette Clarke, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), called on President Biden to appoint a new Special Envoy to Haiti, a position that has remained unfilled since September 2021.
• On July 7, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Andy Levin (MI-09), Val Demings (FL-10) and Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) released a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
• On May 31, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Reverend Dieufort Fleurissaint, chair of Haitian Americans United, published an op-ed in the Bay State Banner in which they called on the Biden administration to withdraw support for de facto ruler of Haiti, Ariel Henry, and instead support an inclusive, civil society-led process to restore stability and democracy on the island. 
• In April 2022, she joined her colleagues at a press conference reaffirming her support for President Biden’s decision to end Title 42. Full video of her remarks at the press conference is available here. Rep. Pressley applauded the Biden Administration’s end of Title 42 in a statement in April 2022.
• On May 26, 2022, Rep. Pressley, along with with Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Andy Levin (MI-09), Jim McGovern (MA-02), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24), led a letter to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Power urging her to act to ensure food security in Haiti.
• On March 16, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Mondaire Jones called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky to fully end Title 42, cease deportations of people to Haiti and affirm their legal and fundamental human right to seek asylum.
• On February 16, 2022, Rep. Pressley joined Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and 100 House and Senate colleagues in urging President Biden to reverse inhumane immigration policies – such as Title 42, originally introduced under the Trump Administration – that continue to disproportionately harm Black migrants.
• On February 14, 2022, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), alongside Representatives Judy Chu (CA-27) and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), led 33 other House Democrats on a letter to Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, demanding answers about the agency’s justification for treating asylum seekers as a unique public health threat, how these expulsions are being coordinated, how asylum seekers being returned to dangerous situations are being cared for, and more.
• On February 14, 2022, Reps. Pressley, Judy Chu (CA-27), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) led 33 other House Democrats on a letter to CDC Director Walensky demanding answers about the agency’s justification for treating asylum seekers as a unique public health threat, how these expulsions are being coordinated, how asylum seekers being returned to dangerous situations are being cared for, and more. Days later, Rep. Pressley once again called on the Biden Administration to reverse the Title 42 Order and other anti-Black immigration policies.
• On January 12, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09), and Val Demings (FL-10) released a statement on the 12-year anniversary of the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.
• On November 21, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren led the Massachusetts congressional delegation on a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) calling on them to coordinate with the government agencies of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assist newly arrived families from Haiti. 
• On October 18, 2021, Rep. Pressley, and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Val Demings (FL-10), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Andy Levin (MI-09) issued a statement following the kidnapping of American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti.
• On October 18, 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the civil rights complaint filed by Haitian families demanding a federal investigation into the heinous actions perpetrated by federal officials at the border.
• On October 22, 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), sent a letter to Troy A. Miller, the Acting Administrator of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), demanding a briefing and answers regarding press reports of the inhumane treatment of migrants in Del Rio, Texas, by Border Patrol agents on horseback. 
• On September 17, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) led 52 of their colleagues calling on the Biden Administration to immediately halt deportations to Haiti and take urgent action to address the concerns of the Haitian Diaspora after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti.
• On August 14, 2021, Rep. Pressley Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09) and Val Demings (FL-10) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17) released a statement regarding the recent earthquake in Haiti.
• On July 14, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09) and Val Demings (FL-10) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to take a series of steps to support the Haitian diaspora amid ongoing political turmoil in Haiti.
• In July 2021, the Reps. Pressley, Clarke, Demings and Levin issued a statement condemning the assassination of President Moïse and calling for swift and decisive action to bring political stability and peace to Haiti and the Haitian people.
• In May 2021, on Haitian Flag Day, Reps. Pressley, Levin, Clarke and Demings announced the formation of the House Haiti Caucus, a Congressional caucus dedicated to pursuing a just foreign policy that puts the needs and aspirations of the Haitian people first.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51)

March 26, 2025

WASHINGTON – During a Financial Services Committee hearing today, U.S. Representative Juan Vargas (CA-52) called out the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – an agency that has returned more than $21 billion to families scammed by big banks and other financial institutions – and leave military families and seniors more vulnerable. President Trump and DOGE have moved rapidly to gut the CFPB by cutting off funding, firing staff, and shutting down its headquarters. 

Watch Rep. Vargas’s questions to former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau General Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Director Seth Frotman HERE. Read Rep. Vargas’s questioning: 

VARGAS: 

I represent the San Diego region and the San Diego region is blessed by having the Navy there and many, many military personnel and we’re very blessed because many of them stay there. They retire there, but unfortunately, they become victims often times of financial

scams. 

In San Diego, in the San Diego region, we have 96% more CFPB consumer complaints filed by servicemembers. You know that, I’m sure. 

Could you talk a little bit about what is happening right now and how we’ve helped them before and how we’re not helping them right now because I’m getting these complaints right now from people, and they’re saying they’re calling, there’s nobody there.

FROTMAN:

Thank you so much for the question, Congressman. I’ve actually visited the Marine Corps depot training facility with Holly Petraeus. So, this is critically important. You know, one of the central tasks that Congress directed the CFPB to do was look after military families. And the track record of the Bureau across administrations before the most recent change, I think, was stellar. 

We got back more than $200 million dollars for military families through enforcement actions. We helped with 400,000 complaints. And what you see now is just devastating to military families. They told the people who staff the office that the Congress required, the Office of Servicemember Affairs, to stop working. They broke the complaint system. 

So we’ve heard a ton today about overreach. We’ve heard these amorphous vague comments about CFPB overreach. Is it overreach when the Bureau took enforcement actions against a bunch of scammers who ripped off military families, who ripped off veterans, who ripped off retirees? 

We’ve heard a lot of the abstracts about the Bureau and the prior leadership, but we haven’t heard specifics because I think that is what, this is one example of exactly what the Bureau was tasked to do, and they’re not doing right now.

VARGAS: 

The other thing that I think is very important also is to talk about [the] elderly. You know, again, San Diego is a young town, but it’s not that young. I mean, a number of us are retired… and there’s a lot of scams, again, against elderly. And… before I got all these positive comments about how the CFPB was doing their job. Now I’m getting all these complaints because nobody’s there. Could you comment about that?

FROTMAN: 

That’s correct. The Acting Director Vought told the Office of Older Americans to stop working. People who submit complaints about themselves or an elderly parent or grandparent saw that system broken. 

So, you know, there’s been a lot of charges leveled, but I think one of the things that I think we all agree on is that the CFPB needs to work. The CFPB needs to work on behalf of consumers and servicemembers and older Americans. It needs to work on behalf of honest businesses, and it’s not now. The inspectors that are supposed to take care of service members and older Americans are sitting at home instead of doing their job.

VARGAS: 

Mr. Frotman, I want this on the record because I think that I’ve been around long enough now that you see cycles. And the unfortunate cycles are this: we’ve talked about predators and we’ve seen this. Oftentimes my colleagues on the other side ultimately control government and then you do see an overreach all right, but by the banks and others, and we get into a financial slide. And then we get into a recession, and then we get into real trouble. And then consumers, we saw in 2008, get ripped off. So we heard today that the CFPB is the predator, that you guys are the predator, that you were the predator. Could you straighten the record out on that, and I want this on the record because I think it’s gonna happen again. I want to make sure that you tell the truth. Go ahead, sir. 

FROTMAN: 

Thank you so much. So, you know, we’ve heard a lot of attacks on CFPB leadership, but these are really attacks on dedicated public servants who wake up every single day just trying to make their neighborhood safe.

So many of us who work at the CFPB lived through the financial crisis and watched community after community decimated while a bunch of billionaire bankers got off scot-free. And what we do every day at the Bureau, or what we did every day at the Bureau, was to try to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

What is happening now at the Bureau, where there is no oversight over massive non-banks in this country, is bad for businesses, it is bad for consumers, and they are setting up the situation that will, there will be another financial crisis in this country, and you all, or the people sitting in the chairs after you, will be forced to deal with it once again.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51)

March 04, 2025

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Juan Vargas (CA-52), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee’s Task Force on Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity, delivered opening remarks at the Task Force’s first hearing. 

“Through this Task Force, I look forward to discussing important issues that affect our constituents and the entire economy, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy framework review, the supplemental leverage ratio, and the debate between rule-based and discretionary monetary policy. But I also plan to defend my core principles,” said Ranking Member Vargas. “Two of those core principles are my belief in the importance of the Fed’s dual mandate, and the need to protect the Fed’s independence.”

Watch Ranking Member Vargas’s opening remarks HERE. Read Ranking Member Vargas’s opening remarks as delivered:  

Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and thank you very much for introducing me. And again, good morning to everybody else. 

Let me congratulate you on being named as Chairman of this Task Force. As you know, I have a great deal of respect for you. 

When I first came to Congress 13 years ago, I was on the Agriculture Committee, which you chaired, and I thought that you treated everyone evenhandedly, straightforward, and honestly. And I appreciate that. And I look forward to working with you together on issues where we find common ground.

Through this Task Force, I look forward to discussing important issues that affect our constituents and the entire economy, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy framework review, the supplemental leverage ratio, and the debate between rule-based and discretionary monetary policy. 

But I also plan to defend my core principles, and I know you will. 

Two of those core principles are my belief in the importance of the Fed’s dual mandate, and the need to protect the Fed’s independence. 

The importance, first, of the dual mandate. As members of this Task Force we are well aware that the Fed’s dual mandate was established in 1977.

The amendments to the Federal Reserve Act passed that year tasked the Fed with two important goals – to create economic conditions that achieve both maximum employment and stable prices.

The inclusion of employment was no accident. The addition was thanks in large part to the work of Coretta Scott King and many in the labor movement.

Some have argued that the Fed Reserve’s dual mandate has been a distraction from solely focusing on price stability. But maximum employment should not be on the chopping block. 

When Congress charged the Fed with this dual mandate, it recognized that having access to a job is a signal of a healthy economy.

Preventing the Fed from addressing employment would misunderstand the key way that many Americans experience the economy. And it would also disproportionately hurt working-class people.

Low employment harms Americans who are already living on the edge – working multiple jobs, and surviving paycheck to paycheck.

Chairman Powell has said that the dual mandate has “served us well” and that he “doesn’t see the case” to move forward with a single mandate of price stability. And I agree. 

As Ranking Member, I intend to continue to advocate for the importance of preserving the Fed’s dual mandate.

Now with respect to the independence of the Fed – another area where the Fed has come under increased scrutiny – is its independence.

The research is clear that central banks around the world function at their best when they’re allowed to operate independently.

Elected officials mostly operate on a short-term horizon, responding to short-term political incentives. 

But the Fed must make decisions considering a much longer time horizon. That is why it is critical that monetary policy be insulated from external political pressure.

The President’s recent executive order requiring independent agencies to submit proposed regulatory actions, strategic plans, and priorities to the White House for review only makes this issue more important.

And it’s also worrisome that now Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has floated the idea of creating a shadow Fed chair before Chairman Powell’s term expires in May of 2026.

We in Congress, regardless of political party, must continue to strongly defend the independence of the Fed.

The new Administration has brought in a wave of uncertainty.

Whether it’s tariffs or the future independence of the Fed, our constituents are increasingly unsure of their economic future.

We see it in recent national consumer sentiment numbers, which have shown that consumer confidence fell by seven points in the most recent Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey.

And I’m hearing from businesses in my district in San Diego who are increasingly concerned about the impact that tariffs and trade wars will have on the economy

I hope that this Task Force will provide a forum for substantive debate and collaboration on these issues that impact our constituents. I’m looking forward to it.

And with that I yield back.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Danny K Davis (7th District of Illinois)

The bill would prevent and address intentional misuse of subgrant funds under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Danny K Davis (7th District of Illinois)

Statement from Congressman Danny K. Davis on 

White House Meeting with President Zelensky

Chicago, IL – Congressman Danny K. Davis issued the following statement in response to the White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky:

“The actions of President Trump and his administration continue to undermine America’s credibility on the world stage. Today’s White House meeting with President Zelensky was not only profoundly unfortunate but also served to embolden Vladimir Putin and his campaign of aggression. The United States must remain steadfast in its commitment to democracy rather than rewarding those who seek to dismantle it.

For three years, President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine have bravely defended their sovereignty against Russia’s unjust invasion. Their fight is not just for their nation—it is a fight for democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. It is in America’s national security interest to stand with Ukraine until victory is achieved.

I will continue to support efforts to provide Ukraine with the resources necessary to defend itself against tyranny. We cannot afford to waver in our commitment to global democracy or allow authoritarianism to gain ground.”