New World Screwworm spurs 21-senator Democratic push as FISA clock ticks

Twenty-one Senate Democrats formally demanded that USDA expand sterile-fly production, coordinate expedited approval of containment technologies, incentivize reporting through producer indemnification, and hire additional Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service staff — all within 30 days. "We write with great concern regarding the current outbreak of New World Screwworm (NWS) within the United States and the growing threat this pest poses to livestock producers, farm workers, companion animals, wildlife, and rural economies across the country," the senators wrote in the letter organized by Klobuchar, Luján, Heinrich, and Slotkin.

The senators acknowledged preliminary USDA efforts but pressed for more: "These actions are critical first steps, but the evolving situation demands additional actions to ensure that the United States is adequately responding to the significance of this threat."

Sen. Marshall, appearing separately on RFD-TV, offered a defense of the response and a reassurance about the food supply: "I'm asking your listeners to communicate to Americans the food supply is safe. No farmer or rancher would take this animal with a big open flesh wound to the processor — and then they're inspected again." Marshall described the sterile-fly eradication strategy: "The way you get rid of this is through these sterile male worms... the female screw worm fly can only mate once, and then it dies. So, if you can mate it with a sterile male, eventually all these worms die."

In a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Secretary Rollins told Sen. Tuberville that the Mexican border ports have been closed for a year: "The ports have been closed for a year — and that allowed us to keep it out. I think that if we'd opened any of those ports, we would have had it on our side six months, eight months, ten months ago." Rollins also described the precision of the sterile-fly drops: "Within four hours — we're dropping eight million sterile flies right on top of that ranch, and they have had no other cases."

Senate Majority Leader Thune put Democrats squarely on the record over FISA, warning in a floor statement that Section 702 — which he called "our nation's most critical intelligence-gathering tool" — is "set to go dark on Friday." "They're blocking a critical national security tool because they don't like the president's temporary, short-term pick for acting — acting — DNI," Thune said, attributing the impasse to Democratic objections over the Bill Pulte appointment.

Sen. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said he was glad to see a new nominee but attached conditions to any FISA movement: "before the Senate can take up a FISA extension there needs to be a clear guarantee that Mr. Pulte will not serve as acting DNI. Either Director Gabbard must remain in place or the administration must designate the Senate-confirmed Principal Deputy DNI as the acting head through any transition."

The Iran war powered a separate track of Democratic statements. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., responded to President Trump's announced intention to seize Kharg Island: "Today, President Trump announced that he intends to seize and occupy foreign territory. That means American boots on the ground — American lives at risk — in a war the American people strongly oppose." Murray added: "We should be ending this war, not expanding it. There is no objective, no exit strategy, and no end in sight."

In a television appearance, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pressed the administration's legal rationale: "The ceasefire argument that the administration is making is just patently absurd. First of all, the ceasefire is mostly observed in the breach. Iran shot down one of our helicopters. We are attacking sites in Iran... there is no ceasefire." Schiff noted that 37 Senate Democrats have demanded release of the administration's legal opinion on the war's status.

The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the FY2027 NDAA out of committee this week by a vote of 18-9, authorizing $1.14 trillion — described in releases as the largest defense authorization in American history. The bill's passage generated split statements from Democrats who secured provisions but opposed the overall measure.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., announced she voted against final passage despite winning inclusion of several provisions, citing Republican refusal to constrain the Iran war: "Republicans systematically shot down key amendments to rein in President Trump's reckless war with Iran and cut record-high defense spending. At a moment when our alliances are strained and the administration is ignoring the American people to fund a deeply unpopular conflict, this bill sends the wrong message."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ranking Member of the SASC Personnel Subcommittee, highlighted wins secured with bipartisan support, including right-to-repair provisions with Sen. Sheehy and measures on defense contractor stock buybacks and military housing — all obtained, her release noted, with bipartisan committee votes. Warren and Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., also introduced the Restore Military Families' Voices Act to ban privatized housing contractors from requesting that military families sign non-disclosure agreements. "Privatized housing companies have abused non-disclosure agreements to take advantage of servicemembers and military families," Ossoff said.

Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday to raise criminal and civil penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information — a coordinated rollout that generated matching releases from both senators' offices.

The bill would increase the maximum criminal fine for unauthorized disclosure from $5,000 to $250,000 and extend the maximum prison term from five to seven years. It also creates a new felony for IRS contractors who willfully fail to enforce required safeguards, with penalties reaching $500,000 or 25 percent of the total contract value, whichever is greater.

"When Americans pay their taxes, they are entrusting the government with extremely sensitive information — everything from Social Security numbers to banking details," said Cortez Masto. "As the IRS relies more heavily on government contractors, we need to do more to ensure they don't mishandle taxpayer information." Daines framed the bill around protecting confidentiality: "The last thing hardworking Americans should have to worry about is their tax information being breached or leaked."

Twelve Senate Democratic Ranking Members — including Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif. — jointly wrote to President Trump and Majority Leader Thune demanding that Democratic vacancies on bipartisan commissions be filled.

"As Ranking Members of Committees in the Senate responsible for overseeing independent agencies, we are concerned about the White House's lack of serious engagement with Senate Democrats to identify strong candidates to fill open positions," the senators wrote. "Rather than open meaningful discussions, the White House has shown no indication that it intends to nominate Democrats to critical roles across government."

The letter also cited the nominations of Todd Blanche as Attorney General and Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence as heightening concerns: "Congress designed these boards and commissions to be bipartisan and gave them the authority to regulate some of the most vital and significant parts of American life. But the Trump Administration appears intent on ensuring that it retains complete control over these agencies, with little interest in working in good faith with Congress."

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., led 20 Senate colleagues in demanding answers from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over the Trump administration's removal of the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses manual from the DOJ website — an action the senators flagged as particularly concerning ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

"The manual published by the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division has been easily publicly accessible on the Department's Election Crimes Branch website in both Democratic and Republican Administrations," the senators wrote to Blanche. "During President Trump's first term, the manual was accompanied by a memorandum describing the Department's longstanding election non-interference policy."

Sen. Schiff separately called out Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a television appearance, describing what he characterized as a pattern of unsuccessful grand jury presentations on immigration cases and an appeal to the public for evidence of election fraud in California: "He's turned down so often" that prosecutors behind his back "call him 'no-Bill Essayli.'" Schiff said the situation has driven "about a quarter to a third of the prosecutors to leave the office."

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced that President Trump signed into law a provision — modeled on the Renewed Hope Act — providing $108.5 million to hire 200 new child exploitation investigators and analysts at DHS Homeland Security Investigations. Prior to enactment, DHS had seven full-time specialists for this work. "This is the largest surge against child trafficking ever by the federal government," Hawley said. "Time is of the essence. Let's rescue these children."

Tim Tebow, Founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation, who testified before Hawley's Judiciary subcommittee in March, noted the scale of the problem: "Right now, 89,000 unidentified image series of children being sexually abused have been seen by law enforcement — but these children have yet to be identified and are still waiting to be found due to resource and manpower shortages."

Separately, the Senate passed by voice vote the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act, S.736, which upgrades penalties for smuggling or possessing a contraband cellphone in federal prison from a misdemeanor to a felony carrying up to five years. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., a cosponsor, said: "Contraband cellphones in federal prisons pose a risk to guards and other prison personnel, and in the worst cases to the victims of crime orchestrated using cellphones from within prison walls."

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced the Illegal Immigration Cost Recovery Act Thursday, which would double civil financial penalties for unauthorized entry and for those with final removal orders who fail to depart. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., are cosponsors.

"Illegal immigration is — in fact — illegal and has consequences," Scott said. "Decades of open border policies have created an enormous and unfair cost burden on Americans that needs to be offset to make things right."

Lee, in a cosponsor statement, argued the bill reinforces existing law: "Law has long required financial penalties for illegal immigrants, but no president other than Donald Trump has stood up for the American people by enforcing them. I'm proud to cosponsor Senator Rick Scott's Illegal Immigration Cost Recovery Act to double civil financial penalties for illegal immigrants and claw back Americans' hard-earned money." The release noted that ICE issued nearly 10,000 failure-to-depart fine notices between its June 2025 restart and the date of this release.

Three separate defense-technology bills surfaced Thursday. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced legislation requiring the Department of War to establish a pilot program evaluating 3D-printed energetic materials — explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics — for munitions manufacturing. "As threats from foreign adversaries continue to increase, it is imperative that our nation's defense capabilities are up to par with the advanced technologies and resources available," Cornyn said.

Cornyn also introduced a counter-drone bill directing the U.S. Army to establish interoperability standards for technologies to detect and neutralize unmanned aircraft systems. "The Russia-Ukraine conflict exposed a vulnerability in America's military readiness and our supply chain, and that is technologies that can detect and neutralize enemy drones," he said.

Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced the UNLOCK AUKUS Act to allow missile-technology-controlled items to be transferred within the AUKUS license-free environment, potentially expanding defense-eligible technology transfers from roughly 70 percent to near 95 percent. "The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom face the most challenging threat environment since WWII," Ricketts said. "As we approach the 5th anniversary of AUKUS, we need to cut through any remaining red tape to streamline defense collaboration."

Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both D-Va., released a Joint Economic Committee minority report Thursday showing Virginia families spent $2,600 more on everyday essentials under Trump, including $444 more on gas since the start of what they called the "Iran War" and $572 more on housing. "While Virginians across the Commonwealth are facing high energy, grocery, housing, and health care costs, the president has done nothing to ease the pain," the senators said.

Sen. Murray separately tied energy costs directly to the Kharg Island announcement: "gas is up 40%, inflation just hit a three-year high, and life gets more expensive every week." Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., offered a competing frame on the Senate floor, attributing high energy costs to Democratic climate policy and defending the Trump administration's decision to keep the Dave Johnston coal plant in Converse County open. "Democrats love high energy because they don't want people to use fossil fuels," Barrasso said. "They think the higher the costs, the fewer fossil fuels will be used, and that is their worshiping of the climate God that they have continued to worship."

The Senate unanimously passed Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's Tribal Warrant Fairness Act Thursday, authorizing the U.S. Marshals Service to assist Tribal law enforcement in locating and arresting violent criminal suspects and searching for missing children — services USMS currently provides to other agencies but was not authorized to provide Tribes.

"It is a cruel injustice that we are forcing Tribal law enforcement to operate with one hand tied behind their backs while their communities face disproportionately high rates of violence," Cortez Masto said. "This bill will solve a problem that has gone unaddressed for too long, and I urge my colleagues in the House to take it up immediately." The bill now awaits House action. Cortez Masto's release noted that the Not Invisible Act Commission Report — which generated the legislative recommendations the bill addresses — was removed from the Department of Justice website more than 485 days ago by the Trump administration.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced four bills Thursday aimed at modernizing dredging policy and opening American ports to a broader set of vessels. The package targets the Foreign Dredge Act of 1906, which Lee said is suffocating port infrastructure: "America's supply chain relies on our ports, which are currently suffocating under century-old red tape. These bills will free up essential infrastructure and modernize policies to secure America's economic dominance and keep our ports competitive."

The four bills would, respectively: repeal the Foreign Dredge Act outright and streamline Clean Water Act impediments (the DEEP Act); allow NATO-affiliated dredging vessels to operate in U.S. waters; repeal the Act's cabotage requirements for all qualified dredge vessels; and allow Americans to purchase foreign-built dredge vessels provided they are American-crewed and U.S.-flagged.

Signals

• volumeToday's release count of 43 runs 49.4% below the Thursday baseline of 85, the lowest daily total in recent context.
• coordinatedAt least five senators issued separate releases tied to the same New World Screwworm USDA letter — Cortez Masto, Warner, Rosen, Slotkin, and Luján — a same-day coordinated rollout with 21 total signatories.
• voteSenate passed the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act (S.736) by voice vote Wednesday night; passed the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act unanimously Thursday; the Promoting Police Leadership Act passed the Senate unanimously Thursday.
• recessSenate is 18 days from the Independence Day state work period with no scheduled votes on the floor calendar today.
• silent breaksSen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., listed as 15 days quiet, but her name appears as lead organizer of the New World Screwworm USDA letter — her office did not file a standalone release in today's input set.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC38d
• Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI31d
• Sen. Mike Rounds, R-SD21d