Dear neighbor,

Republicans were “busy” this week trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico. That’s right – instead of working to lower costs or stop Trump’s indiscriminate tariffs, my colleagues across the aisle were following the lead of their most extreme MAGA members.

It’s absurd. But even more crazy is Trump taking a growing U.S. economy and throwing it into reverse with negative GDP growth. He could have spent the past 100 days playing golf, and the economy would be better off than it is today. I recently went on NBC to explain how Trump’s priorities are morally wrong and fiscally stupid, watch below:

To continue his streak of recklessness, Trump wants to slap a 100% tariff on American movies made outside of the United States. This will make it even more expensive to make and watch movies. Instead of this ridiculousness, we should create federal tax incentives to keep the entertainment industry making films here in America.

What Trump and Republicans are doing hurts our country. In particular, cutting billions from Medicaid will further devastate our economy and rip away health care from millions of Americans. I'm going to keep fighting back against all of this, but this is going to be a team effort – your voice matters, keep making it heard.

REAL ID REQUIREMENTS: To fly domestically or get into certain federal facilities, you now must be REAL ID compliant. This means you need a REAL ID or another acceptable form of ID like a passport. Get REAL ID ready: dhs.gov/real-id.

CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE: The Congressional App Challenge’s 2025 rules and guidelines are now available on my website. The deadline to submit your app online is October 30, 2025, at 12 PM ET.

LA CONGRESSIONAL AIDE OPENING: My office is seeking a veteran, Gold Star Family member, or Active-duty spouse for a 2-year paid position in our LA district office. For more information and to apply, visit here.

DEBRIS REMOVAL DEADLINES: Private property owners impacted by the fires who have opted out of the government-sponsored debris removal program, or did not opt-in to that program, must obtain a fire debris removal permit and hire a licensed contractor by June 1, 2025. Permit can be received here. Fire debris must be removed by June 30, 2025. If a permit or cleanup is not completed by this date, the property may be declared a Public Nuisance. For more information and recovery resources, visit recovery.lacounty.gov.

If you need help with a federal agency, don’t hesitate to contact my LA office at (323) 651-1040.

I look forward to updating you again soon. 

Warmly,

Ted