I went to the Senate floor to lay out for my colleagues the stunning story of brazen, open corruption during the first 6 weeks of the Trump presidency.
I think it's a story everyone needs to know.
1/ So a🧵with the highlights from the speech.
2/ The Trump crypto coin scam - maybe the biggest corruption story of them all.
Mar 2 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
Over the last 24 hours, MAGA has been ceaselessly spreading the claim that Democrats - from Susan Rice to Tony Blinken to me - pushed Zelensky to reject the minerals deal.
Total lie. Made up out of thin air. Zero sources.
1/ A short lesson how these lies spread in MAGA world. 2/ Not entirely clear where it started, but the source looks like it might be from a totally random MAGA user who says she is “speculating” that Blinken, Rice, Nuland and Vindman has a “conference call” with Zelensky.
Just a MAGA troll making up shit in their basement.
Mar 1 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
MAGA is making the claim that if you watch the entire 50 minute video, Zelensky is the antagonist.
This isn't true. At all. I was with Zelensky before this meeting and it's important to know his mindset heading in.
1/ A short 🧵on how the entire ambush went down.
2/ You cannot erase the context. Trump has been calling Zelensky a corrupt dictator and spreading Russian propaganda that Russia didn't invade Ukraine.
All these lies are Trump's pretext to sign a deal with Russia that hands Ukraine to Putin. Zelensky knows this.
Feb 28 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
We are barreling toward a full blown constitutional crisis.
Trump's announcement that he's ending thousands of aid contracts FUNDED BY CONGRESS is unconstitutional and illegal - and horrible for our security.
1/ A quick🧵on what's going on. apnews.com/article/trump-…2/ Back in January, Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid. It was a lie. He was always planning to eliminate USAID.
But that's illegal and a court reversed it. Because Congress is in charge of spending, not the President - a foundational feature of our democracy.
Feb 14 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
What frightening bullshit.
Trump and Vance have done more to smash free speech in America than any other Administration in our lifetime.
It's their plan. They know it. So they lie to cover it up.
1/ Here's their plan in a short 🧵and what we do about it.
2/ First, they pardoned all the Jan 6th rioters. This was done to protect violence when it's used to target Trump critics (remember, the rioters were there to kill Pence and Democrats).
Today I will be holding a citizen meeting in West Hartford to talk about what I'm doing and what people can do to fight back against Trump's seizure of government for the billionaire class.
1/ Unfortunately, we've maxed out the space, so here's a 🧵 on what you can do.
2/ First, I know that I have a unique responsibility, as your Senator, to lead this fight. That's why I'm using every tool I have. I'm not supporting any Trump nominees until this crisis ends. I'm helping support the legal fight. I'm working behind the scenes to move Republicans to action. I'm speaking out publicly - on TV, social media, at rallies - every day to try to rally opposition to this power seizure. I'm working 24/7 to lead this effort.
Feb 7 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
This is pure gaslighting. There is no working waiver process. Marco can pretend the the real Secretary of State, Elon Musk, didn't shut down USAID, but he did.
1/ My national security team looked into the functionally nonexistent "wavier process" and here's what they found:
2/ First, let's state the obvious. Despite Musk and Trump's lies, U.S. funded international orgs don't have a political agenda. They save lives, they fight terrorist groups, they counter Chinese and Russian influence. They are a key part of our national security strategy.
Feb 1 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Let me explain why the total destruction of USAID - happening as we speak - matters so much.
China - where Musk makes his money - wants USAID destroyed. So does Russia. Trump and Musk are doing the bidding of Beijing and Moscow. Why? apnews.com/article/trump-…2/ Over the last week, 50% of the Global Health Bureau and 60% of the Humanitarian Assistance Bureau have been fired. Aid programs everywhere have been closed. The U.S. is in full retreat from the world.
Dystopian. No good reason for it.
Jan 28 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Look, Trump is trying to oversaturate us with nonstop chaos so we can’t react meaningfully to any one thing.
But Friday's global stop work order on almost all U.S. aid is dumb and murderous. You need to know about it.
1/ A short🧵on this evil. cnn.com/2025/01/24/pol…2/ First, this isn't a funding pause. It's a STOP WORK ORDER to almost all aid. Unprecedented.
So today we just stopped feeding babies and housing refugees and mediating conflicts all around the world. Aid orgs are laying off staff and many programs will not restart.
Jan 14 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
I spent all last year writing a REAL tough bipartisan border bill. So I know grandstanding when I see it.
1/ You need to know the truth about the Laken Riley Act, and how, if unamended by the Senate, it will make this country much less safe.
2/ I joined Senate colleagues in voting to begin debate on the bill bc I'm serious about making our immigration system keep us safe.
But the current bill does the opposite, and it's part of a GOP pattern - complain about a problem and then pursue policy that makes it worse.
Jan 5 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
What? We don't have to treat conspiracy theorists like RFK Jr. with kid gloves.
It's simple. He's spent his career fighting school vaccine programs. If they atrophy, kids will get killed.
1/ Let me tell you why we need to be shouting this from the rooftops.
2/ First, let's not sugar coat the extent of RFK Jr.'s evangelism. The anti school vaccine organization he chaired is the nation's leading spreader of vaccine conspiracies and has filed dozens of lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates. npr.org/2024/12/03/nx-…
Dec 18, 2024 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
It's happening right in front our eyes. It's accelerated rapidly in the last 24 hours. Not sure why everyone doesn't see this.
1/ Can I take a minute to connect the dots - on how Trump is putting into action a plan to cripple our democracy in a way we may never recover from?
2/ He wasn't kidding when he said Democrats were the no. 1 threat to America and needed be dealt with by law enforcement and the military.
Today House Republican's referral of Liz Cheney for criminal prosecution - on made up charges - shows you the plan. yahoo.com/news/key-repub…
Nov 10, 2024 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
That was a cataclysm. Electoral map wipeout. Senate D practical ceiling is now 52 seats. R's is 62.
Time to rebuild the left.
We are out of touch with the crisis of meaning/purpose fueling MAGA. We refuse to pick big fights. Our tent is too small.
1/ Some early thoughts:
2/ The left has never fully grappled with the wreckage of fifty years of neoliberalism, which has left legions of Americans adrift as local places are hollowed out, rapacious profit seeking cannibalizes the common good, and unchecked new technology separates and isolates us.
Sep 1, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
The story of how VP Harris worked to diffuse a transition of power crisis in Guatemala - while Trump undermined the U.S. by supporting the loser of the election - is both incredible and a sign of how ready she is to lead.
1/ Here’s the short story. foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/28/gua…2/ Biden gave Harris the job of reducing migration from Central America and by late 2023 her effort was showing remarkable success. Rates had come down 50%.
But a political crisis in Guatemala risked throwing that key country in chaos, potentially erasing many of her gains.
Aug 10, 2024 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Later today I am departing on a brief but important trip to Kenya. With China and Russia increasing their investments in East Africa, the U.S.-Kenya relationship is of growing importance to Congress.
I want to explain why and tell you what I’ll be doing on this trip.
2/ In many ways, Kenya is the center of gravity in East Africa. The economy is booming, full of opportunity for U.S. and Connecticut companies. Dubbed "Silicon Savannah", Kenya is also home to Africa's largest wind farm. And it has a dynamic civil society and independent media.
Aug 8, 2024 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Lost amidst Trump’s rambling incoherence about Afghanistan today is the fact that he negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. forces with the Taliban, not Biden.
1/ Here are the facts about how Biden was handed a giant mess from Trump in Afghanistan.
2/ Trump made a deal with the Taliban to completely withdraw U.S. forces by May 1, 2021. When Biden took office, he negotiated a short extension for full withdrawal to August 2021, but he could not alter the fundamental terms of the agreement. nytimes.com/2020/02/29/wor…
Aug 3, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
There is little accountability for failed U.S. foreign policy. It's why we make the same mistakes over and over.
1/ So as Venezuela careens into another crisis, this is a moment to understand the stumbling, spectacular mess that Trump made there. reuters.com/world/americas…2/ The 2018 elections were marred by fraud. Trump recognized the loser of the election as president. At the time @brhodes and I applauded Trump for standing for democracy, but warned that pretending Maduro wasn't actually president was likely to backfire. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Jul 31, 2024 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
It's important to understand what's happening in Venezuela right now, and how the Biden/Harris team helped put the brutal Nicolas Maduro in a strategic corner.
1/ First - let me be clear: the briefings I've received show Maduro lost the presidential election - badly.
2/ As we speak, Maduro is trying to steal the election, and supporters of democracy in Venezuela - including Maduro's allies in the Western Hemisphere - must join together to ensure he cannot overturnthe will of the people or maintain any semblance of legitimacy.
Jul 26, 2024 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
VP Harris was not made "border czar". That's made up.
She WAS put in charge of addressing the root causes of migration from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. A targeted but important task.
1/ And I got my hands on some data about the results that you need to see.
2/ First, what did VP Harris do? She created something called The Partnership for Central America, and convinced 56 companies to invest more than $5 billion to bolster Central American economies to address the causes of economic migration.
Jul 24, 2024 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Just left Netanyahu's speech. I've spent my career fighting for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. I want Hamas defeated.
That speech was, as I expected, a setback for both the U.S.-Israel relationship and the fight against Hamas.
The speech was more a commentary of U.S. politics, rather than a path forward for Israeli and U.S. security.
The suggestion that any American who objects to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is a Hamas sympathizer was way out of bounds.
Jul 21, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
On this historic day, I want to tell you a story about Joe Biden, and what he did behind the scenes to make the historic 2022 gun bill - the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years - a reality.
1/ It starts with a phone call he made to me days after the Uvalde shooting.
2/ After the tragic Uvalde and Buffalo shootings, Biden wanted to give a prime time address to push the Congress to act.
But several of his advisors told him not to waste one of his few prime time speeches on guns. Congress will never pass a gun bill, they told him.
2/ Not entirely clear where it started, but the source looks like it might be from a totally random MAGA user who says she is “speculating” that Blinken, Rice, Nuland and Vindman has a “conference call” with Zelensky. 