The Blackburn Report: The State of our Union Is Stronger Than Ever

As I watched President Trump's powerful State of the Union address, I couldn't help but feel renewed optimism for our nation's future. The state of our union is stronger than ever, and President Trump did a tremendous job laying out the accomplishments Republicans have achieved over the last year on the issues that matter most to the American people. President Trump is digging us out of Joe Biden’s economic ditch, ensuring Americans can keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, deporting illegal aliens, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, locking up violent criminals, protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation, and restoring common sense across the federal government. This is what an American comeback looks like. Read more here. Weekly Rundown   According to a recent Memphis Crime Beat report, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office allowed hundreds of criminal defendants to be released into Shelby County with little or no punishment. This report revealed 75% of the criminal court cases resolved in December 2025 resulted in no prison time. Today, I sent a letter to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy regarding this report, asking how many of these criminal defendants are Memphis Safe Task Force arrestees, how many cases involve violent or serious felony charges, and why so few prison sentences were imposed in cases involving serious felony conduct. The people of Memphis expect Shelby County officials to uphold the rule of law—not release violent criminals back into their communities. Read more here. New court documents made public last week revealed that nearly 1 in 5 young teenagers reported seeing “nudity or sexual images” on Instagram that they didn’t want to see. This week, I spoke on the Senate floor slamming Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his deceptive testimony during the landmark social media trial in Los Angeles. Once again, Zuckerberg followed his usual playbook of denial and deceit, failing parents who have tragically lost their children to social media harms. To finally hold Big Tech accountable, Congress must pass my Kids Online Safety Act. I also discussed reports that Apple News systematically suppressed right-leaning news publications while amplifying left-leaning publications. Watch my floor speech about this here. Tennesseans deserve to know how many illegal aliens are being charged or convicted of crimes in their communities. To provide states with grant funding to collect and analyze data on the number of illegal aliens in the United States who have been charged or convicted of a criminal offense in that state during the previous year, I introduced the Migrant Crime Reporting Act. This would ensure that states have the tools and resources to collect that data on illegal alien crime and report it. Read more here. ICE has done phenomenal work in Tennessee and across the country to apprehend, detain, and deport illegal aliens who do not belong in our country. We appreciate Secretary Noem’s commitment to finding the best possible location for a new ICE detention center, and we are grateful for her strong leadership. Read more here.   Constituent Services Highlight “My dad is a little-known WWII hero,” the son announced with a smile, remembering his late father, who had entered the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a gunner on a Mauler plane. The veteran’s son, a resident of Gallaway, had reached out to my office to obtain his father’s replacement medals, which included the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, and several campaign medals. My office worked with the National Personnel Records Center to reissue the awards and his medals. We are thankful for all the men and women who have served in our U.S. Armed Forces, and we are pleased to honor them for their service to our country. Marsha's Roundup Watch My Highlights and Interviews Below   Senator Marsha Blackburn publishes Washington Post opinion piece on landmark social media trial Senator Blackburn discusses the overnight breaking news from Mar-A-Lago and Democrats' shutdown of DHS Senator Blackburn previews President Trump's State of the Union address on Wake Up America Senator Blackburn discusses President Trump delivering on key border promises on Fox Business Senator Blackburn calls out Big Tech for harming children and censoring conservatives On Faulkner Focus, Senator Blackburn discusses the social media addiction trial and steps Congress should take to ensure  children are protected online   Meeting With Marsha Senator Blackburn greets Tennesseans at Tennessee Tuesday Senator Blackburn greets Tennesseans at Tennessee Tuesday Senator Blackburn with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Senator Blackburn with Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey Senator Blackburn with Amir Vexler, CEO of Centrus Energy Senator Blackburn with Tennessee Automotive Supplier Partners ICYMI If your passport has expired, you can attend the Nashville Congressional Passport Fair on March 10-12. Be sure to book your appointment and bring the required materials. Click here for more information. More than 150 million Americans have an iPhone. Each comes pre-loaded with Apple News, making it one of the most widely read news platforms in the country. But according to shocking new reports, Apple has systematically suppressed right-leaning publications while boosting left-leaning outlets, turning the app into a tool of political propaganda. Read more about this in my weekly column here. Last Sunday, I joined Mike Emanuel on Fox News to discuss the overnight breaking news from Mar-A-Lago and the Democrats' partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Watch my interview about this here. Learn More Unsubscribe