Another win for Rhode Island against illegal Trump policies

RI Democratic Party hires former Magaziner aide as executive director

State Dems staff up going into the midterm elections

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Katherine Riordan, a former press assistant for U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, has been tapped as the Rhode Island Democratic Party’s new executive director.

The state’s Democratic party announced Riordan’s hiring in its weekly email newsletter on Friday. Riordan, who most recently worked in communications for Democratic congressman Magaziner, fills the full-time, paid leadership role left open after Sam Bader left in December 2025. 

Bader, who worked for three years for the Democratic party, including one year as its director, took a new job as campaign manager for Kim Ahern, a candidate for state attorney general.

Riordan, a Rhode Island native and University of Rhode Island graduate, was chosen through a nationwide search that drew candidates from across the country, Liz Beretta-Perik, party chair, said in an email.

“Katherine applied for and was offered the position because of her vast experience in communications, organization and public service,” Beretta-Perik said. “Her experience and energy will be critical as we begin a pivotal election season working to keep Rhode Island Blue.”

A job posting still up on the party’s website lists a $70,000 to $100,000 salary, with a minimum of four years of campaign or related work experience. 

Rightwing Florida MAGAnut running against Rep. Seth Magaziner gets a warm Rhode Island welcome

Protesters gather outside Crowne Plaza in Warwick to protest candidate Vic Mellor and his right-wing 'Rhode Island First Rally'

Steve Ahlquist

©2026 Anthony Ricci

Florida businessman Vic Mellor has announced his intention to challenge Seth Magaziner for the 2nd Congressional District seat in Rhode Island. 

Mellor participated in the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack, which he described to Kathy Gregg at the Providence Journal: “January 6 was [in the] top five of the emotional feelings you have for being part of something." 

He and his son, said Mellor, made it inside the Capitol building that day. Mellor is a friend of retired Army General Michael Flynn and has been involved in Flynn’s Reawaken America tour. [See: Michael Flynn and the ‘Destiny of America’]

“I look forward to campaigning for another term next year,” said Representative Magaziner in a statement. “The stakes are high. No one who attacked the Capitol on January 6 should represent Rhode Island in Congress, and especially not someone who has lived outside our state for 30 years.”

As part of his campaign, Mellor held a Rhode Island First Rally¹ on Saturday, March 7, at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick Airport, which drew protesters and counter-protesters to the hotel entrance. Under the watchful eye of Warwick Police Officers, around 75 people gathered across the street from the hotel entrance, holding signs and chanting. Around a dozen counter-protesters stood at the entrance of the hotel, holding signs in support of President Trump and ICE.

Among the protesters were members of organizations opposed to extreme right-wing politics, including Li’l Rhode Visibility Brigade, The West Bay Blue Wave, South County Resistance, South County Rising, Stand Up Rhode Island, Indivisible East Bay RI, Cranston Forward, RI-WTF Resistance Coalition, Indivisible Metro RI, Jewish Voice for Peace - RI, and Indivisible South Coast New England.

Reporter Pat Ford has pictures on Facebook from inside Mellor’s Rhode Island First Rally.

©2026 Anthony Ricci

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Magaziner visits ICE detainees at the Wyatt.

Will his fellow congressmen follow suit?

by Philip Eil, Rhode Island Current

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner paid an unannounced visit to Rhode Island’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility this week. On Tuesday afternoon, he issued a statement after inspecting the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, in Central Falls, which holds detainees for the U.S. Marshals Service as well as ICE. It reads, in part:

“As with other inspections I have conducted of ICE and Border Patrol detention facilities, my focus was on assessing the condition of the facility and the ability of detainees to have basic needs met including access to legal counsel, due process, medical services, and nutrition.”

The statement is conspicuously light on details. It makes no mention of what Magaziner saw while inside the facility, or whether the basic needs of the ICE detainees held there are, in fact, being met. (As of the last publicly-disclosed head count in November, there were 110 ICE detainees there, and the population remained over 100 throughout 2025.)

Still, the visit made Magaziner a leader among Rhode Island’s congressional delegation. Members of Congress have statutory authority to make unannounced inspections at ICE facilities. But, though ICE has dominated headlines during Trump’s second term for all manner of scandals and abuses, and although the Wyatt has remained in steady use by the agency, Magaziner appears to be the first among our state’s four delegates to inspect the facility during Trump’s second term.

So I reached out to the other three to see what their plans were. Here’s what the responses were:

A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo said he plans to visit “soon,” though she did not specify when. 

A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said Reed “has visited Wyatt and other similar facilities in other states before and plans to visit Wyatt again.” He did not specify when Reed had last visited Wyatt.   

A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Whitehouse “has visited Wyatt in the past and will likely do so again.” She confirmed that he had not visited during Trump’s second term.

I received a message from the Florida MAGAnut who wants to be my US Representative

Another MAGA outlier wants to represent Charlestown

By Will Collette

It’s pretty unusual to get an e-mail from a candidate for the US Congress that serves as a rebuttal to a speech by a state Governor, in this case Dan McKee and his State of the State address to the General Assembly.

It’s even more unusual when that candidate doesn’t even live here. The candidate is Victor Mellor, an ultra-MAGA nut who lives in a colony he built to house himself and like-minded rightwing loonies. Mellor went through the motions of renting an apartment in Rhode Island so he could run against our outstanding US District 2 Representative Seth Magaziner.

Mellor was born in Woonsocket but has been living in Florida for the past 30 years. 

In 1994, his ex-wife in Woonsocket filed criminal charges against Mellor for beating and attempting to kill her. After leaving for Florida, Mellor again faced criminal charges in 1998 for allegedly beating his live-in girlfriend with a closed fist on at least 4 occasions.

Mellor was not tried or convicted in either case and told the Providence Journal “My past doesn't define me." Maybe Mellor should hire local attorney Leah Boisclair to help him explain his past. Boisclair calls herself a “Sex Crime Defense Attorney” and wants to unseat our state Representative Tina Spears (Democrat, District 36) in the upcoming Democratic Primary.

Mellor was a January 6 insurrectionist and told the Providence Journal that January 6 was among the “top 5” moments of his life.

I make no secret of my dislike for Dan McKee, but in my opinion, Mellor doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His news release proves it: Mellor seems to have no purpose in making this statement against McKee’s speech other than to allow him to tout his undying loyalty to Donald Trump and his hateful MAGA policies.

Here is Mellor’s statement. I added my own notes in Bold Red.

Mellor: “Rhode Islanders Need Results, Not Rhetoric.”

Victor Mellor, U.S Congressional Candidate, gives response to Rhode Island’s State of the State Address.

Governor Dan McKee’s State of the State address spoke at length about programs and promises but failed to acknowledge the real consequences of years of rising costs, shrinking opportunity, and families being pushed closer to the edge every month.

I agree with the Minority Leader that Rhode Islanders are being asked to accept more government while receiving less relief.

Will Collette: Like Mellor would know from his gated compound in Florida. I wonder if he even knows the Minority Leader’s name.

From a congressional standpoint, the path forward is clear.

First, we must restore accountability and results. Under President Trump’s administration, federal policies have already begun moving the country in the right direction, strengthening national security, restoring fiscal discipline, and prioritizing American citizens. The problem is not federal inaction; it’s state leadership that has failed to fully leverage these reforms for Rhode Island families.

WC: Donald Trump himself admits that he is accountable to no one and nothing other than his own “morality.” He’s “moving the country in the right direction?” How? By declaring war on our allies, building gold battleships, running the most corrupt regime in our history, pushing white supremacy and racism? “Fiscal discipline?” Yeah, like destroying the White House to build a $400 million gold ballroom, giving tax breaks and pardons to oligarchs and pedos, imposing a national sales tax (tariffs) and throwing hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work. I don’t know if we can stand three more years of such “progress.”

As a member of Congress, I will work directly with state legislators to bring maritime and defense contracts back to Rhode Island, contracts that mean good-paying jobs, skilled trades, and long-term economic stability, especially in a state with deep naval and maritime roots. That’s how we rebuild a working-class economy.

WC: Yeah sure, the same way that Trump tried to strangle those same industries with his relentless attack on offshore wind, a move bitterly criticized by those same construction and maritime workers.

Second, we must be honest about workforce development. Not every child wants or needs a four-year college degree. I strongly support Career and Technical Education and skilled trades programs that prepare students for real careers. Rhode Island should be producing welders, electricians, shipbuilders, technicians, and engineers.

WC: No one disagrees with expanding educational opportunities, except maybe Donald Trump who is destroying public education by cutting funds and killing the US Department of Education. Mellor fails to mention the crippling effect of Trump’s attack on science, research and health care. This not only cost Rhode Island thousands of jobs but also hobbled cancer research and is exposing Americans to preventable, potentially deadly diseases.

Third, our priorities must be clear: Rhode Island citizens come first. Public resources should serve the people who live, work, and pay taxes here, not incentivize illegal immigration while residents are told to do more with less.

WC: Sure, send in the ICE stormtroopers. Beat, pepper spray, arrest and detain without charges or legal counsel anyone, US citizen or not, who can’t produce proof of citizenship that these illiterate goons will accept. These immigrants so hated by MAGA grow our food, build our homes, look after the elderly and pay their taxes. They would love the chance to live here as legal citizens as our own parents, grandparents and great grandparents did.

Finally, we must address energy costs honestly. Rhode Islanders endure some of the highest heating costs in the nation, especially during our frigid winters. Energy prices will not come down by doubling down on the most expensive forms of energy available. Allowing pipeline access for affordable heating fuel would provide immediate relief to families and seniors, while offshore wind continues to drive costs up.

WC: Destroying the renewable energy industry is not the way. Green energy costs are beating fossil fuels. Bringing back coal will cost lives and productivity from pollution-caused illness. It’s a bald-faced lie that offshore wind is raising costs.

Leadership is not about managing decline; it’s about changing direction, when necessary, even when it’s not popular.

As a constitutional conservative and supporter of President Trump’s America First agenda, I will fight to ensure federal policy lowers costs, creates jobs, strengthens national security, and restores common sense. Rhode Islanders deserve leadership that delivers results.

WC: All evidence to the contrary in the first year of Dear Leader’s second term.

Rhode Islanders are hardworking, resilient, and proud of this state. We deserve leadership that lowers costs, creates opportunities, and puts citizens first. As a member of Congress, I will work every day to deliver real results, not rhetoric, and ensure Rhode Island has a stronger voice in Washington.

WC: Rhetoric. Really? How about cutting food prices on Day One? Ending Russia’s war on Ukraine on Day One? Making health care affordable? Making housing affordable? How about defending the Constitution? My advice, Vic: stay in Florida.

Read on about the cult camp Victor Mellor, carpet-bagging challenger to Rep. Seth Magaziner, runs in Florida:

First anniversary of Trump 2.0

Federal judge grants Rhode Island wind company reprieve from Trump pause

Court rules Trump is wrong on wind - again

By Ariana Figueroa and Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

A federal judge gave a temporary greenlight Monday to a mostly constructed $5 billion Revolution Wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, reversing a late December order from the Trump administration that halted work.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected the Trump administration’s national security arguments, finding they didn’t provide “a sufficient explanation” for issuing a Dec. 22 stop work order on Revolution Wind, a 65-turbine project already 87% completed.  He found the entire 704-megawatt project would be imperiled if he did not order work to resume and issued a preliminary injunction to block the administration’s pause.

Lamberth was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan.

Project developers along with state attorneys general in Rhode Island and Connecticut filed new motions in an existing federal lawsuit in January after the Interior Department last month suspended construction. Four other projects off the coasts of Massachusetts, Virginia and New York were also subject to the stop work order. Rhode Island’s is the first to be overturned.

Construction will resume “as soon as possible,” Meaghan Wims, a spokesperson for Orsted A/S, project co-developer, said in a statement Monday.

RI windfarm again blocked by Trump - back to court?

The reason for the stoppage - national security

By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News staff

Maybe Trump would approve the project if we add
lasers, cannons, lots of gold leaf and name it after him.

The Trump administration on Monday ordered a halt to construction on five East Coast offshore wind projects, including Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind.

The Interior Department said it is pausing all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects that are currently under construction, affecting the Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects.

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Monday, “At a time when working people in Rhode Island are struggling with high costs on everything, Trump should not be canceling energy projects that are nearly ready to deliver reliable power to the grid at below-market rates and help lower costs.”

The Revolution Wind project, located 15 miles off Rhode Island’s shore and 85% complete, was expected to deliver enough electricity to the New England grid to power 350,000 homes, or 2.5% of the region’s electricity supply, beginning in 2026. Revolution Wind was projected to save Connecticut and Rhode Island ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years.

Christian Roselund, co-leader of Climate Action Rhode Island’s Yes to Wind campaign, said Monday, “Donald Trump is getting desperate. The Trump administration’s new attempt to freeze offshore wind projects under construction – after courts quickly threw out the last stop work order on Revolution Wind – shows again that he doesn’t understand what it means to be a U.S. president and that he wants instead to be a dictator.”

Work on the project was initially halted Aug. 22 when the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a stop-work order for what it said were national security concerns. It didn’t specify those concerns, but Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNN that he worries offshore wind turbines distort radar detection systems and therefore could allow a “drone attack through a wind farm.” 

Burgum again Monday claimed his department’s decision is aimed at protecting the American people.

“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers,” he said in a statement.

MIDNIGHT UPDATE on the Brown shooting

Deadly Brown Shooting Spurs Calls for Action on Guns

Jessica Corbett for Common Dreams

With at least two people dead, several others in critical but stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital, and a suspect at large after a Saturday shooting at Brown University in Providence, gun violence prevention advocates and some US lawmakers renewed calls for swift action to take on what the nonprofit Brady called “a uniquely American problem” that “is completely preventable.”

A suspect ("person of interest") was arrested just before 5 AM at a hotel in Coventry. Shelter in place orders were lifted at 7 AM. Tonight, he was identified as Benjamin Erickson, 24, from Wisconsin. Police say they found two handguns in his hotel room. NEW: Just after 11 PM, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and police officials held a unscheduled briefing to say that Erickson was being released, noting that it was unfortunate his name was released. That means there is NO suspect in custody and the killer is still on the loose.

“Our hearts are with the victims, survivors, their families, and the entire community of Brown University and the surrounding Providence area in this horrific time,” said Brady president Kris Brown in a statement. “As students prepare for finals and then head home to loved ones for the holidays, our all-too-American gun violence crisis has shattered their safety.”

“Guns are the leading cause of death for youth in this nation. Only in America do we live in fear of being shot and killed in our schools, places of worship, and grocery stores,” she continued. “Now, as students, faculty, and staff hide and barricade themselves in immense fear, we once again call on lawmakers in Congress and around the country to take action against this uniquely American public health crisis. We cannot continue to allow politics and special interests to take priority over our lives and safety.”

THIS is the misinformation posted by Trump just two
hours after the shooting. Local and university officials
scrambled to correct this malicious interference. At 6 PM, 
he posted a retraction that blamed Brown University 
police for having "reversed their previous statement."
There was no such previous statement.

Despite some early misinformation ➡, no suspects are in custody, and authorities were searching for a man in dark clothing. 

The law enforcement response is ongoing and Brown remains in lockdown, according to a 9:29 pm Eastern update on the university’s website. Everyone is urged to shelter in place, which “means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus.”

The Ivy League university’s president, Christina H. Paxson, said in a public message that “this is a deeply tragic day for Brown, our families, and our local community. There are truly no words that can express the deep sorrow we are feeling for the victims of the shooting that took place today at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building.”

US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said on social media that he was “praying for the victims and their families,” and thanked the first responders who “put themselves in harm’s way to protect all of us.” He also echoed the city’s mayor, Brett Smiley, “in urging Rhode Islanders to heed only official updates from Brown University and the Providence Police.”

In a statement, US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) also acknowledged everyone impacted by “this horrific, active, and unfolding tragedy,” and stressed the importance of everyone listening to law enforcement “as they continue working to ensure the entire campus and surrounding community is safe, and the threat is neutralized.”

The state’s two Democratic congressmen, Brown alumnus Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, released similar statements. Amo also said that “the scourge of mass shootings is a horrific stain on our nation. We must seek policies to ensure that these tragedies do not strike yet another community and no more lives are needlessly taken from us.”

Elected officials at various levels of government across the country sent their condolences to the Brown community. Some also used the 389th US mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds—according to Brady’s president—to argue that, as US House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) put it, “it’s past time for us to act and stop senseless gun violence from happening again.”

New York City’s democratic socialist mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, noted that this shooting occurred just before the anniversary of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

This senseless violence—once considered unfathomable—has become nauseatingly normal to all of us across our nation. Tonight, on the eve of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, we find ourselves in mourning once again.

The epidemic of gun violence stretches across America. We reckon with it when we step into our houses of worship and out onto our streets, when we drop our children off at kindergarten and when we fear if those children, now grown, will be safe on campus. But unlike so many other epidemics, we possess the cure. We have the power to eradicate this suffering from our lives if we so choose.

I send my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Brown and Providence communities, who are wrestling with a grief that will feel familiar to far too many others. May we never allow ourselves to grow numb to this pain, and let us rededicate ourselves to the enduring work of ending the scourge of gun violence in our nation.

Fred Guttenberg has been advocating against gun violence since his 14-year-old daughter was among those murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida nearly eight years ago. He said on social media that he knows two current students at Brown and asserted that “IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE THIS WAY!!!”

Students Demand Action similarly declared: “Make no mistake: We DO NOT have to live and die like this. Our lawmakers fail us every day that they refuse to take action on gun violence.”

Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who became an activist after surviving a 2011 assassination attempt, said that “my heart breaks for Brown University. Students should only have to worry about studying for finals right now, not hiding from gunfire. Guns are the leading cause of death for young people in America—this is a five-alarm fire and our leaders in Washington have ignored it for too long. Americans are tired of waiting around for Congress to decide that protecting kids matters.”

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, warned that “we either take action, or we bury more of our kids.”

The Associated Press noted that “Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, starting next July.”

Gun violence prevention advocates often argue for federal restrictions, given that, as Everytown’s latest analysis of state-level policies points out, “even the strongest system can’t protect a state from its neighbors’ weak laws.”

Touché, Seth

Trump plans to rename Pell Grants as "Trump Grants"

This is actually happening.

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Democratic U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island pressed the House Committee on Appropriations Tuesday to reject a provision in one of its fiscal year 2026 budget proposals that would rename the new Workforce Pell Grants to “Trump Grants.”

Workforce Pell Grants are a new category of Pell Grant, the federal government’s need-based financial aid program for college undergraduates. After years of bipartisan efforts to institute the grants for short-term training that prepares students for specific, high skill industries, the Workforce Pell grants were signed into law via President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) in July. 

A provision in the house appropriations bill introduced on Sept. 11 — one that covers the upcoming fiscal year’s budgets for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education — would see the new grants renamed before they go into effect on July 1, 2026. 

The provision would not affect traditional Pell Grants, and the U.S. Senate’s equivalent of the House Appropriations bill lacks the “Trump Grants” provision. 

In a letter to Appropriations leadership, Amo and Magaziner argued the new nickname would erase the legacy of the late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell, a Rhode Island Democrat and the namesake of the broader federal Pell Grant program which is often credited with scaffolding modern financial aid.  

“Preserving Senator Pell’s name on the program is not just about honoring the past, it is about protecting a future where every student, regardless of background, has the chance to dream big and achieve more,” the congressmen wrote. “To attempt to erase Senator Pell’s name from a program that has uplifted generations and replace it with a President whose record on education is defined by cuts and dismantlement is a profound insult to that legacy.”

McKee asks to meet with Trump over Revolution Wind project still in limbo

McKee wants to use his logic and negotiating skill to convince Donald Trump to change his mind on wind power

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

I'd pay money to watch these two intellectual titans
do a UFC cage match on what used to be
the Rose Garden. - Will Collette, editor

After a dozen days in limbo, state and federal officials keep ramping up the pressure on the Trump administration to let the Revolution Wind project resume. 

The offshore wind project already under construction south of Rhode Island was put on hold on Aug. 22, leaving workers in the lurch and risking critical energy reliability and climate change mandates.

In a Wednesday letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Gov. Dan McKee outlined the consequences of the stop-work order, while asking for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

“The stop-work order undermines efforts to expand our energy supply, lower costs for families and businesses, and strengthen regional reliability,” McKee wrote to Burgum. “This action puts hundreds of well-paid blue-collar jobs at risk by halting a project that is just steps away from powering more than 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut.”

Do you think McKee understands this?

More than 1,000 union workers have spent much of the last two years building the 65-turbine project, 45 of which have been installed, as well as a pair of substations that will connect the power supply to Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

The 704 megawatts of nameplate capacity was set to be delivered by mid-2026, and already baked into the long-term plans for meeting Rhode Island’s decarbonization mandates under the state’s 2021 Act on Climate law. It is also critical to regional electrical grid reliability, especially in extreme weather events where fuel supply might be limited.

Since the project was put on hold, the hits have continued, with the U.S. Department of Transportation pulling $679 million in federal infrastructure grants tied to offshore wind projects on Aug. 29, including $11.2 million for Quonset Point. Meanwhile, a separate offshore wind project Rhode Island is eyeing for additional renewable electricity, SouthCoast Wind, is facing new setbacks after federal administrators indicated in federal court filings that they want to yank already approved permits for the Massachusetts project.

McKee first spoke with Burgum on Aug. 29, with a virtual meeting among staff members for both officials earlier Wednesday, Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for McKee’s office, said in an email.

His request for a meeting with Trump comes a day before a federal court hearing in Massachusetts, where a group of 18 state attorneys general, including Rhode Island’s Peter Neronha, are seeking to bar the Trump administration from blocking offshore wind projects more broadly. 

U.S. labor secretary gives thanks to Cranston firefighters but takes no questions from press

Why the secret Labor Day visit?

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

The US Dept. of Labor marked Labor Day by hanging a
giant Big Brother banner from its DC headquarters

The first official visit to Rhode Island by a member of Donald Trump’s cabinet turned out to be a largely private affair. 

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer met with Cranston firefighters at their Pontiac Avenue headquarters Thursday afternoon as part of her “America at Work” listening tour. 

The secretary’s staff and security detail drove directly into the fire department’s bay-windowed garage shortly before 1 p.m., closed the doors, then opened them once she was inside. Reporters were kept at a distance, and the secretary was kept out of sight. Firefighters then ran through demonstrations in baggy, fluorescent-colored hazmat suits as the secretary toured the station inside.

A few hours before the event, Hunter Lovell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor, said via email that Thursday’s visit builds on Chavez-DeRemer’s celebration earlier this year of National Apprenticeship Day, when she hosted the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) for a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on new apprenticeship standards for first responders. 

“[W]age theft costs American workers more than $50 billion annually…more than the value of all robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts combined."

Marking Labor Day, Representative Magaziner reintroduces his wage theft legislation

Steve Ahlquist

“We are here because Americans and Rhode Islanders who work hard and do the right thing are entitled to their full pay,” U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner said on Wednesday. “Labor Day is right around the corner, so today we are announcing the reintroduction of the Don’t STEAL Act, a bill to crack down on wage theft and ensure that workers in Rhode Island and across the country are not cheated out of the pay they have rightfully earned by employers who pay less than their promised wage, steal tips, or fail to follow overtime laws.”

Representative Magaziner’s Don’t Stand for Taking Employed Americans’ Livings (Don’t STEAL) Act would make wage theft a felony nationwide. Here’s a link to last year’s bill, which only garnered 25 co-signers. Representative Magaziner hopes for more support this year, including Republican support.

Here’s the video: Magaziner Wage Theft Bill U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-2) introduces wage theft legislation

"This is bullshit."

Labor & political leaders oppose Trump's Revolution Wind stop-work order

Steve Ahlquist

“We are here for what I call a reckless move by the current administration that will have a detrimental impact not only on Rhode Island, but on our renewable energy quest up and down the East Coast,” said Michael Sabitoni, General Secretary-Treasurer of LiUNA and President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council. [It will halt] “the momentum that started here almost 20 years ago with the vision and the courage to address Rhode Island’s energy needs and all the hard work that went into building an offshore wind industry from scratch, with both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last 20 years...”

Sabitoni was speaking at a press conference held in Quonset, home to Ørsted’s Regional Offshore Wind Logistics and Operations Hub and several Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels supporting the project.

“We’ve got a massive energy project offshore that is 80% complete, employing hundreds of tradesmen and women, that we are counting on to deliver almost 700 megawatts of much-needed power to our grid,” continued Sabitoni. “This is bullshit.”

The press conference, which included political and labor leaders, as well as construction workers, was held to condemn Donald Trump’s reckless stop-work order halting construction on Revolution Wind - a multibillion dollar offshore wind development that is 80% complete (with 506 megawatts installed of the 704 megawatt system) and critical to the region’s economy and energy future. The Trump administration’s effort to abruptly halt the project threatens thousands of local jobs, jeopardizes hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investment, and would increase electricity prices and impact grid reliability across New England.

“Hardworking men and women have dedicated time, effort, and training in a very difficult environment to build this complex offshore wind project,” continued Sabitoni. “The biggest little state in the union has a saying, ‘We are small, but extremely sophisticated.’ Rhode Island is the birthplace of the offshore wind industry, and it’s going to be Rhode Island that sends a message that this is our energy future. We need to continue to provide reliable, cost-effective energy for the citizens of Rhode Island and the New England region.”

Also speaking were Governor Daniel McKee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Co-chair of Climate Jobs RI, and Rachel Miller, Chief External Relations Officer at Building Futures. Dozens of union workers and climate advocates were also in attendance.

Here’s the video: "This is bullsh*t." Labor and political leaders oppose Trump's Revolution Wind stop-work order - YouTube

Over $370K Grants Awarded to Local Food System Businesses

Funding may be the last from USDA program killed by Trump

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) have announced over $370K in Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grants to seven local food businesses and organizations. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), these equipment grants support supply chain resilience and food system sustainability.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This program is one of dozens wiped out by the Trump Regime. These may be the last grants we will see for the foreseeable future. For a complete list of USDA food programs axed by trump, CLICK HERE.  – Will Collette

“I'm glad the state is distributing these federal RFSI funds that were made available under the Biden Administration to local projects that will strengthen the resilience in Rhode Island’s food system and create new revenue streams for small and mid-sized farmers and producers,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This federal investment will benefit food producers statewide and help get more fresh, Rhode Island-grown food and products to tables, grocery stores, and restaurants across the region and beyond.”

“Families across the Ocean State deserve access to affordable, healthy food,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “This latest round of funding will support six small businesses as they connect more Rhode Islanders with fresh products from local farmers and fishermen.”

“This funding for Rhode Island’s food infrastructure is a win for local farmers and consumers. By strengthening our state’s food supply chain, we’re not only supporting small businesses but also ensuring that more locally grown food reaches Rhode Islanders,” said Representative Seth Magaziner. “I’m glad to see these federal dollars at work, and I’ll always fight to bring more of our tax dollars home to strengthen Rhode Island’s food supply and lower food costs.”

“At a time of rising prices — from eggs to produce and other grocery staples — it’s important that we bolster Rhode Island’s food supply chains and infrastructure,” said Representative Gabe Amo. “This funding will help support farmers in our state who rely on local markets to sell their products while also delivering fair wages for laborers and fair prices for consumers. I look forward to continuing to work as a delegation to bring these federal resources home to help bring down prices and put healthy on the table for families.”

These grants will help expand the production and distribution of RI Grown products by improving local capacity for processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, and selling products like specialty crops, dairy, grains, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. The grant awardees are:

Trump’s Tariff Chaos Crushes RI Small Businesses While Big Corps Get Free Pass

Bad for Rhode Island businesses and consumers

By Uprise RI Staff

A new Bloomberg report reveals the devastating impact of Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies on American small businesses, while a comprehensive survey of Rhode Island manufacturers shows local companies are bearing the brunt of what amounts to a massive tax on U.S. consumers.

The reality that Trump’s administration refuses to acknowledge is simple: tariffs are a tax paid by American consumers and businesses, not foreign countries. When the administration boasts about “billions” in tariff revenue flowing into U.S. coffers, they’re celebrating money extracted from the pockets of American companies and working families who ultimately pay higher prices for goods.

A devastating survey conducted by Polaris MEP, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association between May 20 and June 27, 2025, reveals the carnage. Of nearly 100 Rhode Island manufacturers surveyed, a staggering 78.3% reported they either have or plan to adjust prices due to federal tariff changes – meaning Rhode Island families will pay more for everything from food to medical devices.

New Pell Center poll shows little overlap between RI Republicans and Democrats on the health of U.S. democracy, the economy, and immigration policy.

Dan McKee's approval rating continues to tank

Pell Center, Salve Regina University 

Download full report here. 

Well over half of registered voters in Rhode Island believe the United States democracy is not healthy, though the level of concern varies by political party, according to a new survey from Salve Regina University’s Pell Center. 

The survey was directed by Pell Center Associate Director and Fellow Katie Sonder and fielded by Embold Research between June 16-22, 2025.  It gathered responses from 804 registered voters in Rhode Island, with a modeled margin of error of 3.6 percent. 

Survey respondents are those registered to vote in Rhode Island who voted in the 2024 presidential election. The survey results show large divides between the major political parties, highlighting two very different lived realties between Democrats and Republicans.

Over half of registered Democrats agree that the United States is operating as a democracy, but 80% say it is not healthy and 94% believe we are facing a constitutional crisis. Democrats perceive a decline in the strength of the checks and balance system, which likely bolsters their sense of democratic backsliding. Only one-third (32%) agree the system is strong while 64% agree that country has fallen into dictatorship. 

Republicans, on the other hand, are seven times more likely to agree that our democracy is healthy than they were in the June 2024 Voices of Value survey. Well over three-quarters of Republicans (83%) say policies from the Trump administration have helped them personally and the percent who agree that polarization has increased dropped by 15 percentage points between June 2024 (86%) and June 2025 (71%).

While all respondents tapped disinformation and fake news as a leading contributor to political polarization, just as they did in the June 2024 survey, the percent who believe political leaders add to the schism has increased. 

R.I. leaders are planning their next move after feds withhold $30M in K-12 funding

Where's our money?

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

State leaders are considering their next steps as they face the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education funding halted by the Trump administration — a cut that could devastate afterschool programs, multilingual learning, and adult education in Rhode Island.

The funding is part of the roughly $6.8 billion for K–12 school districts nationwide halted abruptly by the U.S. Department of Education last week, despite being earmarked by Congress for programs supporting migrant students and English learners, as well as educator training, school technology, and afterschool programs in high-poverty schools.

“This will impact every single school district in Rhode Island — everyone is going to feel this,” state Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said at a press conference inside the Providence Career & Technical Academy’s library. “No one saw this coming, and we have been left in the dark.”

Funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1. 

But just as the work day was wrapping up on June 30, Infante-Green said she received an 83-word email from the U.S. Department of Education. It stated the Trump administration would review federally-funded education programs in order to ensure “taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president’s priorities.” 

The email did not provide any timeline on how long that review would take, and Infante-Green said she still has yet to hear anything back from the Trump administration.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said in an interview with Rhode Island Current. “Historically, we would have gotten projections and gotten the money on July 1.”

Trump goes after funding to repair Charlestown Breachway - fight back!

 

C-Town Dems News

June 2025

Charlestown Breachway Restoration Project loses funding

Due to a change in climate resiliency policies at the national level, Charlestown was informed by Representative Magaziner’s office on June 4 that our CDS (Congressionally Directed Spending) grant application for the Breachway restoration is no longer under consideration.     The town’s request with Senator Whitehouse is still being considered. That original request for $8.5 million has been denied, but we are hoping to receive an amended request for $7 million. 🤞 Fingers crossed that we receive some funding for this vital restoration project so important to our town and community. 🤞  If you know someone with Republican representation, encourage them to call their Senators and Representatives about the change in climate policy. Climate destruction is real and does not prefer one party over another. It affects us all.

No Kings/Kick Out the Clowns Protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, 12:00pm 248 Post Rd, in the old Benny's Parking Lot, Westerly   **In America, we don’t do kings.**   NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies. We’ve watched as they’ve cracked down on free speech, detained people for their political views, threatened to deport American citizens, and defied the courts. They’ve done this all while continuing to serve and enrich their billionaire allies. 🇺🇸 It's also Flag Day so bring your flag! 🇺🇸 Click below to RSVP and for more info.

RSVP

Chariho School Committee Meeting Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 7:00 PM Chariho High School Library   Join us to fill the room! Speak if you feel moved, or just be a supportive presence.

Call for Volunteers! Your Charlestown Democratic Town Committee needs you. We are looking for active participants who want to help support Democratic candidates and causes. If interested, send a note to info@charlestowndemocrats.org. Please consider joining us!

Protecting Democracy For those looking to get involved in continuing to stand up for our nation’s democracy here in Rhode Island, we recommend South County Resistance and Indivisible RI to find out what’s going on and to join some like-minded neighbors.​

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The Charlestown Democratic Town Committee manages the affairs of the Democratic Party in the town of Charlestown, RI subject to RI Election Law, State Party rules and its own bylaws. We meet the first Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM at the Charlestown Police Station. Any Charlestown registered Democrat is welcome to attend.

P.O. Box 1088, Charlestown RI 02813 charlestowndemocrats.org