WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and six colleagues in introducing the Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act, legislation that would close loopholes allowing foreign nationals to quietly spend millions to influence American elections.
“Only Americans should get to participate in American elections—duh. The Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act would safeguard our electoral system from Chinese Communist Party-linked actors and anti-American foreign billionaires trying to game our democratic process,” said Kennedy.
“After years of hysteria over Russiagate and alleged foreign influence in American elections, it turns out Democrats have recently benefited from hundreds of millions of dollars in election-related contributions from a shadowy foreign billionaire, sidestepping the federal ban on foreign-national contributions in U.S. elections. This type of influence undermines democracy and self-government here in America, and its staggering scope should be alarming. I’m pleased to reintroduce this commonsense and critical legislation that will put an end to covert foreign influence on our elections and protect Americans’ voice in electing their leaders,” said Hagerty.
In recent years, investigations have revealed that a foreign billionaire, Hansjorg Wyss, funneled hundreds of millions of dollars through nonprofit networks to influence American elections and ballot initiatives—activity that underscores the urgent need to strengthen the federal ban on foreign-national participation in U.S. elections.
The Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act would:
- Prevent foreign nationals from skirting existing laws by funneling money through U.S.-based nonprofits or intermediaries to influence elections.
- Prohibit foreign funding for ballot harvesting, get-out-the-vote campaigns, and state ballot initiatives.
- Block foreign contributions to election administration activities and political advertising that promotes a U.S. party or candidate.
- Protect Americans’ free-speech rights by barring the government from improperly collecting or disclosing nonprofit donor information.
Hagerty’s bill strengthens the federal ban on foreign involvement in U.S. elections and reinforces Congress’s commitment to keeping America’s democratic process free from outside interference.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) co-sponsored the bill.
“Americans deserve to participate in elections that are free from foreign influence. We must ensure that foreign entities or adversaries are not able to interfere in American elections by funneling money and ballot harvesting through shadow networks. Foreign interference in the country’s elections process threatens the democracy at the heart of our nation,” said Blackburn.
“Foreign nationals should not meddle in American elections. I am proud to stand with Senator Hagerty in introducing commonsense legislation to ensure free and fair elections by eliminating foreign influences that seek to undermine our electoral process,” said Budd.
“Combating foreign interference in our elections is essential to preserving the integrity of our electoral process and upholding free and fair elections. American citizens should be choosing their representatives without undue influence. I’m proud to join Senator Hagerty in introducing this legislation and look forward to it advancing,” said Cruz.
“America’s elections should be influenced only by Americans. Foreign elites are pouring money into political campaigns to meddle with our election results and buy Americans off at the ballot box. I’m proud to cosponsor the Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act to close these loopholes and secure our elections,” said Lee.
“American voters should determine election outcomes, not foreign adversaries who want to put their finger on the scale. This legislation prevents foreign nationals from influencing our democratic process through financial contributions or organized ballot collection schemes. I'm pleased to support this straightforward measure that protects electoral integrity and ensures Americans remain in control of their own elections,” said Lummis.
“American elections are only for American citizens. Neither foreign countries nor their billionaires should be involved in or influencing our elections. The Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act will help protect the integrity of and confidence in our elections by stamping out foreign influence. This legislation is a critical step toward ensuring that the outcomes of our elections are decided solely by the voices of the American people, and I am proud to stand alongside Senator Hagerty in introducing this bill,” said Marshall.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“There is no place for foreign influence in American elections. By eliminating the potential for foreign nationals to fund elections operations we are one step closer to securing our democratic process. I am grateful to be working with Senator Hagerty on this issue and look forward to introducing the companion legislation in the House,” said Steil.
Full text of the bill is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Ideologically Motivated Violence Accountability Act, a bill allowing courts to consider whether a criminal committed their offense to punish others because of their ideological or religious affiliations when deciding whether to impose a capital sentence.
“Political violence has no place in America – period, full stop. But over the past few years, politically motivated violence has shaken our country to its core. Until our justice system sends a clear message to evil people who want to push their agenda through violence, these disgusting acts of hate will continue. My Ideologically Motivated Violence Accountability Act would give prosecutors and courts the tools they need to fight this dangerous and growing epidemic and protect innocent Americans’ ability to exercise their constitutional rights,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy’s bill would add ideological motivation as an aggravating factor during sentencing, allowing prosecutors and courts to more forcefully address the threat that violence targeting victims because of their political or religious affiliations poses to democratic society.
The legislation would define ideologically motivated violence to include crimes that target a victim “wholly or in part because of the victim’s actual or perceived political or religious beliefs, affiliation, expression, or activity” or to “make a public statement concerning any political or religious belief, practice, institution, group, ideology, event or public figure.”
Kennedy introduced his Ideologically Motivated Violence Accountability Act in the wake of the September 2025 assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA Founder and President, Charlie Kirk.
His bill also follows the assassination of former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman and assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Full text of the Ideologically Motivated Violence Accountability Act is available here.
Paul, Democrats block Kennedy effort to pay federal workers during shutdown, not Members of Congress
Nov 06 2025
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today attempted to pass three bills via unanimous consent that would have blocked pay to Members of Congress and restored pay to federal workers during the government shutdown on its 37th day. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) objected and blocked the bills from passing unanimously.
Key excerpts of Kennedy’s speech are below.
“Now, as everyone knows, folks aren’t being paid while we’re in a shutdown. Our air traffic controllers are not being paid. In fact, starting tomorrow, the airlines are going to be canceling flights. Our staff are not being paid. Federal employees are not being paid. . . . Our military is only being partially paid. . . . The only people that I can ascertain who are being paid are members of Congress.”
“Now, I’m not being paid. I said I wasn’t going to take a salary during the shutdown. Some of my colleagues are, and I’m not judging anybody. The purpose of this is not to judge anybody. I’m just saying that it’s time that Congress set an example.”
. . .
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and I’m going to offer up these two bills for the members’ consideration. So, starting with my first bill, which would say, members of Congress can’t be paid and don’t get back pay even after we end the shutdown. That’s called the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of my bill.”
After Paul objected to Kennedy’s first bill, the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act, Kennedy also attempted to pass his Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act. Paul objected, arguing that all federal employees who have worked through the shutdown should get paid.
In response, Kennedy attempted to pass Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) bill, the Shutdown Fairness Act, to pay all essential federal employees who have worked throughout the shutdown.
“I tried to pass my bill, preventing members of Congress from being paid. You can pretty it up all you want to, but Rand objected. . . . Now, having said that, I said I agreed with what Sen. Paul said. . . . If you’re deemed an essential employee right now, you’re working, but you’re not being paid, Sen. Johnson’s bill says we’re going to pay you. I voted for that. It also says if you’re furloughed, if you need to be deemed nonessential, you’re not working, but you will get paid once we come out of this shutdown. Does that make sense? That’s what Sen. Ron Johnson has proposed,” Kennedy explained. “And as I told my good friend Sen. Paul, I agree with it."
Murray then blocked Kennedy’s request, killing the effort to ensure federal employees would be paid during the shutdown.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Kennedy said in response to Murray’s objection. “I voted 14 times to open up the government. I can’t change the election. President Trump was duly elected president of the United States. . . . Some of my colleagues are upset about that. In fact, they hate the president so much that they’ve shut down the government. They hate him so much that if President Trump came out in favor of breathing to live, they would hold their breath.”
“It’s not rational, and I don’t know what else to do. All I can tell my Democratic friends is: Look, reasonable people disagree, and I get it, but you’re just being too emotional. You need to go drink a big old cold tall glass of ‘get over it’ and realize that President Trump is the president of the United States. Don’t shut the government down because of it,” Kennedy concluded.
Watch Kennedy’s full exchange with Paul and Murray here.
Watch Kennedy’s remarks from Nov. 5, 2025, regarding shutdown pay here.
Full text of Kennedy’s No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act is available here.
Full text of Kennedy’s Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act is available here.
Full text of Johnson’s Shutdown Fairness Act is available here.
Read more about Kennedy’s member pay shutdown bills in Fox News Digital here.
Read Kennedy’s op-ed on shutdown pay here.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor:
“Tomorrow, I will be bringing two bills before the Senate. They both have to do with the shutdown and congressional pay.
“The first bill is the No Shutdown Paychecks [to Politicians] Act. The second bill is the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act.
“The first bill would provide that, as long as we’re shut down—and I’ll explain why in a moment—as long as we’re shut down, no member of Congress can be paid. And the money will not be reimbursed at a later date or repaid at a later date.
“The second bill, to address any 27th Amendment concerns, will say, ‘During a shutdown, members of Congress will not receive their pay, but their pay will be escrowed, and they will receive it after the government is opened back up.’
“Look, we’re on day 36. Like you, Mr. President, I’ve heard a lot of rumors about, ‘We’re that close to reaching an agreement.’ We’ve been that close for a week. Frankly, I hope I’m wrong in saying this, but I don’t think we’re really that close. I wish we were, and I hope we are, but I think we’re going to be in the shutdown for a while longer. It doesn’t give me any joy to say that.
“In the meantime, none of our staff are being paid. No federal employees are being paid. I got some numbers in this morning that federal workers have had to borrow $365 million so far during this 36-day shutdown in order to just pay their rent. Our military is only being paid partially. Our air traffic controllers are not being paid. People who receive SNAP payments are only being partially paid. I don’t think anybody wants to see anybody go hungry in America. And that’s not a partisan statement; I think that’s a bipartisan statement.
“There’s precedent for this, Mr. President. Some may say, ‘Well, this violates the 27th Amendment.’ I don’t think it does. That’s why I’m offering two different flavors of bills. But in 2013, President Obama did the same thing that I’m doing now. They were in a shutdown, and President Obama supported legislation that said, ‘If you don’t open the government by this certain date, then you’re going to lose your paychecks.’
“And guess what? Members of Congress had an epiphany, and they found religion. They had a Damascene moment, and they opened up the government. And that’s all this bill will do.
“I’m not trying to grandstand. I wasn’t going to bring this bill. When I got back here Monday, I heard all the rumors, like everybody else, that we were close. And I hope we are close, but we’re not close enough. So, I’ll offer these bills tomorrow, and people can vote yea, or they can vote nay, but what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Full text of the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act is available here.
Full text of the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act is available here.
Read more about the bills in Fox News Digital here.
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
Kennedy supports Ernst, Markey resolution recognizing National Veterans Small Business Week
Nov 05 2025
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) joined a bipartisan U.S. Senate resolution led by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, recognizing November 3 through November 7, 2025, as National Veterans Small Business Week. This bill passed unanimously through the Senate on November 4, 2025.
“Louisiana’s veterans don’t stop serving when they take off the uniform—they keep leading by building businesses that power our communities and employ their neighbors. These men and women know what hard work and responsibility look like, and Washington should do everything it can to help them succeed,” said Kennedy.
“Ensuring veterans have every opportunity to pursue the American Dream is personal to me. They fiercely protected our freedoms during their service and, now as civilians, exemplify the American entrepreneurial spirit. During National Veterans Small Business Week, join me in celebrating these men and women who have served their country and now their communities,” said Ernst.
“In Massachusetts, over 24,000 veteran-owned small businesses make our Main Streets thrive. Through their tenacity, their discipline, and the leadership skills they learned through military service, veterans are uniquely capable of entrepreneurial and small business success. As Ranking Member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I will continue to work with my colleagues to support veteran small business owners and ensure our veterans have every tool and resource they need to grow their businesses, create jobs, and enrich our communities,” said Markey.
The bipartisan resolution would:
- Recognize the week of November 3 through November 7, 2025, as National Veterans Small Business Week.
- Emphasize the importance of reducing red tape and unnecessary regulations for small business owners.
- Express appreciation for veterans who continue serving the nation through entrepreneurship.
Each year, the Small Business Administration celebrates National Veterans Small Business Week to highlight the contributions of veteran-owned small businesses across America.
Full text of the resolution is available here.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today praised Louisiana State University for its contributions to Louisiana and the rest of the country.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“No matter what you read about LSU—and I know there’s been a lot in the news about our athletic program, and frankly, also about our academics—I just want you to remember this, and I know I’m biased: It truly is an extraordinary university. It’s an extraordinary university of student athletes . . . but it’s an extraordinary university in the collection of academics and academia, as well.”
. . .
“[Governor] Buddy [Roemer] used to say to me all the time, ‘Kennedy, here’s what you’ve got to understand about Louisiana.’ He said, ‘The key to Louisiana’s future is not who the governor is.’ He would say, ‘Kennedy, the key to Louisiana’s future is not who the U.S. Senator is. The key to Louisiana’s future is not the unemployment rate. We talk about it, and we worry about it, but that’s not the key to our future. The key to Louisiana is not the price of oil, as important as that is to an oil state. The key to Louisiana,’ Gov. Roemer would say, ‘is education.’ And education in Louisiana is Louisiana State University.
“So, to our media: I believe in the First Amendment right. You can say what you want. I value opinions, but opinions are like elbows: everyone has one. You’re entitled to share it, but I want you to think about and, hopefully, learn more about the LSU I know, which enjoys excellence not only in athletics, but excellence in academics.”
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, last week introduced two critical pieces of legislation that ensure Members of Congress do not receive a paycheck until the federal government reopens following a shutdown or lapse in appropriations.
The No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act ensures that Members of Congress do not receive a paycheck during a government shutdown. Members will also not receive back pay.
The Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act (S.3057) mandates that payroll administrators for each House of Congress keep Members of Congress' paychecks in escrow accounts during a government shutdown. The funds are only disbursed at the start of the next Congress.
“I don’t see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates as leverage or bargaining chips. My bills ensure Congress feels the same pain as the folks we’re failing to pay – our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal workers. If we can’t do our jobs and fund the government, we don’t deserve a paycheck – plain and simple,” said Kennedy.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI-1), Chairman of the U.S. Committee on House Administration, introduced the companion bill of the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“There is no reason our government should be shut down. Senate Democrats must do the right thing and vote to reopen the government. If service members, men and women of federal law enforcement, and other essential employees are working without pay during the Schumer shutdown, members of Congress should not be paid either,” said Steil.
Full text of the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act is available here.
Full text of the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act is available here.
Read more about the bills in Fox News Digital here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in LaPolitics’ Beltway Beat newsletter urging Senate Democrats to stop using the American people as leverage and vote to reopen the government.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Senators are supposed to work for the American people, but some of my Democratic colleagues think the inverse is true. They believe the American people work for them, and this shutdown proves that they don’t mind making some work without pay to further their political agenda.”
. . .
“Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have refused to reopen the government unless we allow them to spend an additional $1.5 trillion on woke projects, including a bailout for their broken Obamacare exchanges, insurance for illegal immigrants, and renewed funding for NPR and PBS.
“As Democrats continue to pursue this delusional spending spree, the American people are suffering. Air traffic controllers, our troops, and other federal employees are working without pay. Families who rely upon the National Flood Insurance Program to protect their homes have been unable to secure new policies. And Louisianians who receive food stamps don’t know whether they’ll be able to buy groceries next week.
“Unlike my Democratic colleagues, I don’t see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates as leverage. That’s why I’ve been working to make sure that only members of Congress feel the pain of a shutdown.”
. . .
“Most Democratic senators have refused to vote for these shutdown reforms because the loon wing of their party thinks it’s good to take the country hostage in exchange for socialist policies. But my sane Democratic colleagues know it’s wrong. It’s time for those Senators to buy a spine online and vote to reopen the country.”
Read Kennedy’s op-ed here.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) called on the Senate to block a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to kill roughly 453,000 North American Barred Owls.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“I know the bureaucrats at the Department of the Interior. I realize this: They're smarter and more virtuous than you and I are. I get that. But who appointed them God? Who appointed them God?
“Barred owls are expanding their habitat because the forests in the east have been cut down. That's called adaptive range expansion. And do you know what? Whether you believe in God or nature or whatever, that happens every single day in our ecosystem. It's a naturally occurring ecological phenomenon. It's a core behavioral characteristic of animals.
“The barred owls are not hurting anybody. They're just doing what nature teaches them to do. We're going to change nature? We're going to control our environment to this extent? We're going to pass DEI for owls? We're going to pass quotas for owls? Spotted owls, good. Barred owls, bad. But the barred owls won't lose their constitutional rights. They will kill them. They will kill 453,000 of them, dead as Jimmy Hoffa. Give me a break.”
. . .
“Ecosystems are like markets. They regulate themselves. Trying to change nature is like trying to have a federal government direct a free enterprise system. It won't work. It never has. And it never will. . . . But this, to me, is just bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid. I have rocks in my driveway that are smarter than this. . . . Life is hard. But it's a lot harder when you're stupid. Don't do it. Pass my resolution, and let's stop this.”
Background
- In 2024, President Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a plan to kill roughly 453,000 North American Barred Owls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Record of Decision for the Final Barred Owl Management Strategy outlines a plan to “swiftly reduce” the barred owl population to protect the northern spotted owl. The strategy takes a stepped approach, starting with smaller kill levels in the first three years before increasing.
- This plan is a misguided attempt to protect the spotted owl, a nearly identical owl species that has been in long-term population decline. The government should not be picking winners and losers in business or in the environment.
- The plan laid out by this rule is certainly not efficient, and the proposed plan will not even work. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist said of the plan, “to try to control barred owls across a large region would be incredibly expensive, and you’d have to keep doing it forever because if you ever stopped, they would begin to come back into these areas.”
- Estimates show this rule will cost the taxpayer around $1.35 billion. A $4.5 million contract was awarded in 2024 to kill about 1,500 barred owls over four years. The cost was $3,000 per owl killed, including babies.
- Kennedy introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under Congressional Review Act procedures to repeal the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s plan and save the Barred Owls.
Full text of the resolution is available here.
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
ICYMI: Kennedy in The Washington Times: Congress, EU must back lawful confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets
Oct 27 2025
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Washington Times, calling on the European Union to provide banks the legal certainty they need to confiscate frozen Russian assets so Ukraine can put the funds to use.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“European leaders met Thursday to discuss the next steps in their support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Ending this war will be complicated, but there’s one straightforward step the European Union can take to pressure Mr. Putin into peace: recognizing the lawful plan to thaw Russia’s frozen assets and send them to Kyiv.”
. . .
“If Russia is going to break international law to attack Europe, carve up sovereign Ukrainian territory and otherwise generate global chaos, its central bank shouldn’t reap the security and safety of Western investments. Confiscating this $300 billion is the punishing blow Mr. Putin deserves for embarking on this unlawful war in the first place. You break the peace, you buy it.”
. . .
“I introduced a bipartisan resolution with Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, and Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, to affirm Congress’ recognition of the legal validity of a plan to seize Russia’s frozen assets and distribute them in tranches of $10 billion to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“The resolution also urges European leaders to issue similar proclamations in support of the lawful confiscation of Russia’s assets and calls on President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to prioritize the sale of U.S. weapons to our allies that comply with our effort.
“The resolution will easily pass the U.S. Senate if Majority Leader John Thune, who controls the Senate floor, allows it to be considered.
“This war will end only if it becomes too costly for Mr. Putin to keep fighting. There’s no better way to drive up the costs than to use Russia’s money against him. It’s time to unfreeze the assets and finish the war.”
Read Kennedy’s op-ed here.
