California senators demand oversight of convicted election clerk hire

Padilla and Schiff sent the letter to Weber on Wednesday, copying the Shasta County Board of Supervisors. The release identified the action as occurring ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with Peters potentially hired as early as next month.

The senators drew a direct line to prior federal incursions into state election administration — including what they characterized as "the FBI's unjustified raid on Fulton County, Georgia's election offices and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's illegal seizure of ballots last year" — in arguing that the California Secretary of State's office must treat the Shasta situation with urgency.

"If county officials proceed with this misguided plan, we request that you provide the maximum oversight possible to ensure that Ms. Peters does not improperly access ballots, voting systems, or sensitive information that could impact the rights and privacy of the over 100,000 registered voters in Shasta County in violation of California's recently passed S.B. 73 or any other state or federal election law," they wrote.

Both senators issued separate releases on the same letter — a coordinated rollout timed to the same news cycle.

Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., joined the Women Add Resourcefulness and Resilience to Improve Operational Readiness (WARRIOR) Act on Wednesday, legislation led by Sens. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. The bill would require military occupational standards to be based on validated job requirements and applied equally regardless of gender.

"Our military's strength is rooted in the selfless sacrifice and bravery of all troops in all roles," Bennet said. "To ensure that our Armed Forces maintain readiness, it is critical that decisions on qualification be based on gender-neutral and scientifically-based standards, not sexist partisanship. This legislation will ensure those who answer the call to service, regardless of their gender, are judged on performance and ability, not Hegseth's regressive biases."

Duckworth, in a statement included in the release, was direct about the target: "For all his bluster about meritocracy, Pete Hegseth continues to find slimy ways to push out warriors who have earned their right to serve. This threatens morale and readiness at every level."

The legislation comes in direct response to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's decision to order a study examining, in Hegseth's own framing cited in the release, "the effectiveness of women in combat jobs."

Bennet led a bipartisan letter Wednesday to Hegseth urging a reversal of planned reductions to U.S. contributions to NATO operations in Europe — joining with Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.

"Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the United States has maintained an increased presence in Central and Eastern Europe to deter Russia's potential aggression against NATO allies. Earlier this summer, however, the United States European Command announced plans to scale back the number of forces committed to NATO, including a 30 percent cut to fighter jets, a decrease in reconnaissance planes, and the withdrawal of aerial refueling tankers," the lawmakers wrote.

The letter acknowledged the administration's stated rationale of shifting resources toward the Indo-Pacific but argued the implementation is dangerously abrupt: "Your planned reduction cuts deep across NATO capabilities and will take effect far earlier than European allies had been preparing for. This decision and its rapid implementation will weaken our shared deterrence posture in Europe by sending a troubling signal — both to our NATO allies and to Putin — about the U.S. commitment to this alliance at precisely the wrong moment."

The inclusion of Bacon — a Republican — gives the letter a bipartisan character unusual for Democratic-led national security criticism of the Hegseth Pentagon.

Bennet and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., led a coalition of more than a dozen Democratic senators and dozens of House members in opposing the Bureau of Land Management's proposed rescission of two rules — the 2024 Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule and a separate waste prevention rule.

"BLM's newly proposed rule threatens to dismantle this common-sense progress. We are deeply concerned that the proposed changes shift cleanup liabilities back to the public, restrict community and private landowner participation, and distort the balance required to manage America's public lands responsibly," the lawmakers wrote.

The letter coalition on the leasing rule included Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. The release notes the 2024 Onshore Leasing Rule had been designed to address "decades of BLM policies that favored oil and gas development over other uses and led to tens of thousands of dangerous abandoned wells that became the financial responsibility of taxpayers instead of the oil and gas companies."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., announced $1,710,000 in federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding for Rhode Island nonprofits and religious institutions Wednesday, awarded by the Department of Homeland Security and administered through the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

"No Rhode Islander should have to fear for their safety because of who they are or how they worship," Whitehouse said. "This delegation remains committed to securing federal funding to protect the rights of our constituents to practice their faith in peace."

Reed framed the grants in terms of a broader trend: "Sadly there's been a rise in recent years of threats against parts of America's diverse tapestry of religions and races. Racism, antisemitism, and the like are just plain un-American, and these federal dollars will help protect people."

The release notes that in 2025 only 20 percent of NSGP applicants received funding — approximately 1,600 of more than 8,000 organizations — because, it states, "Congress failed to provide sufficient funding levels."

Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., joined Delaware stakeholders Wednesday to mark passage of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act — described in the release as "the first comprehensive housing legislation to become law in over 30 years." Blunt Rochester authored five bills included in the package.

"As we address the shortage of 4-to-7 million housing units across the country, the passage of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act signifies a bipartisan commitment to making affordable housing a reality for all of us and revitalizing the 'American Dream,'" Blunt Rochester said. "I'm grateful for the Delawareans who partnered with me to craft my contributions to this package and am proud to stand with them to celebrate this momentous occasion here in the First State."

The five Blunt Rochester bills in the package cover zoning and land-use policy frameworks, pre-approved housing designs to speed missing-middle construction, increased caps on bank investments in community development projects, credit union regulatory relief, and a new grant program for state and local housing plans.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., attended the grand opening of Auburn University's Applied Research Institute in Huntsville this week — a 90,000-square-foot facility the release describes as equipped with "a one-of-a-kind space electronics testing capability as well as other advanced manufacturing and rapid prototyping abilities."

The release offered no direct quote from Tuberville but framed the facility as reinforcing Alabama's position in defense and aerospace: "The construction of this state-of-the-art facility helps ensure Alabama remains the premier hub for our nation's defense and aerospace infrastructure."

Signals

• volumeWednesday produced only 8 releases against a Wednesday average of 99.1 — a 91.9% drop below baseline, consistent with August state work period activity.
• recessThe Senate remains in August state work period recess; no floor votes are scheduled and no return date is noted in the calendar input.
• coordinatedPadilla and Schiff each issued separate press releases on the identical Shasta County letter within roughly three hours of each other, a dual-release rollout on the same document.
• volumeSen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., issued three separate releases Wednesday — on public lands, women in combat, and NATO — accounting for 37.5% of the day's total output.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, has issued nothing in 36 days — the longest documented silence in the current silent-senators list.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC36d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK34d
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS28d
• Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA16d