Senate Democrats press Iran war costs; DHS voter-fraud push draws new fire

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and 43 colleagues sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding a detailed breakdown of all direct and indirect costs of U.S. military operations against Iran. The senators flagged that Hegseth has briefed Congress only seven times in six months and held just eight Pentagon press briefings or interviews since the war began, "compared to more than 70 press briefings in the first month of the Iraq War alone."

The letter criticized the administration's public supplemental funding request as "a seven-page document offering only vague line items, in contrast to the detailed, hundred-page supplemental requests provided to Congress during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars." The senators also requested a detailed plan for how the Pentagon intends to spend the remaining $34 billion from the 2025 reconciliation bill. "Now you are asking that they pay again to fund a war of choice that Congress never authorized and the President launched with no strategic plan," the senators wrote.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., released a video Friday breaking down a DHS whistleblower disclosure he says alleges that the agency's USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Division was directed to violate state laws as part of what it calls an "Unlawful Voter Initiative." Padilla described his office as protecting the whistleblower's identity from potential retribution.

"And the only reason we know about these allegations is because a federal employee had the courage to come forward," Padilla said in excerpts from the video. "Now, that takes guts." Padilla and Schumer have demanded DHS and USCIS immediately halt the initiative and provide responses to Congress. Padilla and Sen. Adam Schiff, both D-Calif., separately sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta requesting a state-level investigation into whether DHS actions violated California law.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., called Friday for congressional hearings after Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed in a September 22 letter to Gillibrand that eight sailors in the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during the ship's most recent deployment. Acting Secretary Cao's letter noted that "one Sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by his shipmates."

"What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as 'fake news' turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members," said Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable." Gillibrand had written to Defense Secretary Hegseth in August alongside 14 colleagues demanding transparency after reports detailed dismal shipboard conditions.

Two overlapping Democratic efforts targeted Trump's trade policy with Canada on Friday. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced a resolution calling on the Senate to go on record against Trump's 50 percent tariffs and what she described as inflammatory rhetoric, including the attempted renaming of Lake Ontario and claims that Canada is the "51st state." "In less than two years, Donald Trump's constant jabs and hostilities towards Canada have alienated one of our closest allies, and Americans are paying the price," Rosen said.

Separately, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., joined Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in introducing the End Trump's Tariff Tax Act, which would revoke the 12.5 percent global tariffs and the 50 percent Canada-specific tariffs and repeal the underlying statutory authorities. "Americans are tired of paying for Trump's tariff war," said Bennet. "Democrats refuse to play along with this alternate reality." Murray called the trade war "nothing short of economic arson."

Two bipartisan bills targeting Chinese technology in American infrastructure advanced Friday. Sens. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John Fetterman, D-Pa., introduced the Securing National Security Systems from Chinese Optical Transceivers Act, which would extend existing semiconductor procurement restrictions to optical transceivers used in national security networks. "We shouldn't rely on China for technologies that are essential to our national security," said McCormick. "Fiber-optic networks are the digital highways that make our economy run at the speed of light," Fetterman said, adding that the bill would ensure federal networks "do not rely on Chinese-made optical transceivers."

The Senate separately passed the Secure Space Act, bipartisan legislation led by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., that would prohibit the FCC from granting satellite licenses to entities deemed national security risks. "I'm proud that the Senate unanimously passed my Secure Space Act, legislation that blocks satellite licenses for untrusted entities and protects our skies from foreign adversaries," Luján said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a response Friday from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealing that he did not transfer his 10 percent contingency fee stake in Gardasil-related litigation to his adult son as his amended ethics agreement required — instead referring those fees back to his former law firm, Wisner Baum. The change occurred February 11, 2025, two days before a full Senate confirmation vote, and was not disclosed to Congress.

"Your decision to withhold this information from Congress and apparent failure to report this change to agency ethics officials is deeply alarming," the senators wrote. They also flagged a potential additional conflict: "(I)f the agreement involves any kind of implicit or explicit agreement with Wisner Baum about future payments or other future rewards in exchange for your Gardasil stake, it would prompt concerns about your ongoing conflicts of interest with the firm, and about the integrity of your decisions at the Department of Health and Human Services."

The Senate passed the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act, bipartisan legislation led by Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., that would update the FAA's medical certification process to reduce career barriers for pilots and air traffic controllers who seek mental health care. The bill is named for a University of North Dakota aviation student who took his own life in an aircraft in October 2021.

"Our nation faces a severe shortage of qualified pilots and air traffic controllers, while bureaucratic delays and outdated processes at the FAA keep these professionals from working for prolonged periods when they seek mental health care," Hoeven said. Duckworth called on the House to act: "Now that they've passed the Senate with unanimous consent, the House must do the same so we can address bureaucratic shortcomings within the FAA, dismantle the dangerous culture of silence surrounding mental health in the aviation industry and ultimately make our skies safer."

Two AI-related legislative efforts emerged Friday from opposite directions. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., used a CNN interview to call for an independent federal agency — with a five-member commission structure and fines of up to one-third of trailing revenue — to regulate frontier AI models and social media platforms before their public release. "When there are people in these companies saying that there might be a 10 percent chance, or a 15 or 20 percent chance that humanity could be destroyed by AI, we need to listen to that," Bennet told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, separately cosponsored the AI Whistleblower Protection Act, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, which would protect AI company employees who report legal violations, security failures, or public safety risks and bar nondisclosure agreements from preventing such disclosures. "The people working directly with these systems are often the first to recognize when something has gone wrong," Curtis said. "This bill provides that protection without creating another federal regulator or standing in the way of responsible innovation."

Three bills cleared the Senate Friday by unanimous consent or unanimous vote. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced passage of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act, which updates a 2009 settlement to a fund-based structure and extends the tribe's hydropower authorization on the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam to 2030. "This bill is a necessity for the Crow Tribe and surrounding communities and will ensure the tribe has the resources they need to deliver safe, reliable access to clean water," Daines said.

Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, celebrated unanimous Senate passage of the Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act, which instructs the Commerce Secretary to identify critical imported goods and support domestic rural production. "Supply chains are critical to global competitiveness and our national security," Blunt Rochester said. Separately, the Senate unanimously honored the late former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl through a bipartisan resolution introduced by Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with every senator signing on as a cosponsor.

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., reintroduced the Supreme Court Review Act Friday, which would create an expedited Senate process — passable by simple majority — for Congress to respond legislatively to Supreme Court decisions that interpret federal statutes or roll back constitutional rights. The bill mirrors the existing Congressional Review Act framework applied to agency rules.

"The captured right-wing majority of the Supreme Court is openly delivering goods to deep-pocketed special interests," said Whitehouse, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee. "The Supreme Court Review Act would put guardrails on these rogue decisions and return policymaking power back to where the Constitution delegated it: in the hands of the people and their elected representatives." The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Two bipartisan awareness resolutions moved Friday. The Senate approved by unanimous consent a resolution from Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., designating September 20–27 as Gold Star Families Remembrance Week. "Every Gold Star family I meet shows great patriotism and resolve as they deal with the loss of a loved one who died in service to our nation," Hyde-Smith said. She also committed to pressing for Senate consideration of the Love Lives On Act and the Take Care of America's Veterans' Act.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced a resolution recognizing September 21–25 as National Hazing Awareness Week, noting that more than 500 hazing incidents have been recorded across more than 1,400 colleges during the 2025–2026 academic year — the first year colleges were federally required to publish Campus Hazing Transparency Reports. "Hazing is a dangerous — and at times deadly — reality that students are confronted with," Klobuchar said.

Signals

• volumeFriday release count of 33 ran 28.6 percent below the Friday baseline of 46.2, consistent with pre-recess compression ahead of the October 5 pre-election state work period.
• coordinatedSen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., issued four separate releases Friday spanning Iran war costs, Canada tariff legislation, eviction crisis legislation, and an AI regulatory agency proposal — the highest single-senator output in today's input set.
• coordinatedThree senators — Gillibrand on USS Abraham Lincoln hearings, Bennet on Iran war costs, and Padilla on the DHS whistleblower — released military or national security oversight items within a three-hour window Friday afternoon, all targeting the Hegseth Pentagon.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has issued no releases in 73 days — the longest silence in the tracked cohort — despite active Judiciary Committee business including Friday's women-in-sports hearing attended by several GOP colleagues.
• recessThe pre-election state work period begins in 10 days; no votes are scheduled for today.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC73d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK71d
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS65d
• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC39d
• Sen. Peter Welch, D-VT31d