Sacramento, CA – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke at the POLITICO California Summit on his priorities for tackling the affordability crisis, including by addressing the housing shortage. Schiff also emphasized that Democrats should continue pushing a legislative agenda that focuses on making our economy work for all Americans.
Schiff, in conversation with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, highlighted how Trump and Republicans represent the failed status quo as Americans are facing higher prices on their watch as a result.
View the full interview here.
Key Excerpts:
On Republicans and President Trump owning the status quo:
[…] Donald Trump, Mike Johnson represent an ugly status quo. A status quo in which people can’t afford the price of gasoline, they can’t afford the price of housing, they can’t afford childcare. We’re involved in yet another foreign war that the president doesn’t know what to do about. They are the status quo.
And much as they try to change the topic and make a handful of Democrats the subject, I don’t think it’s going to work because people are asking themselves, “Is my life better? Did the president and Republicans keep their word?” And the answer is no. The president promised he would keep us out of foreign wars. He promised he would address rising prices. And what has he done? In addition to getting us involved in this terrible war, he has told the country that the cost-of-living affordability is a hoax.
On building an economy that works for everyone as AI transforms the economy:
[…] What most Americans really have on their minds, and that is, they’re working their ass off, and they’re still struggling to get by. They feel very little security in their retirement. They are afraid of getting sick because their health insurance isn’t going to cut it. They are terrified.
[…] We are in the midst of another transformation. I think it is the fault of policymakers that we have not adapted to a workplace that is so different than the workplace my parents worked in. Where so many people stayed with the same company their whole career and had health care and retirement through their work. And we’re going to have to, with the advent of AI, think even more broadly now about how do we ensure that people have gained full employment and dignified employment and secure retirement. What does that look like in the era of AI and globalization and automation? So, this is, I think, going to be the cardinal challenge for both parties. And I’d like to see the Democratic Party leading the way.
On taxing the ultra-wealthy and making the tax code fairer for working Americans:
[…] There should be a wealth tax at the federal level. There should be a much more progressive tax code than the one we have. And one thing that has become so abundantly clear is this concentration of wealth we see now is operating to perpetuate itself. And you have individuals now that have such a massive say in our electoral process that they can pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a single campaign if they choose to. We have a broken campaign finance system that allows them to do that.
And I think if we don’t bring determination to solving that problem, also, this income inequality, wealth inequality gap is just going to get worse. And it is, I also think, deeply destabilizing. The combination of the disruption of the workforce through AI, the vast concentration, and the arrogant use of wealth by some who have amassed it, is going to be hugely disruptive for society. It’s bad economics. I think it’s immoral, and I’m working on federal solutions to try to address that.
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A month after the Trump administration declared without evidence that thousands of noncitizens had illegally registered to vote in Nevada, officials with the Department of Homeland Security were unable to substantiate the claim.
The administration claimed to have identified 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states, including an exact number of 15,903 in Nevada. But during a meeting last week with state election administrators, Homeland Security officials said they had identified just 185 potential noncitizens in the state so far, according to emails as well as recordings of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.
The federal officials said they were still considering 14,000 names for further review, according to one of the emails. In the virtual meeting, federal officials told Nevada that the nearly 16,000 they had originally identified represented “the ceiling” of potential noncitizens.
But the list the Homeland Security Department shared with Nevada is incomplete — it doesn’t even include names — and is nearly impossible to verify, according to files released by the secretary of state’s office. Nevada officials have requested more information, but the department has not yet offered it.
Dr. Jerome Adams (USA TODAY) writes:
America is watching foodborne illnesses and vaccine-preventable diseases surge while the secretary of Health and Human Services tells us to “eat real food.” The irony is hard to miss.
Jalapeño-linked salmonella has sickened hundreds across multiple states. Cyclospora has produced waves of debilitating illness.
A massive egg recall tied to a multistate salmonella outbreak involved more than 1.5 million dozen eggs. Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have linked recalled eggs to an outbreak that, as of late July, had sickened about 100 people in 17 states and hospitalized 26.
These are not abstract statistics. They are parents watching children suffer, businesses throwing away food, people who don’t feel safe eating a salad or omelet, and a food supply that feels less reliable by the day.
This comes at a time when we are left with the worst nut job in the world to ever serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services. We are at risk, all of us, with that nut job in office.
He can't protect us, he doesn't even believe in science. We are screwed.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused CNN host Erin Burnett of having “Trump Drangement Syndrome” after the network put one of his new cooking show’s budget-friendly recipes to the test, and tallied a price triple the amount.
Kennedy recently launched The Real Food Show, a YouTube cooking series promoting nutritious meals he says can cost less than $5 per serving and remain “affordable for every family.” The show is part of his healthy eating campaign.
On Wednesday’s CNN journalist Tom Foreman tested that claim for Burnett on OutFront, recreating Kennedy’s wild Alaskan salmon cakes and side salad, which the show priced at $19.64 for four people. Foreman’s grocery bill, however, came to $70.54.
After the report aired, Kennedy hit back on X, trashing the host and accusing her of having “abandoned both common sense and basic arithmetic.”
Relatives of those on board have told NBC News that conditions have been grim, citing a lack of supplies and food and a rising concern for worsening mental health. There have been some “man overboard” incidents, including one in which a sailor was rescued, according to U.S. officials. While the incidents have raised concerns within the Navy, they have not been viewed as reflective of a broad mental health crisis aboard the carrier, according to a U.S. official.
The mother of a sailor aboard the Lincoln told NBC News that her son was expecting to be deployed for six months. When she finally heard from him, about a month after the Feb. 28 strikes, she said, he mentioned he was hungry and losing weight. He told his mother the Lincoln’s onboard commissary was limiting service members’ purchases.
“He was just eating what he could eat,” she said, adding that he said the hot water was sometimes out for days and that the crew members went three to four months without getting mail after the carrier was redirected from the South China Sea.
The mother, a former service member herself, said her son told her that there were people “who weren’t doing too well.”
After nearly six months in a fast-paced, unplanned war with Iran, the parts onboard the Navy’s aircraft carriers are at risk of wearing out. That includes the plumbing and air-conditioning systems, catapults that launch fighter jets and the gear that catches the planes slamming to a halt on the floating runway.
Retired senior Navy leaders are raising concerns over the wear and tear the unexpected record-breaking deployments have on the $22 billion carriers, the expensive aircraft they transport around the world and the badly needed extended maintenance time it will take to repair them.
“We are excessively wearing out our ships,” said Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation. “The longer that you’re working them hard at sea,” he said, the longer the Navy needs to put “a lot of time” into maintenance when the ships are not available for deployments.
That is the challenge facing the USS Abraham Lincoln, which the Navy is preparing to rush back to its home port of San Diego after operating at a blistering tempo launching missions against Iran and protecting U.S. bases and allies in the Middle East.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's anger over the rescinding of an Army memo on new standards has the branch reeling to come up with something that will make him happy, resulting in "some internal drama."
According to a report from The Hill, Hegseth was furious when the Army withdrew new academic standards it had recently issued for Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets, just days after announcing an implementation date.
Then-assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs Jules Hurst argued earlier in August that the Army "must cultivate intelligent and adaptive officers to build a lethal and ready Army prepared to deter, fight, and win our nation’s wars."
"The strength of our Officer Corps is the strength of our Army," he said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was given notice by Senate Democrats Thursday that they intend to launch a probe over his alleged misuse of active-duty personnel.
The Democrats claim Hegseth installed loyalist inside Stars and Stripes, an independent news source that dates back to the Civil War, correspondent Scott McFarlane was among the first to report.
“The placement of an active-duty Public Affairs officer in the senior leadership of an organization whose credibility depends on its independence from the military chain of command raises serious questions," the Senators wrote.
The warning arrived the same day The Washington Post reported thatStars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer had announced plans to retire after 19 years as the publisher.
“The placement of an active-duty Public Affairs officer in the senior leadership of an organization whose credibility depends on its independence from the military chain of command raises serious questions.”
A U.S. aircraft carrier slated to be named after a Black Pearl Harbor hero may be named to honor President Donald Trump instead, according to a new report.
During Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that a new Ford-class carrier being built would be called the USS Doris Miller to honor an enlisted sailor who helped defend the U.S. against Japan’s attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
But two anonymous sources told CNN that those plans had been scrapped, and that the Navy was considering naming the newly constructed ship to honor Trump.
“The effort to rename the USS Doris Miller has been underway since earlier this year,” the sources told CNN.
“The Navy is looking instead to rename another warship after Miller, according to one of the sources, and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for military valor,” the report said. “The final authorization for the award is up to Congress and approval from Trump.”
Although it would be “an unprecedented move” to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president, CNN reported that Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao has been researching how to update “the official guidance for how ships should be named and specifying who they can be named after, including presidents.”
Washington, D.C. — Today—over a year after Republicans passed the largest health care cut in history in their Big Ugly Bill—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after a new report found Trump and Republican’s $1 trillion cuts in health care, and refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, have caused premiums to double for over 200,000 Washingtonians.
“We are over a year past Republicans passing the single largest cut to health care in our country’s history, and it has been nearly a year since Republicans blocked Democratic efforts to extend the ACA tax credits. Republicans have created a national health care crisis in America, causing costs to skyrocket and clinics to struggle keeping their doors open,” said Senator Murray. “Trump and Republicans would rather give trillions in tax breaks to billionaires and endlessly fund Trump’s war with Iran than help working Americans afford their doctor appointments and prescriptions. Republicans chose to put billionaires and foreign wars ahead of health care for the American people—but the people can have the last word using their voice and their vote.”
A new report has detailed how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—which cut over $1 trillion from health care to fund tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires—has caused 50,545 Washingtonians to lose their Medicaid, CHIP, or ACA coverage they relied on to receive health care. Republicans also refused to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, which caused premiums to double for 226,813 people across Washington state. A family of four in Washington state who makes $130,000 a year saw their average annual premium rise by $12,392—costing them a total of $23,442 this year.
Hospitals and clinics in Washington state are facing a $160 million loss in funding, a 5.6% spike in uncompensated care, and are expected to lose between $31 billion and $51 billion over the next decade due to Republicans’ health care cuts. So far 37 hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes in Washington state are at-risk, have announced cuts to services, are closing, or have closed, including:
- AT-RISK: Astria Sunnyside Hospital, Coulee Medical Center, Dayton General Hospital, Forks Community Hospital, Klickitat Valley Health, Lake Chelan Hospital – Labor & Delivery Ward, Mason General Hospital, Mid-Valley Hospital, Odessa Memorial Hospital, Othello Community Hospital, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington & North Idaho – Spokane, Prosser Memorial Health, Samaritan Hospital, Summit Pacific Medical Center, Three Rivers Hospital, Toppenish Community Hospital
- CUTS ANNOUNCED: East Adams Rural Healthcare – Ritzville Hospital, Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, PeaceHealth, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Providence Swedish, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health
- CLOSED: DominiCare (St. Joseph’s Hospital), Legacy Salmon Creek Pain Clinic, Legacy-GoHealth – Camas, Legacy-GoHealth – Cascade Park, Legacy-GoHealth – Salmon Creek, Outpatient Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinic (Providence Medical Park), Overlake Medical Center – Lake Hills urgent care clinic, Planned Parenthood – Port Angeles Health Center, Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinic, St. Michael Medical Center Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic, Swedish Weight Loss Outpatient Clinic, The Spokane Allergy & Asthma Clinic, ZoomCare Super Bellevue – Emergency Care
ABOUT TRUMP’S MEDICAID CUTS:
Nationwide, the Republican health care cuts represent a more than $400 billion hit to America’s hospitals—with one estimate finding that over 170 rural hospitals will
likely be forced to close or scale back their services, which will
force more Americans to travel further for maternity care and emergency
room visits, and face longer wait times. Washington state is one of the
states most at-risk, with 22 hospitals at-risk of closing or reducing services. An estimated 477,000 health workers will lose their jobs as a result of the Republican cuts to Medicaid. Senator Murray has consistently advocated for rural health care access across the state, hosting numerous events to emphasize the importance of investment into rural communities.
Hospitals in Washington state could lose at least $662 million in
Medicaid revenue every year under OBBBA—forcing hospitals to lay off
staff, cut services, or close their doors entirely. Overall, Washington
state is expected to lose between
$31 billion and $51 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over the next
decade. In 2024, Washington had an uninsured rate of 4.8 percent—the
lowest in the country—but the Republican bill is expected to balloon
that number into the double digits.
In Washington state, nearly 2 million people—roughly 1 in 5—are enrolled in Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid program. Washington’s 4th Congressional District has the highest Medicaid enrollment in Washington state, with nearly 300,000 people—38 percent of all residents—reliant on Apple Health, including 70 percent of all children in the state.
ABOUT GOP REFUSAL TO EXTEND ACA TAX CREDITS:
Senator Murray forced the issue of the ACA tax credits at every opportunity before Republicans ultimately refused to take any action, speaking out nonstop about the urgent need to save health care and calling on Republicans to come to the negotiating table to work out a bipartisan deal to extend the ACA tax credits. She took to the Senate floor in November 2025 with her Democratic colleagues to call for a clean one-year extension of the ACA tax credits, and held numerous virtual press conferences with Washingtonians, as well as residents of neighboring states Idaho and Montana, about the exploding health care premiums that Americans would see due to the expiration of the tax credits. As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray led legislation supported by the Democratic caucus that would have addressed the health care crisis during the government shutdown last fall. Senator Murray has also cosponsored multiple pieces of legislation over the past year—the Health Care Affordability Act and the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act—that would make the ACA tax credits permanent.
As then-chair of the Senate Health Committee, Senator Murray played a critical role in passing the ACA enhanced premium tax credits into law in the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and extending them in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
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