Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Seeks Answers on Hegseth’s Role in Dismantling Military’s Civilian Harm Prevention Guard Rails in Advance of Iran War
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined nine senators in seeking answers on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran. Since the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran, attacks on civilian infrastructure have led to more than 1,700 civilian deaths, along with strikes on more than 20 schools and a dozen health care facilities. “The high human toll of this war reflects the administration’s broader disregard for the strategic, legal, and moral imperative to minimize civilian harm.,” wrote the lawmakers. “We call on the administration to immediately end the war in Iran and fully restore Congressionally authorized programs and staffing to mitigate civilian harm.” “We are concerned that these were all preventable tragedies…This is a concerning pattern and raises questions about whether the administration is upholding international law and the laws of war,” wrote the senators. The Senators called on DoD to answer questions about reported attacks on two separate elementary schools in Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them children. Prior to the war, Secretary Hegseth made deep cuts to the military’s civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) programs, fired personnel at DoD’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, and slashed CHMR staff at the U.S. combatant commands “by more than 90 percent.” All the cuts were reportedly made over the objections of veterans organizations and top military officials, including admirals, generals, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We are
Smith, Klobuchar Urge HHS to Release LIHEAP Funding
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN) are urging the Department of Health and Human Services to release the remaining FY26 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding available to all states, including Minnesota. “We write to urge you to immediately release the remaining FY26 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding available to all states, including Minnesota,” the Senators wrote. “LIHEAP is the main federal program that assists low-income households and seniors with their energy bills.” “In Minnesota it has helped over 100,000 households this winter, preventing over 17,000 disruptions,” the Senators continued. “As low-income families and seniors feel additional strains on their household budgets, the timely release of LIHEAP funds is crucial to ensure families do not need to choose between paying their energy bills and other essentials, like food or medicine. Particularly as parts of Minnesota are still seeing freezing temperatures, funding for our state is critical.” This letter follows a bipartisan letter that Klobuchar and Smith joined to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought, demanding that OMB release funding to all states. The Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides families with payment assistance to help cover their home energy costs. LIHEAP can also be used to weatherize homes, making them more energy-efficient and mitigating energy emergencies during disasters and extreme weather. The full letter is available here and below. Dear Secretary Kennedy: We write to urge you to immediately release the remaining FY26 Low Income Home
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Fridley Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Lewis to Speak at “People’s State of the Union”
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced she is boycotting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address. Senator Smith will be speaking at MoveOn’s “People’s State of the Union” held on the National Mall alongside her guest: Fridley Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Lewis. Smith and Lewis’ remarks will be livestreamed around 8:30pm ET here. Lewis has worked tirelessly to keep students, staff and families in her school district safe in the face of a federal police force operating with impunity and snatching children and their parents off the street. Smith met Lewis after school and drove with
Statement from U.S. Senator Tina Smith on the Supreme Court’s Decision to Strike Down President Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled against President Trump’s sweeping tariffs in a 6-3 decision: “These tariffs caused an entirely unnecessary and avoidable trade war that hurt a lot of Minnesotans. The President abused his power to make a complete mess of our trade systems, and regular people and small businesses paid the price, and I think the money collected from these illegal tariffs should go back into their pockets,” said Senator Smith. “American producers being hurt by trade cheats deserve serious remedies. Instead, the President wasted nearly a year on his futile
Klobuchar, Smith Call on ICE to Allow Access to Legal Counsel
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are calling on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow federal law and the Constitution by allowing people in detention to have access to legal counsel. Reports indicate that some of those detained, including at least one U.S. citizen, are being denied their constitutional right to access an attorney. “As you know the right to due process and the right to counsel are foundational constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. ICE and all other federal law enforcement agencies are required to honor these constitutional rights, regardless of a
Klobuchar, Smith Urge DOJ to Reverse Decision and Allow Joint Investigation Into Fatal ICE Shooting
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to coordinate with state and local law enforcement and allow for a joint investigation with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension into the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Klobuchar and Smith called for a thorough, objective, and impartial investigation, which requires full cooperation with state investigators and local authorities. “We write to express our serious concerns regarding reports that the Justice Department, including the Federal Bureau
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