Sen. Maria Cantwell

@cantwell.senate.gov

28845 Followers 34 Following

U.S. Senator from Washington State | Ranking Member @commerce.senate.gov | RS≠endorsement

Senate resolution: Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to men and to Black women.
Apollo 11
Group photo on Edmund Pettus Bridge
Rep. John Lewis
Sen. Cantwell with advocates
Sen. Cantwell photo with Congressional Gold Medalists
Happy Father's Day!
Juneteenth - Freedom Day
Sen. Cantwell with Planned Parenthood advocates
World Oceans Day
Normandy landings
Celebrating Pride Month
Capt. Ariana G. Savino
Sen. Cantwell and Congressional Democrats on the Capitol Steps
Happy Birthday Head Start (est. 1965)
Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sen. Cantwell with WA nurses
Thank you teachers!
National Apprenticeship Week, April 26 - May 2, 2026
Seattle Times Front Page: "Washington patients agonize as Medicare AI delays treatment."
Cantwell says AI model hurting Medicare
“Earthset,” via NASA/Artemis II astronauts
The far side of the moon
Tweet by NASA Earth: The Artemis II astronauts are now farther from Earth than humans have ever been.
Sen. Cantwell visits Artemis supplier
Crosslake Connection ribbon cutting
Secretary Hegseth, We write with grave concern regarding the airstrikes on a girls’ elementary school that reportedly killed at least 168 people – mostly children – in Minab, Iran during the opening salvo of U.S. and Israeli operations on Iran on February 28. To be clear, the war against Iran is a war of choice without Congressional authorization. Nonetheless, as these military actions continue, the United States and Israel must abide by U.S. and international law, including the law of armed conflict. There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to pursue accountability. The results of this school attack are horrific. The majority of those killed in the strikes were girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old. Neither the United States nor the Israeli Government has yet taken responsibility for this attack. On March 4, you acknowledged that the United States was looking into the strikes at the school, saying "all I know, all I can say, is that we're investigating that," but shared no information about a timeline for review nor a commitment to accountability. A New York Times analysis of available evidence suggests that U.S. forces most likely struck the school amid attacks on an adjacent Iranian naval base, despite satellite imagery showing that the building had been walled off from the military base and used as a school since at least 2016. And U.S. military investigators themselves reportedly believe that U.S. forces were likely responsible. There have also been reports of airstrikes that have hit multiple hospitals, cultural heritage sites, and other critical civilian infrastructure. This includes the use of explosive weapons in major Iranian cities and
March 8 - International Women's Day - Celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women
Sen. Cantwell with Rep. John Lewis, other members of WA delegation, on Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday
The President doesn’t believe he is subject to constraints, but the Constitution and the law require Congressional approval for any broad-based military action.   Today’s vote is the first vote in holding the President accountable to those constraints and doing our duty under the Constitution, which says clearly that only Congress can declare war.   The President has taken broad military action in Iran, taking out government leaders, bombing key military targets, and trying to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal.   While deterring dangerous regimes from developing nuclear weapons is a critical mission, this effort has gone far beyond key strikes on timely, urgent targets.   That is why the President must come to Congress if he wants broad military authority.   Under the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, Congress has the power to declare war, while the President, as Commander in Chief, may only use military force without prior congressional approval to repel sudden attacks and respond to clear imminent threats.  
I hear from producers of my state, which is a big ag state, and the big exporters like markets like China and even British Columbia for potatoes, are essentially gone. And now what's happening, which I don't think most people realize, is the world of competition has changed. You know, it used to be we could compete in these Asian markets, but now what's happened is China and India – [I] just met with a potato grower yesterday – China and India are now in the potato business, and guess where they're going? They're going to [Southeast Asia], and the competition from them is growing all while President Trump is taking us and putting us on the sidelines.
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Dear Secretary Bessent: In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority in imposing certain tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) must prioritize prompt reimbursement to those businesses that have paid the substantial tariffs. Given this Administration has illegally collected hundreds of billions of dollars from American businesses, that now must be refunded, I am requesting detailed information about how the Administration plans to fairly and expeditiously reimburse the payors of those tariffs. The Administration should have been preparing for months for the potential that the Supreme Court would likely agree with the position taken by lower courts – including the Court of International Trade, district courts, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals – that the president exceeded his legal authority under IEEPA.[1] Many American businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, have struggled to pay these illegal tariffs and, for some, the financial strain has placed them on the brink of bankruptcy. Thus, it is essential Treasury implement an expeditious and transparent process to remediate the financial harm that resulted from these illegal tariffs. As I understand it, when a good enters a U.S. port of entry, merchandise is classified and tariffs are assessed using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Importers self-classify and declare the value or quantity of their goods and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reviews the paperwork, collects any applicable tariffs, and deposits any revenue from tariffs or other penalties into the General Fund of the United States.
Today's decision is so important because consumers all over our state and the country have been hurt. Small businesses, manufacturers, individual households have all had to pay higher prices on products that they can't afford. We need to really be concerned about America's competitiveness and thank God the court has given us some relief.
Senator Cantwell speaking at press conference to announce new childcare center in Spokane
Sen. Cantwell and President Passerini
Washington Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics Ben Richardson, Curling, Issaquah Luc Violette, Curling, Lake Stevens Katie Henson, Skiing, Redmond Breezy Johnson, Skiing, WWU Novie McCabe, Skiing, Winthrop Jackie Wiles, Skiing, White Pass Anna Gibson, Ski Mountaineering, UW Eunice Lee, Speed Skating, Bellevue Cooper McLeod, Speed Skating, Burlington Corinne Stoddard, Speed Skating, Tacoma
I've talked to many Washingtonians, and they're very worried about what's transpired in Minnesota. What are we going to do to fix this system? What are we going to do to make sure that tragedies like this don't happen and that we investigate the truth—not make up something about the situation minutes after it's happened? I personally think that Department of Homeland Security and ICE should be, in this instance, investigated. I think they should be investigated. And we should know the answers, and we should know that we are upholding the civil liberties of Americans, particularly in the right to express themselves and have free speech, and go to a rally without being—or go to express their views, in this case in Minnesota, without being killed.