Blackburn Highlights 2025 Accomplishments for Tennesseans

Blackburn Highlights 2025 Accomplishments for Tennesseans
January 9, 2026
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –
U.S. Senator
Marsha Blackburn
(R-Tenn.) released the following statement celebrating Republicans’ achievements and the priorities she secured for Tennesseans during the last year:
“Americans decisively voted to send President Trump back to the White House because they were fed up with open borders, wasteful spending, woke institutions, weakness on the world stage, and left-wing lunacy. 2025 was a historic year for the United States because of strong Republican leadership,”
said Senator Blackburn.
“We delivered the largest tax cut in history, permanently secured the southern border, restored law and order, and implemented an America First agenda both at home and abroad to transform the lives of Tennesseans and Americans. We’re just getting started, and I’m confident the best is yet to come in 2026.”
Click
here
to download video highlighting Senator Blackburn’s 2025 accomplishments.
SERVING TENNESSEANS
Nearly
4,500
casework issues completed on behalf of constituents;
Over
107,000
calls answered;
Over
313,000
mail requests answered; and
Over
223,000 Tennesseans reached
in tele-town halls held across West, Middle, and East Tennessee.
BLACKBURN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES SECURED IN 2025
Senator Blackburn secured several provisions
in the
Working Families Tax Cuts
, including a $6,000 bonus deduction for millions of low- and middle- income seniors, tax relief for Tennessee’s singers and songwriters, the expansion of the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit, and fingerprinting and DNA testing requirements at the border to protect migrant children from exploitation.
Senator Blackburn supported
the
Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program
in the Working Families Tax Cuts, resulting in a $206,888,882
award
for Tennessee.
Senator Blackburn led the effort to remove
a
provision
in the Working Families Tax Cuts that would have banned artificial intelligence (AI) regulation by the states, eliminating critical protections for Tennesseans from the unintended consequences and harms of AI.
Senator Blackburn was
recognized
in TIME’s list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in AI of 2025.
Senator Blackburn secured and supported vital wins
in the
Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act
, including projects for Tennessee military bases, improving quality of life for service members, banning harmful DEI programs, modernizing critical infrastructure, funding important research programs, and strengthening national security.
Senator Blackburn advocated for a new air traffic control tower and modernized hanger design
for Fort Campbell, both of which were included as part of the
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act
.
Senator Blackburn sponsored the
Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act
, which was signed into law to allow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to postpone filing deadlines for taxpayers affected by state-declared natural disasters, instead of only presidentially-declared federal disasters.
Senator Blackburn spearheaded the push for the U.S. Air Force to
select
McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base
outside Knoxville, Tennessee, as the seventh main operating base for the KC-46 Pegasus aircraft.
Senator Blackburn
worked with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and United States Attorney General Pam Bondi
to deploy federal resources to Memphis, Tennessee, to fight violent crime.
The Trump administration launched the
Memphis Safe Task Force
, which has made nearly 5,000 arrests since September.
Senator Blackburn supported the
confirmation
of two Tennesseans
, Jeff Hagood and Mitch Graves, to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors.
Senator Blackburn
shepherded several of President Trump’s outstanding nominees
— Whitney Hermandorfer
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Mike Dunavant to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and Braden Boucek to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee— through their confirmation processes.
Google removed its large language model, Gemma, after Senator Blackburn
demanded
the company shut it down
for fabricating criminal allegations.
Senator Blackburn’s
Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)
reached 73 co-sponsors in the Senate.
Toymaker Mattel indefinitely pulled plans to create an AI toy with OpenAI
following Senator Blackburn’s
pressure
.
Senator Blackburn
led
a hearing following
new allegations
from six whistleblowers that Meta buried child safety research.
Two former Meta researchers testified at the hearing about the toxic culture at Meta.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Tennessee’s Hospital Investment Program (HIP)
, which provides supplemental funding to hospitals to help cover the cost of serving TennCare and uninsured patients.
Senator Blackburn led the Tennessee delegation
on multiple occasions to
secure
disaster relief for the victims of Hurricane Helene and
fight
for fraud victims.
Senator Blackburn led the Tennessee delegation
in
requesting
swift approval of a major disaster declaration for West Tennessee following severe weather.
Senator Blackburn co-sponsored several bills that were signed into law, including the:
TAKE IT DOWN Act
: This law criminalizes the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images on Big Tech platforms.
Laken Riley Act
: Named in honor of 22-year-old Laken Riley, who was murdered by a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, this law requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of law enforcement officers, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person. It also mandates that these illegal aliens are detained until they are removed from the U.S.
HALT Fentanyl Act
: This law makes the temporary classification of fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug of the Controlled Substances Act permanent to combat the fentanyl crisis.
Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act
: This law institutes a three-year requirement for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide quarterly, in-person budget reports to Congress to encourage greater oversight and financial accountability.
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act
: This law expands access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers.
Senator Blackburn sponsored two bills that passed the Senate unanimously and await action in the House of Representatives:
Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act
: This bill would help address the increasingly pervasive sexual assault and harassment of Federal Bureau of Prisons employees by inmates.
American Music Tourism Act
: This bill would support and increase music tourism for both domestic and international visitors.
Senator Blackburn led several resolutions that passed the Senate, including those to recognize the importance of community care for veterans, Women Veterans Appreciation Day, National Country Music Month, and the 100
th
anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry.
https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/index.php/2026/1/general/blackburn-highlights-2025-accomplishments-for-tennesseans