Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 5/15/2026-5/22/2026

Offering Amendments to Combat Trump's Budget Reconciliation Package

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - During the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee's consideration of the Trump Administration's budget reconciliation package this week, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) offered an amendment to prevent President Donald Trump's newly established $1.8 billion slush fund for political allies from making any payments to convicted child predators. It was blocked by Chair Rand Paul and all of the Committee's Republican members.

At least five men who were convicted of violent acts in connection with the January 6 insurrection are known to have been convicted of crimes involving the sexual abuse of children after being pardoned by Trump.

"Let's talk about just one them: Andrew Paul Johnson, who was sentenced to a year of prison for his crimes on January 6. President Trump's pardon freed him. In March of this year, he was again sentenced to prison - this time to life in prison - for sexually abusing two middle school children in Florida. Notably, Johnson tried to keep the children quiet by saying that he'd give them millions of dollars. And where would he get this money? From the restitution he expected from the January 6 case," Blumenthal said.

"Yesterday, the President announced that he wanted to give Johnson and others like him the money that Johnson thought he was going to use to silence the victims of his crime."

Republicans also voted against an amendment Blumenthal put forward to block payments to rioters convicted of attacking and assaulting law enforcement officers on January 6. Video of Blumenthal speaking about this amendment is available here.

The video of Blumenthal speaking about his amendment on children predators pardoned by Trump is available here.

Blumenthal further highlighted his amendment blocked by Republicans on Twitter/X.

"Republicans are seemingly fine giving payouts to convicted child predators. During today's markup they blocked my proposal to prevent the Jan. 6 slush fund from going to insurrectionists who sexually abused children after being pardoned by Trump," wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal also offered amendments to enforce strict transparency requirements and Congressional oversight over the construction of President Trump's ballroom. Senate Republicans unanimously voted down Blumenthal's amendments in Tuesday's Committee markup.

"If anyone wonders why the President or Members of Congress are out of touch with what is on the minds of the American people, they have only to look at the failure of this committee to deal with the merits of the ballroom," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal pointed out the ballooning cost for the ballroom project after the Trump White House requested $1 billion in taxpayer funds to complete the ballroom in addition to the hundreds of millions the Administration raised from special interests: "The President told us that the ballroom would not interfere with the White House, when in fact, it is an architectural monstrosity. They said that the capacity of the ballroom would be 650 people. Then they revised it to over 1,000. They said that it would cost $200 million. The price then rose to $250 million, $350 million, $400 million. They said that the construction of the ballroom would be done entirely with financing by private donors. Now they are seeking taxpayer money, $1 billion, telling us they cannot finish the project without the funds."

Blumenthal offered a series of amendments, which would do the following:

• Prohibit funds from being spent on the East Wing Modernization project except through competitive contract awards;

• Prohibit funds from being spent until all donors, donor amounts, fundraising solicitation records, and donor and construction contracts related to the East Wing Modernization project are made publicly available;

• Establish a Congressional Oversight Panel for the East Wing Modernization project;

• Require a GAO report on fundraising, contractor selection, contracts, and construction management for the East Wing Modernization project; and

• Enact Blumenthal's No Palaces Act, which puts additional guardrails on the White House's construction and demolition process, including requiring congressional authorization for the use of private funds for improvements to the White House.

A video of Blumenthal's remarks during the markup is available here.

Blumenthal also offered an amendment to fund Nonprofit Security Grant funding-which Republicans also rejected.

"I offered an amendment to provide more protection to places of worship like the Islamic Center that was viciously, tragically attacked. Republicans resoundingly rejected it. I will continue to fight for additional Nonprofit Security Grant funding," wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Last night, Blumenthal joined MS NOW to discuss Trump's $1.8 billion slush after Senate Republicans stalled a vote on the President's budget reconciliation bill-despite blocking amendments earlier this week. The interview can be found here.

Slamming Live Nation-Ticketmaster Monopolistic Power

Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), delivered an opening statement at a bicameral public forum examining the Live Nation - Ticketmaster monopoly and a controversial Department of Justice (DOJ) sweetheart deal that undermines antitrust enforcement. Blumenthal hosted the forum alongside U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

The forum, titled, "Corruption Takes Center Stage: How the Live Nation - Ticketmaster Settlement Threatens Antitrust Enforcement," featured testimony from a recording artist, a legal expert, a concert promoter, a music venue owner, and a state official who continued pursuing accountability after rejecting the DOJ's proposed settlement.

"We are here today at the beginning of the concert season. A lot of people are looking forward to going to see their favorite artists and bringing their family. And having affordable access and it will be denied to them because of Ticketmaster - Live Nation, and tactics that it has repeated over the years again and again and again," Blumenthal said at the forum.

Blumenthal continued, "I met this morning with a venue owner, the Webster Theater in Hartford, and he described to me some of the bullying, heavy-handed tactics that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have used to pressure artists to leave his venue and go to others owned by Live Nation in Connecticut. Where Live Nation doesn't own the venues, it often controls them through long-term contracts, and it pressures the artists to go with them, saying they won't be able to appear, their tickets will not be sold. This kind of bullying use of market dominance is classic violation of antitrust laws. And Ticketmaster - Live Nation has been able to get away with it because of lack of enforcement against them."

Blumenthal slammed the DOJ's proposed settlement, raising concerns about potential corruption, "They entered a sweetheart deal with Ticketmaster Live Nation, a meager, trivial amount of money to be paid as Congressman Raskin said, and a few minor conditions including the divestment of some of their control over venues. Nada. Nothing really effective to help consumers. Why? The why is the corruption question. They did it because of fixers and lobbyists who actually had worked in the Administration and were able to bring influence to bear on the Department of Justice to skew law enforcement in a corruption scheme that undermines the very credibility of that great institution that many of us who work there have revered, the Department of Justice."

As Ranking Member of PSI, Blumenthal led a years-long investigation into Ticketmaster's control of the ticketing market. As part of that investigation, Blumenthal released a Minority staff report earlier this year detailing how Ticketmaster uses its enormous market power to influence venues and artists and supercharge prices for fans. The full text of Blumenthal's report is available here.

Video of Blumenthal's opening statement is available here.

Blumenthal further amplified his public forum slamming Live Nation-Ticketmaster for their abuse of monopolistic power.

"Ticketmaster - Live Nation has been found in effect guilty by a federal jury of predatory practices that victimize concert goers, artists, & venues. The right remedy now is to break up the company, but the Justice Dept has settled for a corrupt sweetheart deal. I'm encouraging state attorneys general to continue the legal battle. Congress should act to legislate protections against hidden fees & predatory deceptive practices," wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal held a press conference in Hartford ahead of the forum pushing for transparency, competitiveness, and fairness for fans, artists, and venues, and urging stronger oversight and enforcement against monopoly abuses.

"Fans know the truth. They know that when they go to buy tickets, they find that the tickets are nowhere to be found-or that they disappear and the price changes while they're trying to buy them. It's no accident that prices of concert tickets are skyrocketing and that they seem to be disappearing even as people try to buy them. I'm proposing some remedies," said Blumenthal. "Consumers and fans, artists, venues, they all suffer from Ticketmaster-Live Nation controlling 80 percent of the concert ticket market in our nation. The remedies for stopping Ticketmaster-Live Nation from exploiting its monopoly at the expense of consumers are to break up the company and impose a price cap on secondary sales."

Blumenthal further highlighted his press release on Twitter/X.

"Fans know the truth-it's no accident that ticket prices are skyrocketing & scalpers hoard tickets. Ticketmaster/Live Nation is leveraging its monopolistic power to exploit consumers. Breaking up this behemoth & setting price caps on secondary sales is long overdue," wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

On the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee

At a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing, Ranking Member Blumenthal pressed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins on his elimination of more than 28,000 jobs at VA, including unfilled mission-critical health care positions, following a historic loss of more than 40,000 employees in fiscal year 2025.

"…You have cut about 1,000 positions of physicians. You've cut nurse positions. You've cut all kinds of other support positions, and then you failed to fill the vacancies that have resulted from cutting, or furloughing, or encouraging them to leave. So the workforce has diminished and in turn, veterans are encouraged then to seek community care as a result," Blumenthal said in his questioning.

Blumenthal continued, "There was a reduction of 30,000 people. Call it whatever you want, but it was a reduction. And then you eliminated the positions, so it didn't look like there were any vacancies. Or there's still vacancies but it's not the same number."

When Collins implied that hiring additional workers at the Department is unnecessary, Blumenthal responded: "What did you turn those positions into?...You don't think they've lost people they need? Because that's not what I'm hearing from veterans."

Blumenthal also questioned Collins and VA Chief Financial Officer Richard Topping on the Administration's plans to cut more than $20 million from VA's research budget: "Why? Why? You're doing great work and now you're cutting it?...The VA has been the world leader in research. Why are you cutting it?...I am kind of aghast. Because you have skilled, experienced, dedicated scientists, researchers, and medical experts asking for money to, in effect, advance medicine…As you well know, the VA has provided enormously groundbreaking advances in medicine that have benefited many people outside of the veterans community."

A video link of Blumenthal's questioning is available here.

Blumenthal amplified his questioning of Collins over staffing cuts impairing veterans' health care on Twitter/X.

"Trump's VA has eliminated tens of thousands of doctors, nurses & other health care positions amid historic staffing losses. I confronted Secretary Collins over these staffing cuts that undermine veterans' health care," wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Calling for an Investigation into Kash Patel

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the official performing the duties of the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General for the Department of Justice (DOJ) William Blier, demanding an investigation after recent reports suggest that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel is both a risk to the FBI's ability to protect the country and manipulating statistics about arrests and fugitive captures.

Citing recent reporting from The Atlantic and The New York Times, Blumenthal raised concerns that Patel's alleged excessive drinking and unexplained absences have interfered with his job performance, including rendering him unavailable to respond to emerging threats: "The role of FBI Director is not a part-time job. The Director must be on call and ready to perform at all hours. We are fortunate that a terror attack, mass shooting, or assassination did not occur while Patel was intoxicated or unreachable-but these allegations leave me deeply concerned about his ability to continue serving in the role."

Blumenthal continued, "Moreover, last week, MS NOW reported that Patel has artificially inflated the Bureau's arrest statistics and manipulated the FBI's Most Wanted list to expand the appearance of accomplishments. He reportedly imposed new policies that change the way the Bureau catalogs arrests that make arrests appear to have increased, but failed to clarify those changes before publicly touting the FBI's arrest record under his tenure. The Bureau also reportedly manipulated its Most Wanted list to add fugitives mere days or even just hours before their anticipated capture-creating a false impression of steady progress on that list and of Patel's leadership."

"Accuracy around crime and arrest data allows us to get a clear picture of what is happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods. The Most Wanted list is a tool to focus agent and public attention on dangerous, at-large criminals. Manipulation of either to improve the reputation of a struggling FBI Director is unacceptable and cuts against the FBI's mission to ensure public safety," Blumenthal concluded.

The full text of Blumenthal's letter is available here

Blumenthal further highlighted his letter calling for an investigation into Patel on Twitter/X.

"I'm demanding an IG investigation because Kash Patel has put the nation's security at risk when he has been intoxicated & unreachable & deceptively, manipulated key FBI statistics. He's making our nation less safe," wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal Bulletin

Blumenthal slammed Trump's judicial nominees for their canned answers in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and for admitting to rehearsing with the White House their evasive responses.

Blumenthal hosted a roundtable on VA workforce challenges.

Blumenthal introduced legislation to protect at-risk wildlife on Endangered Species Day.

Blumenthal demanded FDA reverse its dangerous authorization of flavored e-cigarettes.

Blumenthal introduced a bill restoring legal protections for Amtrak passengers.

Blumenthal raised concerns about Food and Nutrition Service reorganization.

Blumenthal spoke on the Senate Floor about the need to protect Americans' voting rights.

Blumenthal introduced a resolution to end roadway fatalities and improve traffic safety.

Blumenthal slammed the dangers of online sports betting.

Blumenthal attended a ribbon cutting to open Easton's new EMS building.

Blumenthal attended commencement ceremonies at Albertus Magnus, University of Hartford, and Eastern Connecticut State University.

Blumenthal joined the Danbury Police Department for an awards ceremony honoring the bravery and dedication of law enforcement officers.

Blumenthal joined servicemembers, veterans, and their families for the 77^th Armed Forces Day Luncheon hosted by the CT National Guard.

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