Sen. Murray Slams Lutnick for Decimation of NOAA, Illegal Cancellation of Digital Equity Act Funding

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department. Senator Murray slammed what’s happening at the Department and President Trump’s thoughtless tariffs, and grilled Secretary Lutnick on the Department’s decision to completely eliminate the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund in the budget request, the Department’s failure to submit required budget justifications to the Committee, and the Trump administration’s decision to cancel billions of dollars of funding from Senator Murray’s Digital Equity Act which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.