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What the Nation Can Learn From Seattle's Fresh Bucks Program
After more than a decade of implementation, Fresh Bucks offers evidence that targeted investments in healthy food can improve food security, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and help reduce nutritional inequality.
Jul 19, 2026
As rising food prices continue to strain household budgets and food insecurity remains a persistent challenge, a successful Seattle program is attracting national attention. For over a decade, the city’s Fresh Bucks initiative has helped lower-income families afford fresh fruits and vegetables through targeted food assistance. Now, Congress is considering whether to test that success at the national level.
Seattle launched Fresh Bucks in 2012. The initiative seeks to “eliminate disparities in healthy food access for communities most burdened by food insecurity, economic hardship, and environmental injustices,” according to the program website. Specifically, according to city data, Black and Hispanic households in Seattle are twice as likely to experience food insecurity—which is defined as “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways” by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Today, Seattle’s Fresh Bucks initiative serves approximately 17,000 income-qualified households each month with benefits dedicated to purchasing fruits and vegetables. Research suggests the investment is paying off. A 2025 study by the University of Washington found that participating households experienced a 31% higher rate of food security than comparable households without the benefit. Additionally, the City of Seattle’s food insecurity dashboard shows aggregate declining insecurity rates since 2018.
The Fresh Bucks program also improves diet quality—not simply by increasing the quantity of food families can buy, but by making nutritious food more affordable. According to the same UW study, Fresh Bucks participants were 37% more likely than households on the program’s waitlist to consume at least three daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
A nationwide Fresh Bucks program would not reverse recent cuts to federal nutrition assistance, but it offers a practical, evidence-based way to reduce hunger while addressing one of inequality’s most basic dimensions: whether families can afford healthy food.
Those gains matter because access to healthy food remains deeply unequal. A 2017 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that healthier diets rich in fruits and vegetables often cost significantly more than heavily processed alternatives, which creates a financial barrier that affects lower-income households most. When income determines access to nutritious food, it reinforces broader inequalities in health and well-being.
Community leaders in neighborhoods served by Fresh Bucks say they see those challenges firsthand.
“In White Center and historically underinvested communities across King County, we see every day how rising grocery costs continue to strain working families, seniors, immigrants, and households already navigating increasing housing and living expenses,” Aaron Garcia, executive director of the White Center Community Development Association, said in a press release on new legislation to expand the program. “Access to healthy, culturally relevant food should not be determined by income—it should not be considered a luxury,” Garcia said.
White Center illustrates why programs like Fresh Bucks matter. One of the Seattle area’s most diverse communities, more than 61% of its residents are people of color and 27% were born outside the US. The neighborhood was historically targeted for redlining, which continues to shape poverty rates and income inequality across the Seattle region.
Census data show White Center has below-average household and per capita incomes and a poverty rate higher than the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan average. Residents of South Seattle, including White Center, face disproportionately limited access to grocery stores offering fresh, nutritious produce. Some advocates describe these neighborhoods not as food deserts, but as examples of “food apartheid”: the racial, geographic, and economic inequities that stratify society and dictate who has access to healthy food and who is relegated to nutritionally deficient diets.
Fresh Bucks was designed to confront those disparities in Seattle by making healthy food more affordable for families who have historically faced the greatest barriers to accessing it.
On the national level, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), whose congressional district includes Seattle, argued that the city’s local innovation can become a model to address broader food insecurity.
“[…] Seattle is once again leading the way with the Fresh Bucks program, which is successfully keeping people fed with nutritious food and reducing hunger,” Jayapal said. “We must pass this legislation to expand the program nationwide and get families in every corner of the country healthy produce they can afford.”
Jayapal introduced the Fresh Bucks for Fresh Produce Act on July 2. Modeled on Seattle’s program, the legislation would establish a pilot program within the US Department of Agriculture, providing households earning 80% or less of their area’s median income with $60 each month to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.
The proposal comes as federal food assistance is moving in the opposite direction. Recent analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has fallen by more than 4 million people after Trump’s budget reconciliation bill passed last June—roughly a 10% decline. Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently eliminated roughly $1 billion in food purchases for schools and food banks by ending the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program.
Other federal policies have also increased food costs. As The New York Times reported in May, executive tariffs on imported steel have driven up the cost of canned fruits and vegetables, because packaging accounts for roughly one-third of wholesale prices. Those increases disproportionately affect households that depend on affordable pantry staples such as canned corn and beans.
Public opinion indicates opposition to these trends. A 2025 Data for Progress survey found broad bipartisan support for SNAP and other efforts to help families afford food. A nationwide Fresh Bucks program would not reverse recent cuts to federal nutrition assistance, but it offers a practical, evidence-based way to reduce hunger while addressing one of inequality’s most basic dimensions: whether families can afford healthy food.
The proposed federal pilot would allow policymakers to test whether Seattle’s results can be replicated elsewhere. After more than a decade of implementation, Fresh Bucks offers evidence that targeted investments in healthy food can improve food security, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and help reduce nutritional inequality.
That evidence is especially valuable as the USDA has suspended its annual report tracking food insecurity, making it more difficult to measure the full scope of hunger nationwide. Seattle’s experience suggests that local governments can serve as laboratories for policies that address inequality—and that successful municipal innovations may provide models for broader adoption.
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Inspired by Seattle Program, Jayapal Bill Would Help US Families Buy Fruits and Veggies
"As families struggle to keep food on the table, Congress must prioritize work on efforts to lower costs and help Americans stay afloat," said the Washington Democrat.
Jul 02, 2026
As Americans face rising grocery prices under President Donald Trump and rally behind progressive policies and primary candidates, US Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Thursday introduced a bill that shows what kind of proposals could become reality with more Democrats like her in Congress.
Inspired by a program in her own district in Washington state, the chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced the Fresh Bucks for Fresh Produce Act, which would create a pilot program at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that gives households earning 80% or less of their area's median income $60 per month to buy fruits and vegetables.
The USDA pilot would be modeled on Seattle's Fresh Bucks initiative, in which enrolled households "experience a 31% higher rate of food security and consume at least three daily servings of fruits and vegetables 37% more often than those assigned to a program waitlist," according to University of Washington (UW) research published last August.
"I would classify both of those numbers as pretty large," study co-author Jessica Jones-Smith a professor at UW and University of California, Irvine, said at the time. "We don't routinely see interventions that work that well. It's a pretty big impact on diet in terms of what we can do from a policy perspective and expect to make a difference in food insecurity."
In Seattle—generally ranked as an expensive but livable metropolis—a single person living within city limits on a monthly income of $7,070, or $84,850 a year, can apply for the program. For a family of four, it's $10,095 per month, or $121,150 annually. In January, the city the welcomed over 4,500 more local households off its waitlist and increased monthly benefits from $40 to $60.
Those enrolled in Seattle's program can buy "fresh fruits and vegetables at supermarkets, and fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables (with no added fats, sugars, or salt) at farmers markets and independent grocers" that accept Fresh Bucks cards.
Adam Porter, who directs the Meals on Wheels program at the Seattle-based Sound Generations, said Thursday that "older adults across King County are facing impossible choices as grocery prices continue to rise. Seattle's Fresh Bucks program has had a substantial impact on our clients' health and quality of life: We have seen firsthand how a targeted produce benefit can increase health equity, improve food security, and keep food dollars circulating locally.
"A USDA pilot modeled on that success would be a meaningful step toward healthier households and stronger community food systems nationwide," Porter continued. In addition to his organization, groups endorsing Jayapal's bill include the Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture, Farm Action Fund, Food & Water Watch, National Education Association, Southern Poverty Law Center, White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA), and over a dozen more.
"In White Center and historically underinvested communities across King County, we see every day how rising grocery costs continue to strain working families, seniors, immigrants, and households already navigating increasing housing and living expenses," said WCCDA executive director Aaron Garcia. "Access to healthy, culturally relevant food should not be determined by income—it should not be considered a luxury."
"At WCCDA, we believe thriving communities require systems that make healthy food accessible, affordable, and attainable—and that investments in food access are investments in community health, economic stability, and opportunity," Garcia said. "We strongly support Congresswoman Jayapal's leadership in advancing innovative solutions that respond to the realities families face today while strengthening local food systems and neighborhood businesses that give us our vibrancy."
"Expanding the proven Seattle Fresh Bucks model through a federal pilot offers an opportunity to increase food security, support local producers and retailers, and help communities across the country build healthier, more resilient futures," he added.
Jayapal has celebrated recent primary wins by leftists in New York, and on Thursday, with the November midterms just four months away, she called out her Republican colleagues—who are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress after using them to pass cuts to federal food and healthcare programs while giving more tax breaks to the rich.
"As families struggle to keep food on the table, Congress must prioritize work on efforts to lower costs and help Americans stay afloat," said Jayapal, who is joined in sponsoring the bill by Democratic Reps. Alma Adams (NC), Nanette Barragán (Calif.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Shomari Figures (Ala.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Andrea Salinas (Ore.), Adam Smith (Wash.), and Shri Thanedar (Mich).
"While Republicans in Congress enacted legislation to raise food prices and are hell-bent on cutting food assistance, Seattle is once again leading the way with the Fresh Bucks program, which is successfully keeping people fed with nutritious food and reducing hunger," she said. "We must pass this legislation to expand the program nationwide and get families in every corner of the country healthy produce they can afford."
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Colorado Governor Fires Officials Who Criticized Democrat's Release of Election-Denying Clerk
"Firing people who oppose you is also a page out of Trump's playbook," said US Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Jul 02, 2026
US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal on Thursday accused Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis of conduct commonly seen from President Donald Trump's after Polis fired two members of the state clemency board, citing their decision to speak out publicly against his release of former county Clerk Tina Peters.
In 2024, Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison for tampering with voting equipment in an effort to prove the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump. The president, who faced his own legal challenges for spreading the falsehood and trying to overturn the election, issued a symbolic pardon for Peters and pressured Polis to commute her sentence, which Polis did in May, angering members of his own party and democracy advocates.
Two members of the state clemency board, Hannah Seigel Proff and Azra Taslimi, were among those who opposed Polis' decision, and they went against the board's usual custom of maintaining secrecy about its proceedings to reveal that the entire board had twice voted unanimously to reject Peters' bid for a shorter sentence, only to be overruled by the governor.
On Wednesday, Proff and Taslimi told The New York Times that they'd received dismissal letters from Polis, who told them they had "breached the required duty of confidentiality by publicly divulging board members’ votes."
Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Polis' commutation of Peters's sentence was akin to acting like the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by election-denying Trump supporters "didn't happen."
"Firing people who oppose you is also a page out of Trump's playbook," said the congresswomen.
The board members also revealed that Polis had passed over other deserving applications for parole before he allowed Peters to walk free on June 1.
"We have reviewed hundreds of applications that moved us to tears," they wrote in an op-ed at The Denver Post. "People who spent decades atoning for a single terrible decision, who attended college or seminary behind bars, completed countless programs, developed curricula for other incarcerated people, mentored young offenders, and raised thousands of dollars for victims’ rights organizations."
"Along with nine other members of the board, we have read applications supported by prosecutors who tried the case, by prison wardens who watched the transformation happen, and even by victims themselves," they continued. "And we have seen the governor fail to act or delay many of these applications."
A spokesperson for Polis told the Times that their decision to divulge the two unanimous votes against Peters' release threatened the "credibility of the board." Taslimi told 9NEWS Denver that Polis' real message in deciding to fire the two board members "is that the public doesn't have the right to know that his own advisory board told him no, twice, unanimously."
"That's not protecting the process, that's protecting himself from scrutiny," said Taslimi.
Gov. Jared Polis passed over other deserving inmates to give clemency to Tina Peters, according to two members of his clemency board who revealed Polis overruled the unanimous recommendation of his experts. Polis has now fired both of them. pic.twitter.com/N2bc8uxSc7
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) July 2, 2026
The two dismissed board members noted in their op-ed that Peters, unlike many of the people who have submitted clemency applications that have been rejected by Polis, has "expressed no contrition" for the crime she was convicted of.
"Within hours of her release, Peters appeared on a podcast and immediately resumed her attacks on the integrity of US elections," they wrote. "She repeated the debunked conspiracy theory that voting machines cheated Donald Trump out of reelection in 2020 and portrayed herself as a martyr to the effort to expose it. She called her release a miracle."
"The governor said he was moved by her admission that she made a mistake," they added. "She walked out of prison and told the world she made no mistake at all."
Proff told 9NEWS that she might regret her decision to speak out if her fellow board members were "disappointed" in her public revelations about the panel's operations.
"But I really have a feeling that the person who's upset," said Proff, "is the one that was using our board as backing for a politically unpopular and unjust decision."
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'There Must Be Accountability,' Says Jayapal in Response to 50+ ICE Detainee Deaths
"This is unprecedented and further proof that ICE and their private, for-profit prison contractors should not be sent another cent of taxpayer dollars."
Jun 08, 2026
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal on Monday demanded accountability for the Trump administration officials responsible for the "unprecedented" number of people who have died while detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement during President Donald Trump's second term.
"Yesterday, I was notified of the 50th death in ICE custody since Trump returned to office," Jayapal (D-Wash.)—the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement—said on social media. "This is unprecedented and further proof that ICE and their private, for-profit prison contractors should not be sent another cent of taxpayer dollars. There must be accountability."
According to ICE's public database, 51 people have died while detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency during Trump's second term, including two people who were killed in a sniper attack on an ICE administrative and processing center in Dallas. At least 10 of the deaths were men who killed themselves, according to an Associated Press investigation published late last month.
ICE recently announced it would stop reporting the deaths of people recently released from ICE detention. The reporting policy, enacted in 2021, was meant to assure accountability and prevent the agency from offloading severely ill detainees.
Many of the deaths were preventable, say experts who point to systemic understaffing and DHS policy choices that weaken detainee care and employee oversight.
Jayapal's call comes as ICE detainees across the nation are resisting abuse in concentration centers across the nation, through hunger strikes and other civil disobedience, as well as via lawsuits.
Hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey—which is operated by prison profiteer GEO Group—are participating in a hunger and labor strike over unsanitary conditions, inedible food, poor medical care, and prolonged detention, while federal agents have attacked people outside the facility including protesters and a sitting US senator.
Similar strikes and other acts of resistance are either ongoing or recently occurred at Adelanto Processing Center and its Desert View Annex in California, North Lake Processing Center in Michigan, Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania—all run by GEO Group—and other lockups. Detainees who participate in hunger strikes or speak to reporters say they have been placed in solitary confinement and subjected to other retaliation.
Despite—some critics say because of—reports of widespread abuses, DHS recently shut down its Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), which was created by an act of Congress signed into law during Trump's first term amid rampant systemic abuse of migrants including detainee deaths, family separation, and severe overcrowding. OIDO had the power to receive detainee complaints, investigate alleged abuse or misconduct, inspect detention facilities, and report systemic problems to DHS leaders and Congress.
Jayapal, who is an immigrant, has been one of Congress' most vocal critics of Trump's xenophobic immigration crackdown. She was a leading voice for the replacement of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and has visited several ICE detention centers—and been blocked from conducting official oversight duties at one of them.
She also introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, a proposal "to end the use of private, for-profit detention centers, end the use of mandatory detention, update and implement robust minimum requirements for care, and conduct urgent oversight at other facilities across the country.”
Last week, Jayapal highlighted a report published by the office of DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari that detailed violations of food safety and medical care standards, excessive use of force, and other improprieties at the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, which is run by prison profiteer LaSalle Corrections.
“This DHS OIG report details what we have heard from detained immigrants across the country—that these detention centers have violated numerous required standards and are putting people’s health and safety at serious risk," Jayapal said in a statement. "And this report verifies what many immigrants have stated is happening at these private, for-profit detention centers across the country."
"DHS must immediately withdraw funding from the numerous detention centers that consistently do not meet the minimum required standards for housing immigrant detainees," the congresswoman added. "For those that remain, DHS must require facilities to take immediate corrective action and engage in serious oversight of these for-profit prison operators who are prioritizing their cash coffers over meeting basic health and safety standards."
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Judge Strikes Down Trump 'Anti-Immigrant' Policies, Orders Restart of Asylum Processing
“This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: The federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from,” said one advocate.
Jun 05, 2026
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday struck down a series of President Donald Trump's policies that he ruled were rooted in "anti-immigrant sentiments" and ordered the administration to resume processing of asylum grants and immigration benefit applications of people from 39 targeted countries.
Last November, US Citizenship and Immigration Services indefinitely suspended asylum adjudications and froze immigration applications for people affected by a travel ban implemented after a man from Afghanistan allegedly shot two National Guard troops in Washington, DC.
Trump vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries” and expedite the removal of people his administration doesn’t consider “a net asset” to the United States. The administration's move halted the ability of people from affected nations to obtain green cards, US citizenship, and other benefits.
US District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said in his ruling that the administration's policies are rooted in “anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making" and have placed immigrants living in the United States in "indeterminate legal limbo."
“The challenged policies placed the lives of countless individuals on hold—solely by virtue of their countries of birth,” McConnell wrote. “Over six months later, many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures.”
“The government effectively invites the court to shut its eyes and ignore the strong evidence of anti-immigrant animus before it,” the judge added. “Doing so would require profound naiveté on the court’s part. Unfortunately for the government, that is an invitation that this court will have to decline.”
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival slammed McConnell's ruling in a social media post accusing "the Left" of "running the same gambit with so-called 'animus' claims since 2017."
"It is sabotage dressed in legal clothing," Percival added. "It goes like this: (1) the admin is racist, (2) therefore a policy I don’t like is motivated by race, (3) therefore it is invalid. They have used it on virtually every Trump-era DHS policy."
Plaintiffs and others involved in the case welcomed McConnell's decision.
“This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: The federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from,” Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman said in a statement.
"These unlawful policies caused enormous harm to families, workers, asylum seekers, and communities across the country who were left in limbo, unable to work, access protections, or move forward with their lives," Perryman added. "We are pleased that the court recognized the devastating human consequences of these policies. Our communities deserve a fair process governed by law, not political targeting rooted in fear-mongering and discrimination.”
🚨 STATEMENT: Federal Judge Rejects Trump Admin’s Unlawful Immigration Restrictions, Restoring Access to Asylum for Immigrant NYers“Everyone deserves a fair chance to have their case heard under the law." Murad Awawdehnyic.org/press
[image or embed]
— New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) (@thenyic.bsky.social) June 5, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Milagro Sique, CEO at the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, said: “Today is a good day. On behalf of the thousands of immigrants we serve, we are grateful to Judge McConnell for his ruling."
"These policies were wrong, plain and simple, and caused profound fear and uncertainty for so many of our friends, neighbors, and coworkers," Sique added. "Having the judicial process work as intended—by upholding the rule of law—gives us some reassurance that all is not lost and allows those who have been impacted to move forward with their lives in a meaningful way."
Abbey Koenning-Rutherford, staff attorney at Muslim Advocates, said that "today’s decision is an unsparing rejection of the government’s discriminatory and unlawful actions to gut access to immigration benefits under the false pretext of national security."
“These policies unjustly revived the discriminatory logic of the first Muslim and African bans and expanded them widely to millions of community members already inside the United States," she continued, referring to policies enacted during Trump's first term.
"In vacating these unlawful policies, the court makes it unmistakably clear that the Trump administration cannot hold the lives of immigrants in legal limbo based on their countries of birth, and must continue processing their applications for status and benefits as required by law," Koenning-Rutherford added.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)—an immigrant from India—was among the Democratic lawmakers who applauded Friday's ruling, writing on social media that "this is a BIG win."
"A judge has now reaffirmed that Trump’s freeze on processing immigration applications for 39 countries is illegal and that processing must restart immediately," she added. "Today’s ruling is not the end of the fight, but it is a major step in the right direction."
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'Narrow-Minded and Xenophobic' Nancy Mace Ripped for Proposed Ban on Naturalized Citizens Serving in Congress
Called out by name, Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her Republican colleague had introduced "racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants."
May 20, 2026
US Rep. Pramila Jayapal called on her colleagues from both sides of the aisle to condemn legislation proposed by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday, which would bar naturalized citizens from serving in Congress, on the federal judiciary, and as Senate-confirmed Cabinet members.
“Instead of working to help the American people, as so many cannot keep the lights on, keep food on the table, or pay their rent, Nancy Mace is instead introducing racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants," the Washington Democrat said in a statement. "This is also insulting to the hundreds of thousands of constituents who elected naturalized citizens into office."
Jayapal was one of three Democratic members of Congress who were specifically called out by Mace (R-SC) when she posted about her proposal on social media Wednesday. She also named Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a frequent target of openly racist Republican attacks, and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.).
Mace claimed that the foreign-born elected officials make clear "every single day their loyalty is not to America," without naming any examples to back up the spurious and hateful allegation.
"The people writing America's laws, confirming America's judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America," said Mace. "Not any other country. For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day."
The proposed legislation would amend the US Constitution to say only people who were citizens at birth can serve in Congress.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus was quick to point out that several Republican members of Congress, including President Donald Trump ally Reps. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who was born in Colombia, and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), would be forced out of Congress if the legislation passed.
Mace announced her proposal a day after Vice President JD Vance said the US Department of Justice is investigating Omar, who came to the US as a refugee from Somalia as a child, for alleged immigration fraud. There is no evidence the congresswoman committed fraud to come to the US.
Jayapal issued a reminder that "with the exception of Native Americans, every person in this country—including Nancy Mace—is descended from immigrants. And America is made stronger by the people from across the world with diverse talents who come here to live and work."
“This narrow-minded, xenophobic legislation has no place in Congress, and I call on all my colleagues—including my Republican colleagues who are naturalized citizens—to condemn this.”
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GOP Accuses Jayapal of 'Treason' Over Efforts to End US Oil Blockade on Cuba
"Breaking news: Members of Congress meet with ambassadors of other countries every day. That’s literally our right and responsibility," said the congresswoman.
May 07, 2026
Two days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that "there's no oil blockade on Cuba," appearing to deny that President Donald Trump issued an executive order threatening countries with tariffs if they provide energy to the island, Republican members of Congress accused a progressive lawmaker of "treasonous behavior" for her efforts to alleviate the crisis unfolding in Cuba due to its US-caused fuel shortage.
Rep. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) appeared on Fox News Thursday morning to suggest Jayapal (D-Wash.) violated the US Constitution by participating in talks with foreign ambassadors about efforts to send oil to Cuba.
"Treason is outlined right there in our Constitution, you can't give aid or comfort to enemies," said Moody. "This is astounding."
Sen. Ashley Moody on Rep. Jayapal saying she's working on helping Cuba get oil: "Treason is outlined right there in our Constitution. You can't give aid or comfort to enemies ... that's communism 101" pic.twitter.com/xYJhYGD3a1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 7, 2026
Moody continued with what appeared to be a diatribe linking Jayapal to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has frequently been accused by the GOP of being a "communist" and has unveiled a plan to open a network of city-run grocery stores to compete with corporations: "Look at what they're espousing around the nation by cracking down on businesses, government-run businesses, pushing people out of these areas. Making people rely on government. That's communism 101."
She then accused Jayapal of "meeting with cartel members," an apparent reference to the congresswoman's comments at an event on Monday, when she said she had been "in conversations with the ambassadors from Mexico and some other places, and I know other countries in Latin America are trying to figure out how to get oil [to Cuba]."
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who is reportedly highly influential in President Donald Trump's White House, also called for Jayapal's arrest, prompting the lawmaker to issue a reminder of the regular duties of members of Congress.
"Breaking news: Members of Congress meet with ambassadors of other countries every day. That’s literally our right and responsibility," said Jayapal.
The executive order Trump signed in January alleges that Cuba harbors terrorists and poses a threat to the security of the US, a claim that Cuban officials and experts have decried as baseless. The president has suggested he could take military action against Cuba numerous times, and last Friday he announced expanded sanctions impacting Cuba's finance, energy, and security sectors, citing "national security threats posed by the communist Cuban regime."
At the event on Monday, Jayapal noted that the White House itself has coordinated the arrival of a Russian oil tanker in Cuba after it began imposing the new policy.
"Since January, only one Russian tanker of oil has made it to Cuba," said Jayapal. "In fact, it landed just a couple of days before I landed, and one tanker has enough oil basically for 10 to 14 days of Cuba’s oil needs—so it’s a very limited amount of time."
La congresista estadounidense, Pramila Jayapal, convocó una sesión informativa con el fin de examinar la crisis humanitaria que atraviesa Cuba, a partir de lo observado durante la visita que realizó recientemente a la isla con una delegación del Congreso.
Jayapal ha estado… pic.twitter.com/eh6YNUv81F
— Tere Felipe (@_TereFelipe_) May 7, 2026
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) also appeared on Fox News to accuse Jayapal of treason, while Rep. Clay Fuller (R-Ga.) said her discussions with the ambassador of Mexico—a close US ally—were "deeply un-American" and a "clear violation of the Logan Act," which prohibits US citizens from taking party in negotiations with foreign governments that are in disputes with the US.
"By definition, you can only commit treason in regards to a country against which the United States has declared formal war (you know, that power the Constitution gave to Congress, not the President)," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council.
Ryan Grim, co-founder of Drop Site News, recalled the comments of Rubio—the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime proponent of regime change in the country—at his press conference Tuesday.
"Wait, Rubio said there is no blockade," said Grim. "How can it be a problem to get oil to Cuba if there is no blockade?"
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Democrats Keep Trying: Jayapal Introduces War Powers Resolution to Stop Trump's Illegal Iran War
"This is not what the American people want, it is a violation of our Constitution, and Congress must step up to end it."
Apr 23, 2026
"Congress alone has the power to declare war—it's that simple," US Rep. Pramila Jayapal proclaimed Thursday, introducing yet another resolution aimed at ending President Donald Trump and Israel's unauthorized assault on Iran.
"Trump has recklessly and thoughtlessly thrown us into another forever war that is threatening US service members' lives, civilians' lives in Iran and Lebanon, and is costing billions of taxpayer dollars every single day," said the Washington Democrat.
"This is not what the American people want, it is a violation of our Constitution, and Congress must step up to end it," Jayapal stressed, nodding to Article I, Section 8, which gives the federal legislature the power to declare war.
Jayapal, chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is the third CPC member to introduce a war powers resolution about Trump's illegal war on Iran this week, following Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) on Wednesday and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Tuesday.
Khanna said that he introduced the bill in coordination with CPC "just so that we can continue to have options to have votes," according to Punchbowl News reporter Anthony Adragna. He and Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) previously introduced the first of three failed Iran war powers resolutions in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.
There have been five failed votes in the Senate—which is also controlled by Republicans—most recently on Wednesday. In response, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that "if Donald Trump won't dig us out of this hole, Congress must step into the breach and exercise its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace."
"Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolutions every week until Senate Republicans see reason," Schumer vowed.
The vote results have largely fallen along party lines, though Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has joined Democrats in backing the bills, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has been the lone senator from his party to oppose the war powers resolutions on Iran.
However, as Center for International Policy senior fellow Sina Toossi noted on social media Thursday, "a very unpopular, costly war is starting to shift GOP politics."
Toossi pointed to Politico reporting that "several GOP senators are warning the president could face growing pushback, including them not supporting military action against Iran after the conflict hits the 60-day mark at the end of the month, if he doesn't articulate his plan."
On Tuesday, Trump extended a two-week truce for his and Israel's war on Iran, while also insisting that the US will continue its naval blockade against the country. After that announcement, Toossi stressed that "trust between the sides remains at zero and renewed war could break out at any time."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel is "prepared to resume the war" in Iran and is "awaiting a green light from the United States."
Meanwhile, following talks at the White House on Thursday, Trump announced that Israel and the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah have agreed to extend a related ceasefire by three weeks.
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'I Will Continue to Speak Out Strongly Against War,' Says Pope Leo in Face of Trump Abuse
"The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.'"
Apr 13, 2026
Pope Leo XIV on Monday said he would not back off his criticism of President Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran after the president targeted him with an unhinged late-night social media rant.
In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump accused Pope Leo of being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," even though dealing with crime and running US foreign policy are not part of the pope's job description.
"Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician," Trump wrote at the conclusion of his long tirade. "It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!"
A short time later, Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image that depicted him as a Christ-like figure.
Pope Leo in recent weeks has been openly critical of the US war in Iran, taking particular issue with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claiming that the conflict was being waged in the name of Jesus Christ.
“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” the pope said during a Palm Sunday sermon last month. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
According to a Monday report from the Associated Press, the pope remained defiant in the face of criticism from the president.
"The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,'" he said. "I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible."
Leo added that he is "not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel," and insisted that "I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems."
Trump's attack on the pope drew a rebuke from Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who said it was reflective of a presidency circling the drain.
" Donald Trump is flailing," Kelly wrote in a social media post. "His war in Iran has led to the death and injury of American servicemembers and the death of Iranian children. He will attack anyone or anything to try to protect himself, even the Church that millions of Americans find faith and comfort in every day."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal suggested that Trump's anti-pope rant was more evidence that he is mentally unwell and should be removed from office.
"The deranged and disgusting post from Trump attacking Pope Leo should certainly help him appeal to the more than 50 million Americans who identify as Catholics," she wrote. "Perhaps this will convince JD Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office?"
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was "disheartened" that Trump "chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father."
"Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the pope a politician," Coakley added. "He is the vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls."
The Rev. James Martin said he doubted Pope Leo "will lose any sleep over" Trump's rant, but added "the rest of us should" because "it is unhinged, uncharitable, and unchristian."
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After Visit, US Lawmakers Say ‘Cruel Collective Punishment’ of Cuba Must End Immediately
Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson described Trump's blockade of the island as "effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country that has produced permanent damage."
Apr 06, 2026
After returning from a delegation trip to Cuba, US Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson on Sunday renewed calls for President Donald Trump to end his illegal fuel blockade of the island, which they described as "cruel collective punishment."
The pair of progressive lawmakers were the first to visit the island since Trump imposed the blockade in January in a bid to cripple the island's economy as part of an effort to overthrow its government, or, in the president's words, "take" the island.
Almost no oil has been allowed to enter for more than three months, which Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Jackson (D-Ill.) described as "effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country—that has produced permanent damage."
"We witnessed firsthand premature babies in incubators, weighing just two pounds, who are at tremendous risk because their ventilators and incubators cannot function without electricity," they said. "Children cannot attend school because there is no fuel for them or their teachers to travel. Cancer patients cannot receive lifesaving treatments because of a lack of medications."
"There is a water shortage because there is little electricity to pump water," they continued. "Businesses have closed. Families cannot keep food refrigerated, and food production on the island has dropped to just 10% of the people’s needs."
The oil blockade is an escalation of more than 60 years of punitive economic warfare by the US against Cuba, imposed through an embargo that has limited Cuba's ability to trade with the rest of the world and hampered its economic development to the tune of trillions of dollars.
Jayapal had previously visited Cuba in February 2024 on a trip with other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Since her last time in Havana, she said, "There's such a big difference."
"So many of the streets of this beautiful city were deserted. People were already lining up for food," she said in an interview with the Cuban outlet Belly of the Beast. "I don't think that any American wants to create this kind of devastation for the Cuban children, for the babies, for the moms, for the people."
She said the phrase "collective punishment," while accurate, almost felt "too technocratic" to describe what she witnessed.
"We are strangling the Cuban people," Jayapal said.
The United Nations General Assembly has voted 33 times to call for the end of the embargo since 1993.
In February, a group of UN experts condemned Trump's fuel blockade as "a serious violation of international law and a grave threat to a democratic and equitable international order" and an "extreme form of unilateral economic coercion."
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has acknowledged having talks with Trump in recent weeks in order to negotiate an end to the embargo and threats of further aggression.
The Cuban government has taken actions that the lawmakers described as "signs that Cuba is changing." It has released more than 2,000 prisoners, announced economic reforms to allow more involvement of American businesses, and allowed the FBI to investigate Cuban troops' lethal shooting of five armed Cuban exiles as they approached in a speedboat in February.
While hardly softening his threats to Cuba, which he continued to insist was “finished,” Trump last week allowed a Russian oil tanker to dock on the island without incident and deliver around 700,000 barrels of much-needed oil.
But the lawmakers said it's not enough. Jackson, noting the "generosity" of Cuba as a provider of medical treatment around the world, said the US must allow food and fuel to be allowed to return to the island "so that the Cuban people can continue to rise."
Jayapal said that when they spoke with Diaz-Canel, he expressed "a real desire for a real negotiation" with the US, but that he also expressed "sadness" and "frustration" at what was being done to his country.
"These kinds of sanctions, embargoes, they don't get to the government. They hurt the people," Jayapal said. "Perhaps the American people don't understand the violence of an economic sanction versus the violence of dropping a bomb."
Jackson—whose father, the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, took many trips to Cuba during his life—described America's treatment of the nation’s people as a “crucifixion.”
"Americans would not want to see what I saw in that hospital," Jackson said, describing a malnourished baby named Alejandro, whom he said was "fighting for life."
Due to the intermittent power surges caused by the lack of fuel, he said, "We didn't know when the incubator was going to start working."
"That's an act of war," he said. "We have to put an end to that."
He added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself a Cuban-American who has long sought to bring about regime change, "should come before the Congress and explain his policy."
In late March, Jayapal introduced legislation that would block Trump from conducting military action against Cuba without congressional authorization. She said she'd continue to push for bills to block Trump from launching a war and to push for sanctions relief.
The Trump administration has portrayed its economic warfare as part of an effort to "liberate" the Cuban people from an oppressive government.
But the lawmakers, who met with wide swaths of Cuban society—including business and religious leaders, humanitarian groups, and civil society organizations—said that "Cubans across the political spectrum," including anti-government dissidents, expressed similar feelings.
"Across all sectors, there is agreement," they said. "This illegal blockade must end immediately."
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