Congress

Kids’ safety advocates draw red lines for Senate online safety package

Published

2 hours ago

July 28, 2026

A coalition of 60 child safety groups is urging top lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee to take up robust online safety legislation in a markup tentatively expected next week.

In a letter sent Monday and shared first with Blue Light News, the bloc demanded that committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) only consider legislation with a “duty of care” standard that would require tech companies to mitigate harms they know their platforms cause children.

When the House passed a kids’ online safety package last month, it did not include the provision — an omission that the groups said neutered the bill and “would not actually make kids safer online.”

“This approach would immunize platforms from accountability for the design choices, such as engagement-maximizing feeds, autoplay, and algorithmic amplification, that drive documented harms to young people,” wrote the signers, which include Common Sense Media, Design It For Us, ParentsTogether Action and the Young People’s Alliance.

They also asked the senators not to preempt state artificial intelligence laws and to instead follow the House’s model, in which states could craft regulations stricter than the federal standard.

“Families who have lost children to online harms have spent years telling their stories to this Congress,” the coalition wrote. “And with each day Congress fails to act, more children are being harmed and are dying.”

Last week, Cruz and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has been negotiating a safety-focused legislative package with the White House, met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Trump did not commit to throwing his political weight behind her effort after Cruz said it did not have enough support to clear the chamber.

Meanwhile, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) introduced the Digital Age Assurance Act on Thursday. Modeled after a similar California bill, it would require operating system providers such as Apple and Google to collect users’ ages in an effort to ensure that children see only age-appropriate content online.

Cruz and Cantwell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress

Beshear urges McConnell to provide more info on his health or resign

Published

2 hours ago

July 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Sen. Mitch McConnell should resign if he can’t “directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky” with “proof of your capacity to serve,” escalating pressure on the former Republican Senate leader as he continues to recover from a fall that left him hospitalized well over a month ago.

“During that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two photos and corresponding statements, have made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation,” Beshear wrote Monday in a letter addressed to McConnell, 84, and his staff.

The seven-term senator, who will retire in January, said in a July 12 statement to constituents he plans to return to the Senate. He also shared that he has dealt with a “mild case of pneumonia” while in the hospital.

McConnell has “maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls,” his physician shared in a press release Monday.

In early July, Beshear alsoasked the senator to “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” writing that the state’s residents had grown “increasingly concerned.”

On Monday, he raised the stakes, urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune to investigate McConnell’s condition if “you are unwilling to voluntarily show that you still have the capacity to serve.”

Congress

Capitol agenda: Graham’s legacy faces uncertain future

Published

5 hours ago

July 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Allies to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham will be trying to cement his legacy Tuesday — in public ceremonies, closed-door meetings and with a Senate vote.

Two days of memorial services for Graham begin with a 10 a.m. Capitol Rotunda ceremony, followed by 2 p.m. services at the Washington National Cathedral. Bipartisan senators will attend along with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Services continue Wednesday at South Carolina’s First Baptist Church of Columbia where Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn will speak, according to his spokesperson, Jami LaRue.

Graham was known as an outspoken defense hawk and a champion of overseas alliances in a Republican party with a growing anti-interventionist wing. His allies will use this week to make an argument his assertive approach to American foreign policy should continue to influence the GOP.

Zelenskyy and Netanyahu — who lost in Graham a powerful Washington ally — will, for example, press officials in closed-door meetings for continued support of their respective military operations.

Zelenskyy is likely to lobby lawmakers to pass one of Graham’s biggest legislative goals: a sanctions measure aiming to pressure Russia’s oil and gas industry. He’ll address a meeting of the full Senate on Capitol Hill today and separately meet with Trump.

Senators later tonight will then take their first vote on the bipartisan legislation, formally named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is hoping for “a very big, bipartisan vote,” and to fast-track the bill for final passage this week.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democratic co-sponsor of the bill, told reporters Monday there would be a “strong coalition of bipartisan support” for the legislation despite some Democrats’ fears about a provision allowing Trump to impose tariffs up to 100 percent on countries purchasing significant amounts of Russian oil.

Sen. Ron Wyden, meanwhile, told reporters the only way to fix the bill is getting rid of the tariffs, although he declined to say if he would oppose to fast-tracking the legislation.

The Ukrainian leader also has work to do in courting the anti-interventionalist members of the Republican Party, who have long pressed GOP leadership to cut off U.S. military and economic assistance.

Netanyahu will also meet with Trump and officials Tuesday, and he’ll be eager to remind them of Graham’s outspoken support of Israel amid growing tension between the longtime allies.

The America First wing of the GOP — a foil to Graham’s foreign policy inclinations — are concerned Netanyahu during his visit will push the president into a new, more aggressive phase of the countries’ war with Iran, Megan and Myah Ward report.

What else we’re watching:

— THUNE DEFENDS SUMMER RECESS FROM TRUMP’S DEMANDS: Thune is trying to keep Trump from ruining summer recess. Fixated on the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, Trump is ramping up pressure on Thune and GOP senators and going after one of the most sacrosanct elements of the congressional calendar — the August recess — to try to force Republicans’ hands.

— CORNYN DETAILS LATEST DEMAND FOR BLANCHE VOTE: Sen. John Cornyn Monday said he won’t support Trump’s attorney general pick without a written modification to the tax settlement agreement Trump entered into with his own administration. Opposition from the Texas Republican could sink Todd Blanche’s nomination in a highly anticipated Judiciary vote scheduled for Thursday.

Jordain Carney and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.

Congress

Senate Democrats announce $40M ground game spend in 10 battlegrounds

Published

8 hours ago

July 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced it is spending $40 million on organizing, research and voter contact across 10 states as the party looks to take back control of the upper chamber.

The effort, branded as “Win The Senate” and shared first with Blue Light News, includes seven states where Democrats are on offense — Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Texas, Iowa and Florida — along with three where the party is playing defense — Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

The funds aren’t going toward expensive ad buys, but instead on-the-ground staff, new offices, volunteer programs and outreach to groups including Latino, Black and Alaska Native voters. The organizing and infrastructure investments could help counter a potential flood of GOP super PAC cash that many Democrats expect to come later in the fall.

Democrats need to gain four seats on net to take back the Senate this year, a task that until recently seemed like a longshot. Michigan and Georgia both went for President Donald Trump in 2024, and only one of the party’s target flips — Maine — was won by former Vice President Kamala Harris To win four seats, Democrats would need at least two in states that Trump won by double digits.

The party has faced complications in bluer states, including a messy primary in Michigan and a last-minute ballot swap in Maine after embattled nominee Graham Platner dropped out of the race this month. But polling has shown close races, or even slight leads for Democratic candidates, in red states such as Iowa, Alaska and Texas.

Democrats are hopeful that voters’ dissatisfaction with Trump and the economy will propel their candidates to victory in November — and that targeting a big Senate map gives them multiple shots at flipping enough seats.

“Democrats have expanded the battleground map and created multiple pathways to win a Senate majority, thanks to strong candidate recruitment, formidable campaigns, weakened Republican opponents and a winning message that focuses on the needs and demands of working families across America who have been left behind in Republicans’ priorities,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement. “Today’s announcement allows us to build on our momentum.”