Last night, I voted to block arms sales to Israel.

Here's why. 🧵 The terrorist attack of October 7 was truly horrific and the Hamas terrorist group, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, should be eliminated. I have previously voted for military assistance to Israel throughout my congressional career to protect it from the threats which it faces daily.

I’m releasing texts, emails, and documents regarding a Justice Department whistleblower’s allegations of misconduct by Mr. Emil Bove, a Trump judicial nominee.

A THREAD. Erez Reuveni was a career Justice Department attorney who vigorously defended President Trump’s immigration policies during his first Administration.

So, when this loyal public servant came forward with serious allegations of misconduct by Emil Bove, I knew it was out of principle—not politics.

BIG NEWS – President Trump just announced that he will withdraw his nomination for Ed Martin to be U.S. Attorney for D.C.

It’s the right decision.

Here’s why. Ed Martin’s commentary and affiliations left no doubt that he was not qualified to serve as the top law enforcement official for our nation’s capital.

The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator.

But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch.

So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term. The people of Illinois have honored me with this responsibility longer than anyone elected to the Senate in our state’s history, and I am truly grateful.

I met with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s pick to lead NIH.

NIH & support for medical funding is facing a critical time under the Trump Administration. Here are my thoughts on the meeting. 🧵 All the progress we have made at NIH and all the progress we hope to make is in danger because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Senate Republicans are about to try to ram through a budget with a simple philosophy: Billionaires WIN, families LOSE.

We’re holding their feet to the fire. This is every popular initiative that they voted down.

WATCH THIS THREAD. Senate Republicans just voted AGAINST a budget amendment to block any tax cuts to wealthy taxpayers (who earn $1,000,000,000+ per year).

Billionaires win, families lose.

I just met with Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director.

My takeaway: He’s the wrong choice to lead the FBI. A THREAD. Kash Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead the FBI.

We learned a lot from Trump’s Attorney General pick this week.

I gave her the opportunity to address serious questions, but I still have many concerns. A THREAD. Let’s start with the Big Lie.

I’m dumbfounded that when asked not once… not twice… but MULTIPLE times… whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, Pam Bondi refused to answer.

Why couldn’t she state plainly “Donald Trump lost” when asked?

My thoughts on the House Ethics Committee report concerning allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz. 🧵 In light of Donald Trump’s selection of former Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his Attorney General, I am calling on the House Ethics Committee to preserve and share their report and all relevant documentation on Mr. Gaetz with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Justice Alito’s response *clearly* demonstrates why the Supreme Court needs an enforceable code of conduct.

A THREAD. The Committee has been conducting a thorough investigation into years of ethical lapses by some justices on the Supreme Court—and the Committee has been reviewing the latest reporting on Justice Alito as part of this ongoing investigation.

This incident is yet another example of apparent ethical misconduct by a sitting justice, and it adds to the Court’s ongoing ethical crisis.

Justice Alito must recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection. It's for the good of our country and the Court.

And the Chief Justice must see how this is damaging the Court and immediately enact an enforceable code of conduct.

Thus far, the Supreme Court has resisted efforts by the Senate Judiciary Committee to engage on ethics reform beginning with Chief Justice Roberts, who has rebuffed information requests and an invitation to discuss this important oversight matter. Now, Justice Alito is providing speculative public commentary on a bill that is still going through the legislative process.

Let’s be clear: Justice Alito is not the 101st member of the United States Senate.

His intervention in Article I activity is unwise and unwelcome.

I’m disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling effectively barring the use of race as a factor in college admissions.

A thread. The Court’s conservative majority just upended nearly 50 years of established precedent in a move that undermines the progress our country has made advancing racial justice.

What we heard today from Donald Trump’s lawyers is that he can no longer be held accountable for his actions to provoke a terrorist mob to violently overthrow a legitimate government process because he is no longer a sitting President. That’s wrong. To my colleagues who believe the First Amendment was designed to protect the efforts of a lame duck President to overthrow our government, you might as well create a recipe for a democracy to die of its own accord.

Last night, I had the honor of speaking with 100 Black Men of Chicago, the Chicago chapter of 100 Black Men of America, a 25,000-member volunteer organization that works to enhance quality of life and educational and economic opportunities for African Americans. I was originally asked to speak about gun violence and its impact on our youth, but the conversation naturally turned to Minneapolis and the death of Mr. George Floyd. His death was a reprehensible, heartbreaking moment.

Senate Republicans are doing untold damage to our federal judiciary by rubber-stamping so many of President Trump’s radical & unqualified judicial nominees. Today, it was Lawrence VanDyke. Here is some of what we know about Mr. VanDyke: The American Bar Association’s peer review process found Mr. VanDyke “not qualified” and described him as “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice.” Americans deserve qualified, non-ideological judges with proper temperament.

Today, I am calling for the initiation of a formal impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives of President Donald Trump. His admission that he solicited negative info from the Pres. of Ukraine concerning his potential opponent, Joe Biden, while withholding $250M in US security aid for Ukraine is beneath the dignity of any President & by any reasonable legal standard merits an impeachment inquiry.

Jeffrey Rosen does not have the qualifications to be Deputy AG. He has no experience working in the Justice Department or handling criminal cases. When I questioned him about core DOJ functions, he wasn’t familiar with them. For example, when I met with him and asked him about the landmark First Step Act, he said he had, “begun getting informed about it.” When I asked him about voting rights and voter suppression, he said he hadn’t had occasion to study the issue.

Here are some of the anti-immigrant provisions included in the Trump-McConnell bill to end the #TrumpShutdown: Excludes hundreds of thousands of DACA-eligible individuals and all TPS recipients from the African countries the President disparaged. Includes sweeping new restrictions that would bar many current DACA recipients.

The Trump Administration’s family separation policy is more than a bureaucratic lapse in judgment. It is and was a cruel policy inconsistent with the values of this nation. politico.com/story/2019/01/… It’s inconceivable that our government chose to secretly separate thousands of children from their parents, was unable or unwilling to reunite these families for months due to incompetent leadership and poor planning, and still doesn’t know how many children were separated.

Toby, a 6-year Air Force veteran from Aurora, is an air traffic controller who has gone without a paycheck since Dec. 31. I shared his story today on the Senate floor. Veterans are some of the hardest hit by the Trump shutdown. Today, as many as 250,000 veterans across the country – direct hire federal workers and contractors alike – are going without pay due to the #TrumpShutdown.