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Brian Schatz

@schatz.bsky.social
224K followers 586 following 507 posts

United States Senator for Hawaii. Climate hawk. Chief Deputy Whip.

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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
It’s the Age of Electricity and America Isn’t Ready www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Opinion | It’s the Age of Electricity and America Isn’t Ready
Our grid is too old and our supply of electricity too small. If we don’t meet this moment, we will face an impoverished future.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
1) Medicaid cuts worse now 2) Freedom caucus wants deeper cuts 3) Tax cuts for wealthy in tact 4) Cruz makes broadband funding contingent on NOT regulating AI 5) SALT Republicans to get rolled 6) Bill is like a rotting fish 7) Mike Lee making second run at public lands selloff
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
It is not in the national security interests of the United States to militarily attack Iran. The best way to ensure regional stability and protect American lives is to reach a negotiated agreement. It is on President Trump to avert a regional catastrophe
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jae holzman @jael.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
good morning. these are real images
fox chyron: trump tariffs will make you a manfox chyron : Trump’s manly tariffs, pundit believes it could reverse crisis in masculinity
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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Tangible, direct action from Sen. Schatz. We love to see it. @schatz.bsky.social
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Axios @axios.com · 07/04/2025
SCOOP: Sen. Brian Schatz is expanding his holds on Trump's nominees to include an additional 50 names — along with a batch of bipartisan foreign affairs bills.
axios.com
Scoop: Schatz expands holds to more than 300 Trump nominees
He's intensifying his protest of what he calls the White House's "lawlessness."
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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Trump went to a LIV golf tournament instead of attending the dignified transfer of four U.S. Army soldiers who died in Lithuania. If you're wondering why this is so disgusting and insulting, I wrote about my time in the Army doing dignified transfers here: www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
My statement on voting no against arms transfers to the Netanyahu government.
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Worried about a recession? This sheet-pan water pie will make you feel like it's the 1930s again.
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Luke Russert @lukerussert.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Embracing “the president who raised the price of beer” is almost as incredible as the GOP killing free markets. www.reuters.com/business/tru...
reuters.com
Trump administration adds beer, can imports to 25% US aluminum tariffs
The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday revised President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on derivative aluminum products to include all beer and empty aluminum can imports.
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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
NEW: SENATE votes to END Trump's emergency tariffs on Canada, 51-48. Four Republicans joined Democrats: MCCONNELL RAND PAUL MURKOWSKI COLLINS The vote was not subject to a filibuster. House leaders are expected to block a vote. Resolution does NOT have a veto-proof majority BUT resistance grows
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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Ds in the minority but this week: *Won a rare vote to defeat a rule in bipartisan opposition to Speaker Johnson’s plan to nuke effort to allow new parents to vote by proxy. *Won vote to overturn Trump’s emergency tariffs on Canada. *Booker controlled Senate floor ~25 hours *Won Wisconsin court race
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
House Rs just passed the budget resolution, the first step in their process to enact a bill that'd kick millions off Medicaid & cut SNAP down to just $1.60 per person per meal on avg while cutting taxes for the top 0.1% by $278k - all while increasing the debt 🧵on what's to come and WHERE TO FIGHT
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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
So House Republicans voted on a budget tonight that would cut ~$800B+ from Medicaid. Among other things, but it’s important to understand how much that will hurt every single one of us. (Spoiler: they know all of this - but they hate you.)
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
This vote was to start the process of the cuts. It WILL come back for a final vote. There are some chances to slow or potentially stop it. Need constant pressure on GOP Focus on GOP swing seats & key committees. Energy & Commerce is where the Medicaid fight will go down. Ways&Means for tax fight.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
indivisible.org/resource/cal...
indivisible.org
CALL NOW: Tell your Republican Senator You Don’t Want To Pay The Price For Their Billionaire Tax Breaks
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Check this out act.indivisible.org/signup/all_i...
act.indivisible.org
Go all in this March recess to stop the Trump Tax Scam
Thanks to Indivisibles and allies, we put Republicans on notice during the first congressional recess of the year by organizing nearly 200 events across the country and directly challenging them for s...
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Alison Byrne Fields @byrnefields.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
This tool is amazing and gives you the numbers to explain the human impact — at the district level. democrats-budget.house.gov/legislation/...
democrats-budget.house.gov
The Republican Rip Off
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Depending on how it’s written probably. We need to assume this is not subject to filibuster for organizing purposes.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Yes good point. It’s not the dollar amount it’s the human impact.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
🙏🏼
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
R’s have the votes in the House to cut Medicaid. That could/should change. Voting for the “framework” might be easier than voting to actually enact Medicaid cuts, but R’s won tonight. We will fight this in Senate but it will come down to people outside of the capitol being sufficiently pissed off.
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Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
NEW SHIFT KEY Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) has emerged as an early leader of the anti-Trump 2.0 opposition. He’s also a longtime observer of climate politics. He joins us to talk about how Dems plan to fight back and what climate advocates and clean energy firms need to do for the next four years:
heatmap.news
What Senator Brian Schatz Wants Climate Advocates to Know
Rob and Jesse talk Trump, contracts, and climate messaging with the lawmaker from Hawaii.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
I’m working all weekend. But in the meantime the Senate is gaveled out. Which delays Republican nominees. Which is the point.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Agree
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Right in exchange for gaveling out until TUESDAY at 530pm. If we did it by the book (without UC) those two nominees would be done by Friday. 30 hours from 230 ish on Thursday, then 2 more hours for SBA. Had we stayed in through the weekend they could’ve gotten 3-4 more cabinet confirmations!
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I’m happy to do this as long as tactical disagreements don’t curdle into purity tests. Seriously I sort of enjoy it and it helps to keep me thoughtful. And there are of course some things I’m just not going to put on social because that’s unwise. Stay in it.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
That’s because people are selling snake oil not because that’s what’s happening.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Yeah trying to do those things. 🤙🏽
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I take this point. I mean I don’t think it looks like nothing but I see what you are saying. It has been rough. Just consider the possibility that you yelling at me to do procedural things is maybe not your best way to fight this either. We need to build our movement together. 🤙🏽
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
This is untrue fyi the 30 hours on both plus a few hours were required. It’s true that it was a UC. To have things go SLOWER.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
There are no military nominations pending and when they get past the cabinet those tactics are available to members, like my blanket hold on state department nominees. But alas it seems some people are very very determined to make this the thing. I just don’t think it’s the thing.
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Valor Danielle Sassoon, Acting U.S. attorney for SDNY - refuses to drop Adams charges and resigns John Keller, Acting head of DOJ Public Integrity Section - refuses and resigns Kevin Driscoll, Acting head of DOJ Criminal Division - refuses and resigns www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
nbcnews.com
Top federal prosecutor in N.Y. resigns after refusing to drop Adams charges
Two top prosecutors in Washington also resigned over the DOJ order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
These are military noms I promise I’m not making stuff up.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Ok this is getting goofy. I’m trying to respond to this with my best explanations but I have to go back to the fight now.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I’m personally working this all day every day and I don’t think putting the Senate into a quorum call cracks the top fifty useful things to do.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Appreciate it. Get some rest. Let’s kick some ass tomorrow.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
There was a time when all nominees were subject to a 60 vote threshold. Now it’s 51. That is the main difference.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
But for the cabinet, they have the votes, and they will devote the floor time, so we can delay but not meaningfully.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
We can slow down the sub cabinet and other nominees because we can force them to spend two hours per nomination and it’s impossible to do say 1,000 noms at 2 hours each so you need UC to deviate from the 2 hour rule..
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
It isn’t. Quorum is 51 and they have 53. So if we left they could just do everything without us. Again, if people are selling a magic procedural button it is snake oil.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
We forced a quorum call and that delivered a twelve minute delay and then we went in and out of executive session for ten votes. No one noticed. And then they got their confirmation on exactly the same timeframe. If someone is selling you a magic procedural button it is snake oil.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
There is literally HIV being transmitted from mom to baby because of the illegal shutdown of US AID and now Trump’s State Department wants to spend 400 million dollars on Tesla cyber trucks. This is not about efficiency. It’s a smash and grab.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Being in a think tank and online bubble causes people to overestimate the popularity of their ideas. You win, and you think it’s because of your ideas, not in spite of them. For instance, it is widely unpopular to illegally cut medical research.
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John Green @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
When TB treatment is interrupted, patients are far more likely to develop drug-resistant TB, which is a catastrophe both individually (the disease becomes harder to cure) and societally (we're allowing the bacteria millions of new opportunities to develop further resistance). Many people will die.
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John Green @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Just received this photo from a friend of a warehouse in Kinshasa. These are tuberculosis medications--ALREADY PAID FOR--that aren't being distributed due to the Trump Administration's stop work order. TB treatment is being interrupted in SO many patients around the world. What does that mean? (1/2)
Photograph of a warehouse in Kinshasa where unboxed tuberculosis medications are going undistributed due to the stop work order by the Trump Administration.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
The Congressional Research Service is telling Congress that Trump cannot shut down US AID. Will they - and more specifically Republicans - listen, and act?https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12500
Can the President Abolish, Move, or Consolidate USAID? Because Congress established USAID as an independent establishment (defined in 5 U.S.C. 104) within the executive branch, the President does not have the authority to abolish it; congressional authorization would be required to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID. The Secretary of State established USAID as directed by Executive Order 10973, signed on November 3, 1961. The agency was meant to implement components of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA, P.L. 87-195), enacted on September 4, 1961.  Section 1413 of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Division G of P.L. 105-277, established USAID as an “independent establishment” outside of the State Department (22 U.S.C. 6563). In that act, Congress provided the President with temporary authority to reorganize the agency (22 U.S.C. 6601). President Clinton retained the status of USAID as an independent entity, and the authority to reorganize expired in 1999. Congress has not granted the President further authority to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID since.
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I’m right next to him and he’s so great!
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Brian Schatz @schatz.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
This is morally indefensible and strategically bankrupt. It’s just letting people die on purpose and it makes us weaker in every way.
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