Rep. Sam Liccardo

August sipped away … 🍻

A lot has changed in the 20 years since the Rose Garden Library opened its doors, but nearly 3 million visitors later, its role hasn’t: convening community members of all ages, and providing a safe space for our kids to learn and gain inspiration.

Thank you to City Librarian Jill Bourne and everyone at San José Public Library for including me in the celebration!

Photos: San José Public Library

History made at NASA Ames Research Center!

Last week, I joined 160 new NASA team members for the largest civil servant swearing-in ceremony in Ames history.

Congratulations to the newest generation of public servants pushing the boundaries of discovery and American innovation.

I joined Larry and Carmen Stone at the Rotary Club of San Jose to present Larry with a Congressional Record recognizing his remarkable 46 years of public service to Santa Clara County.

And, of course, we all gave him a few well-earned boos.

Thank you, Supervisor Joelle Gallagher and Supervisor Belia Ramos, for your leadership! Napa joins San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in a regional effort to protect public safety and keep dangerous ICE detention centers out of Bay Area communities.

Learn more: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/08/27/napa-county-to-explore-restricting-immigration-detention-facilities-in-unincorporated-area/

We’re now six months into a war President Trump promised would last six weeks. By the Pentagon’s own estimate, it has already cost taxpayers $37.5 billion—a sum that could house every American experiencing homelessness for roughly four years.

Meanwhile, Americans pay more at the pump, in the grocery aisle, and at the doctor’s office, while this president pockets every dollar he can through grift after grift.

While we have exhausted much of our missile interceptor stocks in a war with Iran, making us unable to meet our commitments of defensive weapon deliveries to Taiwan and Japan, China’s and North Korea’s menacing threats to our Pacific allies only grow. Russia’s attacks inflict thousands of civilian casualties, and we’ve done nothing to bolster Ukrainian defenses essential to Europe’s protection. This war has made America, our allies, and the world less safe.

Trump promised a short Iran war. Six months later, he has few good options. The Iran war has become a major feature of Trump’s second term, hurting his standing with voters at home and eroding the U.S. position in the Middle East.

I’ve been inspired by the President’s approach to cartography

Fortune favors the doled…

Speaking of the dole, SpaceX has benefitted from $38 billion in federal contracts over the last two decades…

Trump bought shares in Elon Musk's SpaceX in June, financial disclosure shows U.S. President Donald Trump invested as much as $50,000 in Elon Musk's SpaceX in June, ​according to a public financial disclosure, giving him a financial stake in a ‌major government contractor run by his former adviser.