{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/senator-blumenthal-week-in-review-9/11/2026-9/18/2026", "Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 9/11/2026-9/18/2026", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "Celebrating Final Passage of Landmark Russia Sanctions Bill\n\n[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) celebrated final Congressional passage of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The legislation, led by Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Darline Graham (R-SC), would hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. The bill was approved in a major bipartisan vote in the Senate in August and was passed out of the House of Representatives this week.\n\n\u201cToday is a historic triumph for democracy\u2014 ours and Ukraine\u2019s\u2014 showing that America can still muster bipartisan unity in the fight for freedom. I am overwhelmed with gratitude,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cIn August, I watched from Kyiv\u2019s Sophia Square as President Zelenskyy honored the families of heroes who gave their lives so that Ukraine could remain free and independent. I vowed then, as I have every day for the last few years, that our tribute to the fallen defenders of Ukraine would be the passage of this legislation to help bring an end to Putin\u2019s hideous slaughter and prevent future bloodshed.\u201d\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s triumph is also a testament to the relentless drive of my friend, Lindsey Graham. I missed him deeply on my most recent eleventh trip to Ukraine. If he were here today, he would be jubilant about our bill\u2019s passage \u2013 and already thinking about the next one. So today we celebrate, and tomorrow, we redouble work on sending Ukraine whatever it needs to prevail. Putin is a thug who understands only force and strength, which is what we must show clearly and unequivocally.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal joined Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), and Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) at a press conference following the vote on final passage of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.\n\n\u201cTo Vladimir Putin\u2014we have your number. Your economy is reeling. We\u2019re going to throttle your war machine. China and India, you better clean up your act. Buy your oil and gas somewhere else,\u201d said Blumenthal at the press conference. \u201cTo the American people\u2014thank you for standing with Ukraine and recognizing that Ukraine\u2019s fight is our fight. It is not just their freedom and independence, it\u2019s ours. And to the people of Ukraine\u2014you are not alone. The momentum that we have as a result of this bill should enable us to fight for the military aid, the economic support, the political and moral bolstering that Ukraine needs and deserves.\u201d\n\nA video of the press conference can be found here.\n\nLast month, Blumenthal traveled to Ukraine to celebrate Independence Day in Kyiv. Blumenthal also traveled to Dnipro, near the eastern front of the war \u2013 the first Congressional Delegation to visit since the invasion.\n\nIn early August, Blumenthal along with Britt, Shaheen, and U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Jim Risch (R-ID) hosted a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and supporters of the legislation at the U.S. Capitol. Photos of the meeting are available here.\n\nBlumenthal and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) first introduced legislation to bring primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia\u2019s aggression in Ukraine in April 2025, and spent the last year and a half building support for the effort in Congress and the Administration. Lindsey Graham secured an agreement with the White House on the bill just before his death.\n\nThe Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 would impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, foreign persons, and Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as the Russian Shadow Fleet.\n\nThe legislation allows the President to impose targeted tariffs on imported goods from countries that buy the vast majority of Russian oil or gas, and enable Russian sanctions evasion. The bill limits these tariffs to the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, and the top five countries that aid Russia\u2019s energy sanctions evasion.\n\nThe bill also includes a provision to prevent a lapse in sanctions authority that restricts funding for Iran\u2019s energy and weapons sectors.\n\nThe text of the bill is available here.\n\nCondemning Presidential Corruption\n\nBlumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), convened a public forum on how Donald Trump, his children, and top Administration officials have leveraged their positions to grow their personal wealth at the expense of American families. At the forum, \u201cGaming the System: How the Trump Family is Making Billions by Ripping Off the American People,\u201d Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called out Donald Trump and his family for their self-enrichment schemes and made the case for strong reforms to curb corruption at the federal level.\n\nBlumenthal slammed Republicans for enabling Trump\u2019s corruption by moving to advance crypto market structure legislation without meaningful anti-corruption provisions: \u201cExhibit A, the latest draft of the Clarity Act relating to conflicts of interest. It purports to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption by the President of the United States. It is a charade. It is a sham. It should prompt a no vote by every member of the United States Senate tomorrow at 2:15 when the vote is scheduled.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal continued, \u201cNow, of all the families\u2019 grifts, cryptocurrency has probably been the most profitable enterprise, and the cost to consumers probably have been greatest. This is an industry that was facing criminal and civil investigations for enabling terrorists, drug traffickers, market manipulation, and human trafficking. It turns out the shadiest people were more than willing to cut checks to literally get out of jail. President Trump\u2019s willingness to trade the public trust for crypto wealth began before he was sworn in.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal continued, \u201cSo, this corruption is going to continue unless we take a stand, unless we sound the alarm. And unless the people of the United States tell Republicans corruption is on the ballot this November. Corruption is on the ballot because\u2014here\u2019s the essential point\u2014corruption is costly. Corruption has consequences. I know folks out there are saying themselves, you know, I\u2019m paying more for gasoline and groceries. I can barely afford new clothes for my kids as they go back to school. And you\u2019re making a fuss about Donald Trump making a lot of money. But folks, this is relevant to your lives. This is real in its cost to you.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal underscored the costs to taxpayers and our national security as a result of the Trump family\u2019s self-enrichment schemes: \u201cWhen members of the family like Jared Kushner, who has served as the government\u2019s top negotiator in crises from Gaza to Ukraine, goes out soliciting business for his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, and he goes to the Saudis for $2 billion, or when the country of Qatar provides a plane, or when Melania Trump makes millions of dollars from her vanity project documentary sponsored by Amazon, interests are compromised. Our national interest is compromised.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe grifts just keep on grifting. For some people, Donald Trump is a gift that keeps on giving, but it\u2019s almost entirely to his family and his billionaire friends. And that\u2019s why we\u2019re here today: to say enough is enough. The American people should know what\u2019s happening,\u201d Blumenthal concluded.\n\nA video of Blumenthal\u2019s remarks at the forum is available here. A video of the forum can be found here.\n\nBlumenthal also spoke on the Senate Floor to call on Republicans to take up the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act, legislation that would terminate the federal banking charter for World Liberty Financial that was approved by the Trump-controlled Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and prohibit federal banking agencies from approving banking applications when the applicant is owned by certain senior government officials.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I\u2019m here thinking about all the Americans who are working on manufacturing plants assembly lines, all the Americans who are teaching our kids in schools or patrol our schools as police or working in our hospitals, all of the hardworking Americans who are just working to get by, to make ends meet, to know whether they can afford another $20 or $30 at the supermarket, and then to think of Donald Trump making $6 million per day last year, a total of $2.2 billion just in the first year of his presidency,\u201d Blumenthal said on the Senate Floor.\n\nBlumenthal continued, \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a single person in America who thinks that he earned that money, and how could he? He\u2019s supposed to be devoting every waking moment to the public interest of the United States, to keeping us safe and our nation secure. The fact is it was the result of corruption. $1.4 billion of it came from crypto. And the point of this legislation is essentially to end that corruption.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal also called out Republicans for enabling Trump\u2019s corruption by working to advance crypto market structure legislation without meaningful anti-corruption reforms: \u201cNow, we will vote tomorrow on a crypto bill that is, sadly and tragically, riddled with loopholes that enables him to continue this same self-dealing and self-enrichment. And the failure to stand up to the President, I think, is going to be on our Republican colleagues, because this amendment, ethics requirements for digital assets, is a sham. It\u2019s a charade. And if nothing else, Republicans should take a stand and say in crypto legislation that\u2019s supposed to stop wrongdoing, lawlessness, funding of terrorist organizations, money laundering, now is the time to also impose a strong conflict of interest rule.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal continued, \u201cPresident Trump has been clear: there is no ethical line separating his role as President from his family\u2019s businesses. It\u2019s that simple. Corruption has become the family business.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal underscored the need for the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act to protect consumers and our national security: \u201cCorruption has consequences. It has costs. That bank charter is worth millions, maybe hundreds of millions to World Liberty Financial, but it will enable World Liberty Financial to exploit and take advantage of consumers that will cost them money out of those hard-earned wages that they make.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose Americans who are working hard to make ends meet, wondering whether they can afford another $20 or $30 at the supermarket, while Donald Trump averaged $6 million a day in 2025, ought to demand of all of us that we pass the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act. It\u2019s the least we can do, it\u2019s a first step. And I hope that we will also pass a crypto measure that is worthy of this body and its name,\u201d Blumenthal concluded.\n\nA video of Blumenthal\u2019s remarks on the Senate Floor is available here.\n\nBlumenthal further called out Trump\u2019s presidential corruption and crypto schemes on Twitter/X,\n\n\u201cTrump is using crypto to cash in on the presidency\u2014selling access to the highest bidder & raking in the money from foreign governments. We need strong legislation that ends this self-dealing & corruption\u2014not half measures like the Clarity Act,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cAmericans are being scammed out of billions of dollars while Trump is using crypto to turn the presidency into a profit generating machine. The Clarity Act\u2019s weak rules & carveouts would supercharge fraud & undermine law enforcement,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cThe Clarity Act purports to prevent crypto conflicts of interest & corruption by the President of the United States but that is a sham. It\u2019s a charade. It should prompt a no vote by every member of the United States Senate,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\n\u201cTrump has been dropping cases, cutting sweetheart deals, & providing pardons across the crypto industry. Enabling this crypto corruption directly undermines our national security,\u201d wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.\n\nOn the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee\n\nWounded Warrior Project recognized U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal as their 2026 Legislator of the Year in the U.S. Senate at their Courage Awards and Benefit Dinner. Wounded Warrior Project recognized Blumenthal\u2019s leadership on the Major Richard Star Act and his advocacy for America\u2019s veterans as Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee.\n\n\u201cI am honored to receive the Legislator of the Year Award from Wounded Warrior Project\u2014fierce champions for veterans and their families across the nation,\u201d said Senator Blumenthal. \u201cTheir strong advocacy and partnership is critical in our work to make sure veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned and deserved. Together, we will continue the fight to pass the Major Richard Star Act, improve VA mental health care programs, and ensure a grateful nation lives up to its promises to veterans.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis award recognizes not only Senator Blumenthal\u2019s leadership, but also his steadfast commitment to our nation\u2019s veterans,\u201d said Jose Ramos, Vice President of Government and Community Relations for Wounded Warrior Project. \u201cThroughout his career, he has combined a deep understanding of the challenges veterans face with tireless advocacy to help improve the services and support veterans, their families, and caregivers rely on every day. All of us at Wounded Warrior Project are honored to celebrate his achievements and thank him for his efforts on behalf of those who have served.\u201d\n\nBlumenthal has worked for years alongside Wounded Warrior Project to expand veterans\u2019 access to health care and benefits. This includes championing provisions in the PACT Act to expand benefits, health care, and compensation for toxic-exposed veterans and working together to advance the Major Richard Star Act for combat-injured veterans. This week, the Major Richard Star Act received its 218th signature on a bipartisan discharge petition to force Speaker Johnson to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote. This Congress, Blumenthal and Wounded Warrior Project are also continuing their push to strengthen mental health care for veterans with Blumenthal\u2019s BRAVE Act and his bipartisan legislation to improve care and benefits for survivors of military sexual trauma.\n\nDemanding Information About Lewandowski\u2019s Pay-to-Play DHS Contracting Scheme\n\nBlumenthal and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) wrote Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin demanding information and records \u201cmounting evidence of widespread corruption orchestrated by former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) senior advisor Corey Lewandowksi.\u201d\n\nThe Senators\u2019 letter follows reporting from the Wall Street Journal revealing that Lewandowski and his allies were engaged in an apparent pay-to-play scheme to influence the awarding of DHS contracts. According to the new report, Lewandowski also sought private payment arrangements from foreign governments in exchange for influencing DHS decision-making beyond contracting.\n\n\u201cThe overwhelming evidence of Mr. Lewandowski and his associates\u2019 improper, self-serving influence over DHS decision-making at the highest levels can no longer be ignored or brushed aside. Congress and the American people must have a full and transparent assessment of the likely waste generated by and potential illegal activity committed by Mr. Lewandowski and any other individual who sought to improperly influence DHS contracting awards,\u201d the Senators wrote.\n\nIn August, Blumenthal and Welch, joined by U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote Mullin about DHS\u2019s wasteful purchase of 10 airplanes for $464 million via a no-bid contract. In their letter to Mullin, the Senators called out the Department\u2019s growing and alarming reliance on no-bid contracts since the beginning of the second Trump Administration and raised concerns that the owner of the company that received the award also runs a company alleged to have solicited kickback payments to former DHS official Corey Lewandowski.\n\nBlumenthal and Welch previously demanded answers from Mullin about Lewandowski\u2019s role in DHS contracting decisions in light of reports that Lewandowski potentially steered contract awards to benefit himself and his political allies while serving as a special government employee and advisor at DHS.\n\nThe full text of the letter is available here.\n\nBlumenthal Bulletin\n\nBlumenthal published a Substack piece on his visit to Hartford\u2019s immigration court.\n\nBlumenthal slammed a Department of Transportation proposal promoting deceptive and misleading advertising hurting consumers.\n\nBlumenthal joined Senators in introducing a privileged resolution seeking answers on West Bank violence.\n\nBlumenthal joined CNBC to call for better regulations around AI.\n\nBlumenthal slammed FBI Director Kash Patel for not properly recognizing the threat of a Russian oligarch bankrolling Donald Trump Jr.\u2019s wedding.\n\nBlumenthal applauded the Supreme Court striking down Trump\u2019s unconstitutional directive using USPS as an instrument to suppress the vote.\n\nBlumenthal joined CNN to discuss the Supreme Court rejecting Trump\u2019s plan to limit mail-in voting.\n\nBlumenthal slammed Trump\u2019s judicial nominees for their failure to answer who won the 2020 election.\n\nBlumenthal honored the anniversary of 9/11 at events across Connecticut, including in Greenwich, Wilton, Bridgeport, Stamford, and Glenville.\n\nBlumenthal attended the CICD-Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade.\n\nBlumenthal joined the 57th Annual CT State Ukrainian Day Festival at St. Basil\u2019s Seminary in Stamford.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/senator-blumenthal-week-in-review-9/11/2026-9/18/2026"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1035469360649586, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}