In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the entire federal congressional delegation from Tennessee this week signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden (D) urging him to approve Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) request to declare a major disaster emergency.
An early April wildfire tore through 3,700 acres in Sevier County in early April, prompting the request for the federal declaration.
Read the full story
According to Friday reports, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was censored by Facebook for a post about biological males playing women’s sports.
“Biological men have no place in women’s sports,” Blackburn reportedly said on the social media giant, linking to a fundraising page.
Read the full story
Tennessee’s two GOP senators were two of the 11 senators who voted May 16 against expediting a floor vote on President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, H.R. 7691, known as the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022—after both Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D.-N.Y.) and Minority Leader A. Mitchell “Mitch” McConnell (R.-Ky.) rejected Sen. Rand Paul (R.-Ky.)’s request for a special inspector general to monitor America’s largesse to the non-NATO country.
Sen. William F. “Bill” Hagerty IV, who was joined in voting against cloture for the bill by his Volunteer State colleague Sen. Marsha Blackburn, told “The Tennessee Star Report” host Michael Patrick Leahy that he is frustrated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s prioritizing other countries while he ignores problems at home.
Read the full story
A woman at a Metro Nashville Board of Public Education meeting was caught on a hot microphone saying she wants to set a U.S. Senator from Tennessee on fire.
Amid cross talk, one person in the recorded conversation brings up Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in the context of Blackburn’s line of questioning during U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings last week.
Read the full story
As part of the hearings for her confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked by a Tennessee Senator to define the word “woman.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn pressed Jackson for a definition, which the judge said she could not provide. The following is the transcript of the dialogue between the pair:
Read the full story
A government watchdog Tuesday took the next step in its battle to expose Chinese connections to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
“Empower Oversight filed an amended complaint today against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation for documents related to a request by Chinese researchers to remove genetic sequences related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a database controlled by NIH,” that group said in a press release.
Read the full story
Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal unveiled a bipartisan bill Wednesday aimed at curbing online harms to children.
The Kids Online Safety Act is the result of several hearings and a months-long investigation led by Blackburn and Blumenthal into how use of social media platforms affects teens and young children. If enacted, the bill would require social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable “addictive” product features and allow them to opt out of recommendation algorithms.
Read the full story
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a bill this week to engage public-private partnerships toward strengthening supply chains in Tennessee and the region.
Current bottlenecks in shipping have translated to fewer goods on store shelves and higher prices for American consumers. Their causes are multifaceted and include high labor costs, cumbersome union work rules and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full story
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined ten GOP colleagues and sent a letter to the CEO of Google, demanding the company stop censoring pro-life ads.
In the letter, the group of lawmakers described that Google had committed “an egregious abuse of its enormous market power” in their decision.
Read the full story
Citing the slim Democratic Party majority in both chambers of congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) ignored calls within the Republican Party and insisted President Joe Biden will not be impeached.
“Well, look, the president is not going to be removed from office. There’s a Democratic House, a narrowly Democratic Senate. That’s not going to happen,” he said at an event in his home state.
Read the full story
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Representatives Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and urged President Joe Biden to approve Governor Bill Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration due to flooding throughout in Middle Tennessee.
In the attempt to bridge the gap between the federal and state government, the group of lawmakers pledged to provide the Biden administration with any assistance needed to expeditiously approve the Governor’s request.
Read the full story
After two years of waiting for a federal report on allegations of Democratic spying on the Trump campaign, Republicans are demanding answers.
More than 40 Republican U.S. senators sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Thursday requesting the release of the Durham report, the long-awaited results of an investigation into the controversial origins of the FBI investigation into Russian collusion.
Read the full story
“We’re not often heard,” Cynthia Monteleone told a trio of female senators Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill. “Though we are just three of thousands that this is happening to.”
Monteleone is a world champion track athlete who competed against a transgender competitor in the 2018 World Masters Athletics Championships in Málaga, Spain. Dressed in a white pantsuit with a fresh tropical flower tucked behind her ear, she spent Wednesday and Thursday urging Republican lawmakers to fight back against biological males competing in women’s sports.
Read the full story
Republicans are hitting back at Facebook and the Big Tech giants in Silicon Valley after Facebook’s Oversight Board announced Wednesday that it will uphold its ban of Former President Donald J. Trump.
Facebook claimed in a statement that Trump post “violated Facebook’s rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence,” when he called Capitol protestors “great patriots” and and “very special” on Jan. 6.
Read the full story
According to a Tennessee Star poll of 1001 likely Tennessee Republican primary voters, former President Donald J. Trump has all-time high approval rating among the GOP in the state, more than two months after leaving office.
The poll found that 89.7 percent of those voters have a favorable impression of the 45th president, compared to 7.4 percent who view him unfavorably.
Read the full story
Tennessee Republicans are joining in a 50-state effort today to raise funds to support Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff elections. The Georgia Battleground Fund event will be held in all 50 states, Fox News reported. The Jan. 5 runoff election for incumbent Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler against their Democratic rivals Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will determine control of the Senate. Politico reported that combined spending by both sides has reached $100 million and will climb. Sources told The Tennessee Star that the Volunteer State’s fundraiser will be held today from 10-11 a.m. on a Zoom call. Speakers will be U.S. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), U.S. Sen.-elect Bill Hagerty and Loeffler. Donations for the Georgia Battleground Fund are being accepted here. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) told Fox News the Georgia Battleground Fund team is led by Outgoing NRSC Chairman Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and Karl Rove as national finance chairman, with help in every state. Democrats are making a push to fully exploit weaknesses in Georgia’s voter registration laws that include no minimum residency requirement and allowing out-of-state drivers’ licenses for voting, Georgia Star News reported. They have encouraged people to move to Georgia to vote in…
Read the full story
College Board, the entity responsible for developing SAT and AP tests, will sever financial ties with the Chinese Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) at the end of the year.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and six other U.S. senators sent a letter to College Board CEO David Coleman last week, asking for clarification of the board’s financial relationship with Hanban and the extent of Chinese government influence on test development and guest teacher placements in the U.S.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told CNBC’s SquawkBox on Wednesday that Republicans will try again to pass their bill that would provide PPP and vaccine funding despite Democrats’ attempts to block the efforts.
CNBC asked Blackburn if she would vote for a deal if the White House and the Treasury Department reached an agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
Read the full story
Democrats are “trying to create a panic” and turn Americans against Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn said during opening statements Monday at the Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Republican leaders are voicing their support for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) appeared on Fox Business’ Morning with Maria on Thursday and asked how former FBI director Jim Comey and others could have been so oblivious about details on Crossfire Hurricane.
Crossfire Hurricane refers to the FBI investigation of alleged collusion between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign with Russia.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is sounding the alarm about Netflix over the streaming service’s plans to adapt and promote a Chinese sci-fi book series written by an author who expresses support for the Communist government’s “re-education” camps for Muslim Uyghurs.
On Wednesday, Blackburn and U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) signed a letter to Ted Sarandos Jr., co-CEO and chief content officer for Netflix.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she cosponsored two bills this week to support law enforcement officers and other first responders. The bills follow an increase in violence against police which coincides with protests and riots.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) applauded the signing Tuesday of the Abraham Accords, calling it a “paradigm shift.”
Blackburn on Tuesday tweeted, “Today, we are witnessing history at the @WhiteHouse. 27 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain have achieved monumental peace. This deal brings great potential and opportunity to the region and is a paradigm shift in Israel-Gulf state relations.”
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is applauding a federal initiative to grow the availability of telehealth for rural areas.
The Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services and the U.S. Department Of Agriculture last week announced they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Rural Telehealth Initiative.
Read the full story
U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) assembled a special project for the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification giving women the right to vote.
They recruited 22 of their female colleagues to write essays about what the centennial means to them and the challenges they faced on their path to the U.S. Senate, Blackburn said in a press release. The exhibit is titled “Senators on Suffrage” and is available online here. It is part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s “Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage” exhibit.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said in a statement that a bill she is sponsoring that would allow Americans to sue China over its role in COVID-19 has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill, called the Civil Justice for Victims of COVID Act, would allow suits to be brought in federal court over China’s role in spreading the Chinese coronavirus.
Read the full story
Conservative Clergy of Color’s Chairman Bishop Aubrey Shines denounced an attack lobbed at U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) Wednesday for speaking out against Black Lives Matter.
Blackburn tweeted, “The life of every African American matters. But Black Lives Matter is a 501 (c)(3) organization run by “trained Marxists.” We cannot allow our great country to be destroyed under the pretense of social justice.”
Read the full story
One board member of nonprofit Healthy Tennessee, founded by Dr. Manny Sethi, has taken positions excusing protestors for spreading the coronavirus, and he and another director have attacked U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Alex Jahangir and Jesse Ehrenfeld were listed as directors of Healthy Tennessee on the nonprofit’s 2018 Form 990EZ, available here.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should resign after the representative called for the “dismantling” of the U.S. “economy and political systems.”
Omar made the remark during a speech Tuesday to the Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, The Daily Wire reported.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has joined a legislative effort to provide police reform, accountability and transparency.
Blackburn said she became a cosponsor of U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act.
Read the full story
Instagram reportedly believes a children’s book written by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and her daughter, about the history of the 19th Amendment, may “influence the outcome of an election,” so the tech giant has banned advertising for it.
The Federalist reported on the book’s ban.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) co-sponsored a bill Thursday to rename the street outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. “Li Wenliang Plaza” to honor the late Dr. Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor who warned the world about the coronavirus before the Chinese Communist Party silenced him.
Blackburn is joined in the effort by U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Y), according to a press release from the Tennessee senator’s office.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has been busy checking in on the state’s response to the deadly tornadoes that hit Middle Tennessee this week.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a resolution Monday to update Senate rules to allow a motion to dismiss articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump for lack of prosecution. The resolution, which calls for immediate action on an impeachment, is available here. Blackburn tweeted, “Impeachment shouldn’t be playing out like an episode of House of Cards. If Pelosi fails to send the articles promptly over to the Senate, we should hold a vote to dismiss them and get on with our work. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring @Hawleymo’s impeachment rule change resolution.” Impeachment shouldn’t be playing out like an episode of House of Cards. If Pelosi fails to send the articles promptly over to the Senate, we should hold a vote to dismiss them and get on with our work. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring @Hawleymo’s impeachment rule change resolution. https://t.co/RCI0yPNDlo — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 6, 2020 Blackburn, in a press release, called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attempt to prevent an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate “unprecedented.” “After three years of searching for a reason to impeach this president, Democrats in the House cannot seem to find the time to send…
Read the full story
Taylor Swift on Thursday blasted music manager Scooter Braun and the billionaire George Soros family for allegedly buying the rights to her music. Swift made the remarks during her acceptance speech for Billboard’s Woman of the Decade award Thursday, according to a story by Breitbart. She lamented the “unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying our music as if it’s real estate — as if it’s an app or a shoe line.” Braun, 38, purchased the independent record label Big Machine and the master rights to Taylor’s first six albums. Soros allegedly provided the cash. According to Rolling Stone and Yahoo News: “This just happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent,” Swift said during her speech, which also discussed sexism in the music industry. “After I was denied the chance to purchase my music outright, my entire catalog was sold to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in a deal that I’m told was funded by the Soros family, 23 Capital and that Carlyle Group. Yet, to this day, none of these investors have bothered to contact me or my team directly — to perform their due diligence on their investment. On their investment in me. To…
Read the full story
U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) are taking steps to combat online child exploitation.
Read the full story
By now, only a person living in Alternate Universe One could fail to understand that the past three years have precisely nothing to do with Russian collusion or Ukraine corruption and everything to do with who makes decisions about American policy: the duly elected president of the United States or the administrative state. That is the struggle right now. The crux is a struggle between advocates of our constitutional republic and those who prefer government by an administrative state composed of unelected elites.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Star made you a promise about U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) last year — and we’re keeping it. Although the various political science departments, polling companies and pundits won’t remind you of their consistently flawed polling processes, questionable data and woefully inaccurate assessments during the next election cycle…we will. We made that promise on November 9, 2018 after Blackburn won the U.S. Senate race against Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen by double digits. Blackburn handily won retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s Republican-held seat by a 10.8 percent margin. From last year’s story: Poll after poll, and pundit after pundit, claimed that the Bredesen-Blackburn Tennessee Senate race was “close.” It was consistently portrayed as one of the best opportunities for the Democrats to flip a Red seat to Blue in the mid-term elections. But when voters actually cast their votes, as opposed to pollsters calling a few hundred people who were often targeted for calls based upon flawed data, Marsha Blackburn earned the title of “Senator” by a 10.8 percent margin, leaving pollsters red-faced and Democrats despondent. An East Tennessee State University poll released just days before the Election claimed the race was a 44-44% dead heat. Vanderbilt said…
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told TikTok on Tuesday it must put an end to Chinese-linked efforts to collect data from American children.
Read the full story
Sanctuary cities are being targeted in a new bill introduced by senators including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she introduced across-the-board spending cuts on Monday as amendments to S. Amdt. 948 to H.R. 3055 for Fiscal Year 2020.
Read the full story
Senate Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), blocked three election security bills on Wednesday, the second time in two days they blocked such legislation, The Hill reported.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is leading over 40 members of Congress in an amicus brief in support of Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington.
Read the full story
U.S. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Thursday announced the filing of legislation for sanctions against Turkey despite a temporary ceasefire in Syria.
Read the full story
Belmont University announced Friday it will host the third and final presidential debate of 2020.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Wednesday called for sanctions against Turkey following that nation’s military incursion into northern Syria, which endangers America’s Kurdish allies.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday expressed concern over Kurdish allies after President Donald Trump announced a change in the deployment of troops in Syria.
Read the full story
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined officials in touring the Union Row development in Memphis Friday.
Read the full story
Democrats have been trying and failing to impeach President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said on Fox News Sunday.
Read the full story