Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Trump-Vance Administration’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran. A video of Kaine's full speech is available here. “If more war with Iran were the answer, we would have found it a long time ago,” Kaine said. “I took to the floor of the Senate immediately after the President started this war to sa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Seized Assets for Battlefield Equipment and Readiness (SABER) Act, which would amend current law to allow Ukraine to use assets confiscated from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other Russian sovereign assets for the purchase of military equipment to defend against Vladimir Putin’s war machine. “Th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), filed the following additional view in the Committee’s conference report for the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorizing Act (NDAA), which Kaine voted against advancing due to the Trump-Vance Administration’s ongoing illegal and foolish war with Iran: “I’ve been a proud member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for more than 13 years. My work on the Committee is the highlight of my Senate...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), applauded committee passage of his bipartisan UNLOCK AUKUS Act and Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Brazilian Amazon Act: “Working with our allies and partners is critical to addressing our shared challenges and ensuring peace and security—‘America alone’ will not make us safer or more secure. I’m proud that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today advanced a package of leg...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, introduced the Venezuela Democratic Transition Act, legislation that would push for free and fair elections in Venezuela this year. “President Trump ordered the U.S. military to capture Maduro and his wife but left his regime largely intact. Delcy Rodríguez and others are now rapidly consolidating power, with no ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Esther Coopersmith Award Act, bipartisan legislation that would establish an award named in honor of Esther Coopersmith at the State Department. Mrs. Coopersmith was a philanthropist and champion of women’s equality. The recipient of the Esther Coopersmith Award would be a member of the Civil or Foreign Service who has made meaningful contributions to advancing Women, Peace, and Security, a legal mandate t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (VA-03), Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and 14 other Members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding answers about delays in implementing the Interagency Regional Coordinator for Resilience (IRCR) Pilot Project. Congressman Scott, Senator Warner, and Senator Kaine secured language in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), enacted with bipartisan support, directing...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a former civil rights attorney, and Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, slammed the Senate’s vote to allow the Trump-Vance Administration to make major changes to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that would weaken due process and eliminate meaningful review of life-or-death decisions by immigration judges at the BIA: “Due process is a cornerstone of the Constitution and American democracy. But t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a former civil rights attorney, and Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that the Senate will vote this afternoon on their Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn an interim final rule by the Trump-Vance Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) that would summarily dismiss most appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). This proposed rule would weaken due process, el...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement regarding the agreement reached between the United States and Iran: “I welcome news of progress in talks to end the war between the United States and Iran, which has now passed the 100-day mark. I have the deepest appreciation for the thousands of U.S. servicemembers, including many from Virginia, who remain deployed to the region. “Whi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Unlocking Next-Generation Licensing and Opportunities for Collaborative Know-how for AUKUS (UNLOCK AUKUS) Act. The UNLOCK AUKUS Act would enable technologies that are currently controlled under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to be eligible for transfer under the AUKUS license-free environment. This would enhance collaboratio...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led the introduction of a Senate resolution that acknowledges and apologizes for the mistreatment of and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) individuals who have served in the uniformed services, as civil servants, or in the Foreign Service. Companion is being led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Re...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Ranking Member of the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower, released the following statement regarding SASC’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): “I’ve been on the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2013, and every year, I look forward to working with my colleagues to craft an annual defense bill that supports those in uniform and protects our nat...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a new report finding that Virginian families have had to spend $2,600 more on everyday essentials under Trump, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) underscored the devastating effects of Trump’s reckless economic policies, including his tariffs and war in Iran. “While Virginians across the Commonwealth are facing high energy, grocery, housing, and health care costs, the president has done nothing to ease the pain,” said the senators. “Once again, Tr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $1,000,000 in federal funding for three new mixed-income and mixed-use communities in St. Paul’s Redevelopment Project in Norfolk. Specifically, this funding is awarded to the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority to redevelop two low-income housing communities in the Young Terrace and Calvert Square neighborhoods, as well as a parcel of land on East Freemason Street. Once finished, each of these transit-...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05) introduced the Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act, legislation that would provide funding for school districts to enhance and or establish mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and school leaders with less than two years’ experience. “The success of future generations and our overall economy...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) led their colleagues in pressing the Trump-Vance Administration on the impacts that foreign aid cuts and the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) have had on the United States’ ability to protect Americans from Ebola and hantavirus. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, the senators raise concerns that the dismantlin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), led their colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., calling on him to reverse HHS actions that have weakened the United States’ public health infrastructure and threatened response to global health outbreaks. The senators’ letter follows an abnormal hantavirus outbreak, and a growing Ebola epidemic. The senators slam the Trump administration fo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the State Department Integrity and Transparency Act, legislation to strengthen the State Department workforce and ensure senior State Department officials are selected based on merit. This bill would help ensure positions are staffed by nonpartisan, experienced, and thoroughly vetted foreign policy professionals. “From counterin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) raised concerns with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) about federal agencies’ lack of progress in improving retention of federal employees who are military spouses. The senators urged OPM to fulfill commitments that they and other agencies have previously made to help retain military spouses. The senators wrote, “Military service is shouldered by the entire family, with partners and spouses, kids, parents, and othe...Continue Reading