Last week, I held a press conference at the Charlotte Social Security Administration Office to call out the Trump administration’s unprecedented and unacceptable firing of 7,000 SSA employees— nearly 12% of the agency’s staff— and the closure of a dozen of the agency’s offices, including four here in North Carolina. 

Since these cuts took place, we already have reports of wait times skyrocketing for SSA recipients trying to speak to someone at the agency, and the SSA website has had numerous outages, blocking millions of Americans from accessing their accounts. 

Hard working Americans who rely on Social Security spend decades paying into the system, and they are entitled to their benefits. I will not be silent while Donald Trump and Elon Musk try to take them away!

To watch the full press conference, click on the video above. 

This week, I joined airport workers from Charlotte Douglas International Airport at a press conference demanding better wages and working conditions. Charlotte Douglas was recently named the sixth busiest airport in the world. 2024 alone saw more than 596,000 takeoffs and landings from Charlotte, and contributed $40 billion in economic impact to North Carolina. 

This is only possible because of the tireless, dedicated work of our airport employees, who are often underpaid and overworked. These are the men and women we are asking to keep us safe, but they can’t even take care of themselves. They deserve better, and I will continue to fight for them to receive fair pay and benefits. You can watch my full remarks by clicking on the video above.

At the Care Ring’s annual Black Maternal Health Conference, I had the incredible opportunity to speak about the urgent need to address the maternal health crisis facing Black women in America. As a co-founder and co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, I have seen firsthand how systemic inequities, including inadequate access to healthcare, racial bias, and economic disparities, continue to affect the well-being of Black mothers and their families.

I emphasized that it is time for us to take action—by passing the Momnibus Act, increasing funding for healthcare programs, and pushing for a stronger commitment to maternal health education and training. These issues are not just statistics, but real lives. This is about ensuring that every Black mother, regardless of her background or where she lives, has access to the quality care she deserves.

We cannot wait any longer to tackle this crisis head-on. Even as the Trump administration continues to cut healthcare and research funding, I remain committed to being part of the solution to protect more mothers and their babies.

I was honored to be asked to speak at the National Association of Black Journalists regional conference that was held here in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. 

Conferences like these are so important as we face a pivotal moment for our government, our country, and our democracy. The current presidential administration is openly hostile to press and media in a way our country has never experienced before.

We have seen news outlets punished by the White House just for following their editorial standards, like the Associated Press experienced in February. The President of the United States has called negative press coverage against him illegal, threatening freedom of the press and even gone as far as saying the media is an “enemy of the American people”, not only attacking your journalism but putting the safety of every person in this room at risk.

A free press is a cornerstone of our Democracy, and I will continue to speak out against the President’s attacks on the press.

On Thursday, I released a statement on the administration's executive order on HBCUs.

I welcome all and every initiative to support our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities because supporting HBCUs is not a partisan issue. HBCUs are centers of achievement, excellence, and success, and have always punched above their weight, even in the face of historic underfunding.

In order to win the race in the 21^st century to remain the world’s leading innovative country, we must have robust investments in our HBCUs through bills like the FUTURE Act and HBCU PARTNERS Act, two bills I fought hard to have signed into law. We also need to ensure our state governments are fully funding our 1890s Land Grant HBCUs, something the executive order stressed the importance of.

But, I must also say, if the administration dismantles our U.S. Department of Education, the future for HBCUs will further be in question. Let’s work together to ensure these institutions of higher education always remain HBCU Strong.

My office is hosting two Q&A sessions for the ongoing FY'26 Community Funding Project submissions.

Session One—Monday, April 28 at 6:30 PM—Justice-Related Programs

Session one is for organizations submitting requests for federal funding for justice-related programs. This includes nonprofit and government organizations leading reentry programs, combatting the opioid crisis, and any other organization in justice-related spaces.

The link to join session one on Monday, April 28 at 6:30 PM can be found here.

Session Two—Monday, May 5 at 6:30 PM—Community Development Programs

Session two is for organizations submitting requests for federal funding for community development programs. This includes nonprofit food banks, housing organizations, public universities, public and private nonprofit HBCUs, and any other organization in community development spaces.

The link to join session two on Monday, May 5 at 6:30 PM can be found here.

That's where I'll lay my hat this week, folks! 

Sincerely,