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Photos taken by Edward M. Kennedy Institute and John P.Forry.
US Senators Katie Britt (R) of Alabama, and Peter Welch (D) of Vermont delivered a candid discussion about congressional dysfunction, foreign policy, and economic anxiety to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute on Monday morning.
The conversation, held inside the institute’s full-scale replica US Senate chamber, was the seventh installment of The Senate Project, a series of events at the Dorchester venue aimed at spurring more bipartisan dialogue in the spirit of the late Sen. Kennedy and his colleagues. The first installment featured US Sens. Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham in 2022.
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum moderated Monday’s 50-minute program, presented jointly by the Kennedy Institute and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and streamed live on Fox Nation. The full stream of the event can be viewed here.
Britt and Welch said their political differences have not prevented them from collaborating on the Water Research Optimization Act, child-care tax provisions, and protections for children online.
“Where you share a common goal with someone on the other side of the aisle, you have a duty to the people you serve to get in a room and try to figure out a pathway forward,” said Britt, who was especially critical of Congress’s failure to address social media’s effect on children.
“I think Congress has been feckless,” she said, warning that the consequences will be felt “for decades to come.”
Welch offered an equally blunt assessment of his concerns, citing the national debt, Social Security’s financial condition, and the increasing reliance on reconciliation, which allows legislation to pass by a simple majority vote in the Senate .
“The Senate is supposed to be a place where you come together, and you do work out the differences, and you hear from the minority,” Welch said. “But the reconciliation process is an indication that we’ve given up on that.”
Their sharpest disagreement came over President Donald Trump’s decision to waive sanctions while considering a deal to import Russian diesel fuel.
Welch said he was “appalled” and accused the president of “taking Putin’s side instead of Ukraine’s side.” Britt, saying she supported Trump’s goal of ending the war, argued that sanctions should remain available as leverage. Russia, she said, is at its weakest point of the war, creating an opportunity to “drive Putin to the table.”
The senators also considered whether the violent unrest unfolding in France could occur in the United States. Welch condemned the violence but said it reflects an underlying belief by many in this country that the government no longer works for ordinary people.
He pointed to economic inequality, housing costs, and stagnant wages, calling the federal minimum wage “really disgraceful.”
Looking toward the midterm elections, Britt emphasized Republican accomplishments on immigration, taxes, and government appointments while accusing Democrats of regularly using delay tactics. For his part, Welch said a Democratic majority would need to show humility and “earn trust” by improving how Congress operates.
Despite those differences, both affirmed The Senate Project’s central notion that lawmakers can defend their principles while still listening to other views, building relationships, and pursuing areas of agreement.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
