LIVE: From the Senate floor, 9.28.26

Today, Trump aired another partisan campaign ad on multiple channels during primetime. And if you can believe it, who paid for it? The U.S. government. The U.S. taxpayers paid for a political ad by Trump. These ads are virtually indistinguishable from those made for Trump's 2024 campaign, and yet you, the taxpayer, is funding them. It's an absolute violation of what democracy is supposed to look like. Americans sat down to watch football, not to be force-fed Trump's propaganda on their own dime. Only Trump would have the audacity to force Americans not only to watch his propaganda, but to pay for it. We can add these campaign ads to the list of vanity projects that Trump has egregiously charged to the American taxpayer. His arch, his ballroom, upgrades to his luxury foreign jet, his MAGA slush fund, and so much more. The corruption goes on and on. It's endless in this administration. Every week Trump thinks of a new corrupt measure so he can rip off the American taxpayer and enrich himself. I'm calling on the administration to reveal which agency aired this illegal propaganda, on whose orders, and exactly at what cost to the American taxpayer. These ads send a clear message, just not the one Trump intended. It sends the message that Trump and the Republicans are scared, they're desperate, and they know the American people are done buying what they're selling. On the Trump rescissions. Trump has no problem wasting billions of American taxpayers on his vanity projects, but suddenly gets stingy when there's an opportunity to support American families. Over the weekend, Trump illegally cut nearly a billion dollars from programs designed to help American families and communities get ahead. Trump's rescissions package eviscerated funding that supports kids, K-12 students, small businesses, health, and clean air research. These cuts are just another slap in the face to the American people as they struggle to afford the skyrocketing costs of Trump's never-ending war and spiraling economy. Here's an idea, Donald. Instead of burning billions of taxpayer dollars on the arch or the reflecting pool or the ballroom or any of your hundred vanity projects, Trump, you ought to invest that money in American families and keep these programs intact. Trump funding cut that Congress, Trump cut funding that Congress approved, Democrats and Republicans. Every Senate Republican who voted for any of the bills providing this funding ought to be up in arms. Senate Democrats are going to challenge Trump's illegal cuts every chance we get. Unless Senate Republicans want to remain nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump in his Grim Reaper Russell vote, they need to join us in stopping the Trump administration from robbing the American people blind. And finally, on the Iran war. It now enters its eighth month. Trump continues to drag America through the mess he's made in Iran. It was going to end in a week or a month or two weeks or three weeks or two months. We're in the eighth month. When Trump started his disastrous war, yes, he said it would take only a few weeks. But Trump's capacity is now entering its eighth month. Its eighth month. Trump is starting the eighth month of his war the same way he started the first month with empty promises to the American people that victory is right around the corner. Yesterday, Trump told Fox News, quote, We're going to win this war very soon. And as soon as we win it, the oil will go down. Well, it's been going up for eight months, Mr. President. The American people are out billions of dollars are out of their are out of their pockets already. No one wants to wait any longer. Whatever timeline Trump thinks is very soon isn't soon enough for the American people who are getting crushed by the cost of this war every time they go to the gas station. Trump shows no signs of ending this war, not when he just launched a pledge or new strikes on Iran after the midterms. How much longer is Trump going to continue his failed war? Another month, another seven months, another year. Trump's costly war with Iran will end whenever Trump Republicans find the courage to listen to the American people instead of the hysteria from the president. Republicans could have shown that courage last week by supporting our war powers resolution to stop the fighting in Iran and bring costs down. Instead, Senate Republicans chose to leave Americans waiting and voted for Trump's war to continue. Every American ought to ask these senators on whether appealing appeasing the president is truly worth the cost of this horrible war. Heal the floor.