Press Releases
Durbin Questions NIH Director, Rips Trump Administration For Bowing To Big Tobacco & Endangering Children
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today questioned the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about the Trump Administration’s failure to protect children from nicotine addiction and exposure to toxic chemicals as Big Tobacco continues to push kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes. Durbin’s questioning followed the Trump Administration’s outrageous recent actions, including authorizing … Continue Reading
May 21, 2026
Durbin, Hirono Call On Department Of Education To Strengthen Proposed Gainful Employment Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) submitted a public comment in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) proposed rule to establish a postsecondary education accountability framework. In their letter, the Senators noted that while they support the new rule’s “earnings premium” metric, they believe that the rule does not go far enough to weed out postsecondary programs, including those at for-profit colleges, that fail to … Continue Reading
May 21, 2026
Durbin Calls For Release Of Chicago High School Senior Currently Detained By ICE Despite His Pending Asylum Case And Lack Of Criminal Record
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for the release of Ricardo Hernandez-Navarette, a high school senior in Chicago who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alongside his mother when they attended a routine check-in for their family’s pending asylum case. Durbin also reprimanded the Trump Administration for continuing its cruel mass deportation … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Demands Information Regarding President Trump’s Nearly $2 Billion Slush Fund For January 6 Insurrectionists & Trump Allies In Letter To Acting AG Blanche
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting immediate information regarding President Trump’s misuse of taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of January 6 insurrectionists and Trump’s political allies through a nearly $2 billion Department of Justice slush fund. The DOJ and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) settlement agreement also … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Calls For An End To The Federal Death Penalty
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for the end of the federal death penalty. Earlier today, Durbin and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) led 17 Senators and 20 Representatives in the reintroduction of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, bicameral legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Questions Trump Nominees During A 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 first questioned Benjamin Flowers, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, about the 2020 presidential election. During Mr. Flowers’s time in the Ohio Attorney General’s office, he responded to an email from then-Missouri Solicitor General John Sauer about joining a brief that … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin, Pressley Reintroduce Bill To End Federal Death Penalty
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) today led 17 Senators and 20 Representatives in the reintroduction of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, bicameral legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. This bill is particularly important today given that last month, the Department … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Speaks Against The Trump Administration’s Efforts To Restrict Americans’ Voting Rights & The Recent Supreme Court Decision To Gut The VRA
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senate Democrats in speaking on the floor against the Trump Administration’s actions to restrict Americans’ voting rights, as well as the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais, in which the Court further eviscerated the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and held that Louisiana’s congressional map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Durbin began his speech by … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Slams Trump’s Nearly $2 Billion Slush Fund For January 6 Insurrectionists & Trump Allies During Senate Judiciary Committee 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, criticized the Trump Administration’s misuse of taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of January 6 insurrectionists and Trump’s political allies through a nearly $2 billion Department of Justice slush fund. Today’s nominations hearing includes Benjamin Flowers, to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; … Continue Reading
May 20, 2026
Durbin Urges HHS Secretary Kennedy To Intervene And Push Back On FDA Allowing Flavored Vapes That Harm Our Children
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urging him to push back on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent misguided decisions regarding kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes. Those actions include FDA authorizing the first-ever non-tobacco or menthol-flavored vaping products; FDA issuing final guidance permitting e-cigarettes that lack FDA authorization to remain on the … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement On The Trump Administration, Supreme Court’s Continued Attacks On Voting Rights During A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing entitled “Enforcing Callais: Implementing the Supreme Court’s Command Against Racial Gerrymandering.” The hearing follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais, in which the Court further eviscerated the VRA and held that Louisiana’s congressional map is an unconstitutional racial … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Durbin Slams Trump’s $1 Billion Ballroom And Nearly $2 Billion Slush Fund For January 6 Insurrectionists & Trump Allies
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans for prioritizing a partisan reconciliation bill that will cost $70 billion in taxpayer dollars for President Trump’s cruel mass deportation campaign while Americans across the country are struggling to afford groceries or fill their gas tank. Durbin began his remarks by calling out … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Durbin Secures Promise From Secretary Of The Army To Protect Rock Island Arsenal From Drastic Job Cuts
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today questioned the Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing about the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget request for the Army. During the hearing, Durbin spoke with Secretary Driscoll about supporting Ukraine during Russia’s ongoing attacks on the U.S. ally; preserving the United States’ relationship with Baltic … Continue Reading
May 19, 2026
Durbin, Hirono Introduce New Legislation To Expand Access To Lifesaving Lung Cancer Screenings
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) today introduced new legislation to expand access to lung cancer screenings. The Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act would aim to improve lung cancer screening rates by expanding Medicaid programs to cover these tests for patients who meet the eligibility parameters set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Created by the Affordable Care Act, the USPSTF provides binding … Continue Reading
May 18, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Demand FDA Reverse Dangerous Authorization Of Flavored E-Cigarettes
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with six of their Senate colleagues, in calling on Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Kyle Diamantas to rescind FDA’s recent decision to authorize flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to children. By authorizing fruit flavors, the FDA is once again enabling youth tobacco use and … Continue Reading
May 18, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Join Letter Raising Concerns About Reorganization Of USDA’s Research, Education, And Economics Mission Area
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and 21 of their Senate colleagues in raising strong concerns about the reorganization of the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a … Continue Reading
May 16, 2026
Durbin Statement On Democrats Stopping Republicans’ First Attempt To Include Trump’s Billion Dollar Ballroom In Reconciliation Bill
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Senate Parliamentarian ruled in favor of Senate Democrats’ challenge to Republicans’ $1 billion funding proposal for Donald Trump’s ballroom in their partisan reconciliation bill: “It shouldn’t take the Senate Parliamentarian ruling Ballroom Republicans out of line for this colossal waste of taxpayer dollars to be stopped, but it’s a good … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Announce More Than $2.6 Million In Federal Funding For Greater Kankakee Airport
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today announced $2,658,742 in federal funding for infrastructure improvements at Greater Kankakee Airport (IKK). This funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration will rehabilitate 8,552 feet of existing paved Taxiway A at IKK to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object … Continue Reading
May 14, 2026
Durbin Speaks Against Extreme, Unqualified Trump U.S. Attorney Nominees
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke against several U.S. attorney nominees in the en bloc package currently being considered by the Senate who are extreme, unqualified Trump loyalists. During his remarks, Durbin noted that the change Senate Republicans made in the Senate’s rules last year has fundamentally undermined Senators’ ability to fulfill their constitutional duty of advice … Continue Reading
May 14, 2026
Durbin, Wicker Reintroduce Legislation To Promote Study Abroad
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) today reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, which renames a competitive grant program run by the Department of State to the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program. The grant encourages institutions of higher education to sustainably expand study abroad opportunities to nontraditional locations for underserved American undergraduate students. It is … Continue Reading