Daniel S. Goldman
Representative for New York · Democratic · United States
“That is not how our system works. The Supreme Court and our judiciary decide what the law is. When a unanimous Supreme Court rules that he is not a king and that he must abide by our basic principles of due process, he then refuses.”
“They are trying to bully them into ruling in their favor and not ruling based on their interpretation of the law. With the career folks removed from our executive branch agencies, he has put political lackeys in charge of our criminal justice system and our national security apparatus.”
“On day one, he pardoned more than 1,500 criminals who stormed this very building on January 6. Hundreds of them were convicted of violently assaulting law enforcement officers. It was a blatant and disgusting disregard for the rule of law and for our fine men and women in uniform.”
“He is now threatening to withhold billions of dollars in Federal funding unless universities change their curriculum, change their admissions process, change their hiring process, and change other core parts of their mission that they, as educational institutions, decide in this democracy.”
“Then, during Special Counsel Mueller's investigation on Russia's interference in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump's campaign, President Trump attacked the FBI relentlessly, trying to undermine its credibility.”
“This is his methodical way of undermining all forms of accountability in this government. More recently, his attack on our Constitution has escalated. Before he even came into office in January, President Trump had completely submitted the Republican Conference of this body.”
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“They use repression, retaliation, and the threat of violence to consolidate their own power, while doling out billions of dollars to other oligarchs who will support them. Many countries have faced moments like this before, moments where the freedom and the openness of the democracy that they represent stand at a crossroads. I urge my Republican colleagues to please stand up for our Constitution. Stand up for our democracy. None of us want authoritarianism. We don't want a dictator. Mr. Speaker, now is the time where the rubber meets the road, and my friends across the aisle will make their record for history. Do they want a dictator or do they want a democracy?”
“He is declaring war on the Constitution itself. Despite this laundry list of attacks on trying to undermine our democracy and our rule of law, my Republican colleagues remain absolutely silent and, in some cases, even supportive. These alarm bells are deafening, but too many in this Chamber would rather enable Donald Trump's descent into dictatorship than to confront him. They have laid down the power of the purse, and now they are actively trying to forfeit their oversight authority. They are silent as President Trump wages an all-out assault on our constitutional democracy. They are silent as he goes after the media, launches investigations into his political adversaries, and attacks our basic fundamental rights. This is what dictators like Vladimir Putin do.”
“That is not how our system works. The Supreme Court and our judiciary decide what the law is. When a unanimous Supreme Court rules that he is not a king and that he must abide by our basic principles of due process, he then refuses. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador, even though he had an order on him that would prohibit him from going to El Salvador. Donald Trump admits the mistake and refuses to bring him back to face due process. Due process is the cornerstone of our country. It distinguishes us from an authoritarian dictatorship, and Donald Trump wants to destroy it. It is not optional, and court rulings are not simply suggestions. They are the backbone of American democracy. They are our final safeguard against the unchecked power of the executive. When a President ignores the courts, he is not challenging policy.”
“They are trying to bully them into ruling in their favor and not ruling based on their interpretation of the law. With the career folks removed from our executive branch agencies, he has put political lackeys in charge of our criminal justice system and our national security apparatus. He is ordering criminal investigations into individuals simply because they disagree with him. That is the type of corruption that our country travels the world to root out. At its core, it is as antidemocratic as it gets. It is the stuff of dictators and strongmen and not of democracies. Even worse, he is attacking our basic and fundamental right of due process. That is the right to have any allegation presented before a neutral arbiter who makes a final decision. Like a king, Donald Trump thinks it is okay for him to get to decide what the law is.”
“This is his methodical way of undermining all forms of accountability in this government. More recently, his attack on our Constitution has escalated. Before he even came into office in January, President Trump had completely submitted the Republican Conference of this body. They have abdicated their constitutional duty to be a check and balance on the executive branch. The judiciary, the third branch of government, still remains in his way. How does he deal with the judiciary? He is openly and brazenly criticizing [[Page H1717]] and attacking judicial rulings that he doesn't like--including a number issued by Republican-appointed judges, including his own--and is openly defying court orders including Supreme Court orders. The President and some of my Republican colleagues are threatening judges.”
“He is now threatening to withhold billions of dollars in Federal funding unless universities change their curriculum, change their admissions process, change their hiring process, and change other core parts of their mission that they, as educational institutions, decide in this democracy. He is also waging a war against nonprofit organizations, yanking grants away that have already been made and allocated. He is threatening to remove the tax-exempt status of any organization that may disagree with his opinions or support lawsuits that might actually enforce existing laws. Mr. Speaker, you see where this is going. The media, the FBI, inspectors general, the Department of Justice, law firms, universities, and nonprofit organizations are all institutions that enforce our laws and that hold those in power accountable.”
“He and his administration have also been firing and forcing out anyone who might not share his political views, even though these jobs are career, nonpartisan, and apolitical jobs. Next, he went after lawyers and law firms who tried to hold him accountable to the law. He continues to do so. He has signed several executive orders, trying to limit the ability of law firms to represent their clients, one of the fundamental hallmarks of our system of law. He has gone after universities. These institutions form the bedrock foundation of the growth and innovation of our great country and underpin and form the foundation for the best global economy in the world.”
“On day one, he pardoned more than 1,500 criminals who stormed this very building on January 6. Hundreds of them were convicted of violently assaulting law enforcement officers. It was a blatant and disgusting disregard for the rule of law and for our fine men and women in uniform. Next, during his first week, he fired nearly 20 inspectors general, the independent watchdogs in the executive branch agencies. It is their responsibility to ensure that those agencies follow the law. Then he went after the Department of Justice and the FBI. He fired prosecutors and special agents who investigated his criminal conduct. They simply did their job. He then turned to the Public Integrity Section, the renowned and venerable institution that was created after Watergate to be an independent investigative body of public officials.”
“Then, during Special Counsel Mueller's investigation on Russia's interference in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump's campaign, President Trump attacked the FBI relentlessly, trying to undermine its credibility. Rather than debate the facts or the evidence, which he knows he would lose, isn't it just a lot easier to simply shoot the messenger and claim that everything bad about you is just fake news? {time} 1830 Mr. Speaker, while many, rightly, have been focusing on the arbitrary and devastating cuts to essential Federal programs or the disastrous and reckless tariffs that have increased prices and inflation and have tanked the economy, President Trump's first 100 days have also escalated this relentless assault on the checks and balances that have been the foundation of our great Nation.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Johnson, for organizing this incredibly important Special Order hour to highlight the absolutely unprecedented and devastating attacks on our democracy and on the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm that our democratic values and the rule of law are under attack. We all must open our eyes before we find ourselves in Vladimir Putin's Russia. In just 100 days, President Trump has engaged in a coordinated, premeditated, deliberate attempt to dismantle our government. Let's be very clear: Donald Trump does not seek to lead us. He seeks to rule us, and we all must open our eyes. Since he first came into office, President Trump has persistently attacked the media to undermine the credibility of the messenger of news that he didn't like.”
“A fundamental principle of our Constitution is that the courts decide what the law is, not Congress and not the President, even if he is elected, which I would note for our friends down at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is true for every single President. My colleagues complain about the high number of nationwide injunctions during the first 3 months of this Presidency. Rather than blame the judges for that, I have an idea: Stop breaking the law. This is a bad bill that gets us nowhere other than toward autocracy.”
“Even former Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Republican star witness at our committee hearing last week on this topic, conceded that nationwide injunctions are appropriate in some cases. That is why this bill is not about the substance. It is clear that the House Republicans have completely abdicated their own constitutional duty to be a check and balance on the President. The only remaining check that is left in our separation of powers is the courts, but it is not enough for my colleagues to hand over all of their own authority to the President; they want to hand over the judiciary branch's authority, too.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this bill, which is simply an attempt by House Republicans to intimidate judges who issue rulings that they simply don't like. My colleagues concede that it is the Supreme Court which determines what the law is. Well, in today's modern age, how do you get to the Supreme Court? You go first to the district court, then through the appeals court, and then up to the Supreme Court. Now, there are many complaints that that takes too long. I agree, but we are citing rulings on the other side of the aisle of Supreme Court rulings on these very nationwide injunctions within a few weeks.”