Dear Friend, This week, I have been in Washington but closely monitoring the surge of federal law enforcement and the imminent arrival of the National Guard in Memphis. I have been expressing my concern about militarizing the streets of Memphis, especially after President Trump said some cities should be used as “training grounds” for the military. I returned to Washington Monday in hopes of averting the government shutdown now under way and will continue working to see it re-opened and critical services restored. I expressed dismay at the Trump administration’s blatant Hatch Act violations with federal agencies’ websites inaccurately blaming the shutdown on Democrats. I also attended the Arlington National Cemetery burial service for FedEx founder Fred Smith, congratulated the architects who transformed Melrose High School who have received a prestigious national historic preservation award, announced grants to Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being and Agape Child and Family Services, remembered my friend Myron Lowery, and offered a Friday Flashback, a Bill Day cartoon and a health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens. Expressing Concern about the Military in Memphis Working to Re-Open the Federal Government and Protect Health Care Celebrating the Life of Fred Smith at Arlington National Cemetery Congratulating the Architects who Designed the Orange Mound Library and Genealogy Center Announcing $1.9 Million in Healthy Marriage Grants Remembering Myron Lowery The Friday Flashback A Bill Day Cartoon Weekly Health Tip Quote of the Week
Expressing Concern about the Military in Memphis 
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller all came to Memphis Thursday to oversee the federal law enforcement and National Guard elements of the Memphis Safety Task Force. They arrived without any prior notice to my office, and the role of the task force remains unclear, so I sought clarification in a letter to both Bondi and Hegseth, suggesting better collaboration with local law enforcement. My concern is based in part on President Trump’s suggestion this week in a speech to top military generals and admirals that American cities should be used as “training grounds” to handle the “enemy from within.” In his speech to assembled law enforcemt officials, Miller said, “I see the guns and badges in this room. You are unleashed. The handcuffs you’re carrying, they’re not on you anymore, they’re on the criminals. And whatever you need to get it done, we’re gonna get it done…The gangbangers that you deal with, they think that they’re ruthless, they have no idea how ruthless we are.” It sounded more like the directive a manager would give his fighter before he went to the cage in an Ultimate Fighting Championships bout. Like many cities, Memphis has a crime problem and additional federal law enforcement resources are likely to be helpful. However, we don’t need an occupying army or unaccountable raids on lawful and essential laborers by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. I’m concerned the surge is a subterfuge to get ICE into Memphis to round up illegal immigrants in our community. In Chicago, we’ve seen them descend in helicopters and use flash grenades to separate families in the middle of the night. They’re not catching “the worst of the worst,” as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump claim. Forty percent of the arrests in Washington, D.C., were for immigration status offenses, and most of those had no prior arrest records. Earlier this week, I released a statement urging my constituents to approach the surge with civility and restraint and not provoke the type of incidents that could produce the violence that Trump wants and expects. Working to Re-Open the Federal Government and Protect Health Care
I returned to Washington this week, although most of my Republican colleagues did not, to see if we could avert a government shutdown that began at midnight Tuesday and is still under way. I am hopeful that this shutdown, the fifth under President Trump and Republican House leadership, won’t last long, but Democrats will fight to stop Republicans causing health care prices to skyrocket for millions of Americans, including an estimated 81,000 in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. I also expressed my dismay at the blatant Hatch Act violations by Republicans blaming the shutdown on Democrats. I have informed the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives that I will forgo my congressional salary for the duration of the shutdown in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of federal employees now going without pay. My staff and I are still working, but please know that the shutdown will make it harder for us to work with federal agencies on casework matters. The shutdown may also mean our responses are delayed. Celebrating the Life of Fred Smith at Arlington National Cemetery
On Thursday, I attended the burial service for FedEx founder and former Marine Captain Frederick W. Smith at Arlington National Cemetery, our nation’s most-storied hallowed ground. It was a moving tribute with taps, a rifle-firing salute and a Marine Osprey helicopter flyover for a man who revolutionized freight logistics and changed our region and the world. As in life, Fred’s burial was humble. His headstone will be one among the thousands arrayed on Arlington’s hills, just one of the troops. Fred Smith valued being a Marine and showed it throughout his life by hiring and supporting veterans, promoting the World War II Memorial, and by his choice of a burial place. Fred received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam. Among the family and friends gathered Thursday were former Massachusetts Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty and FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam. Congratulating the Architects who Designed the Orange Mound Library and Genealogy Center
I was pleased to see that the former Melrose High School, now the Orange Mound Library and Genealogy Center for which I secured $3 million in Community Project Funding through the annual appropriations process, has received the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award. I congratulate Memphis-based Self + Tucker Architects on receiving the highest honor bestowed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Announcing $1.9 Million in Healthy Marriage Grants
On Tuesday, I announced that Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being will receive grant of $730,000 and Agape Child and Family Services will receive a grant of $1,250,000 from the Office of Family Assistance Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) initiative. The program is operated by the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Remembering Myron Lowery
My friend Myron Lowery, the longest serving Black member of the Memphis City Council and briefly the city’s mayor, passed on Sunday. He will be missed. Myron led a life of service with integrity and grace. Myron and I were friends for nearly 50 years. We supported each other through many elections but, more importantly, we were friends. The Friday Flashback
Here I am celebrating Myron Lowery’s first City Council victory in 1991 with his wife Mary, Willie Brooks, Mark Flanagan and others. A Bill Day Cartoon – “I Want You”
Weekly Health Tip
The Shelby County Health Department’s Rabies Control Program and volunteers from All 4s Rescue League will provide rabies and parvo vaccinations, microchips, and pet license tags for dogs and cats of Shelby County residents at no cost on Saturday, October 4. The clinic will be at the Southland Mall, 1215 Southland Mall (38116) from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. See details here. Quote of the Week
“Democrats have repeatedly made clear we are ready to sit down with anyone, at any time and at any place in order now to reopen the government, to enact a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people and to address the devastating Republican healthcare crisis that has caused extraordinary harm on people all across the country, in rural America, working-class America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities throughout America. The Republican healthcare crisis is devastating, the likes of which no one has ever seen...The Republican healthcare crisis is immoral in nature, and Democrats are fighting hard to reverse it. Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save healthcare on behalf of the American people.” -- Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries As always, I remain Sincerely, teve Cohen
Member of Congress
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