Camp Lejeune Families are Not Bargaining Chips

In 2022, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the Honoring our PACT Act, the largest expansion of veterans' benefits in decades, shepherded through the House by then-Veterans Committee Chairman Mark Takano. 

Inside that law rode the Camp Lejeune Justice Act: a bipartisan promise that Marines, their families, and civilian workers poisoned by decades of contaminated drinking water at the base would finally be made whole. Hundreds of thousands of claims have been filed since and only a tiny fraction have been paid.

On October 20, 2026, at a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, President Trump said: "If we [Republicans] win the House and the Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate [Camp Lejeune] claims as soon as possible… If we don't win, there's no money." Days later he added: "If the Republicans don't do well, maybe they won't get their money."

The Justice Department has already admitted on the record that it reprioritized Camp Lejeune settlement approvals "at the direction of the president." Now the president has said out loud what families feared: whether they are paid depends on an election.

Justice is not tied to political allegiance. We demand:
- The Justice Department commits, in writing before Election Day, to keep approving Camp Lejeune settlements no matter what happens on November 3.
- No family's compensation is conditioned, delayed, or reduced based on any election result.
- Congress investigates the DOJ's political reprioritization of these claims and pass the bipartisan Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act.

Nobody who served, or who lost someone who did, should have to wait on a vote count to learn whether the government keeps its word.