Jacky Rosen

“I am thanking my longtime staff member McKenna LeVitt as she leaves my office. She started as an intern and rose to become my lead adviser on public lands, energy, and Tribal issues. She did great work for Nevada, and I wish her the best.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to honor and thank my constituent and longtime staffer McKenna LeVitt for her many years of service to the U.S. Senate and to the people of Nevada. McKenna has been a key member of my team since my first year in the Senate, joining my office as part of our first intern class and then returning to work for me in a full-time role after she graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. Over time, she proved herself to be an incredibly dedicated and talented staffer, rising quickly from staff assistant to legislative correspondent to legislative correspondence manager to legislative aide to legislative assistant and finally becoming our lead policy adviser for all energy, environment, public lands, water, agriculture, and Tribal issues. In this role, McKenna has led my office’s work on numerous public lands bills, multi-year legislative efforts that are critical to the landscape, economic development, safety, preservation, and accessibility of the land in our State. She has shepherded the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act through Congress, one of the most significant pieces of legislation directly impacting northern Nevada in recent history. In introducing, negotiating, and working to amend this bill, McKenna has taken many hundreds of meetings and put in thousands of hours of work, collaborating with county and city officials, Tribes, the State of Nevada, conservationists, sportsmen, recreationalists, ranchers, landholders, housing developers, utilities, and others. She has taken public feedback, working parcel-by-parcel on changes and working across the aisle and with members of both the House and Senate and with committee staff to move this bill forward. Its future success in this Chamber will be due in very large part to her, and I am confident that we will get the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act across the finish line thanks to her hard work on it these past many years. She has also played a leading role in working with my national security team to obtain fair compensation for ranchers impacted by the modernization of Naval Air Station Fallon, helped draft and introduce dozens of bills and amendments, secured millions of dollars in critical funding for Nevada through appropriations, and taken what can conservatively be estimated to be over a thousand meetings with Nevadans. Whenever McKenna wasn’t at her desk, we knew it meant she was in a meeting talking with Nevadans about how we could help them. It is her personal touch in these interactions that sets her apart, not only coming prepared with policy knowledge and ready to answer any question that comes her way, but also listening with empathy and fully adopting the challenges of her fellow Nevadans as her own. As a colleague, McKenna is beloved, someone whom everyone on my team in both Nevada and DC considers a person they can trust. She has been there for people when they need her, just as she has been there for the State of Nevada. McKenna has a steady hand and an analytical mind, but also a heart of gold. McKenna, I thank you for your service to Nevada and the country, and I look forward to seeing you grow and excel as you move back home to Reno and begin a new life with Ken. We will miss you, but your impact will be felt forever.”

“I want the Senate to pass a resolution calling for an end to the trade war with Canada. Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada are hurting Nevada. Canadian tourism to Las Vegas dropped by 17 percent, which hurts our hotel and restaurant workers. The tariffs are also driving up prices for businesses and families, and Canada's response threatens 1.6 billion dollars in Nevada exports.”

“Mr. President, today I rise to speak up about Donald Trump’s reckless trade war against Canada and the impact it is having on my State of Nevada. Because of Trump’s childish fight with our neighbors, tourism is down, prices are up, and Canada is suddenly rethinking its relationship with our country. Let me tell you why this matters to my State. Canada is the No. 1 source of international visitors to Las Vegas. In 2024, nearly 1.5 million Canadians visited Nevada. It helped boost our tourism economy and the small businesses that depend on it. And Canada is also one of Nevada’s top trading partners. In fact, Nevada exports approximately $1.6 billion worth of goods to Canada. So think about this: $1.6 billion of revenue coming to businesses in my State of Nevada to further contribute to our economy. And this is exactly why a good, healthy relationship between Canada and the United States is important for Nevada and Nevada’s economy, Nevada’s families. Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to harm our relationship with Canada. He is hurting Nevada families. He is hurting Nevada businesses along the way. And one of the first actions that Trump took since returning to the White House was beginning a reckless and erratic trade war that has resulted in higher prices for American businesses, American families, for all of us, every single one of us. And to date, he has imposed tariffs on many items we buy from Canada with higher rates on products like building materials, brand-name prescription drugs, alcohol, and paper products. I have heard from restaurant owners paying more for paper towels and home builders paying more for materials. These costs not only make it impossible for our business owners to plan ahead, but then they get passed on to families. Most recently, Trump utilized a never--never-before-used trade authority. I want to emphasize this: never-before-used trade authority to target Canada, applying 50-percent tariffs on a wide array of Canadian goods. In retaliation, Canada recently imposed their own tariffs on goods they import from the United States, including from my State of Nevada. Remember the $1.6 billion in Nevada goods that we export to Canada? Well, that number is going to be reduced because of these retaliatory tariffs. Just yesterday, Trump’s ban on the import of many Canadian goods has gone into effect, restricting Americans’ freedom--restricting our freedom--to buy what we want to buy and making all of our prices go up. The back-and-forth tariffs, they are a disaster, but they only tell one side of the story of Trump’s hostilities toward Canada. Trump’s childish attacks on Canada included threats to annex it as the United States’ 51 State; its references to the Canadian Prime Minister as ``Governor’’; Trump has tried to rename Lake Ontario to ``Lake America.’’ Trump even canceled trade negotiations because a Canadian television ad hurt his feelings. After a year and a half of this nonsense, where has Trump gotten us? Well, I can tell you where, because last year, Canadian tourism to Las Vegas declined by 17 percent--you got that right, 17 percent. This contributed to an overall decline in tourism that made 2025 the worst nonpandemic drop in visitation for Las Vegas since we began tracking data. When we see a decline like this, it isn’t just a data point for us. Hospitality employs nearly a third of all workers in Nevada. So this means fewer guests in our hotel rooms, which leads to fewer shifts for housekeepers. It means fewer visits to our restaurants and less tip money for our servers and bartenders. It trickles down to less money for all of the hospitality workers and when they go home to the neighborhoods they live in, less money they can spend there. It is not only Nevada that is feeling this. According to the Canadian Government’s own data, total spending by Canadians in the United States declined by over $3 billion. Canadians themselves are pointing to Trump’s hostility as a reason for this decline. They are still traveling and spending money--Canadians are; they are just not coming to the United States. And this situation was 100 percent avoidable. None of this had to happen. So no one can argue with the facts. Tourism is down because of Trump’s trade war with Canada. Less money is being invested in our economy, and our small businesses are struggling to navigate expensive and constantly--constantly--changing conditions. That is why I am here today to pass a simple resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Trump’s trade war against Canada must end. It must end to get our economy and the relationship with our northern neighbor back on track. I hope my colleagues look at the facts and agree. So as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 898 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.”

• Personal attack
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  Speech in the House

  Respect 97 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “because a Canadian television ad hurt his feelings”.

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“Nine years ago, a shooter in Las Vegas used bump stocks to kill 58 people. The Supreme Court recently struck down a ban on bump stocks. I want Congress to pass my bipartisan bill to ban them again and stop gun violence.”

“Mr. President, I rise today ahead of the ninth anniversary of one of the darkest days Las Vegas has ever seen: the shocking tragedy of October 1, 2017, the largest mass shooting in American history. Like many Las Vegas evenings, tens of thousands of visitors came to the Las Vegas Strip for a concert, the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. It was a beautiful night out. I was home in Las Vegas. And in the midst of the music, the dancing, and the fun, a deranged gunman opened fire on the festival, killing innocent concert goers and leaving so many injured and traumatized. It only took 10 minutes for him to carry out this brutal attack, but the consequences of his actions remain with us for a lifetime. Fifty- eight innocent lives were taken on the night of October 1, and in the years since, we have lost two more individuals as a result of this horrific tragedy--families left without their loved ones, parents without children, children without parents. We owe an endless debt of gratitude to those brave police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and others who selflessly ran into the chaos and confusion of that night just to help. On this dark day, we saw our city come together like never before to support the victims. In the wake of the shooting, President Trump instituted a ban on bump stocks, which the 1 October gunman used to kill so many in just 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has since overturned this commonsense ban, and the epidemic of gun violence in this country continues to persist to this very day. This year alone, the United States has seen more than 350--350--mass shootings. We are not powerless here in Congress. We can do something about the relentless gun violence plaguing our communities. We can do something. As we honor the memories of the innocent individuals who were brutally murdered 9 years ago, we must also recommit ourselves to that action to ensure that no other community ever experiences a tragedy like this again. The cost is forever, and it is too deep. We must come together and pass the bipartisan bill I helped to introduce to ban bump stocks before another community lives through a day like 1 October. Las Vegas has shown that we can survive the darkest days by coming together as a community and supporting one another. This is why we will always be Las Vegas strong. I am proud of our community. I am proud of our resilience. We will continue to fight against gun violence. I yield the floor.”

• Reasons given
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  Speech in the House

  Reasoning 100 of 100

  This statement drew 3 conclusions and gave a reason for each one.

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“I want the Senate to pass my bill to protect synagogues and other houses of worship. Attacks and hatred against Jewish people are rising quickly. My bill gives synagogues more money for security and helps local police protect places where people pray.”

“Madam President, this past weekend, Jews across the country and around the globe celebrated Rosh Hashanah, bringing in the new year with hope and excitement for what is to come. Now we are just days away from the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, when we take time to reflect on the year ahead and atone for actions we have taken in the past year. The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most sacred and widely observed time in the Jewish calendar. This is a time we all come together with family and friends and loved ones, a time for reflection, for gratitude, and for celebrating the traditions that connect us to one another and the generations before us. Unfortunately, for too many American Jews, the High Holidays are now also bringing something else: fear. While Jewish families are preparing to hear the shofar and gather around their holiday tables, synagogue leaders and their congregations are asking themselves questions that no one should ever have to ask before they go to worship, before they go to pray, before they go to a sanctuary. They are asking: Is our place of worship safe? Do we have enough security? Are our doors secure? Do we have enough cameras? What happens if someone targets our congregation? What if there is an active shooter? Do we know all the exits? Do we know what to do? Do we know where to go? These are the questions that no one who goes to worship should ever have to ask in this country, and yet it is a reality for too many Jewish communities today. Of course, if you look at the data, these fears are not unfounded. According to a recent ADL report, 2025 was the third highest year for anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since the ADL began collecting data, and physical assaults against Jews were higher in 2025 than ever before. The FBI data has shown that Jewish Americans were the target of nearly 70 percent--70 percent--of religiously motivated hate crimes in this country in 2025 despite making up just 2 percent of the population. This data corresponds to horrific incidents we have seen on news reports this past year, including a historic synagogue in Jackson, MS, being firebombed and Jewish congregations defaced in Austin, TX; Albuquerque, NM; Hot Springs, AR; and Oak Park, MI. And in West Bloomfield, MI, a man drove his car into a building housing a synagogue and a preschool and then opened fire--opened fire. I wish I could say these were isolated incidents, but I can’t. These incidents are part of an alarming trend. Jews in America are facing the kind of hatred that reminds us that anti-Semitism is not something of the past. It is not something that we only read about in history books, though they have shown us what happens when anti-Semitism is allowed to take hold of a society. I recently returned from Poland, where I visited the Auschwitz- Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The preserved grounds of the concentration and extermination camps stand as a testament--a sad testament--of what can happen when hatred is allowed to reach its most evil form. It happened after years and years of increasing discrimination, violence, and marginalization that went unchecked--went unchecked. There are countless lessons of the Holocaust, but one of the strongest ones is what can happen when ordinary people look at hatred with indifference. The Holocaust did not only happen because of the Nazis, but because of the millions of people who also kept silent in the face of dehumanization and prejudice. They kept silent, and this indifference allowed for the murder of 6 million Jews, as well as millions of others. This is why we must recommit ourselves to relearning these lessons and not allowing hatred to go ignored in our country today--in our country. So during the August State work period, I also met with rabbis from four congregations in Southern Nevada to discuss how they are preparing for the High Holidays. They all shared the same concern: physical safety of their congregations, of their congregants, of people who come to worship, from the newborn all the way to the oldest senior citizen. We talked about the security preparations they have to make during this time of year and the costs that go along with them. We talked about the fear that comes with knowing that a place of worship can become a target in an instant--we all know this--and the burden that falls upon synagogue leaders and volunteers to protect their place of worship, their congregants, their families, and their friends. And it is a burden I know all too well. Before I came to the Senate, I served as president of the largest Reform synagogue in Nevada. I know exactly what it takes to prepare a congregation for High Holidays, and I know that security plans have become an unfortunate and expensive part of that preparation. In fact, security costs are usually the largest portion of a synagogue’s budget now--the largest portion of the budget because they have to pay for hiring guards, installing barricades, adding bulletproof glass to windows, reinforcing doors, and metal detectors. You have to walk through a metal detector and screening to get into my synagogue now. According to a recent study from the Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish community spends an average of $1 billion a year now--$1 billion a year now--on security. It is a record high--billions of dollars just to worship safely. So think about that for a moment. In the United States, in 2026, we have Americans who have to worship behind locked doors and bulletproof glass, protected by armed guards, just to be with their family and friends and pray. Imagine if you didn’t feel it was safe to go worship, gather together. And we can’t ask these communities to shoulder that burden alone. This is exactly why I have always supported fully funding and reforming the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. This program helps synagogues and other houses of worship and other at-risk institutions make critical security improvements for the safety of their congregations. It is a lifesaving program that helps the Jewish community and other religious communities, as well, that are at risk of violence. It helps them offset the cost of keeping themselves and their families safe, which is why I introduced bipartisan legislation to nearly triple the funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and to improve it, to make sure that the money actually gets to the communities that need it. My Jewish American Security Act, which I introduced with Senator Lankford and a broad bipartisan coalition of Senators, would also create a new Department of Justice grant program to help State and local law enforcement increase security around at-risk houses of worship. And these additional protections, well, they mean the difference between walking into a synagogue and thinking about prayer or walking into your synagogue and looking for the exits and thinking about what your escape route might be. These additional protections are about making sure that a child can walk into a preschool or a Hebrew school and think about learning, not about an active-shooter drill. And they are about making sure that our houses of worship remain what they are supposed to be: places of faith, places of community, places of peace. I often say that anti-Semitism is a canary in a coal mine; it is a warning sign. When hatred against one community is allowed to grow, it threatens all of us. So we cannot wait for the next attack. We cannot wait for another synagogue to be targeted, and we cannot wait for another family to be afraid just to walk through the doors of their own house of worship anywhere. We have to act now. We have to act now, before it is too late. And as Jewish families gather together in the coming days for Yom Kippur, they will reflect on the year behind them and the year ahead. So please let us all commit ourselves to doing everything that we can to make sure that those families can worship safely and in peace. I yield the floor.”

“I am glad the Senate agrees that Ghislaine Maxwell should not get a pardon. If Republicans vote to advance Todd Blanche's nomination tomorrow, they must at least make it clear that they oppose a pardon for Maxwell.”

“Mr. President, I am so pleased that we could find unanimous agreement on a resolution against a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. If Republicans advance Todd Blanche’s nomination tomorrow in the Judiciary Committee, this is the least they can do to make their opposition to a Maxwell pardon clear. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”

“I want the Senate to pass my bipartisan bill to protect Jewish Americans and other religious groups. Violence and hate against Jewish people are rising quickly. My bill gives one billion dollars to help houses of worship pay for security and police protection, and it makes it easier for them to apply for that money.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to speak once again about a crisis that demands the ongoing attention of the Senate: the disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in America. Across our country, Jewish Americans are continuing to face unspeakable acts of hate, threats, violence, and discrimination that are happening at record levels. Unfortunately, this is not anything new. In fact, for more than a decade, anti-Semitism has been on the rise. It is setting record numbers year after year, particularly since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. According to an ADL report, 2025 was the third highest year for anti- Semitic incidents since the ADL began collecting data, and physical assaults against Jews were higher in 2025 than ever before. So I want everyone to just think about that. Physical assaults against Jews were the highest since ADL began tracking this data nearly 50 years ago. FBI data--well, it has shown that Jewish Americans are the target of almost 70 percent of religiously motivated hate crimes in this country despite making up only 2 percent of the population. Think about that-- 70 percent of crime against 2 percent of the population. Just this past year, a historic synagogue in Jackson, MS, was firebombed. Jewish congregations were defaced in Austin, TX; Albuquerque, NM; Hot Springs, AK; and Oak Park, MI. In West Bloomfield, MI, a man actually drove his car into a building housing a synagogue and a preschool and then opened fire. Even beyond these specific incidents, we are witnessing worrying trends in how Americans are thinking about Jewish communities. Last week, the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate released a poll that found that nearly one-third of people 18 to 44 viewed Jews as a ``threat to the unity of American society’’--2 percent of the population a ``threat to the unity of American society.’’ Let that sink in. The same poll found that one in eight young adults said Jewish people ``cause problems in the world,’’ and around one in five younger Americans did not consider slurs against Jews to be harmful to Jewish people. I really wish these findings were hard to believe, but for many around this country, they aren’t surprising. For some, they will point to the war in the Middle East and U.S. policy in the region as a driver of these spikes in anti-Semitism. And, of course, we can and we must have frank, open discussions on how the United States should handle our foreign policy. But we cannot stand idly by and allow these disagreements to become excuses for turning a blind eye on attacks towards Jewish Americans. When we return from the August State work period, it will be September and the High Holidays. High Holidays--well, they will be in full swing. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, this is the holiest time of the Jewish year, and many Jews, including those who may not go to synagogue any other time, will be preparing to attend religious services in observance of these important holidays. But it is the unfortunate reality that these holidays are now marked by a palpable fear because large gatherings make communities vulnerable to attacks. Sadly, what should be a season of reflection and prayer, worship and renewal, is a source of, now, fear and anxiety for far too many American Jews. As a result, one in four Jewish Americans has skipped Jewish events and Jewish religious observances due to the fear of being targeted. It is not right. It is not right. They don’t go to temple for fear of being targeted. Something must be done. Before I came to the Senate, I was the president of the largest reform synagogue in Nevada, and I know firsthand the preparations that synagogues undertake to keep their congregations safe--especially during the High Holidays. No one should have to worship behind a barricade. No one should have to go through a police check and police surrounding your entire building in order to go pray. But as anti- Semitic harassment and violence continue to be a real threat, heightened security measures are a fact of life for Jewish communities. Every synagogue leader in this country has to think about hiring professional security, installing cameras, doing everything they can to protect their congregation. Security is the largest line item on a budget now. This heavy burden isn’t only an emotional and logistical one; robust security comes with a steep financial cost. There is a highly successful Federal grant program at FEMA that helps at-risk institutions, including houses of worship like synagogues, churches, and mosques. Well, it helps them to make the security upgrades they need so Americans can worship peacefully and safely. That is why we need to robustly fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. In fact, authorizing $1 billion for this program--nearly three times the current funding level--is the key component of the Jewish American Security Act. It is my comprehensive, bipartisan bill with Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma to address anti-Semitism and threats to the Jewish community. But this program can only help institutions if grant money is actually accessible and if there is enough money available to the applicants who need it all across this country in communities large and small. Unfortunately, many institutions had less than a month to apply for grants through the NSGP this year. Sometimes they only had days to review the program, develop proposals, and gather the necessary documents and supporting assessments. In past years, the application window had been as long as 80 days. So that is why, in addition to making this historic investment in NSGP, our bipartisan bill would make important reforms to streamline how the program is implemented and allow grant funding to be used to hire security services so that the program truly matches the needs of the congregations it is meant to support. And it won’t just stop there. Our bipartisan Jewish American Security Act would also create a new Federal grant program to support local police who protect at-risk houses of worship. You know, I often say: Anti-Semitism is the canary in the coal mine. It is a warning sign--a warning sign--for all other forms of hate and discrimination to come. Tackling anti-Semitism sends a strong message that we do not--will not--tolerate hate and discrimination in our country, in the United States of America. And if we don’t draw this line now, if we don’t stand up, if we don’t say, ``Enough is enough,’’ then when will we? Who is next? The Jewish community is the canary in the coal mine. We must draw the line. We must pass this bill. The Jewish American Security Act is so critical to our safety and security. When will we say, ``Enough is enough’’? Let’s hope it is now. Thank you. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”