Jack Reed

Built World

Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee

Skanska has started building a new homeport pier at Naval Station Newport for four Coast Guard offshore patrol cutters, under a $271.2 million contract awarded in September 2026. The old Pier 1, a 1,585-foot concrete structure from the mid-1950s, was demolished in an earlier phase after storms and waves left it condemned.

Updated Oct 23

Rule Changes

As of October 2026: Criticized the cuts as overstepping Congress's authority

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is cutting one in five positions reserved for generals and admirals, roughly 170 senior jobs across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force. He announced the move at his State of the Force address in Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30, doubling a reduction he ordered in May 2025.

Updated Oct 1

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Criticized Bessent's conduct during February 5 hearing

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's February 2026 congressional testimony tested norms of Treasury oversight: two days of shouting matches with House Democrats (Maxine Waters asking to 'shut him up,' Gregory Meeks calling him a 'flunky'), followed by heated Senate Banking Committee exchanges where Democratic Senator Jack Reed called his conduct 'childish' and Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed him on whether Fed nominee Kevin Warsh would face investigations if interest rates aren't cut as Trump demands. Bessent refused to clarify, prompting Warren to call the situation 'an even taller steaming pile of corruption.'

Updated May 27

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Co-leading Senate opposition to AML delay

FinCEN just delayed anti-money laundering rules for investment advisers by two years, pushing compliance from January 2026 to January 2028. It's the fourth time since 2002 that federal regulators have tried—and struggled—to close what transparency advocates call a $125 trillion loophole. Sanctioned Russian oligarchs, corrupt foreign officials, and fraudsters exploit it to access U.S. markets.

Updated May 19

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Co-leads Senate push for tighter oversight of private credit and leveraged risk

In March 2013, U.S. bank regulators issued joint supervisory guidance on leveraged lending to prevent a return of pre-2008-style underwriting excesses, with examiners informally anchoring scrutiny around a roughly six-times-EBITDA leverage benchmark. Over the next decade, banks' pullback shifted riskier deal finance toward private-credit funds, CLOs, and other nonbanks—expanding an opaque "shadow banking" ecosystem even as regulators maintained the guidance was supervisory, not a binding rule.

Updated May 9