Keegan Bittner, Author at Senator Steve Daines

Daines Honors Montanans of the Month: 2026 Winter Paralympians Katie Verderber, Jack Berry, and Michael Kneeland

March 27, 2026

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines recognized Katie Verderber, Jack Berry, and Michael Kneeland as Montanans of the Month for representing the Treasure State in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Paralympic Games. Through his “Montanan of the Month” initiative, each month Daines highlights a Montanan by submitting a statement of recognition in the recipient’s honor into the Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress. Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for Daines’ “Montanan of the Month” program by calling his office at 202-224-2651 or filling out the submission form on his website HERE. The following is the tribute Daines submitted to

Daines Urges Colleagues to Confirm Katie Lane as Next Federal Judge for the District of Montana in Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

March 25, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing urging his colleagues to support Katie Lane’s nomination to serve as the next Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Read his remarks as prepared for delivery below. Watch Daines’ remarks HERE. Daines’ remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you, Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Durbin, It is my honor to introduce Katie Lane and support her nomination to serve as the next Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Katie’s distinguished record of public service and experience in the

Daines on Fox News: Stop the Nonsense, End the DHS Shutdown

March 24, 2026

“Our Airports Look Like Walmart on Black Friday” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Martha McCallum on Fox News to discuss his meeting at the White House to end the DHS shutdown. Watch the full interview HERE. Daines on his meeting at the White House on ending the DHS shutdown: What happened yesterday at the White House was extraordinary. I got to give tremendous credit to President Trump and his team. The president saw what was going to happen right now at this moment in history a year ago when we put an extra $150 billion in the Homeland

Daines in Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: We Need to Build Nuclear Energy in Montana

March 19, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Theodore Garrish, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy and Dr. John Wagner, Director at the Idaho National Lab, in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. They discussed how Montana can play a role in the Trump administration’s plans to reinvigorate America’s nuclear capacity. Watch Daines’ opening remarks HERE. Daines’ opening remarks: Chairman Risch, thank you. And with your foreign relations hat on here and your nuclear hat for a moment, just to pile on that earlier conversation on microreactors, where this might all head. And as we

Daines in Senate Indian Affairs Committee: Complete the Fort Belknap Water Settlement, Support Montana’s Hi-Line

March 12, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with the Department of the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Cameron in a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing. The two discussed the necessity of completing the Fort Belknap water rights settlement and supporting irrigation and infrastructure on the Milk River. Watch the full exchange HERE. Daines on the importance of the Fort Belknap water rights settlement: Daines: The Fort Belknap have waited over a century to settle their water rights. In fact, they are the original tribe that led to the Winters Doctrine. They completed their settlement negotiations decades ago and have been waiting

Daines Bill to Increase Access to Public Lands Passes Senate Committee

March 4, 2026

Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that his bill, the “Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act,” passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is one step closer to becoming law. “As a lifelong sportsman, increasing access to Montana’s beautiful public lands is one of my top priorities. This bill is common sense: it unlocks land that’s overdue for release from restrictive Wilderness Study Area status to increase access for outdoor recreation, forest management, and wildfire mitigation. I am glad to see it pass committee and I’ll keep fighting to

Daines, Warner, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Economic Prosperity, Strengthen CDFI Fund

February 26, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today introduced the bipartisan “Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development (AFFORD) Act.” The AFFORD Act will provide added transparency over CDFI Fund operations and strengthen its role in improving capital access and economic development in rural, tribal, and other underserved communities in Montana, Virginia, and across the country. Additionally, the bill would extend and enhance the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program to enable participation by smaller CDFIs, reauthorizes the CDFI liquidity enhancement program to increase CDFI lending capacity and reach more communities, and bolsters the role of Native CDFIs by expanding a

ICYMI: Daines Lauds Affordability, Strength on the World Stage Following Trump’s State of the Union Address

February 25, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business to react to President Trump’s State of the Union address as well as the latest updates in Iran. Read highlights below. Daines on CNBC’s Squawk Box I thought for a moment, what if Kamala Harris would have won the 2024 election? What if she was giving that speech last night? Where would we be at? Millions of illegals continuing to come across our southern border. As the president said, he’s sealed the southern border. Fentanyl flows are down 56 percent over the course of the

Daines in Senate Finance Committee: Trade with Canada and Mexico is Critical for Montana

February 12, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a Senate Finance Committee hearing about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) and its impact on Montana. Watch the full exchange HERE. Daines on how the USMCA benefits Montana producers, manufacturers, and consumers: Daines: The United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement is vital for Montana ag producers, manufacturers, and consumers alike. President Trump was correct when he sought to modernize NAFTA in 2017, securing better terms for American farmers and businesses and fortifying supply chains in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve heard quite often that USMCA created business and investment certainty for

Daines Hails Trump Administration Action to Counter Russia’s Predatory Palladium Trade Practices

February 12, 2026

Will Protect Montana Jobs at Sibanye-Stillwater Mine WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines issued the following statement today commending the Trump administration for issuing a duty countering Russian efforts to flood markets with palladium in order to drive down prices. Russia’s actions put jobs at Montana’s Sibanye-Stillwater Mines in jeopardy. The mine is the only primary source of palladium in the United States and has been negatively affected by Russia’s actions. The administration’s 132.83 percent anti-dumping duty rate is enforceable upon publication in the Federal Register. “Montana mining is on a roll thanks to President Trump. Russia’s malign actions are aimed at eliminating competition

Author: Keegan Bittner