Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and colleagues are sounding the alarm to President Donald Trump and Senate Republican Leader John Thune over the administration's concerted efforts to undermine the autonomy of independent agencies, citing the removal of Democratic leaders and the administration's refusal to nominate Democratic replacements to bipartisan leadership positions as required by statute. They write, "Congress designed these boards and commissions to be bipartisan and gave them the authority to regulate some of the most vital and significant parts of American life.

So that we may better understand the Federal Communications Commission’s actions regarding the Nexstar-Tegna transaction, please provide written responses to the following questions no later than April 13, 2026:

Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Ed Markey (D-MA) called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to address the safety risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in children’s toys. The Senators requested information on how the CPSC is working to protect children from the potential harms of AI in toys. The senators asked for answers to the following questions by January 31, 2026:

We write to request the [NTIA's] attention to a major question emerging within the BEAD Program. Under the latest BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice, many states likely will — or already do — have leftover BEAD allocations. Given the intent of Congress that these resources be used to expand broadband access nationwide, we respectfully seek clarity on how NTIA will ensure proper stewardship of non-deployment funds to close the digital divide. We respectfully request that NTIA provide: 

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr strongly opposing an effort by the FCC’s Republican majority to roll back rules put in place after the China-sponsored Salt Typhoon hack to better protect U.S. data networks from future attacks. Sen Cantwell wrote, "Your proposal to rescind this ruling would undermine the FCC’s ability to hold carriers accountable for protecting our nation’s critical communications infrastructure.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, criticized new reconciliation bill language released today by Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) which forces states receiving BEAD funding to choose between expanding broadband or protecting consumers from AI harms for ten years.

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said she will oppose the nomination of Olivia Trusty to be a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, citing Republicans’ breach of the longstanding practice to advance both Republican and Democratic nominees, and their plan to auction spectrum used for national security and aviation safety. “I am opposing the pending nomination of Olivia Trusty to serve as a Commissioner on the FCC and will be urging my colleagues to do the same,” wrote Sen Cantwell in a letter to Majority Leader Thune. “Although I respect the nominee’s professional background, when

We write to urge you to schedule a markup of the budget reconciliation text you released on June 5, 2025, instead of fast tracking these significant policies through a partisan floor process. If these policies are “bold and transformational” and will have an impact “for generations to come” as you argue, then they should be debated and considered through the regular order of our committee process.

Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) called on the Trump Administration to immediately release the $42 billion allocated for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.