Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 5/30/25-6/6/25

Visiting Ukraine & Fighting for Russian Sanctions

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) visited Ukraine with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and to visit the site of recent bombings.

Blumenthal and Graham have introduced legislation to impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. 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. The bill currently has 82 cosponsors.

Blumenthal highlighted the need to pass his legislation imposing sanctions on Russia in order to support the Ukrainian people in their fight against Putin’s invasion.

“As I leave Kyiv, I’m inspired by the strength & courage of the Ukrainian people as they endure Putin's bloody invasion. Ukraine's fight is our fight—we must pass my Russian sanctions bill with Senator Graham & impose bone-crushing sanctions on Russia to stop the murderous assault,” said Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

“Ukraine shows amazing guts, ingenuity & daring in bold drone attacks across Russia. Putin has underestimated Ukrainian resolve & ability from the beginning. So have many of our own leaders. When I visited President Zelenskyy & his team only a few days ago with Senator Graham, these extraordinary qualities of courage & capability were clearly evident. Russians have spread misinformation that they’re winning. Time to pass our sanctions bill,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal also spoke with French leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance, and President Macron’s national security advisors—bolstering their support for Russian sanctions.

“Europe is strongly united in support of Ukraine & our Russia Sanctions bill— a major takeaway from our highly encouraging meeting with the French Foreign Minister. He’s deeply impressed that 82 Senators, an overwhelming bipartisan group, have joined. France is leading! Our bone-crushing sanctions bill, scorching Russia’s economy, will hopefully pass within the next few weeks. Also important & supported by France, is greater use of frozen Russian assets, held by European nations, to help reconstruct Ukraine & stop Russia’s destruction,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

“A breakthrough talk with French President Macron in Paris— as he expresses strong support for my Russia Sanctions bill with Senator Graham. More momentum to move it forward in the Senate this week. We’ll use every available legislative tool & leverage point to move our bill. Putin is playing Trump & America— talking peace but preparing a new summer offensive. Congress must act— unified with European allies,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss what he learned on his visit to Ukraine and the urgent need for a vote on his Russian Sanctions bill.

Blumenthal joined CNN to discuss why the time is now to bring his Russian Sanctions bill to the Senate Floor for a vote.

Holding the Gun Manufacturing Industry Accountable

During the first week of Gun Violence Awareness Month, Blumenthal and U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Dwight Evans (D-PA), and Mike Thompson (D-CA) led 81 Members of Congress in introducing the bicameral Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act, legislation to ensure that victims of gun violence have their day in court and that negligent gun companies and gun sellers are not shielded from liability when they disregard public safety. The bill would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), passed by Congress in 2005, which gives the gun industry a unique and unjustifiable legal liability shield that protects gun manufacturers from lawsuits. 

“PLCAA is the ultimate sweetheart deal – legal immunity afforded to basically no other industry for a product that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year,” Blumenthal said. “Despite the strength and perseverance of the Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and Highland Park families – and the tenacity of their legal teams – this is a problem that cannot be solved only through the courts. PLCAA must be repealed by Congress.”

Blumenthal hosted a virtual press conference to announce the legislation.

“We’re introducing today the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act. Very simply, it gives victims of gun violence their day in court, it opens the courthouse doors to them, and repeals the Sweetheart Deal that Congress granted to the Gun Lobby in 2005. When PLCAA, Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, was passed in 2005, the proponent of the bill promised that it would not prevent a single victim from obtaining relief from wrongs done to them by anyone in the gun industry. That claim has been proved utterly and totally false. This proposal very simply unlocks the doors to justice, holding gun manufacturers and dealers accountable, and giving them a strong incentive to make safer and smarter products. Safer and smarter products—that is the natural result of our consumer protection laws. Safety and security in products is a cause that Americans care deeply about, and PLCAA’s time to go is now,” said Blumenthal during the press conference.

Video of the press conference is available here.

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court unanimously barred a case brought by the Mexican government to hold gun manufacturers accountable for their role in the illegal trafficking of firearms, citing PLCAA:

“This decision is yet another reason why PLCAA must be repealed by Congress. PLCAA is the ultimate sweetheart deal – legal immunity afforded to basically no other industry for a product that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. As I said yesterday, this is a problem that cannot be solved only through the courts, and the Supreme Court’s decision today makes that even more clear. Until Congress acts, gun manufacturers will continue to fuel violence and chaos with impunity.”

Slamming Trump’s Travel Ban

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, raised concerns about the Trump Administration’s new Executive Order dramatically restricting travel to the United States for nationals of nineteen countries. Blumenthal questioned the Trump Administration’s nominee to serve as General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security about the new policy.

“The President last night issued a very broad travel ban. My view is that it may well be overbroad, and blunderbuss, denying our nation energy and talents and skills that we need for our economy, not to mention the humanitarian concerns that many of us have. We are still analyzing and evaluating this ban, but it strikes me as problematic in a number of respects, constitutionally as well as in terms of policy,” said Blumenthal.

Blumenthal also raised specific concerns regarding the impact of the policy on Afghan nationals who supported and defended U.S. interests during the war in Afghanistan. Although the Executive Order exempts holders of Special Immigrant Visas from the travel ban, Afghans who served the U.S. mission by working with non-profit, humanitarian, or civil society organizations or other non-government entities would be barred from seeking asylum or refugee protections.

“Shouldn't we allow these people to come to the country that they served in Afghanistan, and now are at risk, along with their families, of death and torture if they are not allowed to come here?” Blumenthal asked.

Video of Blumenthal’s exchange is available here.

On the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee

At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Cheryl Mason to be the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General, Ranking Member Blumenthal grilled Mason on her partisan ties to the Trump Administration and role as senior advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins.

Blumenthal stressed a clear conflict of interest in the Trump Administration nominating Mason—a loyalist—to the independent oversight role as VA’s top watchdog official, who is intended to be non-partisan: “The office of Inspector General is one that has to be completely non-partisan and independent. We have never…confirmed someone for that position who was a political appointee already serving in any Department…which gives me tremendous pause. It has to be seen in the context of the firing of most of our Inspector Generals by the President of the United States—illegally done, in a way that seems really regrettable. So, what we need now—more than any other time in our history—is a person in that position who non-political, completely non-partisan, and independent.”

“Let me ask you: Have you had any role in either the firings of VA employees to date?...And what about the plans to fire 83,000 more?...Have you participated in the realignment of Senior Executive Service staff across the board, VBA, and Office of General Counsel?” asked Blumenthal. When Mason would not answer the Senator clearly, Blumenthal quipped: “Okay, we can argue about words here but I think you get my point, which is you’re unwilling to review mass firings—which have been found to be illegal. You have been unwilling to be forthright in your responses to these questions.”

Blumenthal concluded: “You have been earning your pay as loyal advisor, a member of the Collins’ team, an employee as his behest, a political appointee—not as a career civil servant. You are a political appointee as an Inspector General, and that is why I will object to your nomination.”

Video of Blumenthal’s exchange is available here.

Blumenthal backed the bipartisan Veterans Housing Stability Act of 2025—legislation authored by U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) to ensure veterans and servicemembers using VA home loans can keep their homes.

“Veterans facing painful financial hardship deserve a viable solution to get their mortgages current and keep their homes. Right now, potentially tens of thousands of veterans are at-risk of losing their homes as a direct result of Secretary Collins’ reckless and reprehensible decision to end the VASP Program. Our legislation will create a replacement program to avoid preventable foreclosures, and ensure our most vulnerable veterans have a last resort option to continue paying their mortgage and keep their homes,” said Blumenthal.

Blumenthal and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) pressed the Trump Administration to continue publicly reporting critical quality-of-care data for veterans amid news VA is considering deleterious changes to how this data is collected and shared.

“It has come to our attention the Department may be considering harmful changes not only to how quality-of-care data is collected, but how it is shared with Congress and the public,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter to VA Secretary Collins. “We are particularly concerned by reports that VA may cease submitting quality-of-care data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for inclusion in the annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. This data is displayed on the CMS ‘Care Compare’ website and is designed specifically to help patients make informed decisions about where to receive care.”

The lawmakers also stressed their concerns with VA’s intention to reduce its briefings to Congress on Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) data—which provides critical oversight metrics: “This is wholly unacceptable. These briefings are typically brief—often under 30 minutes—but provide essential insight into performance trends, including mortality, complications, and patient satisfaction. SAIL data serves as a critical early warning system when a VA medical center is underperforming and requires attention.”

The full text of the Committees’ leaders’ letter is available here.

Blumenthal Bulletin

Blumenthal released a statement on the passing of Attorney General Carl Ajello.

Blumenthal introduced a bill to help disabled veterans access education.

Blumenthal introduced legislation to reduce the burden of student loan debt on servicemembers.

Blumenthal slammed the House Reconciliation bill’s ban on state AI safeguards.

Blumenthal supported increasing funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

Blumenthal emphasized his support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Blumenthal called out Trump’s corrupt cryptocurrency scheme.

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