Press Releases
Durbin Statement On Law Day And The Importance Of The Rule Of Law
WASHINGTON - On Law Day, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement in support of #ReaffirmTheOath—a grassroots effort that calls upon lawyers nationwide to publicly renew their commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law by reaffirming the oath they took when sworn in as attorneys. Law Day, which is observed on May 1, is a time to reflect on the importance of our legal system and the principles that … Continue Reading
May 01, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Reintroduce Assault Weapons Ban
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) in the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to revive a nationwide ban on assault weapons two decades after the original ban expired. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Spotlight Hearing On The Trump Administration's Attempts To Whitewash January 6
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Democratic spotlight hearing entitled “Clear and Present Danger: The Trump Administration’s Whitewashing of the January 6th Insurrection.” Durbin first questioned Mike Romano, a former Deputy Chief of the Capitol Siege Section of the D.C.U.S. Attorney’s Office and member of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Public Integrity Unit, and Sara … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Delivers Remarks Honoring Fred Wertheimer As He Receives The Senator Paul H. Douglas Award For Ethics In Government
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks honoring Fred Wertheimer, this year’s recipient for the University of Illinois System’s Senator Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government. In his remarks, Durbin praised Mr. Wertheimer’s work as founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan, nonprofit dedicated to strengthening American democracy, safeguarding election integrity, and promoting government accountability. Named for the late Illinois … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Spotlight Hearing On The Trump Administration's Attempts To Whitewash January 6
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 Democratic spotlight hearing entitled “Clear and Present Danger: The Trump Administration’s Whitewashing of the January 6th Insurrection.” The witnesses include Harry Dunn, former U.S. Capitol Police Officer, and Daniel Hodges, an 11-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), who were both brutally attacked by the … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin In Appropriations Committee: Want To 'Make America Great Again?' Stick With The NIH
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today participated in a Committee hearing entitled “Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation.” During the hearing, Durbin emphasized the disastrous consequences of the Trump Administration’s desire to slash federal funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), effectively grinding medical research in the U.S. to a halt. Drawing from his family’s own … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Measure To Amend National Child Protection Act To Expand Nationwide Background Check Access
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced a bipartisan bill, the Comprehensive Health and Integrity in Licensing and Documentation (CHILD) Act, to amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 (NCPA) to ensure that individuals with unsupervised access to children, such as those under contract with a school, are, once again, … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing For The Heads of DEA & USMS
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Gadyaces Serralta, nominated to be Director of the United States Marshals Service (USMS), during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Today’s hearing also featured Terrance Cole, nominated to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Durbin began by asking Mr. Serralta if he would commit, under oath, to enforcing all judicial orders if he is … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Association Of Illinois Electric Cooperatives
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) yesterday met with the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperative (AIEC), which represents 24 distribution co-ops and five generation/transmission co-ops that serve most of rural Illinois, to discuss protecting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy programs and clean energy tax credits. During their meeting, the group stressed the importance of two … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Champaign County First
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) yesterday met with representatives from Champaign County First to discuss the region’s priorities and advocating for federal policies that improve the lives of those in Central Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin and Duckworth spoke about the Trump Administration’s decision to freeze federal funding, threatening the completion of major infrastructure projects planned in Illinois. “The … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing For The Heads of DEA & USMS
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 Committee hearing on the nominations of Terrance Cole, to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Gadyaces Serralta, to be Director of the United States Marshals Service (USMS). Before addressing the nominees, Durbin spoke about President Trump’s assault on the Justice Department and the federal … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Durbin Calls Out Republicans' "Silence Of The Lambs" During Trump's First 100 Days In Office
WASHINGTON - On President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called out his Republican colleagues for their silence as the President tests—and violates—the bounds of our Constitution, amasses power for himself as he tanks our economy, violates the rights of Americans, and destroys our image abroad. “The jury’s in. At the end of 100 days, the major polling firms across the United States went out and asked the American people so what do you think? … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Blast Trump Administration's Attacks On Head Start, Demand RFK Jr. Immediately Release Funding And Reverse Firings
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), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in sending a letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start, reminding him of his legal obligation to administer the program, and demanding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Amid Trump Administration's Threats To Defund Public Broadcasting, Durbin Meets With CEO Of Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the CEO of the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA), Sharon Percy Rockefeller, to discuss the need to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). During the meeting, they also discussed the Trump Administration’s threats to defund National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). “The ruthless cuts and attacks on our federal government was not enough for the … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Durbin Honors Four American Service Members Who Died In Lithuania
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor to honor the four American soldiers—including one Illinoisan—who were stationed in Lithuania and tragically died last month while on a mission to recover a vehicle immobilized during a training exercise. The soldiers include Staff Sergeant Jose Dueñez Jr. from Joliet, Illinois; Staff Sergeant Edvin F. Franco; Staff Sergeant Troy S. Knutson-Collins; and Private First-Class Dante D. … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
Durbin Reflects On The Life And Legacy Of The Late Pope Francis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor commemorating and honoring the late Pope Francis. This weekend, Durbin attended the late Pope’s funeral in the Vatican along with U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO). “Today I join people across the world and mourn the passing of Pope Francis. He was forgiving, hopeful, and committed to the notion of peace. Francis taught us … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
Durbin, Senate Democrats Push Trump Administration To Reconsider Student Visa Revocations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led a group of 35 Senate Democrats in pressing the Trump Administration to reconsider recent decisions to revoke student visas in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons. The Senators began by urging the Administration to undo unlawful student visa … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
Durbin Files Second Amicus Brief In Support Of Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Durbin Amendment, filed an amicus brief in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in support of the state’s Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), a state law that bars charging interchange fees on the tax and tips portion of credit and debit card transactions. In August 2024, the Illinois Bankers Association filed a lawsuit, Illinois Bankers Association v. … Continue Reading
April 26, 2025
Durbin Statement After Attending Late Pope Francis' Funeral
ROME - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after attending the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City today. The bipartisan Senate delegation was led by Durbin and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) also attended. Durbin said, “It was a great honor to pay my respects to the late Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square today, along with so many others from around the world who … Continue Reading
April 25, 2025
Durbin Statement On The Arrest Of A Wisconsin Judge By The FBI For Allegedly Obstructing An Immigration Operation
ROME - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges of obstruction and concealing a person from arrest over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant “evade arrest,” according to FBI Director Kash Patel: “The Trump Administration continues to test the limits of our … Continue Reading