SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
kirsten gillibrand
'Talk Is Cheap': 100 Arrested at Sit-In Demanding Schumer, Gillibrand Vote No on More Arms for Israel
"We call on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to follow the will of New Yorkers and vote to block weapons and bulldozer sales to Israel."
Apr 14, 2026
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning, MPower Change founder Linda Sarsour, and actor Hari Nef were three of around 100 people who were arrested outside the New York City offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Monday after the activists joined hundreds of anti-war campaigners in demanding the two Democrats vote against more weapons for Israel and block the Pentagon's $100 billion request to fund President Donald Trump's deeply unpopular war on Iran.
More than 300 people assembled outside the two US senators' offices, holding signs that read, "Fund People, Not Bombs" and "Stop Arming Israel."
“Schumer, Gillibrand, talk is cheap," the organizers chanted. "You’re sending bombs, how can you sleep?”
BREAKING: 300+ New Yorkers have taken over the offices of Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer demanding no more weapons for Israel.
Tell Congress: Fund people, not bombs. pic.twitter.com/7VuAj01bSZ
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) April 13, 2026
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), one of the groups that organized the protest, said descendants of Holocaust survivors were among those who were arrested for speaking out against the Israeli government and the unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran, which has killed more than 3,300 people in the Middle Eastern country, according to Iranian officials, and has spread to countries including Lebanon and Iraq.
In Lebanon, which Israel has insisted is not covered by a ceasefire deal reached last week, Israeli officials have said they are using their destruction of Gaza as a "model" as they bomb heavily populated areas, healthcare facilities, and other civilian infrastructure. At least 2,089 Lebanese people have been killed since March 2.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued attacking Gaza, killing more than 700 Palestinians since a ceasefire deal was reached six months ago as it joins the US in bombing Iran.
The protest was held as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) planned to bring Joint Resolutions of Disapproval up for a vote this week to block the transfer of bulldozers and hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military.
BREAKING: Hundreds of anti-genocide activists who were rallying outside the offices of Sen. Gillibrand & Schumer have mobed into the street on 3rd Ave in Midtown Manhattan.
They’re calling on Gillibrand & Schumer to vote YES on an upcoming vote to block a weapons sale to Israel. pic.twitter.com/MEbqcQrtpg
— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) April 13, 2026
JVP joined the Palestinian Youth Movement, Democratic Socialists of America, Sunrise Movement, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and other groups in demanding "yes" votes from Schumer and Gillibrand, who last July voted in favor of more weapons shipments to Israel.
“The Joint Resolutions of Disapproval is a crucial effort to stop the US from committing war crimes in Iran and aiding and abetting war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon," said Manijeh Moradian, a founding member of Raha Iranian Feminist Collective and a member of the Feminists For Jina Global Network, which also helped to organize the action. "As an Iranian American with loved ones who have survived more than a month of aerial bombardment, I am profoundly grateful to everyone in the United States who takes a stand and refuses to normalize the logics and instruments of mass death."
Artists who have been outspoken in their support for Palestinian and Iranian people and their criticism of Israel were among those who joined the civil disobedience action, including actors Hannah Einbinder and Taylor Trensch. US congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City Council members Alexa Avilés and Sandy Nurse also participated, and Chevalier and Avilés were among those arrested by the New York Police Department.
A poll taken by Quinnipiac University last year found that 60% of Americans want the US to suspend weapons transfers to Israel, and multiple surveys have recently found public support for Israel plummeting. The US-Israeli war in Iran is also broadly unpopular with Americans, with nearly six in ten saying late last month that it had gone too far.
“Our actions matter in shaping the course of history," said Manning. "Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have repeatedly supported weapons sales to Israel that are being used to commit atrocities across Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran. We call on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to follow the will of New Yorkers and vote to block weapons and bulldozer sales to Israel."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Senate Report Highlights 'Betrayal of American Seniors' by Trump
"The president has actively harmed the well-being of seniors and broken his promises... to stop inflation, not touch Social Security, and leave Medicaid alone."
Mar 26, 2026
US Sen. Kirsten Gillbrand on Wednesday unveiled a report detailing how President Donald Trump's attacks on Social Security, Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other programs are harming the very senior citizens whose strong support was so instrumental in his reelection.
The report—which was authored by the minority staff of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging at the direction of Gillibrand (D-NY), its ranking member—states that Trump "was tasked with leading a nation that is rapidly aging and facing critical decisions about the policies and resources needed to support a sizable demographic change."
"The United States must decide how to ensure the independence of its seniors, how to support caregivers, and how to assist entire aging communities," the publication continues. "After one year in office, President Trump has failed at his obligations to America’s seniors. In fact, the president has actively harmed the well-being of seniors and broken his promises to them—such as his promises to stop inflation, not touch Social Security, and leave Medicaid alone."
Trump has FAILED at his obligations to America’s #seniors. The president has actively broken his promises to stop inflation, not to touch #SocialSecurity, and to "leave #Medicaid alone." READ the minority report of the Senate Committee on Aging HERE::: www.gillibrand.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
[image or embed]
— NCPSSM (@ncpssm.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Gillibrand said in a statement introducing the report that it "shows that instead of fighting for seniors, the president has attacked the very programs that help them stay afloat."
Republicans' so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last July, ushered in the biggest cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in US history.
Gillibrand's report "focuses on eight harms that represent the Trump administration’s failure to support seniors during his first year in office."
According to the publication, Trump:
- Broke his promise to tame inflation and expressed disdain for concerns about the cost of living;
- Used the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to attack the infrastructure supporting Social Security;
- Decimated Medicaid so he could slash taxes for wealthy Americans;
- Repealed key nursing home safety standards after being lobbied by wealthy nursing home executives;
- Disrupted services authorized by the Older Americans Act, including nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels;
- Created new red tape for seniors to access food assistance as another way to fund tax cuts for wealthy Americans;
- Proposed steep cuts for nonprofits that protect people with disabilities and seniors; and
- Attempted to dismantle the agency that guards Americans against financial crimes, including ones that target older adults.
"As a result, American seniors are sicker, poorer, and more vulnerable today than they were just a year ago," Gillbrand said. "This is devastating. I’ll keep fighting for legislation that counteracts the president’s efforts to undermine these programs so that our seniors can age with dignity and respect.”
Other Democratic members of Congress including Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Reps. Melanie Stansbury (NM) and John Larson (NJ) pointed out how Trump administration policies—including those mentioned in this piece and others like the billion-dollar-per-day war on Iran—are harming seniors by spending money that could have been allocated for their benefit or, in the case of Stansbury, by noting GOP attacks on mail-in voting, upon which many seniors rely.
"Seniors today are having a very hard time getting their benefits.Why?Social Security has pushed out 7,700 workers since Trump took office."
[image or embed]
— Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) March 26, 2026 at 9:03 AM
"'America first' was bullshit," Duckworth said on Bluesky. "With the $200 billion Trump wants for Iran, we could fund a decade of free, universal preschool; provide seniors with Medicare dental, vision, and hearing coverage for three years; build 2 million+ affordable homes. He promised to end wars."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sen. Gillibrand, New Yorkers Counting on Affordable Housing Need Your Support
We need Sen. Gillibrand to come meet with us, listen to our stories, and then take them back to the negotiating table in Washington.
Oct 07, 2025
The cost to keep a roof over our heads is the highest recurring expense for every family. Yet, the primary source of support for people who need help with housing is on the chopping block in Congress right now.
When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) launched her presidential campaign, she attended our Follow Black Women town hall with 100 Black women. At the time, the rent was already too damn high, and homeownership was already out of reach. Fast-forward five years and rent is up nearly 20% overall, with some boroughs in the city seeing twice that increase. It has been over five years since we last heard from her. But given what’s happening in the federal government right now, it’s urgent that she come home and hear from us right away.
Community Voices Heard (CVH) member Fabiola is a mother of two who has lived in Housing and Urban Development-funded housing in Newburgh, New York for more than 20 years. She has dealt with health issues that are exacerbated by black mold, poor ventilation, and years of disrepair. She stays because there is literally nowhere else she can afford in Newburgh. She is not alone.
In 2023, the New York State comptroller reported that 2.9 million New York households were cost burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs. The NYC comptroller found in January 2024 that over half of all renter households—52.1%—were rent burdened.
We need each elected official at every level—DC, Albany, and City Hall—to get the message and prioritize housing policy that centers affordability, dignity, and opportunity for all Americans.
CVH member Dolores has lived in Wagner Houses in East Harlem since 2000. Before that, she was illegally evicted from her apartment in Washington Heights with her 6-year-old, and ended up homeless for nearly four years. NYC Housing Authority Section 9 has provided her and her son safe housing for 25 years. That's now under threat. She is not alone.
The number of New Yorkers aged 55 and older in the city's shelter system increased by approximately 250% between 2004 and 2017. As of 2024, more than 520,000 New Yorkers are on a wait list for affordable senior housing. Across the country, the national population of people over 65 experiencing homelessness is projected to triple by 2030. Regardless of who we voted for in 2024, I’m sure none of us voted for our seniors to spend their golden years on the streets.
Gillibrand is the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. She knows better than anyone that Republican congressional leaders have been working nonstop to unleash hell on working families. First they passed a 10-year budget plan that steals our healthcare, safety net, and public dollars and gives everything we’ve got away to greedy billionaires and corporations. And now they’re coming for the roofs over our heads—forcing us into homelessness if we can’t pay more, just to lock us up when we’re left with no choice but to sleep in cars or camp on sidewalks.
This isn’t a tall tale. It’s where we are headed—unless Gillibrand proposes a different path and uses her position to turn things around. For years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has helped get and keep Americans with low and fixed incomes housed. Donald Trump’s White House pushed for a 43% cut to rental assistance and housing vouchers. Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) House of Representatives passed an appropriations budget that cuts HUD’s fair housing activities by 67%. These nightmarish proposals are the starting point for negotiating a final appropriations budget. So we need Sen. Gillibrand to come meet with us, listen to our stories, and then take them back to the negotiating table in Washington.
Around 74% of Americans believe the current economic situation is making housing less affordable. And the current economic situation is hitting some of us especially hard. Black women lost 319,000 jobs in the public and private sectors between February and July, more than any other group. Yet despite being hit with the worst of it, Black women overwhelmingly want solutions for everyone. Regardless of race, gender, or zip code, we know that more affordable housing means stronger, safer, more stable communities.
We need each elected official at every level—DC, Albany, and City Hall—to get the message and prioritize housing policy that centers affordability, dignity, and opportunity for all Americans. That said, it’s long past time for Sen. Gillibrand—who ran for president on a platform revolving around a Family Bill of Rights—to step it up.
If she doesn’t fight for us today, it won’t matter if she comes calling to ask for a donation, an endorsement, or a vote tomorrow, because we will have lost our homes.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular