Happy Labor Day! America’s workers have always been the backbone of our economy. Today we thank you for your dedication and reaffirm our belief that prosperity must rise from the bottom up—not trickle from the top down.
U.S. Congressman representing South Carolina's 6th Congressional District.
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Happy Labor Day! America’s workers have always been the backbone of our economy. Today we thank you for your dedication and reaffirm our belief that prosperity must rise from the bottom up—not trickle from the top down.
The Fed operates independently to keep Presidents from manipulating interest rates for perceived political gain at the expense of the economic stability. Trump doesn't like that. He wants control. Let’s be clear—a Fed controlled by Trump would likely bring back high inflation.
Trump says he wants to make Washington, DC "beautiful again." 200 National Park Service workers used to be assigned to maintain the city's parks. Trump fired all of them but 20. Now the National Guard members Trump ordered to DC are cleaning the parks. So efficient!
Trump and Musk claimed DOGE would cut “fraud” and “abuse.” In reality, DOGE staff are so unqualified they can’t even be trusted to safeguard Americans’ Social Security numbers. Let's fire those risking our data—not the workers just trying to help folks get their checks.
Praying for the families, students, teachers, and the entire Minneapolis and Catholic communities. We must take action to stop these horrific tragedies.
My heart breaks for the victims of today’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. An 8-year-old and 10-year-old were killed, and at least 17 others were injured.
FEMA employees say the agency is dangerously unprepared for what could still be a severe hurricane season. Trump slashed 1/3 of FEMA staff, diverted others to help ICE, & appointed unqualified leaders. These shortsighted steps risk exacerbating harm to those in a storm’s path.
If Trump had his way, the Fed-controlled rate would plummet, and prices would likely soar. And rates for home mortgages and car loans wouldn’t necessarily come down either. We all want lower rates—but not at the price of skyrocketing costs.
Trump is attempting to fire Lisa Cook—the first Black woman to serve on the Fed Board of Governors—because she has joined her colleagues in keeping interest rates steady to safeguard against another spike in inflation.
No, Mr. President, a lot of people are not saying “we’d like a dictator.”
I wonder if Trump will sue Texas over their newly signed into law maps that will add 5 Republican seats? Of course not. Trump only cares about rigging the maps in his favor so he can avoid accountability for his unpopular and destructive agenda.
Trump just ordered the creation of “specialized” National Guard units that can be rapidly deployed to any city he wants. If Trump is serious about fighting crime, he should support local officials on the front lines—not use National Guard members as pawns in his political show.
Trump says he wants to reduce violent crime. Well, Mr. President, I have a bill for you. My Enhanced Background Checks Act will give authorities more time to complete background checks so guns don’t fall into the hands of violent people. I hope we can count on your support!
If Trump and his "Big Beautiful Bill" are so popular, why is he pushing TX to redraw maps to elect more Republicans and trying to ban mail-in voting? Answer: One of the only things lower than Trump's approval rating (38%) is support for his Big Ugly Bill (32%).
The President thinks depriving Americans of their voice in Congress is "beautiful.” It's not. It’s what unpopular politicians do when they’re afraid of how citizens will vote.
Trump's DOGE fired nearly half of the Education Dept.’s civil rights division. But get this: Now with a 25k-case backlog, remaining staff have been told to investigate allegations that students of color are being advantaged, not disadvantaged, by schools.
Fresh off pressuring Texas to redraw maps favoring Republicans, Trump is now vowing to ban mail-in voting and voting machines. He can't do that but he'll try. Only 38% of Americans approve of Trump's presidency. This is all part of his effort to cling to power.
Say what you will: Democrats used their power to invest in everyday Americans. Republicans are using theirs to reward their wealthy donors. It’s just that simple.
Clean energy tax credits are being phased out, raising energy prices and costing nearly a million good-paying jobs. Big Oil is now effectively exempt from the corporate minimum tax. Over half the IRS funding to pursue wealthy tax evaders has been rescinded.
But Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" and other Republican laws have taken a wrecking ball to it. ACA premiums will nearly double starting in 2026. Fewer drugs are eligible for Medicare price negotiation.
Today marks three years since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. The law cut health insurance premiums, lowered prescription drug costs, boosted manufacturing and clean energy jobs, and helped make sure corporations and wealthy tax cheats paid their fair share.
It’s time for the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share so that every American can retire with the benefits they've spent a lifetime earning.
We can strengthen Social Security by subjecting high income to payroll taxes. Right now, a billionaire pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making about $168,600 a year — the current cap on taxable wages. That’s not right.
Today, Social Security is projected to face a funding shortfall by the early to mid-2030s. Trump and MAGA Republicans have made this worse with their “Big Ugly Bill,” which is estimated to reduce Social Security’s revenue by about $30 billion per year.
On this day in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. It marked the first time the U.S. government established a national system to ensure older Americans could retire with dignity. 🧵
Trump is ordering the Smithsonian to strip “divisive narratives” from exhibits. We know what that means: gloss over painful parts of our past to highlight the “good” ones. We should recognize all of America's history—including our faults—not ignore them.
Breaking: A new nonpartisan CBO report says Trump’s massive tax and spending bill will cut income for the poorest Americans and boost it for the rich. Study after study has shown the same thing. It’s clear Trump's bill is a disaster for everyday people.
In the midst of hurricane season, ICE is pulling staff from FEMA. South Carolinians know from painful experience that when disaster strikes, we need all hands on deck—not diverted to Trump’s indiscriminate and inhumane deportation regime or anywhere else.
Democrats stand united in ensuring all people have representation and equal access to the ballot box. And it's beyond time we pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and build on what President Johnson signed into law 60 years ago.
This is what has happened in authoritarian states throughout history. The United States of America is a democracy, and must not become an autocracy.
They are showing us how little they respect everyday Americans that they'll shift district lines to minimize certain voters' power in favor of delivering more power to their supporters. All Americans should be against this blatant power grab.
The new maps would diminish the ability of many minority voters to elect candidates of their choice, reprising tactics the Voting Rights Act has stood to prevent. Trump and Republicans are showing us they couldn’t care less about representation and are only interested in locking in their own power.
Their latest scheme is taking place right now in Texas, where Trump is pressuring the governor and lawmakers to redistrict the state mid-decade in order to all but guarantee Trump five additional Republican seats in Congress during the midterm elections in 2026.
Their attack on this landmark law is just one front in their assault on our democracy.
On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. That law prohibited racial discrimination in voting. 60 years later, the VRA is increasingly under attack by Trump, Republican governors, legislatures, and a Supreme Court trying to take us backwards.
Bad news: the nonpartisan CBO now estimates Trump's Big Ugly Bill will cost taxpayers $4.1 trillion, $718 billion of which will be due to higher interest payments on the national debt. Trump and Republicans are the party of fiscal irresponsibility.
Wishing students and teachers in SC a safe and productive return to school this week. As a former public school teacher, I hope each student finds joy in returning to the classroom—curious not only about academics, but also about the wider world. Happy first day of school!
As Trump’s billionaire tax cuts kick in and job growth slows, his tariffs are driving up prices on everyday items like dish soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, and detergent. And Trump announced even more tariffs are set to hit next week.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting—which distributes federal funds to provide essential information to communities across the country—is shutting down after Trump and Republicans eliminated funding for public media like NPR and PBS. What a disgrace.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added much fewer jobs than expected over the last few months. Trump didn't like that his numbers were bad. He wanted high numbers. So he fired the bureau chief to hire someone who’d report better ones.
In April, Trump delayed massive tariffs to give countries time to “strike deals.” Yesterday was his deadline. He's reached agreements with just 8 countries and the EU, and is ratcheting up tariffs again. Trump's failing “strategy” is driving up costs for the American people.
Trump's economy added just 73,000 jobs in July—far below expectations. May and June’s gains were revised down nearly 90%, from 291,000 to 33,000. This marks the weakest three months of job growth since the catastrophic shock of the pandemic. www.cnbc.com/2025/08/01/j...
Inflation INCREASED last month. Trump's tariffs are driving prices UP. Yet the president is having a tantrum over interest rates and pushing for policies that would jack up prices for everyday folks even more.
My Democratic colleagues and I will do everything in our power to repeal this cruel law—and to protect and strengthen Medicare and Medicaid for generations to come.
There is nothing “beautiful” about ripping health care away from society’s most vulnerable. Nothing “beautiful” about shuttering the clinics and hospitals that communities rely on. Nothing “beautiful” about driving up costs for working families already struggling to make ends meet.
12 million Americans will lose their health coverage. Hundreds of hospitals—especially in rural and underserved areas—will be forced to shut their doors. And premiums and out-of-pocket costs will rise for everyone.
And yet today, the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are trying to take us backward. Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” slashes Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion.
Children and adults on Medicaid have seen better health outcomes, improved educational attainment, and expanded economic opportunity. These programs are among the greatest successes in American history.
60 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Act into law. Since then, these landmark programs have transformed American life—cutting elderly poverty, increasing life expectancy, and ensuring over 99% of seniors have health coverage.
Make no mistake: Trump's big ugly bill is designed to take from the poor and give to the rich. But this law is going to impact everyone. You can't cut over a trillion from Medicaid and SNAP and not seen an impact to communities—from grocery stores to hospitals.
As the Trump Administration continues trying to erase the contributions of Black servicemembers, let us reaffirm that diversity is not an obstacle to—but the source of—our military’s strength.
President Harry Truman desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces 77 years ago today. He affirmed a fundamental American truth: all men and women are created equal, and we have a sacred duty to honor those willing to sacrifice to protect our country.
It’s time we pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in John’s honor so that all Americans have an equal voice at the ballot box. We miss you, John, and we’ll never stop getting into “good trouble.”
Five years ago, I lost a dear friend, and our country lost a hero. John Lewis dedicated his life the pursuit of a more perfect union, and I think constantly of how much our entire society owes to him.
In 2022, nearly 50 years later, I was honored to help unveil a statue of Bethune in the U.S. Capitol, the first Black American to represent a state in Statuary Hall.
She was my mother's hero, and I've spent years spreading the word of how amazing this woman was. In 1976, I spoke at her portrait unveiling ceremony at the South Carolina State House.
Mary McLeod Bethune—a civil rights icon, educator, advisor to President FDR, and native of Sumter, SC—was born 150 years ago today. Founder of the National Council of Negro Woman and Bethune-Cookman University, Bethune dedicated her life to educating and empowering women of African descent.
61 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black women still earn $0.66 on average for every dollar white men earn. Black Women's Equal Pay Day is a stark reminder of this persistent gap. We must pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and provide economic opportunity to all.
My prayers are with the grieving families and all those devastated by the catastrophic floods in Texas. We must ensure a whole-of-government effort to deliver efficient and effective relief, and do everything we can—including strengthening warning systems—to prevent similar tragedies.
As we celebrate our nation’s independence this 4th of July, we are reminded that liberty and justice are not yet guaranteed for all. Let us acknowledge those who fought for freedom and continue our trek towards a more perfect union.
I voted NO on Trump's bill. $1 trillion in tax cuts for the top 1%. Over $1 trillion in cuts to health care. $3 trillion added to the debt. In all of my years in Congress, I've never seen such a betrayal of the working class. Republicans should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm in D.C. and I’m voting NO on Trump’s spending bill. It hands nearly $1 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1%, slashes over $1 trillion from health care, and still adds TRILLIONS to the debt. This is a betrayal of the working class—plain and simple.
SCOTUS has given the green light to restrictions on patients’ freedom to choose their own doctors. This can do irreparable harm to South Carolinians. Reproductive rights are a part of ensuring everyone has access to health care. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Proud to join @klobuchar.senate.gov, @fernandez.house.gov, and @lujan.senate.gov in leading this effort — without reliable and affordable broadband connections and meaningful adoption, rural and underserved communities will continue to be left behind in education, health care, and commerce.
Republicans think the American people will “get over” having their health care stripped away by Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. Losing your health care isn’t something you “get over.”
This photo of the petitioners, taken in Summerton, S.C., hangs in my office.
74 years ago, a Federal District Court ruled against desegregating schools in Clarendon County, S.C., in Briggs v. Elliott. Harry and Eliza Briggs appealed, making theirs the first of five cases combined into the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, which ultimately struck down school segregation.
71 years ago in Columbia, SC, Sarah Mae Flemming was assaulted and forced to the back of a bus. Her lawsuit—filed months before Rosa Parks’ act of defiance—laid the legal groundwork for the Montgomery Bus Boycott case a year later, which helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement.
Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a noble pursuit, but I join my colleagues in demanding immediate details from the Administration on this operation and in urging all sides to pull back from the brink of a full-scale war.
Trump promised to be a peacemaker and vowed to avoid plunging the U.S. into more wars in the Middle East. This attack is inconsistent with his promise to the American people.
President Trump’s unilateral decision to attack Iran without Congressional approval is unconstitutional and unwise. This move, a rash sequel to his withdrawal from the nuclear deal, puts our nation, our troops, and innocents at grave risk.
81 years ago, FDR signed the GI Bill, offering veterans access to life-changing benefits. But in practice, most Black veterans were denied them—especially access to home loans programs. Rep. Seth Moulton and I introduced the VA Housing Loan Forever Act to help right that wrong.
On June 19, 1865, freedom finally reached the last enslaved African Americans in Texas as federal troops arrived to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. This #Juneteenth, we honor their resilience and reflect on how far we've come—and how far we still must go—in the fight for equality for all.
Today marks 10 years since nine innocent worshipers were slaughtered at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Since that day, I've continually introduced legislation to close the loophole that allowed the shooter to get his gun. Republicans refuse to act.
Over 6 years ago, the House first passed my Enhanced Background Checks Act to close the Charleston Loophole that allowed a white supremacist to obtain the gun he used to murder nine worshipers at Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015. I'll never stop fighting to pass this law.
Fatherhood has been my life’s greatest gift. Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, father figures, and the families who love and support them.
This was a heinous act of targeted political violence against elected officials. My prayers are with the victims, their family, and loved ones.
Last night’s attack that took the life of former Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and critically injured Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, is an unspeakable tragedy.
Trump removed Medgar Evers, a fearless veteran and civil rights leader, from an Arlington Cemetery website commemorating Black soldiers. Now the Pentagon may strip his name from a naval vessel. This isn’t about “military preparedness.” This is about erasing history.
When I was arrested for protesting during civil rights activities, I was never scared. I can't say that about what's happening today. Arresting a U.S. Senator for protesting Trump's regime—if it can happen to Senator Padilla, it can happen to anyone.
I asked the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development this morning how he planned to ensure Americans—especially our veterans and disabled people—aren't evicted from their homes if housing programs are slashed by half under Trump's budget. He didn't have the answers.
I also had the pleasure of looking after Rep. Brittany Pettersen's baby boy Sam as she spoke—a reminder of the future generations we are fighting for.
Today I joined my colleagues on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to reintroduce my bill to close the Charleston Loophole and Rep. Mike Thompson's to make background checks universal.
As Republicans are focused on tax breaks for billionaires, we ought to be focusing on lowering costs and raising incomes. That includes closing the gender pay gap once and for all.
On June 10, 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act to outlaw wage discrimination on the basis of sex. 62 years later, women still earn on average $0.76 for every dollar a man earns.
771,000 people are experiencing homelessness in America. Millions more are struggling to pay rent every month. But Trump's budget proposes to cut Housing and Urban Development programs in half. Watch my hearing with the Secretary of HUD.
NTIA’s new BEAD rules are a betrayal of rural America. The program I helped create was meant to deliver real, high-speed broadband — not slow, unreliable satellite. These changes let big providers cut corners at the expense of our communities. publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...
Today and everyday, we honor the extraordinary bravery of all who sacrificed in defense of freedom.
On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. 81 years later, D-Day continues to serve as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when nations unite against tyranny.
An EV battery plant under construction in Florence—expected to create 1,600 good-paying jobs—is hitting pause due to “policy and market uncertainty” inflicted by Trump's chaotic tariffs and Big Ugly Bill. As Trump and Musk fight, SC jobs are on the line.
Americans are worried about air travel safety under the Trump Administration. We need more investment in air safety and air traffic controllers, not FAA staff and funding cuts. Watch my @AppropsDems hearing with the FAA Administrator:
Trump’s reckless tariffs are continuing to wreak havoc on South Carolina’s economy. Jobs have already been lost, and more are at grave risk. Trump said slowing port traffic was a “good thing.” South Carolinians know how wrong he is. scdailygazette.com/2025/05/30/v...
I had the pleasure of visiting Embroidery Solutions in Kingstree. The largest producer of star fields in the U.S. flag industry, they have manufactured flags for over 70 years, ensuring quality embroidery, craftsmanship, and support for SC workers. A patriotic conclusion to Memorial Day.
My town hall is tonight at 7:00 PM in Lake City, SC! I want to hear from you. Join me. RSVP: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
As we commemorate Memorial Day, we remember the courageous men and women who gave their lives in defense of our country. Their sacrifice is a reminder of the true cost of freedom. We honor their memory today and always.
I am praying for the victims and their families. May their memories be a blessing. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05...
This senseless antisemitic attack is heartbreaking and reprehensible. It is incumbent upon all of us to denounce and root out antisemitism and hatred in all forms.
My prayers are with his loved ones, staff, and all those who knew him.
I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Congressman Gerry Connolly. He was a dedicated public servant and passionately served the people of Northern Virginia for 40 years. Gerry was a fighter and a patriot who loved his country.
It was a great honor to deliver the commencement address for Converse University and receive an honorary Doctor of Education degree. My message to the graduates—don't give up, and don't ever be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. Congratulations Class of 2025!
