Press Releases
Durbin Joins Shaheen For Final Codel To Western Balkans
SARAJEVO - This week, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) is joining U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for a congressional delegation trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, and Kosovo. This will be Durbin’s final congressional delegation trip as a United States Senator. Durbin previously traveled to the Balkans in 1999 and 2009. During the trip, the Senators will meet with government officials, U.S. … Continue Reading
October 06, 2026
Durbin Receives Federal Bar Association Chicago Chapter’s Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today was presented the Federal Bar Association Chicago Chapter’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his longstanding efforts to support the federal judiciary and his decades-long work on the Senate Judiciary Committee. As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Biden Administration, Durbin led the effort in the Senate to confirm 235 lifetime federal … Continue Reading
October 02, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $300,000 In Funding For Jersey Community Hospital District
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $300,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Jersey Community Hospital District, specifically for rural emergency medical service training. The funding, which was created through Durbin’s Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, will go toward supporting EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting … Continue Reading
October 02, 2026
Durbin Receives Distinguished Service Award From Illinois Health And Hospital Association
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today was presented with the Distinguished Service Award by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) for his longstanding efforts to support hospitals and expand access to health care. Durbin spoke before receiving the award, highlighting his efforts to protect rural hospitals, bolster the health care workforce, and reinstate Medicaid funding after congressional Republicans slashed $1 trillion from the program. Durbin also … Continue Reading
October 02, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Join Cortez Masto, Wyden To Demand Trump Administration Abandon Plan To Strip Tax Credits From 700,000 American Taxpayers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and five of their Senate colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration abandon a plan that would prevent up to 700,000 Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and other tax-paying immigrants from claiming tax credits they are eligible for. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) … Continue Reading
October 01, 2026
Durbin Joins Joint Statement On Bill Pulte Shutting Down FHFA Watchdog
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Congressional Democratic leaders to release the following joint statement regarding Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte’s unlawful move to shut down the FHFA Inspector General through severe, unnecessary budget cuts. Along with Durbin, the statement is signed by: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); … Continue Reading
September 30, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth, Padilla, Schiff Introduce Legislation To Protect Regional National Archives Facilities From Closure
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), today introduced the National Archives Protection Act, legislation that would require congressional approval before the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) can close or significantly restrict access to existing regional facilities. In June 2026, NARA announced plans to close its regional archive facilities and co-located … Continue Reading
September 30, 2026
Durbin Questions Judicial Nominees About Protecting Americans’ Right To Vote During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned judicial nominees during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Durbin began by questioning Lee Philip Rudofsky, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit, about his view on the Voting Rights Act. “For 60 years, under the Voting Rights Act, individuals could bring [private] causes of action under that Act. I imagine the theory behind it, and I think … Continue Reading
September 30, 2026
Durbin Statement On Senate Rejecting Republican Messaging Bills
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Senate rejecting Republicans’ Ratepayer Protection Act and Stop Insider Trading Act: “In a last-minute gasp before the midterm election, Senate Republicans were hoping to pass a meaningless bill that does nothing to rein in data centers and a voter suppression bill masquerading as an inadequate congressional stock trading ban. Americans need real action, not Republican … Continue Reading
September 30, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing
WASHINGTON - During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement in which he outlined the extreme judicial nominees the Trump Administration has nominated, including the nominees before the Committee today. Today’s Committee hearing considered the nominations of: Lee Rudofsky, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; Robert Long, to the U.S. … Continue Reading
September 29, 2026
Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Continuing Mass Deportation Campaign In Spotlight Forum On Destruction Of Temporary Protected Status For Immigrants
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at his spotlight forum, hosted in conjunction with U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Today’s forum, entitled “The Economic and Community Impacts of the Trump Administration’s Haphazard TPS [Temporary Protection Status] Terminations and the Need for a New Path Forward,” focused on the devastating impacts of TPS terminations on … Continue Reading
September 29, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement In His Spotlight Forum On Termination Of TPS For Immigrants In Need
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today co-hosted a spotlight forum entitled “The Economic and Community Impacts of the Trump Administration’s Haphazard TPS [Temporary Protection Status] Terminations and the Need for a New Path Forward” in conjunction with U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Today’s forum examined the devastating impacts of TPS terminations on long-time immigrants, their … Continue Reading
September 29, 2026
Durbin Meets With Assistant Secretary Of State Wesley Brooks To Discuss The Senator’s Global Water And Sanitation Priorities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), Dr. Wesley Brooks, to discuss Durbin’s decades-long efforts to increase access to clean water and improved sanitation programs (WASH) for the world’s most poor. WASH programs were previously under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). After the Trump Administration largely gutted USAID, … Continue Reading
September 29, 2026
Durbin Questions Former Special Counsel Jack Smith During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned former Special Counsel Jack Smith during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Durbin began his questions by asking about toll record requirements. “There is, I think, appropriate concern by members of this Committee and members of Congress as to your activities related to their telephone conversations, text messages, and records. Please explain to us what involvement you … Continue Reading
September 29, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing With Former Special Counsel Jack Smith
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement during today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. In November 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr. Smith, a nonpartisan career prosecutor, as Special Counsel with authority to investigate President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s effort to illegally retain … Continue Reading
September 28, 2026
Durbin Amendment To Protect State Laws Related To Student Athlete Abuse, Hazing, And Campus Safety Passes Senate As Part Of College Sports Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after voting in favor of the Protect College Sports Act, which includes Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s (D-WI) amendment to protect state laws related to student athlete abuse or hazing, campus safety, fraud, and that would otherwise protect the health and safety of student athletes. The amendment also includes language to protect personal … Continue Reading
September 28, 2026
Durbin Previews Tomorrow’s Judiciary Committee Hearing With Former Special Counsel Jack Smith
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, previewed tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. In November 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr. Smith, a nonpartisan career prosecutor, as Special Counsel with authority to investigate President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s effort to illegally … Continue Reading
September 28, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democrats In Demanding OMB Director Vought Abandon Any Plan To Exert Political Control Over NIH Funding
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and of 27 their colleagues in demanding White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought halt any plan to exert political control over the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grantmaking process. The Trump Administration considering an executive order to … Continue Reading
September 28, 2026
Durbin: President Trump’s Pocket Rescission Is “An Illegal Power Grab”
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor criticizing the Trump Administration’s illegal move to rescind $810 million for federal programs, cutting off bipartisan funding Congress has allocated for education programs, health research, assistance for minority-owned businesses, immigration services, and support to foreign countries. This pocket rescission by the President is a clear … Continue Reading
September 26, 2026
Durbin Statement On Trump’s Illegal “Pocket Rescission” Of Nearly $1 Billion
NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after President Trump announced that he has unilaterally rescinded nearly $1 billion in funds that Congress has already approved for education programs, health research, assistance for minority owned businesses, immigration services, and support to foreign countries: “The illegal power grab by Donald Trump continues. The real question is whether my … Continue Reading