Senate fails two GOP-packaged bills; voting-rights fight overshadows ethics push

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., framed Wednesday's votes as a test of common sense, defending the pairing of a congressional stock ban with voter-ID requirements. In a floor statement, Thune argued the two measures were equally straightforward. "To ensure that members of Congress and their families are not benefiting financially from insider knowledge of the markets, the stock purchase ban would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, or their dependent children from purchasing stocks issued by public companies while the member is in office," Thune said.

Thune was equally direct about voter ID. "It would do nothing more than require that Americans present a photo ID when they go to vote. That's it. Very simple. And something that has the overwhelming — overwhelming — support of the American people."

Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., a cosponsor, said Democrats chose partisanship over results. "Democrats had the opportunity to join us in restoring some faith in our government by banning members of Congress from trading stocks and protecting families from paying the costs for massive data centers, and they said NO," Moody said. This was the second time Senate Democrats have blocked the Stop Insider Trading Act. The House passed the measure 232–198, with 13 Democrats in support.

The Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House 417–3, also failed to advance in the Senate Wednesday. The bill would have required state utility regulators to ensure data-center operators pay the full incremental cost of new grid infrastructure built to serve them, rather than spreading those costs to residential ratepayers.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., urged his colleagues to pass the measure on the floor. "Companies at the frontier of this emerging technology have the resources to pay for the infrastructure and costs associated to run these facilities. Importantly, the costs should not be borne by American families and small businesses," Hagerty said.

Warner said the bill lacked enforcement. "Unfortunately, the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short because it lacks the enforceable requirements needed to actually protect families from bearing the costs of data center development," he said, pointing to his own Data Center Tax and Accountability Act as an alternative. Separately, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and three Democratic colleagues wrote to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners urging state commissions to act unilaterally — asking them to adopt dedicated rate riders so data centers pay the full cost of generation, transmission, and distribution built to serve them. "It is clear that unless states implement data center rate riders, consumers and small businesses will experience rate increases," the senators wrote.

A bloc of Senate Democrats sent a letter Wednesday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding he stop what they called an effort to assert federal control over the 2026 midterm elections. The letter — led by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and joined by ranking members Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, Alex Padilla, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — cited a federal whistleblower's account of an internal DHS program.

"According to the whistleblower, USCIS staff were given a list of names and told to use sensitive personally identifiable information to impersonate voters and access state voter registration websites to verify individuals' immigration and voter registration statuses. Equipped with incomplete and unverifiable data compiled with 'supplemental magic,' USCIS staff are allegedly being directed to create law enforcement records on individuals, including U.S. citizens, for possible referral to HSI for further investigation," the senators wrote.

The senators also objected to new election-related conditions attached to previously awarded FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program funds. "We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts," the senators wrote. Separately, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., joined a resolution designating September as National Voting Rights Month, with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., warning that "Trump is doing everything he can to disenfranchise American voters in this year's midterms."

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., introduced a Senate resolution Wednesday marking the Hyde Amendment's 50th anniversary, with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., joining as a cosponsor. The Hyde Amendment was first enacted on September 30, 1976, and has been included in annual appropriations bills every year since.

"For 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has been an important protection for American taxpayers," Lankford said. "Every child is valuable. No American should ever wonder if the check they're sending to the IRS on April 15 will be used to pay for someone's elective abortion. Hyde was a bipartisan agreement five decades ago, and it has been included in appropriations bills every year since. We should keep that commitment in place."

Daines, speaking at an Americans United for Life rally, used the occasion to push further. "I will work with my colleagues in Congress to reinstate this ban and make it permanent," Daines said, referring to a temporary Medicaid funding block for Planned Parenthood included in the Working Families Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that he said has since lapsed.

The Senate cleared several bipartisan measures Wednesday. The Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act, led by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., passed unanimously, allowing tribal courts to issue warrants for electronic evidence — such as emails and social media records — on the same legal footing as non-tribal courts. "Despite facing high rates of violence, Tribal communities are denied access to essential tools needed to solve crimes," Cortez Masto said.

The Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill by Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and John Curtis, R-Utah, also passed unanimously. The legislation streamlines states' use of prescribed burns without triggering regulatory penalties. "Prescribed fire works, and states should not be penalized for responsibly using it to protect communities, forests, and air quality," Curtis said.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2026, introduced by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., reauthorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2030 and passed unanimously. The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act, led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., also passed the Senate unanimously and heads to the president's desk; it allows the National Taxpayer Advocate to hire its own attorneys independent of the IRS Chief Counsel. "If you're having to deal with the IRS, odds are, you're having difficulty doing so. This bill helps improve that experience for the honest taxpayer," Cassidy said.

Two senators on opposite ends of the aisle introduced competing visions for federal data regulation Wednesday. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced the Stop Flock Abuse Act, targeting AI-powered license-plate-reading camera networks operated by companies like Flock Safety. The bill would require a ten-day limit on vehicle location data retention, mandate encryption, prohibit sale of data to third parties, ban hardware sourced from foreign adversaries, and bar facial recognition integration. "AI-powered cameras produced by Flock and its competitors are tracking and creating digital footprints of everyday Americans — a nightmare for individual liberties unless Congress enacts meaningful rules and accountability," Hawley said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., reintroduced the Data Protection Act, which would create a new independent federal agency to oversee data privacy, enforce privacy statutes, and examine the civil rights impacts of data collection. "Currently, Big Tech companies are free to sell individuals' data to the highest bidder without fear of real consequences, posing a severe threat to privacy and civil rights," Gillibrand said. The two bills share a stated goal — constraining commercial and governmental use of personal data — but differ sharply in mechanism: Hawley targets a specific surveillance technology sector; Gillibrand proposes a new regulatory body with broad jurisdiction.

A group of 13 senators — seven Democrats and six Republicans — sent a letter to President Trump Wednesday questioning the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Miami this December. The letter was led by Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and included Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., among others.

"President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day," the senators wrote.

The letter also cited intelligence about Russian support for Iranian military operations targeting American service members. "The United States must put strong economic and political pressure on President Putin in order to force him to the negotiating table for serious peace talks. We commend your signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which gives you additional tools to hold the Putin regime accountable. However, if President Putin and his government are not isolated on the international stage, what incentive does Russia have to agree to a ceasefire?" the senators concluded.

Five Democratic senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would impose targeted sanctions on individuals and companies facilitating Israeli settlement construction in the E1 area of the West Bank. The bill was led by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

"Benjamin Netanyahu's plans for construction in E1 are aimed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and would gravely threaten prospects for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Bennet said. "The United States must use our considerable financial and diplomatic tools to reinforce its longstanding policy against Israeli annexation of the West Bank."

Warren framed the bill in terms of U.S. financial leverage. "The E1 settlement project is a move towards de facto annexation of the West Bank, and those who choose to facilitate settlement construction should understand that they risk losing access to the U.S. financial system," she said. Coons added that the measure would "send a strong message that this behavior is unacceptable."

Oregon's congressional delegation — led by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley — sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Todd Blanche and immigration enforcement officials demanding an end to mass "mega master" immigration hearings in Portland and Tacoma. The lawmakers wrote that the Portland Immigration Court is now holding about two such hearings per week on top of its existing docket, forcing immigrants with court dates in 2027 or 2028 to appear on extremely short notice.

"This unwarranted blitzkrieg of assaults on justice and fair treatment raises serious constitutional concerns and is unworthy of the oaths you swore to uphold," the Oregon lawmakers wrote. The letter also flagged a Tacoma court policy ending remote appearances by out-of-state attorneys — even as DHS prosecutors and sometimes judges continue to appear remotely. "Previously, the Tacoma Immigration Court allowed out-of-state attorneys to represent their clients by making court appearances through video conferencing technology. Now attorneys — and when applicable, expert witnesses — have to attend these hearings in person," they wrote.

On the other side of the debate, Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., issued a statement of explicit support for the administration's enforcement posture. "Let me be crystal clear: I support President Trump's immigration strategy, full stop," Justice said. "What's been accomplished by President Trump in regards to our border and immigration is truly amazing."

Signals

• volumeToday's 39 releases are 49% below the Wednesday average of 76.1, the lowest relative output recorded in this dataset — five days before the pre-election state work period begins.
• coordinatedFour Republican senators (Thune, Ricketts, Moody, Hagerty) issued releases attacking Democrats for blocking the Stop Insider Trading Act and Ratepayer Protection Act within a two-hour window between 16:37 and 19:46 Eastern.
• coordinatedTwo Delaware senators (Coons and Blunt Rochester) issued near-identical releases on the DHS election interference letter within 16 minutes of each other, with identical quoted text from the letter.
• recessThe Senate is five days from a pre-election state work period; today's compressed release volume and floor-statement density are consistent with end-of-session messaging before recess.
• silent breaksSen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., has been silent for 76 days but was named as a signatory on the bipartisan G20/Putin letter — his name appears only in the body of another senator's release, not in a release of his own.
• silent breaksSen. Roger F. Wicker, R-Miss., has been silent for 70 days but also appears as a signatory on the Putin G20 letter — again, only through another senator's release.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC78d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK76d
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS70d
• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC44d
• Sen. Peter Welch, D-VT36d