WASHINGTON – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) urged U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to give serious consideration to Louisiana’s shipyards, among the best in the country, as the Department of War seeks to bolster our nation’s shipbuilding capacity.
“We write to encourage the Department of War to give deliberate and sustained consideration to small and mid-sized domestic shipyards, including those in South Louisiana, when awarding shipbuilding, repair, modernization, and sustainment contracts, as the Department works to restore America’s shipbuilding capacity and strengthen the nation’s defense industrial base,” the lawmakers began their letter to Hegseth.
“Louisiana’s small and mid-sized shipyards already operate in a manner consistent with the Department’s stated aim to prioritize speed, innovation, and a ‘commercial-first’ mindset in defense acquisition. . . . That operating model enables them to adapt quickly to evolving requirements, integrate new technologies, and deliver complex vessels at pace—capabilities that directly support the Department’s effort to modernize procurement and strengthen the defense industrial base,” they continued.
“Equally important, these yards anchor a strong and sustained maritime workforce. South Louisiana’s shipbuilding workforce is deep, experienced, and generational—comprised of welders, fitters, naval architects, engineers, electricians, machinists, and other skilled tradesmen. Investing in stable, long-term contract opportunities helps grow this workforce, preserves productive careers, and ensures capacity to deliver for warfighters today and in the decades to come,” the legislators added.
“We appreciate the Department’s leadership on these issues and welcome continued engagement on how best to ensure the full American shipbuilding industrial base is positioned to support national defense,” the Louisiana Republicans concluded.
Background:
- In June 2025, Kennedy questioned then-Acting Chief of Naval Operations James W. Kilby on China’s rapid shipbuilding pace and the United States’ failure to keep up, observing that “we’ve retired more [ships] than we’ve built” in 20 years.
- Kennedy also highlighted the critical role that private American shipyards, including those in Louisiana, should play as the U.S. military works to catch up and surpass China.
View Kennedy, Cassidy and Higgins’ full letter here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and six colleagues in introducing the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act, which would bar foreign individuals who commit or support violations of religious freedom from obtaining U.S. visas.
“Secretary Rubio is doing the right thing by blocking the monsters who trample on other people’s religious liberty from receiving visas. Now, it’s up to Congress to make these important Trump administration reforms permanent. I’m proud to help Senator Budd introduce the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act to protect our country from those who don’t respect our First Amendment freedoms,” said Kennedy.
“Nigeria is just one of many examples where non-state actors and terrorist groups are carrying out kidnappings and killings of Christians and other religious minorities. It is entirely unacceptable for the US, a nation founded on the principle of religious freedom, to allow such foreign nationals into our country. By codifying the Trump administration’s directive to bar these malign actors from obtaining US visas, we are establishing robust consequences for violators and sending a loud and clear message to the rest of the world that America will not tolerate any attack on religious freedom,” said Budd.
This legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict visa issuance to individuals who have directed, authorized, supported, or carried out violations of religious freedom. It would also expand visa ineligibility to terrorist or non-state actors responsible for religious persecution, in addition to foreign government officials.
Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) cosponsored the legislation.
“Religious freedom is a God-given right, and our nation should never open its doors to those who persecute people of faith. If you direct, support, or take part in religious persecution, you should never be allowed to enter the United States,” said Lankford.
“Any foreign official that is involved in the persecution of Christians, in Nigeria or anywhere else, has no business setting foot in the United States. This bill builds upon the decisive actions taken by Secretary of State Rubio and President Trump,” said Cotton.
“Our great country was founded on protecting the God given rights of man. Our nation’s Constitution guarantees it. I am proud to support the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act which prevents religious terrorists and oppressors of Christians and other religious minorities from ever entering our great nation,” said Moody.
“The United States should not be a safe haven for those who persecute people of faith. The Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar visas for individuals who have directed, supported, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” said Blackburn.
Background:
In December 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new policy allowing the U.S. Department of State to restrict visa issuance to individuals who have committed severe violations of religious freedom.
The policy followed reports of brutal violence against religious minorities, including kidnappings and killings carried out by terrorist and non-state actors. While originally applied in response to events in Nigeria, the policy may apply to any foreign individual responsible for religious persecution.
The Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act would:
- Codify the State Department’s authority to deny visas to individuals who commit or support violations of religious freedom.
- Expand visa ineligibility to terrorist and non-state actors involved in religious persecution.
- Require the Secretary of State to make publicly available the names of individuals deemed inadmissible, with a limited exception for foreign policy considerations.
The full bill text is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Advocate explaining how Congress is working to bring down the cost of living for American families.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“It’s a new year, but many Louisianians are still missing the old prices that they were paying before President Joe Biden took office.
“The Biden administration’s bad policies drove up prices by 21% in just four years. In turn, the average Louisiana household had to spend an additional $28,426 to cover the cost of inflation over the course of Biden’s four years in office.
“It’s a mess, but Republicans in Washington have already begun to clean it up.”
. . .
“We’re off to a great start, but Congress still has a lot of work to do to keep wages growing and return a sense of normalcy to the pocketbooks of Louisianians. We need to address our broken health care system, bolster our immigration policies, reform our burdensome regulatory state and address the soaring price of housing.
“To do any of this, though, we need 60 votes in the Senate. You don’t have to be a senior at Caltech to know that most of my Democratic colleagues hate President Trump. They’ll never cast a vote to help the Republican agenda, and that’s their right.
“The only way around the 60-vote requirement is to use the 1974 Congressional Budget Act’s reconciliation process. This procedure allows us to pass legislation with 51 votes — just like we did with the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
. . .
“Prices may not soon return to where they were before President Biden destroyed the cost of living in America, but the right policies can ensure that Louisianians have the income they need to breathe easy in this new year.”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
Kennedy welcomes the March for Life to Washington: “Thank you so much for standing strong for life”
Jan 23 2026
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released the following statement to recognize the 2026 March for Life:
“I want to welcome the tens of thousands of pro-life Americans marching in Washington, D.C., today. Thanks for coming, especially those who traveled here from Louisiana.
“In Louisiana, we believe all life is precious. All life. Whether a person is 87 years old or 87 seconds old, everyone—all of us—were made in the image of God. You don’t need to be religious, like I am, to know this. All you have to do is watch a baby dance on an ultrasound or hold a newborn in your arms, and you will know, not just in your head, but in your heart, that every single life is precious.
“Too many elected officials ignore this reality. They describe human beings as ‘clumps of cells’ to justify barbaric practices, including abortion up to the point of birth. But you know—and I know—the truth, and your fearless calls to defend those lives do not go unnoticed.
“So, thank you so much for standing strong against abortion. Thank you so much for standing strong for life. Please pray for our country, for our unborn babies, and for their courageous mothers. May God bless you all and keep you safe during this March for Life.”
Background
Kennedy has consistently earned an A+ rating on the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America National Scorecard for his dedication to protecting the rights of unborn babies.
Kennedy recently joined Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) in introducing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would protect victims and bolster parental rights in cases where minors cross state lines to receive an abortion.
Kennedy has introduced several other pro-life bills in the 119th Congress, including:
- The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill Kennedy introduced alongside Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), to require health care providers to preserve the lives of infants who survive an abortion with the same care they would give to any other child born at the same gestational age.
- The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, a bill Kennedy introduced with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and colleagues to permanently stop the flow of federal funding for abortion by establishing a single, government-wide standard that bars federal tax dollars from financing abortions.
- The Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act, a bill Kennedy introduced with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) to prohibit federal departments, agencies and offices from conducting, funding or approving research involving aborted human fetal tissue.
- The Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act, a bill Kennedy introduced with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to permanently codify the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy (formerly the Mexico City Policy), which forbids the funding of foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortions.
Watch Kennedy’s statement here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released the following statement in support of President Donald Trump’s comments denouncing the United Kingdom’s deal to give away the Chagos Islands, a decision that would jeopardize the safety of a joint U.S.-U.K. military base.
President Trump today wrote on Truth Social that “[t]here is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
“President Trump is absolutely right to condemn the United Kingdom’s down-to-the-marrow stupid decision to give away the Chagos Islands—including our joint military base. There’s no excuse for sidelining American security and handing a massive gift to China just to appease woke critics—and that’s exactly what the U.K. government has done with this deal. It’s not too late to stop it, and I’m proud to stand with the Trump administration in all their efforts to block this nonsense,” said Kennedy.
Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, is home to a joint U.S.-U.K. military base—one of the only bases in the world where the U.S. military can reload submarines.
Despite the base’s importance, the United Kingdom has sided with left-wing activists by moving to cede control of the Chagos Islands to the small island nation of Mauritius.
Mauritius, located more than 1,200 miles from the Chagos Islands, has become increasingly aligned with the Chinese Communist Party. Its prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, has signaled his intent to bolster diplomatic relations with China, once relaying that President Xi Jinping told him, “China never forgets its friends.”
Background:
Kennedy has long condemned the United Kingdom’s planned giveaway of the Chagos Islands.
- Shortly after the proposed deal’s announcement in October 2024, Kennedy released a statement lambasting the decision as “dangerous and irresponsible,” making him one of the chief American opponents of the Chagos giveaway.
- The same month, Kennedy authored an op-ed in The Hill further denouncing the move, and wrote a letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeking answers about the Biden administration’s involvement in the deal.
- On four occasions from November 2024 to February 2025, Kennedy took to the U.S. Senate floor to urge the U.S. and U.K. governments to abandon the deal.
- In January 2025, Kennedy hosted two leading British critics of the Chagos giveaway, Baron Dean Godson and Julia Mizen of the U.K.-based think tank Policy Exchange, at his office.
- Later that month, Kennedy authored an additional op-ed in The Telegraph, arguing in part that “[t]he idea that the U.K. must hand over the islands to atone for whatever perceived wrongs Britain’s forefathers may have committed is nonsense.”
- In April 2025, Kennedy participated in a Wall Street Journal documentary about the Chagos Islands deal, calling it “stone-cold stupid.”
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $1.05 million in federal funding to support the construction of a fire station in Zachary, Louisiana, as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Agriculture appropriations bill.
This critical funding will help ensure residents of Zachary have access to adequate emergency services and fire protection coverage while improving emergency management and preparedness across the greater Zachary region. This is in addition to the more than $300 million Kennedy has secured for special projects across Louisiana so far in FY 2026.
“When danger strikes, our firefighters don’t hesitate—they run straight toward it. They deserve the right tools to do their jobs and come home safe. This new fire station will strengthen emergency response in Zachary and ensure our first responders are ready to protect lives, homes, and businesses when seconds matter most,” said Kennedy.
The funding will be awarded to the City of Zachary through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service under the Rural Community Facilities Program.
Kennedy, Moody, colleagues introduce pro-life bill to protect victims, support parental rights
Jan 20 2026
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and seven colleagues in introducing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would protect victims and bolster parental rights in cases where minors cross state lines to receive an abortion.
“Parents should not be kept in the dark if their kids cross state lines to receive an abortion. I’m proud to help introduce the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would take important steps to protect vulnerable minors and support parents,” said Kennedy.
“As a mother, I cannot imagine my child being transported across state lines for a medical procedure without my knowledge. Parents should never be kept out of the loop when it comes to major, life-altering decisions affecting their children. I’m introducing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act to strengthen protections for parents and families by ensuring compliance with state parental notification and consent laws,” said Moody.
Currently, some parents are deprived of critical information about their children’s wellbeing when minors are transported to states that do not require parental notification or consent for an abortion.
The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act would correct this issue by making it a crime to knowingly transport a minor across state lines for an abortion without meeting the parental rights requirements of the minor’s state of residence.
The bill would also ban perpetrators of incest from transporting their minor victims across state lines for an abortion.
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) cosponsored the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.
“We cannot allow sex traffickers and child abusers to circumvent states’ parental notification laws by crossing state lines to conceal an abortion from a child’s parents. This legislation puts in place needed safeguards to ensure state sovereignty is protected and those who seek to harm children are held accountable,” said Cassidy.
“Far too often, children are trafficked across state lines to get an abortion- without parental consent. This is wrong and threatens both the safety of our children and the rights of their parents. I’m proud to introduce the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act with Senator Moody to protect vulnerable minors and uphold the importance of parental rights,” said Daines.
“No one should be secretly trafficking minors across state lines to obtain an abortion without parental consent. I’m pleased to join Senator Moody in introducing this commonsense legislation in the Senate to keep children safe and hold adults who seek to exploit them accountable,” said Fischer.
Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) introduced the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“No one should be sneaking children across state lines to receive secret abortions behind the backs of that child's parents. This bill will hold all parties accountable and ensure children are not taken advantage of. As states like California and Illinois promote abortions for all and keep parents in the dark about their child’s health, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act will put parents back in the equation and protect the lives of both the child and the unborn,” said Taylor.
March for Life Action, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, Students for Life Action, the National Prolife Religious Council and Americans United for Life support the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.
The legislation provides exceptions in life-endangering cases and establishes that parents and minors may not be prosecuted or sued under the bill.
Kennedy previously joined then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act in 2023.
View the full bill text here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this letter in the Wall Street Journal, urging Congress to pass the Build Now Act so that the Department of Housing and Urban Development can use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to incentivize cities to build more housing.
Key excerpts are below:
“Mr. [Zohran] Mamdani is duly elected, and it’s his prerogative to destroy the Big Apple’s housing supply as he sees fit. But it would be stupid for the federal government to continue sending housing development grants to the city while Mr. Mamdani and Ms. [Cea] Weaver are steering the ship.
“Many federal housing programs today, however, fail to hold cities accountable for bad policies.”
. . .
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and I introduced the Build Now Act to incentivize new home construction by tying each city’s CDBG funding to their rate of homebuilding. If a city fails to build more new housing units than the median rate of home construction nationwide, it will lose 10% of its CDBG funding. HUD would then reallocate those funds to cities that exceeded the national median rate of home building. It’s a carrot and a stick.”
. . .
“The Build Now Act has received bipartisan support in the Senate, but it has yet to receive a vote in the House. President Trump has made the housing crisis a priority. Congress must make it a priority, too.
“Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried, and it will fail in New York, too. Mr. Mamdani should face financial consequences when his particular recipe of warm collectivism inevitably results in fewer homes for New Yorkers. The Build Now Act’s reduction in CDBG funding may be the push New York needs to embrace the cold, hard truth about socialism and clear the way for more housing.”
Read Kennedy’s full letter here.
Kennedy gives update on his plan to stop paying dead people: “It’s on its way to President Trump’s desk”
Jan 16 2026
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released the following statement marking the passage of his Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:
“I want to talk to you about the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Boy, that’s a mouthful. Here’s what I want to talk about: Many Louisianians read the stories about the welfare fraud in Minnesota, and frankly in other states, and it makes them nauseous. I feel the same way. That’s why I have been working for years—literally years—to target welfare fraud, especially the fraudsters who conduct fraud in the name of deceased Americans.
“In 2023 alone, for example, the federal government sent $1.3 billion . . . to dead people. . . . [T]he Social Security Administration . . . maintains a list of dead Americans known as the Death Master File. If someone dies, the state sends the name of the deceased person to the Social Security Administration, and that person’s name is listed on what’s called the Death Master File.
“We found that Social Security was not sharing this information—the names of the folks on the Death Master File—with the rest of the federal government. One branch of government wasn’t talking to another branch of government.”
. . .
“I asked [the Social Security Administration], ‘Why don’t you talk to your colleagues and other colleagues in the federal government, so we stop paying dead people?’ Social Security told me it needed Congress’s permission to share this information with, for example, the Treasury Department so it could include the list of dead Americans in its Do Not Pay system.
“I didn’t argue with them. I said, ‘I’m just going to go pass a bill.’ Well, a few years ago, I did. I passed a bill called the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, and that bill allowed the Social Security Administration to temporarily share its Death Master File with the Department of the Treasury.”
. . .
“Well, it worked—duh. Since December of 2023, this bill has saved the federal government at least $330 million in improper payments. We’re no longer paying dead people and having their friends or relatives or whomever cash the checks.
“It was obvious that Congress needed to make this data-sharing arrangement permanent, so . . . I introduced a second bill to do just that. That’s why it took years to get this done. This week, I’m pleased to say the House passed my bill, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. This bill had already passed the Senate, and now that it’s passed the House, it’s on its way to President Trump’s desk so he can sign it into law.
“Now, dead people don’t need welfare. I think that’s obvious. But I’m not going to stop with just this bill. I’m going to continue to urge my colleagues in the Senate and my friends in the House to pass another reconciliation bill—which we can do without Democratic votes, just like we did the One Big Beautiful Bill—to include the subject of welfare fraud. Welfare fraud: it’s inexcusable. It’s unconscionable.
“These are taxpayer dollars, and I’m not going to stop until we get it done.”
Watch Kennedy’s message here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Hill arguing that members of Congress should not get paid during government shutdowns. Kennedy calls on the Senate to vote on his resolution to prevent Senators from collecting their paychecks during future shutdowns.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“The fact that politicians can use other people’s paychecks as a political football without sacrificing their own salary makes most fair-minded Americans want to stick their heads in an oven. Most Americans believe what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If federal workers aren’t getting paid, members of Congress shouldn’t get paid either.”
. . .
“I don’t judge my colleagues for objecting to this type of legislation. It’s tough missing a paycheck. But it was also tough for the American people to watch my colleagues vote 15 times in a row to keep the government closed.
“I am proud that my resolution received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Senate Rules Committee. I hope the full Senate will join us in ensuring that politicians aren’t the only ones getting paid during a government shutdown.”
Text of Kennedy’s resolution is available here.
Read more about the Rules Committee vote on Kennedy’s resolution here.
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
