Senate Dems block Cornyn bill to defund Cesar Chavez memorial despite abuse allegations

Senate Democrats have blocked an effort to defund and remove a monument to a famous labor union activist who was recently hit with rampant allegations of being a terrorist.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tried to pass legislation that would restore the monument to Cesar Chavez, who founded the United Farm Workers. A monument sits in California on what was once his home and the birthplace of his labor movement.

Chavez was once a respected figure, especially among Democrats, until a New York Times report in March detailed an alleged pattern of sexual misconduct, including abusing and grooming children. The suspects are said to have remained silent even after his death.

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“Because of the disgraceful actions of Senator Heinrich, the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument – a known crime scene where Chavez's heinous abuse of women and girls took place – will continue to operate on the dime of the American people, and it is sick,” Cornyn told Fox News Digital.

But this effort was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, DN.M., who acknowledged the alleged abuse in Parliament on Tuesday and said “it will significantly change the legacy of Cesar Chavez and how he should be remembered.”

While agreeing that there should not be a monument named after Chavez, Heinrich warned that removing it would erase the issues of farm workers and sweep his “violence” under the rug.

“When we learn shocking or negative things about our history, the right response is to tell the truth — never to hide it,” said Heinrich. “I'm concerned that what my colleague from Texas is saying would do just that: Hide the truth about Cesar Chavez and, unfortunately, the amazing farmworker movement about it.”

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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Jack Myer/AP)

Heinrich's move to block the law came on the same day two members of the House – former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas – resigned from Congress over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cornyn's No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act, which has passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – where Heinrich is the ranking Democrat – is part of a broader campaign to erase Chavez's name from detailed depictions of his legacy.

“It's amazing that anyone would want to keep Cesar Chavez's name on a national monument honoring the very place where he is accused of beating women and children,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital. “Democrats should be ashamed.”

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Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) arrives at a hearing with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The bill would have ended the Cesar E. Chavez National Memorial, created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 to honor the late labor activist, by requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to sell the federal land it sits on.

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That would include selling Chavez's home and the contents of his office, where some of the alleged abuse took place.

The law would also require that any state funds allocated to the monument be redirected to provide law enforcement resources to analyze crime scenes and unexamined rape resources — a measure Cornyn has worked on with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., for re-election in 2024.