Democrats press Iran war costs, immigration oversight on recess eve

Merkley, Warren, and Schumer led more than a dozen Senate Democrats in a letter to the CBO on Friday, pressing the nonpartisan scorekeeper to produce an independent estimate of Operation Epic Fury's price tag. The impetus: Acting DOD Comptroller Jay Hurst testified in late April that costs ran about $25 billion, then revised that to $29 billion weeks later — while outside analysts and investigative reporters have put the figure significantly higher.

The letter cited public reporting that the Pentagon is spending as much as $2 billion a day, "roughly quadruple the initial estimate," and noted that Hurst's figures "did not fully account for damaged or destroyed equipment or U.S. military installations damaged." Even conservative estimates from Trump's former DOD deputy comptroller placed the cost at $35 billion at the April 7 ceasefire.

"It is essential that Congress and the American public receive accurate, comprehensive estimates of the costs of the war in Iran," the senators wrote. The letter comes as the Trump administration prepares to request as much as $200 billion in additional war funding on top of what the senators described as "its unprecedented $1.5 trillion defense budget request."

Kim formally demanded action Friday from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over conditions at the GEO Group-operated Delaney Hall facility in Newark. The letter followed congressional oversight visits over the past week and reports of a hunger and labor strike by detainees.

"While we do not believe Delaney Hall should continue to operate and is unfit to house detainees, as an immediate step, we urge you to require GEO Group to operate the facility in a manner consistent with current law and the U.S. Constitution or to take immediate steps to close the facility," the members wrote. The letter outlined four specific systemic concerns: conditions misaligned with ICE's own standards, ICE's escalatory and retaliatory responses to protest, and failures of due process in immigration proceedings.

"If the Delaney Hall Detention Facility cannot be operated in a manner consistent with current law and our Constitution, it should not continue to exist and its operator, GEO Group, should not continue to profit from federal dollars," the delegation concluded.

Warren released a response from U.S. Transportation Command confirming it "did not receive a tasking to move American civilians (non-U.S. government personnel)" during the evacuation of Americans from the Middle East — an oversight finding Warren's office characterized as evidence the Trump administration failed to deploy all available federal resources.

Warren's release described the evacuation as "chaotic and dangerous, with thousands of civilians being forced to wait days before receiving any information about how to return home to safety."

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., conducted an oversight visit to the Hidalgo Port of Entry in McAllen, Texas on Thursday, meeting with CBP officials, immigrant rights groups, and affected community members including a DACA recipient who was detained by ICE for three months following a minor traffic stop despite active DACA status.

"No parent should have to fear what may happen when they drop their child off at school, when they go to work, or whether they will make it home at the end of the day," Padilla said. "The level of the cruelty we've seen from the Trump Administration is sickening — there must be a better way. I will continue to fight for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and other law-abiding, long-term residents of the United States."

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced growing bipartisan and industry-wide support Friday for the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, co-led with Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. The legislation would restrict Chinese vehicles and connected components from U.S. markets.

The announcement drew statements from six Republican senators. "The Chinese Communist plan for automobiles is all too familiar: undermine U.S. industry through state subsidies and unfair labor practices, flood our market with Chinese goods, and then use those products to spy on Americans. Our bill puts an end to their scheme," said Sen. Tom Cotton. Sen. Josh Hawley added: "We cannot allow the Chinese surveillance state to prey on the American auto industry. Chinese spyware in the form of vehicles and software has no place in our country."

The bill also drew support from automakers, labor unions, and trade groups.

Sen. Christopher A. Coons, D-Del., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., introduced bipartisan legislation Friday to rebuild and modernize aging campus infrastructure at historically Black colleges and universities. The bill drew eight Senate cosponsors and a companion House bill.

"Funding for HBCUs is critical to providing educational resources for low-income students, first generation college students, and those most at risk of not entering college," Coons said. "Congress needs to take up and pass the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act to modernize campuses across the country so that HBCUs have the technology, facilities, and resources they need to educate the next generation."

Scott, co-chair of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus alongside Coons, said: "HBCUs have long been engines of opportunity, but for far too long, too many have been asked to do more with less. The IGNITE for HBCU Excellence Act will help modernize campuses, expand research and workforce training opportunities, and ensure students are prepared to succeed in a 21st-century economy."

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., condemned a newly released USPS proposed rule that would implement part of President Trump's executive order on mail-in voting. "President Trump's executive order is blatantly illegal," Bennet said. "Instead of working to expand access to the ballot and make it easier for Coloradans to vote, Trump and his appointees have focused on dismantling mail-in voting — a core part of Colorado's electoral system that both Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters strongly support."

Bennet pledged to fight the rule's implementation: "Only the states and Congress can change the electoral process. I will continue to fight hard to ensure this rule does not go into effect, and that Coloradans can continue to vote-by-mail as they have for years."

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., led Nevada's congressional delegation in demanding the National Endowment for the Humanities release six months of withheld FY2026 funds to state humanities councils. The NEH had cited a lack of an appointed chair as justification; Rosen's letter noted that an acting chair has since been named. "NEH funding helps support community and cultural programs and events throughout the state," the delegation wrote, adding that arts and humanities events in Nevada "help generate tens of millions of dollars in economic activity."

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., returned this week from a bipartisan, all-women Senate delegation visit to four Arctic nations — Canada, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland's Pituffik Space Base. "We must take Arctic security seriously. This region is the next frontier for satellites, radar, and missile warning systems," Cortez Masto said. "I know countries like China and Russia are looking to invest more in Arctic military capabilities, shipping routes, and energy production."

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., convened a roundtable Thursday with Jewish community leaders at Etz Chaim Synagogue in Jacksonville, citing a nearly 900% increase in antisemitic incidents over the past decade. "America gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance," Scott said, quoting George Washington's 1790 letter. "That's the America we must return to."

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, introduced the bipartisan CONNECT Act to update the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program, focusing on helping youth aged 14 to 21 build support networks. "Children aging out of foster care shouldn't have to navigate adulthood alone," said Husted, who disclosed he started his own life in foster care. The House passed a companion bill May 19.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, lauded a Supreme Court ruling Friday in Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges, which reversed a Fourth Circuit decision that Lee argued would have allowed federal immigration judges to challenge an approval policy for speaking engagements without going through administrative channels first.

"I'm glad to see the Supreme Court maintain the separation of powers keeping rogue activist judges from undermining the work of the executive branch," Lee said. "I'm proud to have spoken for Congress in an amicus curiae brief and pleased to see the Supreme Court listen." Justices Thomas and Barrett wrote separately to note that "[s]tatutes change only when Congress changes them, not when judges decide that they no longer vindicate Congress's purposes."

Signals

• volumeFriday's release count of 20 runs 36% below the Friday average of 31.2, consistent with the final day of the Memorial Day state work period.
• recessToday is the last day of the Memorial Day state work period; senators are expected to return to Washington next week with no scheduled votes on the calendar.
• coordinatedFive Democratic senators — Merkley, Warren, Schumer, Wyden, and at least a dozen co-signers — issued a single joint letter to CBO on Iran war costs on the same day Warren separately released a TRANSCOM oversight response on Middle East evacuation failures, representing a concentrated Democratic messaging push on the Iran conflict.
• silent breaksSen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., has not issued a release in the archive (999 days recorded); Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., appears as a IGNITE HBCU cosponsor in Coons's release but has not issued his own release in 25 days.
• coordinatedSen. Husted issued two releases on the same day — a manufacturing facility visit in Cleveland and introduction of the CONNECT Act foster care bill — the only senator with multiple releases in today's input.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK—
• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC25d
• Sen. Tina Smith, D-MN30d
• Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI18d