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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement to mark five years after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021:

“On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump revealed himself for who he is: a demagogue, a wannabe dictator, a man with no loyalty to our democracy and our Constitution. He told a mob of his supporters to ‘stop the steal’ and ‘fight like hell.’ There was no steal. But they did fight like hell.

“In an effort to overturn the outcome of a free and fair election, the insurrectionists wounded some 140 of our brave U.S. Capitol Police, two of whom were killed. They paraded the Confederate flag through the Capitol – something the Confederacy itself never achieved even in the most dire hours of the Civil War. They hunted for Vice President Pence and Speaker Pelosi, hoping to hang them from gallows they erected on the National Mall. Trump did nothing to stop the violence.

“I am deeply grateful to law enforcement and the National Guard for their efforts to protect the Capitol and restore order that day. But the struggle for our democracy did not end that night. It continues five years later, as Trump attempts to distort our memory of January 6. He has granted clemency to all who assaulted the Capitol – some 1,600 insurrectionists, including 600 charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement. He has called January 6 a ‘day of love,’ while the GOP has defined it as ‘legitimate political discourse.’

“If we fail to remember January 6 for what it was – a day of treason, sedition, and violence – then we invite further attacks on our democracy and on our people.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) and Blake Moore (UT-01), Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, released the following statement regarding Greenland and Denmark:

“Sabre-rattling about annexing Greenland is needlessly dangerous. The Kingdom of Denmark is a NATO ally and one of America’s closest partners. An attack on Greenland – a crucial part of that alliance – would tragically be an attack on NATO.

“Denmark recognizes how important Greenland is to our mutual security in the Arctic region. They have moved in lockstep with the United States in Greenland for decades, accepting every request to increase our military presence on the island, and are spending 3.3% of GDP on defense to help us deter Russia and China in the region.

“If the message is that ‘we need Greenland,’ the truth is that we already have access to everything we could need from Greenland. If we want to deploy more forces or build additional missile defense infrastructure in Greenland, Denmark has given us a green light to do so. Our ally has always accommodated us. Threatening to annex Greenland needlessly undermines that cooperation for no gain.

“Russia, China, and other authoritarian regimes around the world are yearning for conquest. The last thing America needs is a civil war among NATO that endangers our security and our way of life.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who was in House Chamber when insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, questioned expert witnesses and then testified about his experience that day at a special hearing on the fifth anniversary of that violent attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power. The hearing focused on the “big lie” of a stolen 2020 election and President Trump’s central role in the attempted coup, including bringing the mob to Washington and inciting it to violence.

The four-and-a-half-hour hearing established that at least 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the attack and that the Capitol itself sustained $29 million in damage. Before questioning a panel that included a former U.S. Capitol Police officer, a federal prosecutor who pursued charges against the insurrectionists but resigned after Trump pardoned them all on his first day in office, an academic expert on misinformation, and a grandmother who accepted her prosecution and acknowledged her guilt as a rioter and refused Trump’s pardon, Congressman Cohen said:

“We should never forget this day. This, like Pearl Harbor, is a day that will live in infamy.”

See the congressman’s line of questioning here.

When he testified as a witness, Congressman Cohen described retreating from the House Gallery where he’d been observing the Electoral College vote count as the mop descended and passing police officers, with guns drawn, on his way back to his vacant House office. He said he locked the doors and prepared for what might come by arming himself with a commemorative Chicago White Sox Minnie Minoso baseball bat.

“We must never forget this day, and I won’t,” he said.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who was in House Chamber when insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, will question witnesses and testify at a special House hearing on the fifth anniversary of that violent attempt to subvert democracy.  The hearing will focus on what happened and the importance of accountability. Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“I was in the House Chamber when the rioters began smashing the doors as armed Capitol Police tried to hold them at bay. I retreated to my office and locked the doors, arming myself with a commemorative baseball bat. The threat to our democracy was real and it was instigated by Donald Trump. People died. On this solemn anniversary, the American people should know and accept the facts. I’m proud to have been asked to participate in this hearing about that terrible day.

“January 6^th produced many heroes – the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan D.C. Police, the National Guard – but the greatest hero from my perspective was Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was recently called before the Judiciary Committee for a deposition.  This wasn’t a search for the truth; it was a pretextual trap designed for revenge. He told the Committee: ‘Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.’ That’s what this hearing is all about.”

What: A hearing on the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol

Who: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former January 6 Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, former Select Committee members, current House members (including Congressman Cohen), and expert witnesses

When: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time – 9 a.m. Central time.

Where: Capitol Visitor Center – HVC-215 (Only accredited media are eligible to attend in person.)

Watch a livestream of the hearing here. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), led 115 of her colleagues in a letter urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to save lives by restoring the previous childhood immunization schedule. The letter comes on the heels of the Secretary Kennedy-led Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing they will gut the childhood immunization schedule by reducing the number of universally recommended vaccines without substantive input from relevant scientific and medical experts.

In the letter, Congresswoman Schrier and her colleagues said, “As Members of Congress, we are outraged at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to endanger children and families by undermining the established science driven and expertly considered U.S. childhood immunization schedule. As Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), your duty to this country is to enhance the well-being of all Americans, and yet this decision will put Americans at unnecessary risk of illness and cost lives.” 

“Your agency’s decision to overhaul decades of evidence-based science is arbitrary and driven by ideology. This announcement completely bypasses the recommendations made by the previously esteemed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel that you have replaced with your own hand-picked members, most of whom have long track records of anti-vaccine activism,” the letter states. 

“We demand that you reinstate the previous childhood immunization schedule, restore sanctity to the ACIP, and protect the health and wellbeing of children,” the letter concludes.

To view the full letter, click here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), the first pediatrician elected to Congress, released the following statement after the CDC announced it will overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer immunizations:

As a pediatrician, I am outraged by RFK Jr.’s radical and dangerous decision to make sweeping changes to our nation’s childhood immunization schedule. Today’s decision ignores decades of extensive research in favor of medical conspiracy theories. He made this seismic move about which vaccines should or should not be recommended without any substantive input from infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, and pediatricians. In fact, RFK Jr.’s recommendations are so extreme that he did not even do this in consultation with his handpicked panel on the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, subverting 60-plus years of precedent in the U.S. 

“There is no rational basis for removing children’s access to safe and effective vaccines. Additionally, pediatricians already spend time talking with parents about why vaccinations are important to their children’s health and well-being and answering questions, and the updated immunization schedule undermines those conversations and pediatric recommendations. 

“This decision is coming at a time when we are seeing an unprecedented rise in illnesses and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough, and when Republicans in Congress are gutting access to affordable healthcare. This will exacerbate the country’s ongoing public health crisis and cause more children to get sick, be hospitalized, suffer, and potentially die, particularly from rotavirus, RSV, and flu. 

“Amid this dangerous decision, I will continue to do everything I can to fight for the safety and health of our nation’s children.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s Military Operation in Venezuela. 

“While Maduro is an illegitimate and dangerous dictator who has made life terrible for Venezuelans, President Trump should not be dragging us into another foreign conflict without consultation and consent from Congress. After promising no new wars, he launched a large-scale military strike in Venezuela with plans for the U.S. to take over control of the country, and put American troops in harm’s way.

“The American people deserve answers, especially at a time when the president should be focused on running our own country and making life better for Americans. 

“​The Administration must brief Congress and answer multiple remaining and pressing questions.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Diana DeGette (First District of Colorado)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01) released the following statement after Donald Trump announced a freeze of federal funds for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Services Block Grant program in Colorado: 

“Donald Trump’s decision to take federal benefits away from vulnerable children in Colorado is vindictive and illegal. I vehemently oppose his actions as he continues his pattern of political retribution against our state. This devastating freeze will take food from families across the state, in both red and blue areas. Therefore, I urge my Republican colleagues to leverage their relationships with the administration and end this blatantly political attack against the most vulnerable families in Colorado. In addition, as a member of the House Litigation Task Force, I am exploring legal action to reverse these unlawful cuts.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Al Green (TX-9)

(Houston, TX)—Today, Congressman Al Green released the following statement regarding recent events in Venezuela and emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize healthcare access by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for Americans. See Congressman Al Green’s statement below and access his letter to Speaker Johnson by clicking here.

Congressman Al Green stated, “I oppose putting boots on the ground in Venezuela. We cannot allow President Trump to continue engaging our military in strikes against nations without consulting Congress. I have asked the Speaker of the House to provide a congressional briefing that will explain the President’s authority to bomb another country and capture its president without consulting Congress. Also, know that I will not allow the President’s actions in Venezuela to distract me from fighting to provide necessary healthcare for the American people. For some, these subsidies are a matter of life and death. I will vote to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies for the millions of Americans affected.”

Source: {United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bobby Scott (3rd District of Virginia)

Headline: Scott Statement on U.S. Military Strikes in Venezuela and Capture of President Maduro

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the United States military conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 

“I am deeply concerned by reports of U.S. military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro. There is no question that Nicolás Maduro is a brutal and corrupt leader who has inflicted enormous harm on the Venezuelan people. However, the reprehensible conduct of a foreign leader, absent a clear and immediate threat to the United States, does not give any president the authority to disregard the Constitution. 

“The Constitution vests in Congress the power to authorize the use of military force. To date, the Trump Administration has yet to identify a clear legal basis for its military strikes in the Caribbean, the Eastern Pacific or now inside Venezuela, for the capture of a foreign head of state, or even to ‘run’ a foreign country. Escalating military action inside a sovereign country without congressional authorization raises serious questions under both U.S. and international law and risks further destabilizing the region. 

“I have repeatedly warned that these heavy-handed and legally dubious military actions carried out in the name of reducing drug use in the United States are among the least effective and most costly ways to address that problem. Decades of evidence and research make clear that the most effective strategies to reduce illicit drug use are education, prevention, and access to mental health and addiction treatment.  Yet at the same time, this Administration has sought to significantly reduce staffing and funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the very federal agency charged with addressing those needs. This contradiction suggests a troubling preference for costly military escalation over evidence-based solutions. 

“Congress and the American people deserve a full accounting of the legal authority, objectives, and consequences of these actions. I will continue to press for answers and for Congress to reassert our constitutional war powers.”

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