Friends,

Last week in Washington came with shocking news from The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg that he had accidentally been added to a Signal group chat between our nation’s top security officials discussing a pending attack on Yemen. “Signalgate” dominated the week — and the calls to my office from outraged constituents.

In addition, I joined my sorors from Congress and across the country last week for Delta Days at the Nation’s Capital, participated in an Energy Subcommittee on meeting our growing energy demands, fought back against the backlash to progress, and more. Read on for what you missed. 

ADDRESSING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

I was stunned and outraged to see top national security officials from the Trump Administration — including the Vice President, Secretaries of Defense and State, National Security Advisor, and the Directors of National Security and the CIA — cavalierly discussing strategic national security plans and clearly classified information on an unsecure texting channel. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee last Congress, anytime I discussed national security plans that could lead to the discussion of classified or strategic information, I had to do so in a sensitive compartmented information facility (“SCIF”), leave all electronic devices in a secured location, and could not take notes of the conversation. These procedures are designed to protect sensitive national security discussions from hacking or foreign surveillance.

While the officials involved shifted blame to the reporter, they should have known better than to discuss a planned attack on Yemen or any other sensitive national security information outside of a SCIF, let alone in an unsecure Signal chat to which a reporter was inadvertently invited. Such recklessness puts our servicemembers in danger.

I received numerous calls from constituents who share my outrage, and I joined the New Democrat Coalition in calling for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign. 

We’ve known Secretary Hegseth is the most unqualified Secretary of Defense to date, but Signalgate and stories over the weekend about Hegseth bringing his wife to sensitive meetings and hiring his brother to work at the Pentagon demonstrate just how incompetent and incapable he is of operating at the level of discretion our nation’s servicemembers deserve. These incidents only raise further questions about the amount of security, or lack thereof, this Administration employs to handle sensitive or classified materials on a day to day basis.

If the President, as he claims, puts Americans and our national security first, he should fire Secretary Hegseth immediately.

Similarly, Elon Musk’s DOGE has weakened our national security interests through layoffs and dismantling programs and agencies (like USAID) that serve our diplomatic and national security interests and our veterans. As a member of Congress representing Fort Gregg Adams (one of the most important Army bases that headquarters several programs critical to logistics)  and Fort Barfoot (a Virginia Army National Guard installation), I oppose efforts by the Administration that disrupt any defense operations.

While the Trump Administration focuses solely on protecting their own and undermining our national security, I remain focused on our military readiness and quality of life for our servicemembers, military families and veterans. On Friday, I joined Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03), Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Jennifer Kiggans (VA-02) for the annual Hampton Roads Navy League Luncheon. I am proud to be part of the Hampton Roads delegation, a region that includes the world’s largest naval installation and a hub for the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet at Naval Station Norfolk, and several shipyards critically important to our maritime readiness.

HONORING OUR HISTORY … AND OUR PROGRESS

As a child, I was a nerd. A proud nerd. Specifically, a history nerd. My love of history was sparked by my parents’ stories of life growing up during the Great Depression in the Jim Crow South. These stories impressed upon me two main lessons:

• The history of our country is the struggle to make the ideals upon which it was founded with the reality upon which it was founded — and how to make those ideals true for everyone; and
• A good education is key to achieving the ideals. 

Last week, I outlined the role of — and struggle for — a good education in my own family history in an op-ed in response to Presdient Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

In the 1880s, my great-grandfather founded a school in his rural Alabama town because Black children did not have access to a good education. My father attended that school. My mother, the third youngest of 14 children, moved away from Mississippi in the 1950s in search of more educational opportunities. My parents became educators themselves at Virginia State University, instilling in me the value of a good education from a very young age. It is because of my parents and their sacrifices that I am who I am today, representing you in Congress.

As a state legislator, I witnessed firsthand how states cannot make up for the funding that the Department of Education provides. The Department ensures that students with disabilities get access to the services they need to succeed and that students from rural or low-income communities are not left behind. The Department also enforces the Civil Rights Act, filling in gaps where state and local governments lack the will or ability to provide every child what they need to learn.

Over the weekend, I honored another educational trailblazer and advocate who worked to ensure children in Brunswick County got a good education during Reconstruction at the Fourth Annual James Solomon Russell Day Dinner. Born enslaved in 1857, Russell lived a life of service as a priest, educator, and the founder of what would become St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville. I spoke of the importance of Russell’s work — and the necessity to tell his story in the midst of the Trump Administration’s efforts to erase legacies like his. I also announced the introduction of my H.R. 2141 to rename the Lawrenceville Post Office to the “James Solomon Russell Post Office.” 

Sponsored by the James Solomon Russell-Saint Paul's College Museum and Archives, the dinner occurred against the backdrop of another Trump Administration Executive Order threatening the very existence of the Smithsonian Museums of African American History and Women’s History — and museums like them that tell stories from American history too often untold. I also spoke at the Centennial Conference of the American Association of University Women-Virginia. For over a century, AAUW-VA has worked to advance women’s education and rights.

The threat of the President’s executive orders cast a pall over both events as a total affront to the tireless work of trailblazers like James Solomon Russell and the women of AAUW to educate and advance the rights of all people. I will not sit by while this Administration rolls back that hard-fought, hard-won progress.

MY BRIGHT SPOTS: DELTA DAYS ON THE HILL

Since April 1992, I have been a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Founded in 1913 by 22 young women at Howard University dedicated to public service, whose first public act was participation in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington on March 3, 1913. Continuing that legacy, Deltas from across the country converged on the Hill for the 36th Annual Delta Days at the Nation’s Capital — a legislative conference and advocacy day of action. This year’s theme, “Forward with Fortitude: Defending Our Rights, Advocating for Justice,” fits the moment we find ourselves in 112 years after that first public act. I was excited to join my fellow sorors from Congress and across the country as we fight back against efforts to roll back our progress.

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