Wyden’s Bipartisan Press Freedom Bill Killed by Sen. Tom Cotton at President-Elect’s Urging

Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden appeals for passage

Oregon’s senior U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, whose father was a journalist, urged passage of the bill.

“ The PRESS Act is written to complement the First Amendment’s Constitutional protection for journalists, by ensuring they can do their jobs without unneeded government interference,” he said. “Our bipartisan bill shields journalists from being forced by courts to disclose their sources, or information provided by their sources, with key exceptions for national security and other critical matters. My bill also does not otherwise limit the government’s ability to pursue leakers.

“This is such a commonsense proposition that nearly every state in the nation has some form of reporters’ shield law on the books. Democratic and Republican state legislatures alike have found value in preserving the free flow of information and codifying these fundamental freedoms.

“Past administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have exploited the lack of a federal shield law to curtail the freedom of the press and in some cases even jailed journalists who refused to violate their journalistic ethics and reveal their sources. It is long overdue for the Senate to take action to stop these abuses.” 

Here’s what happened

An effort to pass a sweeping measure aimed at protecting press freedoms was struck down in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night.

The journalism shield law — which would limit the federal government’s ability to force disclosure of journalists’ sources — drew strong objections from President-elect Donald Trump, who’s had a rather rocky relationship with the press.

Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton blocked Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden’s request for unanimous consent to pass the bill, calling the legislation “a threat to U.S. national security and an insult to basic fairness in the principle of equality before the law.”

Though the U.S. House passed its version of the bill through voice vote earlier this year, Trump in November urged congressional Republicans “must kill this bill.”

Reaching unanimous consent — a process to fast-track the passage of bills in the Senate — appeared extremely unlikely given Trump’s sway in the Senate GOP conference.

Cotton, who’s the incoming Senate GOP conference chair, said the measure would “turn reporters into a protected class — free to hold, share and publish highly classified and dangerous information that no other American is allowed to possess.”

He also said the bill would turn the Senate “into the active accomplice of deep-state leakers, traitors and criminals, along with the America-hating and fame-hungry journalists who helped them out.”

Bipartisan Backing

Wyden introduced companion legislation to the House bill in June 2023. GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, co-sponsored the bill.

Wyden dubbed the bill “so common sense” and said past administrations on both sides of the aisle have “exploited the lack of a federal shield law to curtail the freedom of the press and in some cases, even jailed journalists who refused to break their journalistic ethics and reveal their sources.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed strong support of the bill and his desire to get it to the president’s desk.

“No democracy can survive without a free and open and thriving press,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

The legislation would establish “appropriate limits on the federally compelled disclosure of information obtained as part of engaging in journalism” and would limit federal law enforcement surveillance of journalists.

Dozens of news media organizations and press advocacy groups have pushed for the legislation’s passage, with press rights organizations voicing concerns about Trump’s incoming return to the Oval Office amid the threats he’s made against journalists.

Shauneen Miranda is a reporter for States Newsroom’s Washington bureau. An alumna of the University of Maryland, she previously covered breaking news for Axios. News partner Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.