Social security to school supplies for Congresswoman Jill Tokuda
Congresswoman Jill Tokuda took on an itinerary that included Social Security to school supplies on Saturday. “We’re here to talk about the 90th anniversary of Social Security,” said Kealii Lopez, the AARP Hawaii State director. “Our Kauai AARP volunteers did a great job responding so we brought over some of our Honolulu staff to help.” Tokuda was originally booked to Kauai to deliver a few words before the guest star, Augie T, did his comedy show ahead of another free performance at the … Continue Reading
July 03, 2025
Hawaii leaders react to passing of ‘big, beautiful bill’
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Republican-backed tax bill, known by President Donald Trump as the “big, beautiful bill,” passed the U.S. Congress on July 3, with local leaders saying the bill would cut healthcare coverage for more than 40,000 Hawai?i residents. In a joint statement between Gov. Josh Green, U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz as well as U.S. Representatives Ed Case and Jill Tokuda, the bill is described as “terrible.” “The Republican tax bill breaks promises, and guts funding … Continue Reading
June 28, 2025
Tokuda, Begich introduce bipartisan bill to strengthen reliability of Essential Air Service flights
US Reps. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawai‘i, and Nick Begich, R-Alaska, introduced a bill Friday to require Essential Air Service carriers to have a plan to accommodate passengers in the event of unexpected cancellations. The Essential Air Service (EAS) Reliability Act would require carriers receiving EAS contracts to submit contingency plans for non-weather-related disruptions such as maintenance issues. The measure seeks to prevent unexpected cancellations that can leave residents in isolated areas … Continue Reading
June 23, 2025
Rep. Tokuda warns Iran strikes will set back Middle East diplomacy
The desert dust continues to settle in Iran following the United States’ strike on Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday. Many congressional representatives are headed back to Washington, D.C. this week as Iran retaliated against Americans, launching 19 missiles Monday at the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Hawaii Representative Jill Tokuda was one of the House members returning Monday and spoke with Wake Up 2Day live after arriving in Washington. “I’m glad to hear the strikes on Qatar were … Continue Reading
June 20, 2025
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda on 'Big Beautiful Bill' impact on Hawaii residents, workforce, food security [VIDEO]
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda joined Sunrise to share the latest on how issues such as Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," the threat of the National Guard being deployed to Hawaii, U.S. involvement in the Israel Iran war, workforce and food security will impact Hawaii residents and what Congress is doing on their … Continue Reading
June 06, 2025
Rep. Tokuda testifies as ranking member in House Agriculture Subcommittee
In her debut as ranking member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology, US Rep. Jill Tokuda joined Hawai?i Cattlemen’s Council Managing Director Nicole Galase Thursday in advocating for the nation’s food producers and conservation programs. In her opening statement, Tokuda spoke to the environmental challenges facing farmers and ranchers. “The weather isn’t what it used to be. No matter what you want to call it — climate change, extreme weather, … Continue Reading
May 26, 2025
Congresswoman visits Kauai graduation
Kauai High School graduation of 274 graduates shared a lot in common with the two other public high schools that celebrated graduation on Friday night. Kapaa High School, with 216 graduates taking the walk for their high school diplomas, celebrated to an overflow audience at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Park stadium, and Waimea High School with 187 candidates for graduation celebrated at the Hanapepe Stadium on the same night. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda dropped in for the Kauai High School … Continue Reading
May 13, 2025
US representative from Hawaii targets ghost guns with new bill
Hawaii is helping lawmakers crack down on ghost guns across the country. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, plans to introduce a bill in Washington, D.C., this week called the Gun Hardware Oversight and Shipment Tracking Act, or Ghost Act. The legislation will allow law enforcement to track gun parts coming into the state and who ordered them. During a press conference Monday in Hawaii, Tokuda demonstrated how simple it is to make a weapon at home, known as a ghost gun, with parts that you … Continue Reading
May 04, 2025
Castle High School senior’s artwork to be displayed at U.S. Capitol
High school artists from across Hawaii’s Second Congressional District gathered Saturday to showcase their work at the 2025 U.S. House of Representatives’ Artistic Discovery Contest, held at Windward Community College. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who represents the district, hosted the annual high school art competition that has been held in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories since 1982, according to a news release. For Hawaii’s competition, professors from UH West … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
US Rep. Jill Tokuda: Hawai'i Must Ban Future Sale Of Assault Weapons
For too long, communities across America and Hawai?i have lived with the fear that today could be the day gun violence shatters everything. Built for combat, not communities, assault weapons like the AR-15 have become the deadly tool of choice for criminals, extremists, and mass shooters. These firearms shoot rounds at four times the velocity of a handgun and are far more destructive to human tissue and organs. Rounds fired by an assault weapon can even pierce law enforcement body … Continue Reading
April 21, 2025
Should Hegseth be fired over latest Signal scandal? [VIDEO]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again finds himself embroiled in a scandal after reportedly including his wife, brother and attorney on a Signal chat involving sensitive information. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, and U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, join “CUOMO” to discuss the latest controversy and whether it should lead to Hegseth being dismissed from his post with the Trump … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
Renaming of Captain Cook Post Office in honor of fallen soldier observed at Vietnam War memorial service
More than 50 years after U.S. troops departed Vietnam, the post office in Captain Cook is being named after 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao of H?naunau, who was killed in action during the war. 1st Lt. John Ku‘ulei Kauhaihao (Photo courtesy: Charley Kauhaihao) Before leaving office this year, President Joe Biden signed U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda’s bill into law on Jan. 4, naming the Captain Cook post office on Hawai?i Island the “Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao Post Office Building.” Tokuda … Continue Reading
March 05, 2025
U.S. Rep. Tokuda documenting fallout of federal firings
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda remains alarmed over ongoing job cuts among Hawaii-based federal workers, which could lead to more workers leaving the islands while residents lose access to federal services they rely on. Tokuda spent the past several days reviewing feedback from 70 or so federal workers so far who sent her their experiences through her website — overlaid by a new culture of fear, intimidation and uncertainty — following Elon Musk’s continuing purge of the federal workforce, all with … Continue Reading
March 04, 2025
Tokuda wears opposition to Trump on her pink sleeves
Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) wears a jacket with writing of the U.S. Constitution on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025, in Washington, DC. President Trump was expected to address Congress on his early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) holds a protest sign with fellow Democrats as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint … Continue Reading
February 28, 2025
McKelvey and Tokuda push back against Trump Administration federal job cuts
State Sen. Angus McKelvey and US Rep. Jill Tokuda are rebuking the administration of President Donald Trump for the loss of thousands of federal jobs as part of an effort to shrink government bureaucracy. Earlier this week, US Rep. Jill Tokuda reached out to constituents to seek out their stories on how they’ve been harmed by the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency. “From firing our federal workers without cause, threatening to cut funding for essential lifeline … Continue Reading
February 25, 2025
‘DOGE is a dictatorship’: Hundreds turn out in Puna to express their concerns about Trump administration, Musk
JOHN BURNETT/Tribune-Herald U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) addresses a crowd of about 300 Saturday during a town hall at Pahoa High and Intermediate School cafeteria. A crowd of perhaps 300 showed up Saturday at a town hall hosted by U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) at the Pahoa High and Intermediate School cafeteria. The majority of attendees were gray or graying. The mood, however, was boisterous. Cheers, applause and hoots filled the air for the few able, in a seemingly brief hour, to … Continue Reading
February 12, 2025
Tokuda leads call for details on federal resignations
Monday, led by U.S. Reps. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, and Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Democrats called on U.S. Office of Personnel Management acting director Charles Ezell to release a full breakdown of workers who have accepted OPM’s “deferred resignation” offer. The Trump administration believes over 20,000 federal employees accepted their offer to resign immediately, continuing to receive full pay and benefits until Sept. 30 without returning to work. Management told workers that refusing … Continue Reading
January 28, 2025
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda says 'political courage' needed amid Trump administration
Interview Highlights On the aftermath of Trump's executive orders JILL TOKUDA: From the moment he got sworn into office, stacks of executive orders that you saw on his desk that he's signing — from the most frivolous things like renaming gulfs to serious, serious things like pausing and halting federal funding that goes to, in many cases, life-saving services to the public. I'm hearing from colleagues across the country where domestic violence centers aren't sure if they can keep their doors … Continue Reading
December 27, 2024
Biden signs bill to study designating Lahaina as National Heritage Area
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed 50 bills into law, one of them directing the National Park Service to assess the suitability of designating Lahaina, Maui, as the “Lahaina National Heritage Area.” The Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act was introduced by U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono in the U.S. Senate. Both are Hawai‘i Democrats. The bicameral legislation calls for a study by the National Park Service, in coordination … Continue Reading
October 13, 2023
Tokuda to hold Satellite Office Hours
Rep. Jill Tokuda’s office will hold “satellite office hour” events on Molokai, Lanai, Oahu and Hawaii island to assist residents and businesses with issues they are having with federal agencies. Tokuda’s office can provide support with passport issues, veterans’ benefits, Social Security, immigration, postal service problems, Medicare and more, according to a news release. Constituent advocates will be on-site to help with case work and listen to concerns. This service can also be accessed at … Continue Reading