MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, sent a letter to Trump Administration “Border Czar” Tom Homan demanding answers about Homan’s past work as a paid consultant for a major immigration detention conglomerate, GEO Group, which has already been awarded several major government contracts under the Trump Administration.

Homan’s February 2025 ethics disclosure reveals that he worked as a consultant for GEO Group in the two years prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Recent media reports also reveal that Homan played a key role in the hiring of David Venturella, a former GEO Group executive who now serves as the “No. 2 official overseeing the ICE division that manages contracts for immigrant detention centers.” 

“As Border Czar, you are responsible for implementing the Administration’s policy of mass roundups and detention—a policy that depends heavily on the operators of private detention facilities, including GEO Group. However, your past work as a paid consultant for GEO Group and your involvement in the hiring of Mr. Venturella raise serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest in this arrangement,” wrote the Ranking Members.

As Border Czar, Homan is positioned to help his former client reap the windfall from Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE’s massive budget, boosted to $75 billion by Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” He has repeatedly called for expanding ICE’s detention capacity, and ICE has worked closely with private prison companies, including GEO Group, to implement this expansion.

Over the past eight months, DHS has awarded GEO Group a number of new government contracts, including a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion to support the establishment of a federal immigration processing center at GEO Group’s Delaney Hall Facility in Newark, New Jersey. GEO Group has also said that it expects ICE to issue contracts for its remaining vacant facilities by the end of this year.

The increasing reliance on GEO Group by ICE is particularly troubling given the well-documented history of abuse, mismanagement, and neglect within the company’s facilities. Earlier this year, four inmates at the GEO Group-run Delaney Hall facility escaped from ICE custody after they broke through the facility’s internal and external walls. According to immigration groups, the escape occurred following a riot at the detention facility over insufficient food and other poor conditions.

“In light of these grave concerns and your past work for GEO Group, you may have an actual conflict of interest—and certainly the appearance of one—if you are participating in or influencing agency decisions or actions that could affect the spending of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars with your former client. Accordingly, please confirm that you have completely recused yourself from all matters that could directly or indirectly benefit GEO Group, including through the award, writing and execution of federal contracts,” concluded the Ranking Members.

The Ranking Members requested Homan provide documents, communications, and information, including a copy of his February 2025 financial disclosure, a full accounting of all financial benefits he has received from GEO Group, and any communications since January 20, 2025, referencing GEO Group’s operations or federal contracts.

Click here to read the letter.

Issues: Government Reform & Ethics, Immigration

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

Today, Representative Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) announced he will not seek re-election next year:

“For more than 32 years, I have had the honor of serving the people of New York in the United States Congress. Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election next year and that this term in Congress will be my last. This decision has not been easy. But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation.

“When I step down at the end of this term, I will have served for 50 years in continuous elected public service to the people of New York.

“I look back with great pride on all that I’ve been able to accomplish in Congress. As Chair of the House Judiciary Committee from 2019 through 2022, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to help lead our party’s efforts to preserve the rule of law and to provide for a more just society that respects the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans. That leadership includes impeaching Donald Trump twice– first for abuse of power and obstruction of justice and second for inciting an insurrection against the American people.

“I am proud of the principled progressive legislation we passed on voting rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ2+ rights, immigration and gun safety. From the Equality Act to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to the Protecting Our Kids Act, to the Dream Act – legislation that I championed helped move the country forward.

“I delivered billions of dollars for key NYC transportation priorities as a member on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, including key funding to complete the Second Avenue Subway project and begin work on the Gateway Program. I helped secure funding to rebuild the Highline, transform Penn Station, extend the 7 line to the far west side and renovate numerous subway stations. And in the aftermath of the horrific 9/11 attacks, I fought to secure $20 billion for recovery efforts, led the hearings that exposed the EPA’s lies about Lower Manhattan’s air quality, and co-authored the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide support to first responders and survivors.

“More recently, in the face of growing threats to civil rights and liberties from the Supreme Court, I wrote and secured the enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act to codify marriage equality.  I have fought back against the growing antisemitism in America, speaking out against hateful rhetoric and providing direct funding to protect vulnerable non-profit institutions.

“And I am proud of the thousands of votes I have taken over the years to help pass the Affordable Care Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and of the role I played to approve the Iran nuclear deal to prevent their development of nuclear weapons. I am equally proud of some legislation that I voted against – including the USA PATRIOT Act, the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, and more recently, President Trump’s Big Ugly Bill.

“I am incredibly grateful to the people of Manhattan, and Brooklyn, who have given me the great privilege of representing them for so many years. I am also grateful beyond words to my incredible staff, past and present, who have helped shape and make possible all that I’ve accomplished in office. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the advocacy groups and activists who have been key partners in so many difficult and important fights—from Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, ACLU, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NARAL (Reproductive Freedom for All) and the League of Conservation Voters to the Working Families Party and all my friends in labor. And I am so lucky to have had the love and support of my family; my wife, Joyce, and my son, Michael, who have sacrificed in countless ways to make my service in Congress possible.

“I don’t know what the future beyond 2026 holds, but I plan to stay fully engaged in the community that is my home and in the causes that I’ve championed throughout my life. My plans for the next sixteen months, however, are clear. I will continue to give everything I have to defend our democracy, protect our institutions, and fight for the values that as Americans and New Yorkers we share.”

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

Pressley Continues to Call for Full, Public Congressional Hearing to Center Survivors, Shed Light on their Stories

BOSTON – In response to pressure from Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Oversight Committee and a survivor of sexual abuse, the Committee will be holding a closed-door roundtable on Tuesday, September 2 to hear from survivors of the unconscionable exploitation by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their co-conspirators. The Congresswoman is continuing her push for a full, transparent and public Congressional hearing that centers survivors and their experiences. 

As a survivor of sexual abuse herself, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has been a dedicated advocate for survivors’ justice and has led committee Democrats in calling for a full Congressional hearing to ensure survivors’ firsthand accounts are heard.

“If we are to hold powerful abusers to account, we must center the voices they tried to silence. This upcoming roundtable is a step toward the healing, accountability, and transparency survivors deserve. To the survivors who are stepping forward to share their stories and to those who continue to hold their stories close: thank you for your strength. I see you, your experiences are real, and I am so sorry for what you went through,” said Congresswoman Pressley in a statement today.

“I strongly encourage all of my Oversight colleagues to join this roundtable and provide the survivors the space to share their stories and be heard with the respect and dignity they deserve. But justice delayed is justice denied. I continue to demand a full and public Congressional hearing to ensure their testimony is documented in the Congressional Record and shared transparently with the public. And as the Oversight Committee continues its investigation, I continue to demand the release of the full, unredacted Epstein files with the names of survivors protected.”

Rep. Pressley has led the demand for a hearing with survivors as the Committee has continued its investigation and after the Congresswoman successfully helped pass a motion by Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Congresswoman Summer Lee to force the Committee to subpoena the Epstein files.

In recent interviews, Rep. Pressley described why her work to subpoena the Epstein files is deeply personal to her.

Throughout her time in Congress, Rep. Pressley has been a champion for justice for survivors of sexual violence and reproductive freedom.

In July 2024, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act of 2024. In June 2024, Rep. Pressley renewed her calls for accountability and survivor-focused solutions following the damning reports of a toxic work environment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  In June 2024, Rep. Pressley also sent a letter to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) requesting information about the botched closure of FCI Dublin, abuse of women while they were being transferred to other facilities, and BOP’s management of investigations into the staff sexual misconduct and abuse at FCI Dublin and other federal BOP facilities.

Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of H.R. 5388, legislation that would prevent the Secretary of Education from rolling back Title IX protections for survivors, as well as H.Res. 560, a resolution calling for an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, following reporting on new allegations of sexual misconduct committed by the Associate Justice.

In April 2019, following the passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, Rep. Pressley issued a statement honoring her mother, Sandra Pressley, a survivor of domestic violence. Rep. Pressley is also the lead co-sponsor of an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would establish the first-ever grant program dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, which passed the House of Representatives in March 2021.

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

“Solidarity is the cure for the cruelty, the chaos, the greed and the corruption that abounds in this moment.”

“No one gave us a living wage—we negotiated in every contract on every job site and at every level of government. We know that no one gave us a seat at the policy making table—we built our own chairs and used our elbows to make space for each other.”

Video (YouTube)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) delivered powerful remarks at Boston’s first-ever Labor Day Parade in which she honored the historic struggle for workers’ rights and economic justice, and connected it to today’s fights for fair contracts, living wages, and protections for immigrant and essential workers. Prior to her remarks, Congresswoman Pressley marched alongside union members, labor leaders, and community advocates to celebrate the power of organized labor, honor the victories of the past, and recommit to the fight for workers’ rights.

In her remarks, Congresswoman Pressley called out Donald Trump and Republicans’ efforts to dismantle labor protections, and reminded attendees that every hard-won right was earned through organizing and solidarity.

As a parent, caregiver, and former service industry worker, Congresswoman Pressley has consistently advocated for policies that bolster workers’ rights and strengthen labor unions.

A transcript of her full remarks, as delivered, is available below, and full video is available here.

Transcript: Rep. Pressley’s Remarks at Boston’s First-Ever Labor Day Parade
Boston, MA
September 1, 2025

Good to be home, y’all, it’s good to be home in the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District. 

Good to be home in the city of Boston, where we have a mayor in vigorous defense of our shared values and principles who fights for every person who calls this city home. 

It’s good to be with family, movement family, brothers and sisters.

Every year, on this day, we come together to break bread. We couldn’t do that this year. We couldn’t do that this year, when the opposition and the Fascist-in-Chief is attacking working families, breaking laws, breaking spirits along the way.

We could not proceed with business as usual. And these two extraordinary women, Darlene Lombos, Chrissy Lynch, they knew that. They knew that this moment required something disruptive, something that matches the energy of the opposition. 

We needed to meet the moment with a solidarity march—emphasis on solidarity—because nobody is free until everybody is free.

Every year at this time, I can’t help but to think and we just marked the 62nd anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led by Dr. King and so many of our civil rights leaders there to affirm that workers’ rights are human rights, doing the work of marching and organizing and agitating for racial, social and economic justice. 

The great civil rights leader Dorothy Height said, “If the times are not ripe. You have to ripen them.” And that is what you need movements for. 

I can’t help but to then think about Dr. King being shoulder to shoulder in one of his last demonstrations in support of workers’ rights, our sanitation workers in Memphis, where men and Dr. King were wearing signs that said, “I am a Man.” They were organizing, agitating, mobilizing to affirm their humanity and their dignity. 

So today, we come together on this Labor Day, not for a breakfast to break bread, but to lift up one another in movement and that same fight that Dr. King fought in 1968, mere weeks before his assassination, standing shoulder to shoulder with those sanitation workers and here in 2025 our sanitation workers are still fighting for their dignity, are still fighting for their humanity. 

And until Republic gives the Teamsters a fair contract — nobody is free until everybody is free.

When our educators are told they have to teach our babies how to run, hide, fight, but they still have to dip into their own pockets for school supplies — nobody is free until everybody is free. 

When our nurses are told they can’t deliver the care they know their patients need — nobody is free until everybody is free.

When they gut collective bargaining at the VA and the EPA — nobody’s free until everybody is free. 

When they are replacing the hardworking men and women at our concession stands with automated robots — nobody is free until everybody is free.

When they are arresting and kidnapping our immigrant siblings from job sites — nobody is free until everybody is free. 

Workers’ rights are human rights. 

Fair contracts that value your labor, see your humanity, treat you with dignity and allow you to not just make a living, but to make a life. 

Where you can afford to dream, to plan, to rest — nobody is free until everybody is free. 

Solidarity is the cure for the cruelty, the chaos, the greed and the corruption that abounds in this moment. 

Now, let me just say that it should be painfully obvious why Trump and his efforts to make America Jim Crow again, Trump and his lackeys, they are obsessed with rewriting and whitewashing American history. 

They do not want you to know that we are stronger together. They want to pit us against each other, but we know our history. 

We know that no one gave us an eight hour work day and weekend — we won them. 

We know that no one gave us a living wage — we negotiated in every contract on every job site and at every level of government. 

We know that no one gave us a seat at the policy making table — we built our own chairs and used our elbows to make space for each other. 

Brothers and sisters, I’ll close the way I do at every breakfast:

I’m not only here because I value your labor. I’m here because I give a damn about your lives. Solidarity. Forever. 

Rep. Pressley has been a committed voice for federal workers pushing back against the Trump Administration’s efforts to decimate federal agencies. In a House Oversight Committee hearing in March, Rep. Pressley slammed Republicans for attempting to gut federal unions and weaken worker protections.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) filed several D.C.-related amendments to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the Rules Committee, including amendments to:

• Give the Mayor of the District of Columbia the same authority over the D.C. National Guard that the governors of states and territories have over their National Guards.
• Repeal the president’s authority to federalize D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
• Require the armed forces, including the National Guard, deployed in D.C. to follow the same body camera requirements that MPD does.
• Require the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard to reside in D.C.
• Give the District of Columbia the same number of appointments and nominations to the U.S. service academies as states.
• Prohibit the Department of Defense (DoD) from recouping pay from federal civilian or District of Columbia employees who took encampment leave when mobilized by the D.C. National Guard.

“During these current unprecedented, unwarranted, and unlawful attacks on D.C. home rule, the importance of these amendments can’t be overstated,” Norton said. “These amendments would increase equality for D.C. in relation to the states and would be important steps to increasing home rule for D.C. “

Norton also filed amendments to allow members of the Foreign Service to use Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) when an agency is undergoing a reduction in force or other restructuring. While most other federal employees are eligible for VERA if their agencies are undergoing a RIF or other restructuring, the members of the Foreign Service are not. She also filed an amendment to require the United States to dismantle its nuclear weapons and redirect resources that are being used for nuclear weapons programs to be used for addressing the climate crisis and human and infrastructure needs, such as housing, health care and restoring the environment.

“I strongly oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to file federal employees and to dismantle the federal government, and I will continue to fight those efforts using every tool at my disposal,” Norton said. “However, it is important to mitigate the harm where we can, which my Foreign Service VERA amendment would do.

“As the only nation that has used nuclear weapons in war, and that still possesses one of the largest nuclear weapons arsenals, my nuclear weapons amendment would help the United States reestablish its moral leadership in the world by redirecting resources from nuclear weapons to solving human needs and addressing the climate crisis.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a statement thanking DC Vote for their outspoken support for the District of Columbia during President Donald Trump’s attempted federal takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

“I want to thank these organizations, including DC Vote, for their efforts to preserve D.C. home rule and further the goal of D.C. statehood,” Norton said. “Their recent letter opposing President Trump’s efforts to federalize MPD, which included 76 local and national organizations as signatories, proves that there is national widespread support for D.C. statehood and D.C. home rule.”

The full letter and list of signatories follows:

Oppose Takeover of D.C. Responsibilities, Support Statehood Instead

August 21, 2025

Dear Member of Congress:

On behalf of DC Vote and the 76 other undersigned local and national organizations, we write to express our strong opposition to President Trump’s takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, his deployment of the National Guard in D.C., and his request for more power over the lives of Americans living in our nation’s capital.

President Trump’s actions are unwarranted. Under the Home Rule Act, the President may nationalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police when an emergency exists that requires such action “for federal purposes.” No such emergency exists. Violent crime is down by 26 percent in D.C. compared to last year. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low.

The high-profile crimes cited by the President, while unacceptable, served as a pretext to launch a takeover of D.C. We urge you to reject his and other people’s efforts to continue federal control over D.C.’s local police and/or to change the Home Rule Act. Taking any of those steps would be a violation of the American principle of self-government and send a single to your constituents that their local government may be next.

Instead, we urge you to cosponsor and pass the D.C. Admissions Act, S.51 and H.R. 51. The President’s actions make clear once again that Americans in D.C. are second class citizens in their own country. We must right this historic wrong by providing Washingtonians with full voting representation in both chambers of Congress. We look forward to working with you to fulfill the promise of American democracy by making D.C. the 51^st state.

Sincerely,

DC Vote

A. Philip Randolph Institute ACLU-D.C.

Action Together NEPA Advancement Project

American Federation of Teachers American Humanist Association Anacostia Coordinating Council Asbury United Methodist Church Bend the Arc: Jewish Action

Black Voters Matter Fund Brand Yourself Ministries LLC Campaign Legal Center for Common Ground Choose Democracy

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Clean Elections Texas

Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues Common Defense

D.C. Chapter of National Organization for Women DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice

DC Democratic State Committee DC Jobs with Justice

Declaration for American Democracy DemCast USA

Democracy Defenders Action Equal Ground Action Fund

Faith in Action National Network Feminist Majority

FREE DC

Free Speech For People

Friends Committee on National Legislation Generation Vote

GOODProjects Howard University Indivisible Indivisible Santa Fe

League of Conservation Voters

League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia League of Women Voters of the United States

Long Live GoGo

Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO National Action Network

National Association of Social Workers National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund National Organization for Women

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund Neighbors United for DC Statehood

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice Peace Action

People For the American Way People Power United

Public Citizen

Reframe Health and Justice Rev. Dr. Dollie Howell Pankey

Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ Scott United Methodist Church

Secure Elections Network Stand Up America

Task Force for Democracy 

The Hustlers Guild

The Voter Participation Center 

The Workers Circle Transformative Justice Coalition Voto Latino

Ward 3 Democratic Committee

Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Womxn From The Mountain

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to require members of the armed forces, including the National Guard, deployed in D.C. in response to an order of the president to address crime or civil disturbances to participate in a body camera program similar to the one in use by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). MPD stores videos for defined periods of time based on the type of activity captured and provides access to the video for the public and the press. 

“The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 troops to D.C. who are wholly unaccountable to D.C. residents. Even the D.C. National Guard troops are under the president’s control and do not report to the D.C. government,” Norton said. “This unwarranted deployment politicizes the military and does a disservice to members of the National Guard, who are being taken from their own families and jobs, and to D.C. residents, who neither requested nor consented to it. Body cameras would promote transparency and protect both the National Guard troops and D.C. residents from allegations of inappropriate or unlawful behavior.”

Statement of CongresswomanEleanor Holmes Norton 

on the Introduction of a Bill to Require Members of the Armed Forces Performing Active Service in the District of Columbia in Response to an Order of the President Which Relates to Crime or Civil Disturbance in the District of Columbia to Participate in a Program Substantially Similar to the Body-Worn Camera Program of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

August 26, 2025

Today, I introduce a bill that would require members of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard, deployed in the District of Columbia in response to an order of the President relating to crime or civil disturbance in D.C. to participate in a program substantially similar to the body-worn camera program of D.C.’s police department, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  This bill would apply to the current deployment of troops and any future deployment.

The use of body cameras by troops during deployments related to crime or civil disturbance in D.C. would promote transparency in the troops’ interactions with the public and protect the public and the troops. MPD has a well-established program for the use of body cameras, as well as for the preservation and disclosure of body camera footage.

The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops in D.C.  This deployment is a raw assertion of power over the more than 700,000 disenfranchised D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown; a politicization of the military; a disservice to the members of the National Guard and their families; unwarranted; and possibly unlawful with respect to both the D.C. National Guard and the state National Guards.  I have urged the administration to remove these troops immediately.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today wrote Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chief of the National Guard Bureau General Steven Nordhaus opposing the deployment of National Guard troops in D.C., questioning its underlying legal basis, and requesting details about the scope, mission, legal parameters and cost of the deployment. Norton requested answers in writing by this Friday, August 29^th. 

“D.C. did not request or consent to the mass deployment of National Guard troops, who were recently authorized to carry weapons in the District despite D.C.’s crime rate being at a 30-year low,” Norton said. “A tenet of our democracy is that the military does not engage in civilian law enforcement, and it is not trained to do so in any case, which puts servicemembers and the public at risk. I urge you to end this gross abuse of power and withdraw the troops immediately.”

Norton’s letter follows.

August 25, 2025

 

The Honorable Pete Hegseth                                      General Steven S. Nordhaus

Secretary                                                                     Chief

Department of Defense                                               National Guard Bureau

1300 Defense Pentagon                                              111 S. George Mason Dr.

Washington, DC 20301                                               Arlington, VA 22204

Dear Secretary Hegseth and General Nordhaus:

            I strongly oppose the administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in the District of Columbia, which did not request or consent to this deployment.  This deployment is a raw assertion of power over the more than 700,000 disenfranchised D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown; a politicization of the military; a disservice to the members of the National Guard and their families; unwarranted; and possibly unlawful with respect to both the D.C. National Guard and the state National Guards.  I request written answers to the following questions regarding this deployment no later than August 29, 2025.

(1) Do the troops have authority to enforce the laws of the United States or the District of Columbia?  If so, which statute authorizes them to do so?

(2) Have the troops been deputized by a law enforcement agency?  If so, which agency has deputized them?

(3) Do the troops have authority to stop, detain or arrest people?  If so, which statute authorizes them to do so?

(4) What is the use of force policy for the troops?

(5) What training have the troops received?

(6) What is the mission of the troops?

(7) Are the troops subject to the laws of the District of Columbia?

(8) As of the date of your response, how much has this deployment cost?

A tenet of our democracy is that the military does not engage in civilian law enforcement, and it is not trained to do so in any case, which puts servicemembers and the public at risk.  I urge you to end this gross abuse of power and withdraw the troops immediately.

Cc:       Brig. General Leland D. Blanchard II, Acting Commanding General, District of Columbia National Guard

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Chuck Brown’s birthday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a resolution designating August 22, as “Chuck Brown Day” in the District of Columbia and across the nation in honor of his contributions as the “Godfather of Go-Go.”

“Chuck Brown is ubiquitous with D.C., and helped make Go-Go music what it is today,” Norton said. “Like Louis Armstrong with New Orleans and Chuck Berry with St. Louis, Chuck Brown is an artist who helped define his city by making Go-go music the heartbeat of D.C. I will always look back fondly at the free concert he performed 15 years ago in front of the Capitol for statehood and voting rights for D.C. residents. His contributions to D.C. and the nation should be celebrated with a day in his honor.”

The full text of the resolution follows.

H. RES.___

 

Expressing support for the designation of August 22, 2025, as ‘‘Chuck Brown Day’’, and honoring Chuck Brown’s contributions to music and to the District of Columbia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Ms. NORTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on____

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of August 22, 2025, as ‘‘Chuck Brown Day’’, and honoring Chuck Brown’s contributions to music and to the District of Columbia.

Whereas Chuck Brown is known as the ‘‘Godfather of Go- Go’’ because he was the major architect of the musical genre known as ‘‘go-go’’, a unique mix of funk, soul, and Latin party sounds, whose popularity continues today;

Whereas Chuck Brown, who was born on August 22, 1936, and passed away at the age of 75 on May 16, 2012, was a resident of the District of Columbia most of his life;

Whereas Chuck Brown, who taught himself to play guitar, became a virtuoso singer, songwriter, guitarist, and band leader;

Whereas Chuck Brown’s go-go beat gave the District of Columbia a musical identity of its own and reminds the Nation that the District of Columbia has always been the hometown of talented artists;

Whereas Chuck Brown’s musical catalog spans 22 studio al- bums over 3 decades;

Whereas Chuck Brown’s hit ‘‘Bustin’ Loose’’, with his group, the Soul Searchers, was the top song on the Billboard Top 100 R&B Chart for 4 weeks in 1979;

Whereas Chuck Brown earned a Grammy nomination in 2010 for the song ‘‘Love’’, from his album entitled ‘‘We Got This’’, and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 2005;

Whereas Chuck Brown’s go-go has been passed from generation to generation with undiminished popularity;

Whereas Chuck Brown influenced jazz, rap, and go-go musicians, such as the bands Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, and Experience Unlimited (also known as ‘‘E.U.’’);

Whereas Chuck Brown was so committed to securing state- hood and equal voting rights for the residents of the District of Columbia that he played a concert on a very hot, humid day on the United States Capitol Grounds in 2010;

Whereas the District of Columbia has named a street located near the historic Howard Theatre for Chuck Brown;

Whereas the District of Columbia has named a park located at 2901 20th Street NE, for Chuck Brown;

Whereas go-go is the official music of the District of Columbia;

Whereas Chuck Brown is admired for having risen from humble beginnings and overcoming time in prison to be- come a devoted father and family man;

Whereas Chuck Brown was a great, multitalented musician who brought joy through his music, never stopping until his death; and

Whereas August 22, 2025, is Chuck Brown’s birthday: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the designation of ‘‘Chuck Brown Day’’, and honors Chuck Brown’s contributions to music and to the District of Columbia.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

(Kansas City, MO) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) released the following statement after Governor Mike Kehoe announced a special session to redraw Missouri’s congressional map mid-decade, an unprecedented step taken at the direction of the president.

“I have had the privilege and distinct honor of serving the people of Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District. I have always understood one truth: this seat does not belong to me. It belongs to the people. And today, that truth is under assault.

“President Trump’s unprecedented directive to redraw our maps in the middle of the decade and without an updated census is not an act of democracy – it is an unconstitutional attack against it. This attempt to gerrymander Missouri will not simply change district lines, it will silence voices. It will deny representation. It will tell the people of Missouri that their lawmakers no longer wish to earn their vote, that elections are predetermined by the power brokers in Washington, and that politicians – not the people – will decide the outcome. 

“Roughly 40% of Missourians cast their ballots for Democratic candidates last year, and they deserve representation in the People’s House just as much as our Republican neighbors. Yet, in attempting to dismantle the Fifth District, state lawmakers would be working to drown out Missouri voices in favor of a single man a thousand miles away. It is my sincere hope that they will not give in to this short-sighted and irresponsible demand. 

“But let us be clear: Should this effort move forward, we will not concede.

“I will not surrender the voices of the people who entrusted me to fight for them. The people of the Fifth District and I will fight relentlessly to ensure Missouri never becomes an antidemocratic state, where politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. In the courts and at the ballot box, we will demand that the rule of law is upheld, our voices are heard, and democracy prevails.

“Our nation has endured wars, depressions, and great struggles for civil rights. And through it all, the principle that every vote counts has carried us forward. That principle is bigger than me, this seat, or any president looking to rig the rules for personal gain.

“This is the line we must not let them cross. This is the continuation of our unrelenting struggle for justice. I will fight with every ounce of strength I have to defend democracy – and practice prudence in the best interest of my constituents, Missouri, and the country we love.” 

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Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.