Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 5/16/2025-5/23/2025
Condemning Trump’s Corruption Schemes
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke on the Senate Floor and sought passage of four resolutions condemning President Donald Trump’s financial entanglements with the cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial; his ability to profit from the $TRUMP cryptocurrency; his private business agreements with foreign governments; and his acceptance of a plane from the government of Qatar. Blumenthal’s resolution also called for the transfer of funds and any other benefits received by President Trump from foreign governments to the U.S. Government of as a result of these entanglements.
“The founders knew about the dangers of a foreign government trying to influence our president or anyone under him. They knew about those powerful kings in France and England. We had just liberated ourselves from England. We were a small, struggling country, and they were afraid that our executives would be influenced by those more powerful countries. And it was to ensure our government officials worked for the American people and the nation rather than their own financial self-interests or on behalf of any foreign government that the emoluments clause was adopted,” Blumenthal said on the Senate Floor.
Blumenthal continued, “But President Trump seemingly doesn’t care about working for the American people. He cares about his own pocketbook. Not once has he come to congress for consent on any of these deals, hasn’t even hinted at it. And he will continue pursuing these corrupt foreign deals until we as Congress have the gumption to act. Today I’m introducing resolutions that condemn President Trump’s violation of the foreign emoluments clause and demand the transfer to the United States government of any gifts, benefits, or payments recovered or received from foreign governments or others through his illegal dealings.”
Senate Republicans blocked Blumenthal’s unanimous consent requests for all four of his resolutions. Blumenthal’s unanimous consent requests coincides with the Department of Defense officially accepting a $400 million luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar for President Trump’s use and comes after President Trump lifted decades-old sanctions on Syria while discussing plans for “a Trump Tower in Damascus.”
Video of Blumenthal’s remarks on the Senate Floor is available here.
With an accompanying video on Twitter/X, Blumenthal further slammed President Trump for his corruption schemes and highlighted the need to enforce the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
“Trump’s corrupt schemes put a “For Sale" sign on the White House, including his dinner tonight with the biggest investors in his crypto coin. I sought votes on four of his self enrichment ploys, but Republicans blocked it. I’ll continue this fight to enforce the Constitution’s Emolument Clause,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined his colleagues in demanding an independent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Inspector General into the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s involvement in President Trump’s unconstitutional acquisition of a $400 million luxury plane from the Qatari government. The request for an inquiry cites new reporting that the U.S. government has accepted the plane from Qatar and that President Trump actively solicited the luxury aircraft from Qatar’s government.
“These reports raise the troubling possibility that the Department, and Attorney General Bondi personally, were integral to this scheme by crafting a legal justification to enable the President to circumvent the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, federal bribery and ethics laws, and Congress in order to acquire one of the largest foreign gifts in our history,” the Senators wrote.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Ahead of a dinner President Trump hosted on Thursday night with the top 220 people who purchased the most $TRUMP meme coins—which pumped the value of $TRUMP to the financial benefit of the President, Blumenthal slammed President Trump’s self-enrichment schemes and highlighted some of the attendees of President Trump’s meme coin dinner.
“Trump is hosting an exclusive dinner for the top holders of his meme coin—opening the door for individuals that are competing to line his pockets to buy access to the President. Here are some of those individuals:
Justin Sun, Tron founder & HTX advisor, dropped $75M into World Liberty Financial & holds over $18M in $TRUMP, making him the guest of honor. All while Trump’s SEC pauses its probe into Sun’s fraud allegations.
“Ice” is a pseudonym for a co-founder of the Singapore-based company MemeCore. MemeCore's chief business developer said in an interview that "Ice" hopes to shape Trump's views on the crypto industry—presumably to his own advantage & gain.
Sheldon Xia is the founder of BitMart, a crypto exchange registered in the Cayman Islands. Xia posted on X celebrating his spot on tonight's guest list, saying he was proud to support Trump's pro-crypto vision.
A crypto investor known as "Ogle" has worked as an advisor for Trump's crypto venture World Liberty Financial—a company I have launched a PSI inquiry into following reporting that the firm may be enabling the violation of government ethics requirements.
Foreign governments & shady figures have figured out how to get to Trump: through his wallet. As he auctions off access to himself & his office, Trump becomes beholden to foreign power through private benefits—all while selling out the American public,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to discuss President Trump’s corrupt crypto dinner.
Blumenthal also joined SiriusXM’s Dean Obeidallah to discuss how President Trump is celebrating those who bought his meme coin and lined his pockets.
Pushing for Hard-Hitting Russian Sanctions
Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the below joint statement after their legislation to impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine reached over 80 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
These sanctions would be imposed if Russia refuses to engage in good faith negotiations for a lasting peace with Ukraine or initiates another effort, including military invasion, that undermines the sovereignty of Ukraine after peace is negotiated. The legislation also imposes a 500 percent tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products.
“As Secretary Rubio indicated yesterday to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, Russia has agreed to provide its term sheet for a ceasefire in the next few days. Its contents will speak volumes as to whether or not Russia is serious about peace. We suspect it will be more of the same.
“If it is more of the same, Russia can expect decisive action from the United States Senate. To that end, we are beyond pleased that we now have 81 cosponsors for legislation to sanction Russia for its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Our legislation will isolate Russia – putting it on a trade island by imposing stiff tariffs on other countries that support these atrocities. One of the main priorities of our legislation is to hold China accountable for propping up Putin’s war machine by buying cheap Russian oil from the shadow fleet. Without China’s economic support, Putin’s war machine would come to a grinding halt.
“While we yearn for peace, it is increasingly clear to us – and a supermajority of the Senate – that Putin is playing games. The United States Senate stands ready to act if these games continue.”
The text of the bill is available here.
With an accompanying video on Twitter/X, Blumenthal further the highlighted the need for hard-hitting sanctions against Russia.
“Ukraine's fight for freedom is our fight. We must stop Putin's murderous invasion, & this Russia Sanctions bill—now with 81 bipartisan cosponsors, a veto proof supermajority—takes a powerful stand against Russia & its barbaric, bloody assault on Ukraine,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Promoting Public Health
Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), delivered an opening statement at the Subcommittee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress. The hearing, which focused on vaccines, comes after the Trump Administration announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may start restricting access to new COVID boosters to those over age 65 or with a narrow set of preexisting conditions. The hearing also coincides with a nationwide measles outbreak and the Trump Administration’s efforts to cut critical funding for public health programs, disaster preparedness and response, and research for vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for emerging infectious diseases.
The hearing included testimony from Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D. Green, invited by Blumenthal, served as Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii during the first two years of the pandemic and spearheaded emergency efforts that resulted in Hawaii experiencing the lowest COVID-19 fatality rate of any state in the country.
“I want to take us back to January of 2021. I know it’s hard to recall the sense of real fear during the worst of the pandemic, more than 20,000 Americans died from Coronavirus each week. I remember seeing pictures of people who were in the hospital on gurneys because there was inadequate space for them in the hospital. The morgues overflowed, and we were looking to, some way to stop the spread and the deep-seated, pervasive fear. During the worst week of the pandemic, more than 25,000 Americans died,” Blumenthal said. “Not only were hospitals overwhelmed, but nonurgent procedures were postponed, and doctors and nurses were working around the clock, in fact putting themselves at risk. Those health care providers, to this day, are among my heroes in this story, as patients filled the hallways.”
Blumenthal also raised concerns about how waning vaccine confidence—stoked by bad actors—has led to the resurgence of deadly diseases like measles, “Let’s be very clear that fearmongering and rushing to conclusions without examining the evidence can lead to tremendous harm, and this risk is not just hypothetical or rhetorical. Misinformation about the safety of vaccines has led to a deadly outbreak of a disease, we all know it, measles.”
A video of his remarks can be found here.
With accompanying videos on Twitter/X, Blumenthal further highlighted the importance of vaccines in safeguarding public health and the danger of the Trump Administration’s vaccine policy.
“Let's be clear—vaccines save lives. Fearmongering & rushing to conclusions—ignoring scientific evidence—greatly endangers our nation's public health. The deadly, ongoing measles outbreak should remind us all what happens when misleading narratives about vaccines take hold,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
“At this week's PSI hearing, Governor Josh Green explained how the Trump Admin vaccine policy is imperiling local public health efforts, stopping life-saving research, & potentially stopping people from protecting those they care about,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal also further slammed the Trump Administration’s efforts to limit access to COVID vaccines on Twitter/X.
“The Trump Admin's effort to limit access to COVID vaccines upends the long-established vaccine approval process & leaves many questions unanswered. At this week's PSI hearing, I discussed the importance of vaccines to protecting against disease & illness,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
On the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee
At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing to consider pending legislation, Ranking Member Blumenthal pressed senior Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials on the findings of a recent New York Times article detailing the Trump Administration’s move to cancel medical research funding at Harvard University—including life-saving veteran suicide research.
“This article shows there are multiple contracts between VA and Harvard University that are planned to be cancelled, including contracts involving VA suicide prevention efforts and contracts ensuring veterans have adequate access to clinical trials. VA officials are quoted in the article saying that cancelling these contracts would result in ‘more veteran suicides that could have been prevented.’ They’re raising alarm and pleading with VA leadership not to cancel these highly critical contracts. Are you aware of this situation?” asked Blumenthal.
When the VA official did not answer his question, Blumenthal continued pressing: “Well those research contracts are important to prevent veteran suicide, are they not?...Veterans may be dying as a result of these contracts being cancelled.”
Video of Blumenthal’s remarks is available here.
Blumenthal held a bipartisan press conference with Military and Veterans Service Organizations to demand Congressional action on the Major Richard Star Act—a bipartisan bill to fix an injustice preventing combat-injured veterans from receiving their full military benefits.
“We must honor our nation's heroes with action—the Major Richard Star Act will do right by our combat-injured veterans in ensuring they receive the full military benefits they have earned & deserve. Nothing is more fundamental than giving our veterans what they are owed,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal slammed the cancelling of contracts by VA Secretary Doug Collins—including projects involving suicide prevention.
“Veterans suicide prevention research—likely lifesaving—is among the hundreds of contracts canceled by Musk & Collins. No wonder they’re concealing all these terminations—refusing to disclose facts. Ending this research is cruel & dumb,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Pressing the Department of Homeland Security
Blumenthal pressed U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem about the Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2026 at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. At the hearing, Blumenthal raised concerns that DHS is recklessly spending taxpayer dollars and not following Congressional authorization for critical funding.
Blumenthal pointed to how DHS is unlawfully spending funds not authorized by Congress, stating, “Let me go to some of the expenditures that your department is making $200 million for an ad campaign fawning over President Trump[’s] supposed accomplishments, $21 million between January and April transporting around 400 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay—about half of them were flown back to the United States. Six million to El Salvador to imprison 300 individuals in a prison known for grave human rights violations and many more, including $1,000 to immigrants wishing to self-deport—I understand one of the planes left within the last 24 hours. None of these expenditures are in your present budget.”
Video of Blumenthal’s exchange with Noem is available here.
With an accompanying video on Twitter/X, Blumenthal further slammed Noem for the reckless spending of DHS and also cited concerns that the Trump Administration is planning to use foreign assistance funding for the removal and return of people from active conflict zones.
“DHS is spending recklessly, wastefully & illegally. This Admin is trying to renege on our promises to our Afghan allies—using funds meant to assist w/ foreign aid to instead remove those who risked their lives for our freedoms & democracy. Noem would not confirm their protection,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal also pressed Noem about the consequences of one-fifth of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel accepting a buyout has had on natural disaster preparedness and recovery, including last year’s devastating and deadly floods in Connecticut.
“How are you going to meet the needs of our constituents…Connecticut suffered floods recently. I saw FEMA in action then and over the years. They are dedicated and vigorous public servants, they appear and spend hours and days and weeks caring for people. You’re losing a fifth of them, including most of the leadership, what’s your plan to replace them?” Blumenthal asked Noem.
Video of Blumenthal’s exchange with Noem regarding FEMA is available here.
Blumenthal Bulletin
Blumenthal called on the Trump Administration to step up and protect the flying public following Newark Airport blackouts.
Blumenthal released a statement on the UAW agreement with Electric Boat.
Blumenthal released a statement on Trump VA’s “half-hearted,” late implementation of the Elizabeth Dole Act.
Blumenthal demanded a complete and updated list of cancelled VA contracts.
Blumenthal introduced a sweeping military families legislative package.
Blumenthal joined CNN to discuss the lawlessness occurring in connection with the Trump Administration’s deportations.
Blumenthal joined Stamford’s Memorial Day ceremony.
Blumenthal attended Albertus Magnus College Class of 2025 Commencement.
Blumenthal participated in Stamford’s Immigration Forum.
Blumenthal attended the University of New Haven Class of 2025 Commencement.
Blumenthal attended the Connecticut Hospice Bloom Gala.
Blumenthal rallied for EB workers.
Blumenthal visited Reno Machine Company in Newington.
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