We have documented statements by Dick Durbin on 2026 Midterm Elections, Campaign Finance, and Criminal Justice Policy, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois
Condemned
Statement summary
Durbin welcomes Hubbard's release, says he never should have been jailed, and calls describing Putin as a humanitarian a disgrace to the Ukrainian soldiers and civilians Putin has killed.
“Calling the war criminal Vladimir Putin a "humanitarian" is a disgrace to the tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians that Putin has killed as part of his brutal war.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Dick Durbin on Hubbard's release and Witkoff's "humanitarian" remarkText of post 2112923535811178509, quoting a clip of Witkoff posted by @Gerashchenko_en
Why we used this label
The case looks at Witkoff calling Putin a humanitarian. Durbin calls that description a disgrace, so we labeled it a condemnation.
Role at the time: US senator from Illinois and co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus
Condemned
Statement summary
Dick Durbin says negotiations over Ukraine's future must include Ukraine and that its future is not for Trump to sell out to Putin and Xi.
“Any negotiations about the future of Ukraine after years defending against Russian assault must include Ukraine. Ukraine has earned its freedom and right to determine its future—which are not for President Trump to sell out to Putin and Chinese President Xi because his halfhearted efforts to end the war have failed.”
Durbin's statement responds to actions it says further cater to Putin, including the sanctions waiver, and says Ukraine's future is not Trump's to sell out to Putin and Xi.
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Illinois; signatory to the joint October 15 letter
Condemned
Statement summary
Dick Durbin signed a joint letter with eight other senators requesting an inspector-general investigation into reported Starshield restrictions and intelligence-warning disruptions in Ukraine. The letter questions Defense Department oversight and asks whether government or contractor decisions contributed.
“Any restrictions on these capabilities, particularly without advance notification, raise serious questions about the Department of Defense’s contractual oversight and its responsibility to ensure continuity of essential services.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Nine senators request an investigation of Ukraine communications disruptionsPages 1-2: concerns and investigation requests; page 3: nine signatures
Why we used this label
The reference point is the restriction and its oversight. The signers criticize the lack of notice and question the Department of Defense response. Their investigation request leaves the cause and responsible officials unresolved.
Role at the time: U.S. Senator from Illinois, in a post on X
Condemned
Statement summary
Sen. Dick Durbin said public executions have no place in a democracy and that the nation cannot stoop to the level of the people it seeks to punish.
“Public executions have no place in a democracy.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Dick Durbin's post on the plan to livestream Nidal Hasan's execution (X post) · Dick DurbinFull post, Oct. 9, 2026, 12:45 p.m. EDT.
Why we used this label
The case asks whether Pete Hegseth should livestream Nidal Hasan's execution; it concerns the broadcast proposal, not Hasan's conviction or capital punishment. Durbin says "Public executions have no place in a democracy" in response to the livestream plan. That opposes the broadcast, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because the post contains no support for the plan.
Role at the time: Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member, writing with committee Democrats
Condemned
Statement summary
Durbin asks Grassley to provide records and apologize to Smith on the committee's behalf. The letter calls the perjury accusations false.
“apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee for the unacceptable personal attacks and false
accusations of perjury”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Senate Judiciary Democrats request committee records and an apology to Jack SmithPages 1-2, opening request for an apology and discussion of Schmitt's basketball-game accusation; page 3, signatures.
Why we used this label
The letter describes the attacks as unacceptable and the accusations as false, expressing condemnation of Schmitt's questioning.
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Illinois and Senate Democratic whip
Condemned
Statement summary
Sen. Dick Durbin called the Iran war unnecessary and illegal. He said Trump had ignored Congress's constitutional power to declare war and connected the fighting to higher fuel costs.
“Every day you fill up your gas tank, a trucker fills up their diesel tank, a farmer goes out in the field--and we are harvesting now in Illinois--and sees the cost of diesel fuel, every day, you remember this is a creation of the President of the United States for a war that was unnecessary, illegal, and didn't follow the Constitution at its outset.”
Dick Durbin voted yea on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote to direct the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Envoy Steve Witkoff called Vladimir Putin a humanitarian after Russia freed American Stephen Hubbard. Senators from both parties rejected the label, calling Putin a killer and a war criminal; President Trump said it could be used for the purpose of freeing Hubbard.
The White House says waiving the Graham Act's Russia measures preserves room for peace negotiations. Lawmakers from both parties and Volodymyr Zelenskyy say relief weakens pressure on Russia. Thomas Massie welcomes Trump's use of the authority Congress granted.
Musk says Washington controls Starshield limits. Dixon argues SpaceX still bears responsibility. Ukrainian officials and U.S. lawmakers criticize the October restrictions and seek answers about who authorized them.
Pete Hegseth confirms plans to livestream Nidal Hasan's execution. Betty McCollum calls for stopping the public spectacle, while Alyssa Farah Griffin opposes the broadcast despite supporting capital punishment.
At a September 29 Senate hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt asked Jack Smith whether he attended a February 2024 Atlanta Hawks game, in questions about Fani Willis. Smith said no and recalled a Maryland-Iowa game; Klobuchar said Schmitt had the teams wrong.
Umar Kremlev, a Putin-linked Russian businessman, helped fund Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration. Trump first denied knowing Kremlev, then called it "totally allowed" and said he was repaid. Sen. John Curtis now wants Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden subpoenaed over family financial benefit.
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
FBI Director Kash Patel defended the bureau's removal of automatic hiring disqualifiers for prostitution, employee theft, and bestiality, saying it protects trafficking victims. Sen. Dick Durbin and former FBI official Andrew McCabe publicly disputed that framing.
An issue tracker recording where members of Congress and 2026 midterm candidates stand on the unauthorized Iran war, based on their votes on war-powers resolutions, campaign statements, and public remarks.
Hawley and Durbin want STOP CSAM enacted through the defense bill so victims of online child exploitation can sue platforms. Civil-liberties groups said in 2025 that its recklessness standard threatens encryption. A July 2026 Senate manager's package repeats those liability terms unchanged.
The Supreme Court agreed on October 13, 2026 to review whether courts may order discovery into the U.S. DOGE Service to decide if FOIA covers it. The Justice Department calls USDS a presidential adviser. CREW says it wielded independent authority.
Bongino alleged FBI knowledge and an inside-job cover-up in the January 2021 pipe-bomb investigation. Senators challenged the claim; DOJ later charged Brian Cole Jr., who pleaded not guilty.
