Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 8/7/2026-8/14/2026

Demanding Answers About Health & Safety Concerns Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

[Hartford, CT] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao today demanding to know what action is being taken to improve conditions for sailors deployed on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been continuously at sea for a record length of nearly seven months. The deployment was scheduled to end in May but has been extended with no publicly announced return date.

"There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit for months," Blumenthal wrote.

Blumenthal also asked for information about what steps the Navy is taking to prevent similar issues in the future, given that recent carrier deployments have repeatedly stretched long beyond their originally planned durations:

"These reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain the operational tempo now being demanded of its carrier force, particularly as this Administration repeatedly commits U.S. forces to conflicts of its own choosing and increasingly relies on aircraft carriers to sustain those operations."

Blumenthal has previously raised concerns regarding the mental health and well-being of sailors facing extended periods of demanding working and living conditions.

In 2022, Xavier Sandor, a Connecticut sailor from Shelton, was one of three USS George Washington crew members to die by suicide while the ship was undergoing extended Refueling and Complex Overhaul at a Virginia shipyard. During this time, crew members were subject to frequent interruptions of electrical power, heating, air conditioning and hot water for weeks at a time and no access to welfare or recreation services. Sailors also often experienced a two months long backlog for mental health screenings.

In 2023, Blumenthal fought to include the Seaman Xavier Sandor Support for Sailors Act in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, allowing junior sailors to live in commercial housing when their assigned ship undergoes an extended maintenance overhaul in a shipyard.

The full text of the letter to Hegseth and Cao is available here.

Blumenthal highlighted his letter and the need to better support our servicemembers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Twitter/X.

"The Trump Admin must explain what they are doing to support sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln who have been continuously at sea for nearly 7 months. Widespread reports of supply shortages, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health & more demand immediate attention," wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal also joined CNN's Erin Burnett and Pamela Brown to discuss his letter to Hegseth and Cao.

Slamming the Trump Administration's Dangerous Immigration Policies

Blumenthal, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General T. March Bell demanding he launch a formal investigation the Office of Refugee Resettlement's evasion of its legal responsibilities to the immigrant children in its custody.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires ORR to adjudicate a completed sponsorship application of a parent, legal guardian, or close relative for an unaccompanied immigrant child within 10 days. However, despite this requirement, at least two dozen children in Connecticut have languished in federal custody for lengthy periods of time raising serious questions about why ORR is delaying reunification.

"At best, ORR is understaffed and woefully inept at carrying out its statutorily mandated functions in a timely fashion. At worst, and what mounting evidence points to, is that ORR's goal has become detaining children indefinitely in a callous attempt to deter future migration. Either way, the best interests of children in ORR's custody have been sacrificed, and those children, including those in Connecticut, continue to suffer," Blumenthal wrote.

In a letter, Blumenthal cites the case of 5-year-old Camila who was held for 118 days in federal custody while her mother was 9 miles down the road waiting for her application to be approved. Camila was only reunited with her mother after attorneys filed a habeas lawsuit challenging the legality of her detention.

"In each case, ORR plays the same song and dance, requiring an application be "complete" before the 10-day clock starts, while simultaneously delaying needed checks or moving the goal post of what is required to complete an application as soon as previous requirements are met. For example, in Camila's case, her mother submitted an application, then waited two months for ORR to schedule a home inspection and three months for ORR to schedule a DNA test. All the while, Camila languished inside federal custody, away from her mother," Blumenthal wrote.

Blumenthal's letter demands HHS promptly launch an investigation into these delays and determine whether ORR is evading its legal responsibilities to the children in its custody and determine whether ORR is in violation of its obligations.

A full copy of Blumenthal's letter is available here.

Blumenthal held a press conference in Hartford announcing his call for an investigation into the prolonged and inhumane detention of unaccompanied immigrant children in the custody of ORR.

"Thousands of children are confined by ICE, away from their parents, they're unaccompanied children, for extended periods of time-not just weeks, months. The story of Camila, a five-year-old detained for 118 days, is gripping and heartbreaking, but only one of dozens in Connecticut alone and thousands across the country," said Blumenthal at the press conference. "These children are confined for an average of 205 days. For a child who is 3, 4, 5 years old 205 days is like a lifetime-away from parents, confined in really inhumane settings in federal custody. What we're seeing is family separation 2.0. And we are seeing the same craven, cruel, inhumane policy repeated now in a slightly different way."

Video of Blumenthal's press conference is available here.

On Twitter/X, Blumenthal further highlighted his call for an investigation into the inhumane treatment of unaccompanied immigration children.

"We are hearing gripping & heartbreaking stories of kids being held in federal custody for months on end. I'm demanding HHS investigate the prolonged & inhumane detention of minors at unmonitored & unlicensed facilities-putting children at incredible risk," wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Further condemning the Trump Administration's harmful immigration policies, Blumenthal joined U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) in writing Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel slamming a policy allowing ICE agents to hide from investigation after violent confrontations. Following reporting in The New York Times that the FBI will no longer investigate violent confrontations between civilians and federal immigration agents, Blumenthal and Schiff are calling for the new policy be rescinded. The senators also asked for information and records about how the decision to implement the policy was reached.

Agents reportedly received instructions about the change just days after ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.

"Faced once more with the duty to investigate DHS agents' wanton violence, you apparently made the extraordinary decision to issue a policy that FBI agents will no longer investigate confrontations between civilians and immigration agents. Instead, leaving DHS to investigate itself," the senators wrote. "It is hard to see any justification for this policy change other than to avoid discovering evidence that could be used to call into question the practices of DHS agents or to prosecute them when they use excessive force in violation of the law."

The full text of letter is available here.

Combatting the Rapid Spread of the Spotted Lanternfly

Blumenthal called on Congress to pass the Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act, new legislation to stop the spread of the Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive species that poses a significant threat to the environment and our state's agricultural economy. Spotted Lanternflies, which are native to Asia and were first found in Connecticut in 2020, have destroyed crops and trees in the Northeast - putting our local farmers, winemakers, and brewers at serious risk.

The Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act designates the Spotted Lanternfly as a high-priority research and extension initiative under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This designation authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants available for research projects related to the mitigation of this invasive species to find creative solutions to stop the spread before Connecticut's crops and trees species are further decimated.

"The Spotted Lanternfly is really much more than just a pest. These guys are a menace. Literally half the trees in Connecticut are at risk of death as a result of the Spotted Lanternfly-and more immediately, our vineyards, our hop fields, our wine and brewery industries are very much threated by the spotted lanternfly. We need to counter this threat with research and development and citizen action," said Blumenthal at the press conference.

Blumenthal further highlighted the need to combat the spread of the Spotted Lanternfly on Twitter/X.

"The Spotted Lanternfly is a hitchhiking pest that puts at risk ½ the trees in CT, plus orchards, vineyards, & hops fields. States like CT need strong federal funding to counter this menace & develop systemic, strategic ways to stop this invasive species," wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Denouncing the $900 Million Price Tag for Trump's White House Renovations

Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), demanded answers from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about the ballooning costs associated with renovations to the White House and surrounding grounds. Blumenthal sent the letter to Wiles amid new reporting in the Washington Post that detailed a significant increase in the projected cost of various projects that President Trump has directed to take place on the White House grounds, totaling $927 million, with taxpayers set to pay much of the multimillion-dollar sum.

Seeking information regarding the reconstruction and renovation of the White House and surrounding grounds, Blumenthal wrote, "This astronomical expenditure, which has not been approved by Congress, has been rushed through unconventional means under incredible secrecy. A project of this cost and significance demands oversight and accountability to determine not just how funds are being spent but whether any rules were violated in the President's haste to complete his chief vanity project."

Pointing to the costs associated with various projects undertaken by the White House, including a massive ballroom, repairs to an adjacent park, construction of a new visitor screening facility, and construction of a new helipad, Blumenthal continued, "This new calculation dwarfs previous estimates provided by the President, and the accompanying reporting details how taxpayers will be expected to fund more than half of that amount. It also directly contradicts numerous statements by the President, who has repeatedly insisted that construction costs would be paid by private donors and himself personally, at no cost to taxpayers."

Blumenthal raised concerns about the Trump Administration's use of no-bid contracts for many of the projects and its redirection of Congressionally-appropriated funding to benefit the President's vanity projects: "The reporting also details the extraordinary measures that the Trump Administration has undertaken to apparently circumvent traditional contracting practices and basic transparency by routing the contracts for construction projects through the Executive Residence, which has no experience with these kinds of large-scale projects and typically handles routine maintenance projects for the White House and its grounds. Importantly, contracts originating out of the Executive Residence are not forced to undergo the same contract bidding rules or public disclosure requirements as other federally funded projects."

As Ranking Member of PSI, Blumenthal is leading an inquiry into waste, fraud, and abuse associated with the White House ballroom and other projects throughout the nation's capital.

The full text of Blumenthal's letter to Wiles is available here.

Blumenthal Bulletin

Blumenthal released a statement on the passing of former Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman.

Blumenthal pressed MLB, MLBPA, and FanDuel for answers after Phillies Star Bryce Harper was used to target gambling addict with a promotional video.

Blumenthal introduced a bipartisan bill banning bonuses for utility company executives as consumer energy costs skyrocket.

Blumenthal reintroduced legislation to protect passengers and crew from toxic cabin air.

Blumenthal led colleagues in demanding HHS rescind cancelation of lifesaving research grants that improve patient safety and care.

Blumenthal introduced bicameral legislation to improve end of life care.

Blumenthal celebrated the Senate passage of his Russia Sanctions bill.

Blumenthal joined CNN to discuss Trump's secret exit from Turkey.

Blumenthal joined MS NOW to discuss Trump's judicial nominees' refusal to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Blumenthal highlighted his Passport Day event on August 21.

Blumenthal applauded the introduction of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Blumenthal joined the Puerto Rican festival in New Haven.

Blumenthal visited the North Branford PoCo Festival.

Blumenthal attended the Wolcott Fair.

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