{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-slams-senate-republicans-for-rubberstamping-trump-arch/", "Merkley Slams Senate Republicans for Rubberstamping Trump Arch", "2026-09-28", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", "merkley", "https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked his bill to prevent the Trump Administration from using any federal funds for the planning and construction of the Trump Arch:\n\n\u201cTrump\u2019s Arch is a monument to his own ego\u2014a waste of our taxpayer dollars.\n\n\u201cThis vanity project distorts our history while destroying historic views, disregards the Constitution\u2019s separation of powers, disrupts the safety of planes in the sky and cars on the road in our nation\u2019s capital, and disrespects the sacrifices of our veterans and their families.\n\n\u201cThe Trump Arch is a monumentally bad idea, and it is abundantly clear there is no authorization from Congress for this massive arch. I\u2019ll keep fighting back against Trump\u2019s efforts to use our tax dollars to fund his arch and to instead invest in the four foundations that families need to thrive\u2014health care, housing, education, and good-paying jobs.\u201d\n\nAs the lead Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the Interior Department and National Park Service, the agencies that manage many of our public lands in Washington, D.C., Merkley took to the Senate Floor in an attempt to pass the No Funds for Trump\u2019s Illegal Arch Act, which would have blocked the Trump Arch.\n\nFull text of the bill can be found by clicking here.\n\nIn addition to Merkley, the No Funds for Trump\u2019s Illegal Arch Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).\n\nThroughout Trump\u2019s second term, Merkley has led the charge to hold the Administration accountable for its vanity projects and corruption\u2014including putting Trump\u2019s face on gold coins, park passes, a $250 bill, and the U.S. passport.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"]], "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.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-slams-senate-republicans-for-rubberstamping-trump-arch/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5323078259825706, "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"}