30 Senate Democrats demand Israel halt E1 settlement tenders

The joint statement, first published under Gallego's byline, carried the signatures of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Whip Dick Durbin alongside 28 colleagues — a show of caucus-wide buy-in that included every member of leadership.

The senators tied the E1 decision to what they called an escalating crisis on the ground: "At a time when settler violence — including violence against Palestinian Americans — is reaching unprecedented levels in the West Bank and severe restrictions continue to constrain Palestinian movement and the Palestinian economy, moving forward with construction in E1 risks further destabilizing the West Bank and making a negotiated resolution even more difficult."

They directed pointed language at both governments. "We urge the Israeli government to immediately rescind these tenders, halt settlement expansion in the West Bank, and take urgent action to rein in settler violence," the statement read. "Without a change in course, Israel risks weakening its international standing and undermining its prospects for long-term security. We also urge the Trump administration to make full use of its existing authorities, including targeted sanctions on individuals and entities."

The statement described the action as a follow-on to "a joint effort with 45 Senators urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately crack down on settler violence and settler expansion in the West Bank."

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., joined Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and 14 colleagues Friday in demanding the Trump administration abandon a planned purchase of the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. — a glove designed to deliver painful electric shocks — valued between $10 million and $20 million.

"We write to express deep concern about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend up to $20 million on gloves that deliver electric shocks," the senators wrote. "...The blatant and tragic misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations around the country raises significant skepticism about the agency's professional capability to safely deploy a new tool that could be used to harm Americans without cause. Therefore, we urge ICE to cancel the contract and reconsider the purchase."

The letter also challenged the procurement method. "Many of these ICE transactions, including the planned electric-shock glove purchase, are completed through no-bid contracts that circumvent the normal competitive procurement process without a sufficient rationale," the senators wrote, placing the glove acquisition alongside what they described as prior wasteful purchases — including $464 million for airplanes, $700 million on warehouses, and more than $2.25 million for branded SUVs.

"A device capable of delivering an electrical shock through direct contact with an individual presents substantial risks if deployed during civil arrests — even more so if it is deployed without clear limits, appropriate training, and comprehensive oversight," they continued.

Arizona's two Democratic senators responded jointly Friday after the Trump administration sued the state over its policy allowing eligible Dreamers and other immigrant students who attended and graduated from Arizona high schools to qualify for in-state tuition.

"Dreamers are Americans in every way. They grew up here, went to our schools, and are contributing to communities across Arizona. They deserve the opportunity to get an education and build a future in the only country many of them have ever called home," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., in a joint statement.

"Making college more expensive for young people who are deeply rooted in America does nothing to fix our broken immigration system or make our country safer," they continued. "Arizona voters decided to allow these students to pursue an affordable education, and we should respect that decision. We'll keep fighting for them to continue building their lives and futures in Arizona."

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., led colleagues Friday in demanding NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya restore a clinical trial — the Pediatric Opportunistic Pharmacokinetic Study — that is being terminated as a result of the Trump administration's contract cuts and funding delays.

"Ending the POPS study will stop enrollment in 25 states and the testing of several dozen drugs in children: including premature infants, critically ill children, and obese children," the senators wrote. "Ending this study will also mean that children and their families who have already enrolled and donated blood samples for this important scientific effort will not see the trial's goal achieved."

The letter went further: "You cannot claim to be making American children healthier while shutting down the research that would do exactly that. We demand that you reverse this reckless decision immediately and explain your decision making to Congress and the families of the children who rely on this research."

"Cancelling this research doesn't save a dime, in fact it wastes millions of dollars of taxpayer money," they added. "Clinical trials aren't light switches — you can't turn this research on and off, and now lifesaving research for our kids is gone."

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., visited the proposed site of OpenAI's 3.2-gigawatt "Project Camilla" data center in Effingham County on Friday and called for a statewide moratorium on data center construction.

"Data center developers across the country are not operating in partnership with communities, and that's why everyday citizens on both sides of the aisle are rightly and equally concerned about this," Warnock said. "The lack of transparency here in Effingham County and in counties across our state and across the country is unacceptable, and that's why today I'm calling for a moratorium on data centers."

Under Warnock's proposal, the moratorium could be lifted for a specific project only if there are no water or electric bill increases, no tax giveaways to developers, no NDAs, no air or water pollution, and no ambiguity around noise and light pollution. The $20 billion OpenAI proposal would require the equivalent of power for 2.3 million homes and sits near an elementary school.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., marked the six-month anniversary of what she called the Trump administration's unauthorized war with Iran, detailing a list of shifting White House timelines she said had not come true.

"Today marks six months since Donald Trump launched his disastrous war with Iran that congressional Republicans have fully supported," Gillibrand said. "This war was launched without a clear plan, executed without a coherent strategy, and has become a costly, self-inflicted disaster. Every justification we were given for this conflict has proven hollow."

"Our service members did not volunteer to be pawns in a chaotic, unauthorized war with no plan and no end in sight," she continued. "And here at home, New Yorkers have paid the price for this war as well — at the grocery store and the gas pump. This administration has unlimited money for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires — but nothing for the American people: for their healthcare, their food, their housing, and for their lives."

In an op-ed published Friday in The Daily Wire and amplified by his office, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced a Judiciary subcommittee investigation into Flock Safety and its network of more than 120,000 AI-powered cameras that he says capture 20 billion snapshots of cars each month.

"I don't know if Flock has broken the law, but I do know that technology is moving faster than Congress is keeping up," Hawley wrote. "So I have opened an investigation in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which I chair, into how this data is collected, retained, searched, and sold."

Hawley cited documented misuse cases: a St. Charles County, Missouri civilian employee running personal searches before the department canceled its Flock contract; a Milwaukee officer charged after searching his girlfriend's license plate 124 times; a Florida woman jailed for 13 days on eight felony counts before charges were dropped for misidentification. "For now, for practical purposes, the only privacy protections for hundreds of millions of Americans are those found in one company's internal policies," he wrote.

In an op-ed published in the Naples Daily News and distributed Friday, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., promoted his Safeguard Kids Act, which would fund AI literacy programs and specialized counseling at K-12 schools through the existing Student Support and Academic Enrichment federal block grant.

"AI has the potential to be the greatest information innovation since the printing press," Scott wrote. "Still, technology is only as good as our ability to use it well and for the right reasons — especially when it comes to our kids and grandkids. ... Replacing human interaction with AI is a clear threat to every child's interpersonal development. AI is a tool. It's not supposed to be a catch-all, stand-in for therapists, doctors, lawyers, scientists, poets, or philosophers. It can never replace human connection."

"If we want America to lead the world in innovation for the next generation, our children need to learn how to use the tools of the future," Scott added. "The Safeguard Kids Act does just that; Congress should pass it without delay."

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., met Friday with FEMA Region 8 Acting Regional Administrator Katherine Fox in Bismarck to advance a slate of flood control, disaster mitigation, and wastewater projects totaling $75 million for communities across North Dakota.

Key among them is the South Bismarck Flood Control Project — a $50 million FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance award — for which Hoeven is working to unlock $42.7 million in Phase 2 construction funding this fall, with construction targeted for 2027. The project is expected to remove approximately 1,000 structures from the floodplain.

"We're working to advance BRIC-funded infrastructure projects in Fessenden, Lincoln and Washburn, as well as the University of Mary's wastewater improvement project," Hoeven said. "We also need to keep the South Bismarck Flood Control Project moving forward so construction can begin next year, providing better flood protection while minimizing the burden of flood insurance on residents." Hoeven also discussed North Dakota's pending request for a presidential major disaster declaration following severe storms and tornadoes that struck western and central North Dakota in June.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., released a statement Friday following the Chemical Safety Board's publication of an investigation update on the industrial disaster at Nippon Dynawave in Longview, Washington.

"Three months ago, Longview endured an unthinkable tragedy and suffered enormous loss," Murray said. "The Chemical Safety Board's update revealed that Nippon Dynawave knew that the walls of the chemical tank that failed were dangerously thin. The investigation is ongoing, and I am appreciative of the important work that the CSB is doing to get the clarity we need."

"Every worker has the right to come home safely at the end of the day," Murray said. "I will continue to follow this investigation closely, and I will be there every step of the way to support this community."

Signals

• volumeFriday volume ran 63.5% below the Friday average (17 releases vs. a 46.6 baseline), consistent with a recess Friday pattern but notable for the volume of multi-senator coordination on a single theme.
• coordinatedFive separate press releases from five Democratic offices pushed identical E1 settlement text across a six-hour window, a sequenced amplification pattern spanning 1:19 p.m. to 7:47 p.m. Eastern.
• recessThe Senate remains in its August state work period; no floor votes are scheduled and several senators issued releases from home-state locations.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, has now gone 45 days without a public release — the longest silence in the tracked set — followed by Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK, at 43 days and Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS, at 37 days.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC45d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK43d
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS37d
• Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-MT23d
• Sen. Cynthia M. Lummis, R-WY22d
• Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR22d
• Sen. David McCormick, R-PA21d
• Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY21d
• Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA20d
• Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-CT18d