| 1 | (-) | Avengers: Endgame | $26,106,643 | 3,060 | $8,532 | $884,479,643 | 2,712 | |
| 2 | (1) | Resident Evil | $23,012,848 | -62% | 3,684 | $6,247 | $103,189,095 | 10 |
| 3 | (new) | Heart of the Beast | $20,042,473 | 3,435 | $5,835 | $20,042,473 | 3 | |
| 4 | (new) | Primetime | $19,197,764 | 2,874 | $6,680 | $19,197,764 | 3 | |
| 5 | (new) | Forgotten Island | $13,007,005 | 3,548 | $3,666 | $13,007,005 | 3 | |
| 6 | (2) | Practical Magic 2 | $5,600,274 | -54% | 3,178 | $1,762 | $59,762,967 | 17 |
| 7 | (3) | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $4,054,489 | -37% | 2,409 | $1,683 | $950,637,311 | 59 |
| 8 | (4) | The Odyssey | $3,802,065 | -23% | 1,021 | $3,724 | $616,623,710 | 73 |
| 9 | (5) | Coyote vs. Acme | $1,915,685 | -57% | 1,905 | $1,006 | $58,393,726 | 31 |
| 10 | (6) | Daniel and the Fiery Furnace | $1,540,161 | -53% | 1,301 | $1,184 | $6,229,247 | 10 |
Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"
As President Trump ran to return to the White House in 2024, his campaign released a somber, black-and-white ad in which he railed against the “deep state” and vowed to expel “warmongers” from government.
“This is the final battle,” Mr. Trump is heard saying in the online ad, which shows him walking silently down a hallway.
That ad has returned this weekend, airing on television stations across the country, with one notable difference: As it ends, the words “Paid for by the U.S. Government” appear on the screen.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed America’s service members and their families to vote in the midterm election, not-so-subtly suggesting Friday that they could make the difference in some districts predicted to vote blue.
He cited a 2024 presidential election analysis as evidence, claiming that 300,000 “warriors” were not registered to vote that year.
“That’s more than the ballots cast in cities like Detroit, Boston, Milwaukee, or Seattle,” Hegseth said in a video statement, specifically naming liberal cities.
“As you know, the war department exists to protect our nation and her freedoms. That includes the freedom to decide who leads us, and the right to vote,” Hegseth continued. “Regardless of your home state or current duty status, you can use a standardized federal postcard to register and request a ballot, and if you’re forward deployed and your standard ballot is delayed, you can use the federal write-in absentee ballot. All of these processes are straightforward and protected by law.”
A little space. Tiny. And it got even smaller as last weekend progressed. Salazar was on a public affairs program. She appeared on CBS' FACE THE NATION two Sundays ago.:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about something you put out there this week. You have been speaking for months about your concerns regarding President Trump's immigration policies. But in this ad you put out, you're more direct. You said, the same Hispanics who helped Trump get to the White House in 2024, feel betrayed. His enforcement efforts have gone too far, and half of the 50,000 people detained in July had no criminal record. You spoke to the president after this. Did he take any of your…
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Yes, I did.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Did he take any of your advice?
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Listen, it was a very good conversation. He was a gentleman, very courteous, very receptive. And I told him exactly what you just repeated: "Sir, you have this – this moment in history where you can keep the pot of gold that you brought to the GOP in 2024. No other president" – and you know I covered for 35 years Spanish television. "No other president was able to convince the – the Hispanics to vote 55 points for a GOP president. Please preserve that fortune that you have brought to the party." Why? Because we need to continue winning elections, because we have this very big threat called the socialists on the Democratic side. And if you want me, we can talk about that later. I belong to the Miami community. I'm the daughter of political refugees. I'm first-generation American, and I want to preserve the American values that are entrenched in the GOP…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: … and that the Hispanics share. "So, remember, sir, that you are the only guy who can do this." And that – and then we had a fantastic conversation. I certainly hope he listened to what I was saying. But he listened.
Fantastic conversation, Salazar gushed, "he listened"!!!
Was she still gushing this past weekend?
Evan Gorelick and Tim Balk (NEW YORK TIMES) report:
President Trump on Saturday amplified online comments critical of Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican who earlier this month released an ad directly rebuking his immigration crackdown.
Mr. Trump reposted on social media screenshots of more than a dozen comments from other accounts that criticized Ms. Salazar, who is up for re-election in November. One of the comments urged Mr. Trump to rescind his endorsement of her, and another said she ought to be replaced with “a NEW Republican.”
The comments were reactions to a post on X sharing a Washington Post report about Latino voters in Ms. Salazar’s district who took issue with Ms. Salazar’s ad and continue to support Mr. Trump.
Ms. Salazar’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
I know what Salazar's comment would be: "But he listened!!!!"
She humiliated herself bragging on his last Sunday and he's ripping her apart.
Ben Johansen and Ali Bianco (POLITICO) report:
President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his criticism of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), amplifying a series of social media posts attacking the Florida Republican and, in multiple instances, calling for her replacement ahead of her election in just over a month.
Trump reposted more than a dozen messages criticizing Salazar on Truth Social, the president’s social media platform, including one user’s post that read: “So we need a NEW Republican to Replace Salazar.” Several Trump loyalists, including Laura Loomer, have for months called on the president to abandon his endorsement of her.
[. . .]
On ABC's THIS WEEK Sunday, Martha Raddatz spoke with cry baby and liar Todd Blanche. The president's personal attorney now filling the spot as Attorney General was rude and dishonest.
RADDATZ: President Trump responding to questions the day he banned multiple press outlets from access to the White House, a move put on temporary hold by a federal judge this week. Attorney General Todd Blanche joins me now. Good morning, and thank you so much for joining us this morning. Let's get right to this. There was no TV pool coverage of the president's trip to Tennessee this weekend. It was supposed to be CNN. They said they were banned from Air Force One. What is the justification for denying access?
TODD BLANCHE, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, the president hasn't denied access. That's not the right way to describe it. This is -- what the president has said is that he is sick and tired of certain media outlets just refusing to report accurate news, and so -- look, it is a -- it is a privilege -- it is a privilege to be in the White House for anybody.
The privilege for anybody? That applies to the president. It is a privilege for him to live in our White House. As such, he needs to stop with all of his tear downs and builds up. He's refused to follow the process and he's done real damage. So until Toad is willing to discuss that aspect, he's probably better off keep his lying mouth shut on privilege.
It is not a privilege for the journalists to be in the White House. It is their job, it is their duty.
TOAD BLANCHE: And that -- and the president -- the president knows that it's the people's house, and what you saw play out over the past week was really not just not -- even after the judge -- even after the White House let the reporters back in, they still refuse to use pool coverage. They still refuse to, on their own, make a decision to start covering the president again with the video. But a lot of people saw the president. The president was not hidden from the American people at the -- at the football game in Tennessee yesterday.
Yes, he was in Tennessee yesterday. And he wasn't hidden at that football game. And the crowd reacted, didn't they, Toad?
Raven Brunner (PEOPLE) reported:
President Donald Trump made an appearance in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Tennessee Volunteers hosted the top-ranked Texas Longhorns in a much-anticipated college football clash.
The president, 80, was loudly booed by some fans at Neyland Stadium when he appeared on the Jumbotron, as captured in video footage shared on social media. He could be seen sitting in a box next to Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn as he did several fist pumps for the crowd.
Danielle Campoamor (US) reported:
President Donald Trump received a not-so-warm welcome while attending the biggest college football game of the week. The commander-in-chief, 80, was loudly booed shortly after he was introduced at the highly-anticipated Saturday, September 26, matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee.
[. . .]
Trump’s Saturday appearance and subsequent reception was far from the first time the command-in-chief has received a cold shoulder from a large crowd.
Amid rising gas and diesel prices, rising inflation and an increase in the cost of living, the ongoing war in Iran and a historically low approval rating, Trump was also loudly booed while appearing at this year’s 2026 World Cup Final. After Jennifer Hudson performed a stunning rendition of the U.S. national anthem on July 19, Trump was shown clapping while standing from his section inside Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
As the camera panned to him, Trump was audibly booed by the audience. He watched the match — where defending champs Argentina faced off against Spain — beside his wife, Melania Trump, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. (Spain emerged victorious, winning 1-0.) Trump was also met by a loud chorus of boos while appearing at Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (The Knicks lost 115-111, with many critics blaming the president’s appearance for the New York team’s only loss of the championship series.)
Toad left that information out of his narrative. He was one-sided -- as he accuses the press of being.
TOAD BLANCHE: And really, the unfortunate and sad thing here is that after years and years and years of one-sided media coverage of the president from certain outlets, the president finally said it's not fair to the American people that this is happening and did something about it.
[. . .]
BLANCHE: The president has every right to decide who gets to fly on his plane, and it is national security, especially on Air Force One, and especially at the White House. And so, it's not just -- it's not just the fact that they refuse to report anything accurately. By the way, that is what is a national security problem. When you have completely misinformation, complete misinformation coming out of the White House, that affects our relationship with our foreign partners, that affects our relationship with our foreign enemies. And so this is -- this is just not about the fact that they're refusing to report accurate news. It's all about the information that the American people have a right to hear coming out of our - what should be respected media outlets.
It's not "his plane." Air Force One is the people's plane. Just like the White House is the people's house. Media outlets are not supposed to just parrot what the government says. They are supposed to vet the claims. That's what they do. Chump is a well noted liar and that's long been documented. He can't stop lying so he's not get good press. It doesn't work that way.
RADDATZ: You clearly think you had a strong case, but the temporary restraining order was granted. The judge was skeptical of the argument the department made in court filings to defend this ban on the grounds of national security.
He wrote, "For one thing, nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of plaintiffs' hard passes was motivated by national security concerns. Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was banning plaintiffs from the White House. Instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of plaintiffs' reporting.”
The president said nothing about national security when he announced this ban, and clearly, you are very interested in the fact of what the press says and how they say it.
BLANCHE: Well, I'm not going to get into what the judge says.
Okay, Blanche. The media is criticized all the time and deserves to be. Perfection will never be achieved by the media. For many practical reasons, it's not happening. And we criticize it for that reason and for the hope that it will do better. We also criticize it when it gets things wrong, when it omits things, etc, etc. That's part of free speech as well. We don't try to censor the media. Joseph Kishore has an excellent critical analysis of the media that just went up at WSWS:
In the space of one week this month, two of the most prominent figures of American “democratic socialism” have appeared alongside prominent fascists in the United States.
On September 15, Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at the “Pro-Human Assembly” in Washington, an event on AI organized by the Future of Life Institute, which has relations with the far-right. Sanders spoke just prior to Steve Bannon, the fascist advisor to Donald Trump, who used the occasion to launch into a vicious anti-Chinese rant.
Six days after the assembly, on September 21, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a member of the DSA, invited Donald Trump to Gracie Mansion, their third meeting since November. The two held a joint press conference on the lawn of the mayor’s residence, where Trump patted Mamdani, and the mayor presented Trump as a political ally in improving the conditions of New Yorkers.
Both events were reported prominently in the corporate media, which treated them as expressions of a supposedly “unlikely” coming together of political opposites. The various publications associated with the DSA and the organizations in and around it, however, have said nothing.
Jacobin’s picture without the caption
Jacobin, the most prominent magazine associated with the DSA, published three articles on AI in the week of the assembly but none on the assembly itself. The centerpiece, by Leigh Phillips on September 17, two days after, endorsed a bill presented by Sanders and what Phillips described as “the pro-human, carefully paced, AI development that Bernie Sanders and others have described.”
The article does not mention the Pro-Human Assembly, at which Sanders spoke, nor that the “others” with whom Sanders is aligning include Bannon, the fascist strategist of “America First”; Rep. Chip Roy of the Freedom Caucus; Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and January 6 coup conspirator Amy Kremer. The “pro-human” coalition Jacobin endorses is, in its actual composition, a bloc between the Sanders-DSA wing of the Democratic Party and the far right, united on a program of national-security control over technology and hostility to China.
The photograph accompanying Phillips’ piece, credited to Getty Images, shows Sanders speaking at the Pro-Human Assembly on September 15—that is, at the very event the article does not name, on the stage that Bannon would take minutes later. Jacobin ran the picture but did not publish the original caption, which notes that Sanders “joined former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon” at the event.
On the Trump-Mamdani meeting, Jacobin published a September 23 piece by Liza Featherstone praising the mayor’s “Commission on Government Efficiency” and his remarks that week to a summit of mayors. Trump’s visit to Gracie Mansion two days earlier does not appear. This is the same magazine that, after the first Oval Office meeting in November, ran a series of articles hailing Mamdani’s handling of Trump as a political masterstroke.
Sunkara’s The Nation crops Trump
Jacobin withheld a caption. The Nation, whose president since 2022 is Bhaskar Sunkara, the founder and publisher of Jacobin, went one step further. On September 23, The Nation published “Zohran Mamdani Hosts the World,” by Prajwal Bhat, an account of the mayor’s meetings during the week of the UN General Assembly.
Bhat records Mamdani’s meetings with the mayors of Helsinki, Barcelona, Rome and Mexico City, with Brazil’s Lula, with the prime minister of Norway and with a delegation from Germany’s Die Linke, and concludes that these exchanges “have placed Mamdani at the center of the international left.”
Every meeting of the week is recorded except one: The meeting with Trump.
Trump does not appear in the photograph either, though he was in it. The image The Nation ran is credited to Chip Somodevilla of Getty Images. Getty’s caption for the frame describes Trump and Mamdani holding a joint news conference after their meeting. In the original, Trump stands at Mamdani’s shoulder as the mayor speaks at the podium.
The Nation cropped the frame to Mamdani alone and captioned it as a news conference “after a meeting with Donald Trump.” The original caption from Getty reads as follows:
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hold a joint news conference after a meeting at Gracie Mansion on September 21, 2026, in New York City. The discussions appeared to have been warm, with the two chatting informally before approaching the lectern for the conference, according to observations from published reports.
Getty’s license permits cropping of photographs “provided that the editorial integrity of the content is not compromised.” Readers may judge whether removing the president from a picture of a joint press conference meets that standard.
In 1938, when The Nation was defending the Moscow Trials and its Moscow correspondent Louis Fischer was serving as a literary agent of Stalin and Vyshinsky, Trotsky wrote of its editors: “Thus, these people, living by half-truths, that is to say, the worst form of falsehood, have become a genuine brake upon truly progressive, i.e., revolutionary thought.” Two years later, writing somewhat more sharply, he referred to the “infamous reptile breed of The Nation.”
The Stalinist regime, which The Nation was then excusing, perfected the practice of cutting inconvenient men out of photographs. Eighty-eight years later, the magazine has taken up the scissors itself, producing its “half-truths” in the form of half-photographs.
That's the opening, use the link to read in full.
Murray: “Trump administration officials literally asserted birth control caused abortion, and wanted to set it on fire—seriously!”
ICYMI: Murray Leads Colleagues in Calling on RFK Jr. to Reinstate 50+ Recently Cancelled Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and the full press conference***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a press conference with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) on the reintroduction of their bicameral Affordability is Access Act. Senator Murray was also joined by Dr. Serina Floyd, Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Daria Neal, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, Audrey Ann Ross, Senior Manager of Communications and Policy at AccessMatters, and Dana Singiser, Co-Founder of Contraceptive Access Initiative. The legislation is also led by Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA-06), and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) in the House of Representatives.
The Affordability is Access Act would require insurers to fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs, once it’s FDA-approved. The legislation also includes a new provision to require health insurance to cover every FDA-approved contraceptive drug or drug-led combination product without cost sharing unless the health plan also covers a therapeutically equivalent generic without cost sharing—this would significantly eliminate barriers that some patients face in accessing contraceptives prescribed by their provider.
This reintroduction comes as the Trump administration continues their senseless attacks on reproductive care, family planning, and contraception. Throughout the press conference, speakers discussed the administration’s moves to cancel teen pregnancy prevention grants, their attempts to decimate Title X, and their attacks on contraception—including the State Department’s extremist decision to falsely label birth control products as abortifacients.
“When it comes to birth control, the challenge we face isn’t just to stop Trump from setting up new barriers. We have to tear down the barriers that have been standing for far too long—like cost,” said Senator Murray. “We have to put forward our own vision for the future—not just reject Trump’s far-right dystopia. That’s why we are re-introducing the Affordability is Access Act. This bill would require insurance to fully cover safe, over-the-counter birth control for patients. And this year we made a big update: our bill will also make sure all other FDA-approved forms of contraception are covered for patients. No fees. No hurdles. No out-of-pocket costs. This is especially important because, as of March 2024, there is an over-the counter birth control pill that women can buy at pharmacies and grocery stores. Trump has made his vision painfully clear, he wants to take women’s rights away, he wants to set birth control on fire. Well, this bill is our vision as Democrats. We want to protect women’s rights. And we want to protect your birth control.”
“As the Trump regime continues to attack reproductive freedom, fighting for contraception access has never been more important,” said Senator Hirono. “FDA approval of over-the-counter birth control is a major step forward, but approval alone does not guarantee access. By requiring insurance companies to cover over-the-counter contraception at no cost and without a prescription, this legislation will help to ensure women nationwide have the power to control their bodies and their lives.”
“Congress must pass the Affordability is Access Act to expand Americans’ reproductive freedoms even as this Administration tries to shrink them,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Birth control has helped thousands of Nevadans and millions of Americans live healthy lives. It’s past time we made sure every woman who wants it has an affordable over-the-counter option they can buy.”
“While Trump and his Republican co-conspirators attack our bodily autonomy and make life less affordable, we’re fighting hard to protect reproductive freedom, lower costs, and ensure contraceptives are affordable nationwide,” said Rep. Pressley. “Our bill would make over-the-counter birth control accessible to all who need it, without the burden of prescriptions or out-of-pocket costs. Reproductive justice means protecting and expanding reproductive healthcare, and I’m proud to partner with Senators Murray, Cortez Masto, and Hirono, alongside Reps. Bera and Ocasio-Cortez, and our colleagues to make that a reality for all.”
“I am proud to reintroduce the Affordability is Access Act alongside Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Patty Murray, which will make birth control widely accessible and affordable without a prescription,” said Rep Ocasio-Cortez. “As this administration continues to attack bodily autonomy, we will continue to fight to ensure that people everywhere have access to reproductive care.”
“Birth control is essential healthcare that everyone, no matter their insurance or income, should be able to get when they need it,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “This act is a crucial first step in removing cost barriers and expanding access to contraception. As anti-reproductive health lawmakers continue to do everything in their power to restrict access to care, we’re grateful to Sen. Murray for reintroducing this bill.”
“Contraception is a fundamental part of reproductive health care and autonomy— it gives people the power to shape their own futures,” said Daria Neal, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Everyone who needs contraception should be able to access and afford it. Yet the Trump Administration has repeatedly put that access at risk, from subverting the federal family planning program and ending teen pregnancy prevention grants, to letting millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded contraceptives go to waste overseas. We’re grateful to Senator Murray and her colleagues for standing up for reproductive rights and supporting this critically important legislation.”
“With the sudden termination of AccessMatters’ teen pregnancy prevention initiative, over 2,500 adolescents in Philadelphia immediately lost access to everything this program provided over the last three years – including evidence-based education programming, parent workshops, connections to local healthcare providers, assistance setting up medical appointments and accessing contraceptives, and leadership opportunities for the Youth Advisory Board,” said Audrey Ann Ross, Senior Manager of Communications and Policy at AccessMatters. “This loss of access coupled with the shifts in Title X program priorities further underscore the need for policies that support access to contraceptives and sexual and reproductive health care and information. We urge Congress to pass policies like the Affordability in Access Act and to also demand that HHS immediately restore this funding so that adolescents nationwide can continue benefitting from these programs.”
Under the Affordable Care Act, all private health insurance plans are required to fully cover — without copays or out-of-pocket costs — prescribed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, granted, or cleared methods of contraception. The Affordability is Access Act would change this to apply to over-the-counter birth control that women can get without a prescription. The Affordability is Access Act would also maintain the FDA’s sole authority to determine the safety and efficacy of drugs and make them available over the counter without a prescription, and ensure retailers provide contraception without a prescription. The legislation states that any retailer that stocks contraception that the FDA has approved, granted, or cleared without a prescription may not interfere with a consumer’s access to or purchase of such contraception.
The Senate bill is co-sponsored by Senators Murray (D-WA), Cortez Masto (D-NV), Hirono (D-HI), Baldwin (D-WI), Bennet (D-CO), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Cantwell (D-WA), Duckworth (D-IL), Fetterman (D-PA), Gallego (D-AZ), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hassan (D-NH), Heinrich (D-NM), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Kaine (D-VA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Markey (D-MA), Merkley (D-OR), Padilla (D-CA), Reed (D-RI), Rosen (D-NV), Sanders (D-VT), Schatz (D-HI), Schiff (D-CA), Shaheen (D-NH), Smith (D-MN), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warner (D-VA), Warren (D-MA), Whitehouse (D-RI), and Wyden (D-OR).
The bill is endorsed by: Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI), National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Upstream USA, Reproductive Health Access Project, Physicians for Reproductive Health, National Partnership for Women & Families, Healthy Teen Network, Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, Reproductive Freedom for All, Power to Decide, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Center for Biological Diversity, National Council of Jewish Women, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Advocates for Youth, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, AIDS United, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Network of Abortion Funds, Center for Reproductive Rights, National Organization for Women (NOW), Religious Community for Reproductive Choice, The Guttmacher Institute, Population Connection Action Fund, American College of Nurse Mid-Wives, and Ibis Reproductive Health.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the Senate floor multiple times over the last four years.
Over the course of her career, Senator Murray has always fought to ensure widespread access to affordable birth control. In the aftermath of the Dobbs leak, Senator Murray introduced and sought unanimous consent to pass the Right to Contraception Act to protect every American’s right to use contraception—Republicans blocked the bill. Senator Murray pushed to ensure birth control was covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), led the fight against the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, and has persistently pressed the administration to enforce the ACA’s coverage for contraceptive services since then. Senator Murray has long held that FDA must make its decisions based on sound science and public health needs, not politics—and she is widely credited with leading the fight to make Plan B available over the counter.
Read the full text of the Affordability is Access Act HERE.
A transcript of Senator Murray’s remarks as delivered are below:
“Two years ago—the Biden Administration set forward a proposed rule to strengthen requirements that insurance cover birth control. Not even one year later—Trump administration officials literally asserted birth control caused abortion, and wanted to set it on fire—seriously!
“I mean it does not get clearer than that. While Democrats have always fought to expand access to birth control, the Trump Administration has put up barrier after barrier. Make no mistake—Trump has given far right radicals the green light to go after birth control in just about any way they can think of.
“Their record is plain as day. Trump took the Title X family planning program—and is twisting it into pretzels trying to redirect funds away from organizations that help people get birth control. He took the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program canceled grants, and is now trying to distort the very purpose of that program too.
“And the attacks on reproductive rights don’t stop at family planning and contraception. At the FDA Trump fired his own Commissioner for not moving fast enough to throw out the science and rip medication abortion away from patients.
“At the EPA Trump has them checking drinking water for traces of medication abortion.
“And don’t forget the birth control example I led with, at Trump’s State Department they are spending thousands of dollars each month to withhold contraceptives meant for foreign aid and they incorrectly claimed that these birth control supplies cause ‘abortion.’
“And yet some Republicans still have the gall to act like they have no idea why we say birth control is under attack! Just like how they had no idea abortion was under attack—right up until they ripped it away.
“Let’s please not pretend that the administration which is weaponizing environmental laws to attack medication abortion and has falsely labeled contraception as abortion is not coming for birth control.
“Well Democrats are not standing by. We have been fighting back against each and every one of these attacks on birth control.
“But more than fighting back—we are going to keep pushing forward.
“Because when it comes to birth control, the challenge we face isn’t just to stop Trump from setting up new barriers—we have to tear down the barriers that have been standing in the way for far too long, like the cost. We have to put forward our own vision for the future—not just reject Trump’s far-right dystopia.
“That’s why we are re-introducing the Affordability is Access Act. This bill would require insurance to fully cover safe, over-the-counter birth control for patients.
“And this year we made a big update: our bill will also make sure all other FDA-approved forms of contraception are covered for patients. No fees. No hurdles. No out-of-pocket costs.
“This is especially important because, as of March 2024, there is an over-the-counter birth control pill that women can buy at pharmacies and grocery stores!
“Trump has made his vision painfully clear: He wants to take away women’s rights. He wants to set birth control on fire.
“Well this bill is our vision as Democrats: We want to protect women’s rights and we want to protect your birth control.”
###
