Political Watch

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is spending a lot of time pushing back on the Trump administration’s policy pushes. Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January and began signing a flurry of executive orders, Carbajal’s office has put out several press releases about what the congressman is doing and saying about it, […]

• On Jan. 29, one day after President Donald Trump moved to freeze funding for a range of federal programs, the president’s budget office rescinded the order, according to the Associated Press (AP). Trump’s move had prompted “widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country,” AP News reported. Locally, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) issued […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) responded to the executive actions that President Donald Trump made on his first day in office by calling some of them illegal and unconstitutional. This includes orders to pause funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan […]

• On Jan. 16, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) called out House Republicans for repeatedly suggesting their interest in obstructing delivery of federal disaster aid to Southern California. “What makes these families different from families we have helped after hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods? To suggest that we should hold hostage the aid we give American […]

• The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians received a $1.4 million grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help with the planning and community engagement efforts for an 8.7-mile path that would connect the Santa Ynez Reservation with Buellton, Solvang, and other parts of the valley. “Our tribe is thankful for receiving this grant […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) was sworn into his fifth term in Congress representing the 24th District on Jan. 3. “As someone who grew up, got his first job and a great education, and started a family on the Central Coast, I am deeply grateful to continue working on its behalf in Congress,” […]

• On Dec. 19, 2024, the U.S. Senate approved U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s (D-Santa Barbara) bill to rename the post office on E. Battles Road in Santa Maria in honor of Larry Lavagnino, the city’s former mayor and City Council member. “Every community should be so lucky to have a Larry Lavagnino,” Carbajal said in […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) called out House Republicans for “dragging their feet” on finalizing government funding for the current fiscal year, leaving more than $14 million in funding specifically designated for Central Coast projects in limbo, according to a Dec. 18 statement from Carbajal’s office. “Republican leadership in Congress has spent months […]

• Congress advanced federal legislation that acknowledges the disruption that space launch noise has on nearby communities, a first for federal decisionmakers, according to a Dec. 12 statement from U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s (D-Santa Barbara) office. Carbajal secured the language as well as helped outline the steps the Department of Defense should take to mitigate […]

• The House of Representatives unanimously approved U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s (D-California) bill to rename the U.S. Post Office on E. Battles Road in Santa Maria in honor of Larry Lavagnino, former Santa Maria mayor and City Council member and longtime resident, according to a Dec. 4 statement from Carbajal’s office. “Every community should be […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) celebrated the official designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, which took place on Nov. 30, according to a Dec. 2 statement from Carbajal’s office. “Nearly a decade after the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary was first proposed to the federal government, the Biden-Harris administration has now […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced a $60.4 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the city of Ventura’s large-scale water recycling program, VenturaWaterPure, according to a Nov. 19 statement from Carbajal’s office. VenturaWaterPure is estimated to produce 3,600 acre-feet of recycled water annually. The grant is the largest in a […]