Chris Van Hollen
Senator for Maryland · Democratic · United States
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S4105] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRIBUTE TO COLONEL YOLANDA D. GORE Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S4105] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRIBUTE TO COLONEL YOLANDA D. GORE Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr.”
“She brought modernization to Fort Meade and the surrounding community by implementing a barracks renovation project, helping break ground on a child development center, and reforming physical security across the installation.”
“She brought modernization to Fort Meade and the surrounding community by implementing a barracks renovation project, helping break ground on a child development center, and reforming physical security across the installation.”
“She earned a bachelor's degree in family and consumer science business and later went on to earn a master of arts in leadership and management from Webster University and a master of arts in strategic studies from the Army War College.”
“She earned a bachelor's degree in family and consumer science business and later went on to earn a master of arts in leadership and management from Webster University and a master of arts in strategic studies from the Army War College.”
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Every one of 361 lines we hold for Chris Van Hollen, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 8.
“I will continue to press this issue of accountability and public safety with the big tech giants. While President Trump has worked to secure our border and our communities, he has also focused on making our economy stronger than ever before. In the last 100 days, he has slashed Democrats' far-left regulations, has unleashed American energy production, and has secured trillions of dollars in investment to support American workers and industry. Now, in Tennessee, we have seen some of the benefits of that, and we have seen millions of dollars in investments. The candy company Charms is investing nearly $100 million to expand its production plant and distribution center in Covington, TN. Mount Juliet was included in a $700 million nationwide investment by Schneider Electric to boost domestic manufacturing and energy infrastructure.”
“While the social media platform has taken that specific group down, what we did find is there are now 80 similar groups that are active on Facebook. This black market not only runs afoul of the law, but it also poses a serious public safety threat, especially for women, children, and the elderly. Just in February--and this is a case in point--there was a lady in Massachusetts. She was allegedly raped after ordering an Uber Eats delivery to her home. The app indicated that a woman would be delivering her order. Instead, an illegal alien with horrific intentions is who showed up on her doorstep. Last week, I sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding answers about what his company is doing to eliminate this black market from Facebook. He has until May 6 to respond to the questions.”
“In effect, what this black market does is help illegals avoid background checks and be able to work in our country illegally using someone else's name and credentials. This is not something that is a new problem. Last year, I led a probe into the account security of food delivery services after we had received reports that showed illegal aliens were buying access to the accounts of legitimate users. Thankfully, companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub implemented stronger driver verification processes after we began this investigation, but Facebook's black market really helps illegals to bypass those protections. There is one Facebook group that has been out there, and here is the name of it: ``UBER ACCOUNT FOR RENT WORLDWIDE.'' This account tallied 22,000 members who bought and sold delivery credentials.”
“This number has included suspected terrorists, members of violent gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, and we know that more of those deportations are going to take place. President Trump is fulfilling the promise he made to make this Nation safe again, to make our communities safe again, and to get these violent gangs and criminals off our streets. Now, even though these efforts have been very successful and are widely supported by the American people, we have seen some powerful institutions in our country try to block the will of the people and what they wanted to see done. This includes some of our Nation's social media companies. According to reports, Facebook is allowing a black market to thrive on its platform where illegal aliens can buy ride share and delivery driver accounts from credentialed users.”
“That is precisely what he has done. [[Page S2687]] If you want to go through some of these, let's start at the southern border. Under President Biden, criminals, terrorists, and traffickers were flowing across that border, but because President Trump on day one took Executive action to secure that border, illegal crossings are at their lowest level in decades. This is something the American people wanted to see done. In March, those crossings were down 95 percent from the last administration. I understand that this past weekend, they had the lowest number ever--a 99-percent reduction. They had three people who were apprehended. When you look at deportations, the Trump administration has already removed more than 100,000 criminal illegal aliens.”
“So I hope that, as we review this first 100 days and the massive lawbreaking that is going on and the tearing up of the Constitution and the tearing apart of the government and the tearing down of our economy, we will all wake up because the American people are waking up. They understand what is going on, and they don't like what they see. So we had better do our jobs here in the U.S. Senate, and I hope, starting today, all 100 Senators will begin to do exactly that. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee. Trump Administration First 100 Days Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, yesterday did indeed mark the 100th day of President Trump's second term, and I think, if you were to pick four words that really describe his first 100 days, it would be promises were made, and promises are being kept.”
“So I want to end with this: When you see this kind of massive lawbreaking going on--violations of the due process clause, violations of the First Amendment, violations of article I and the Impoundment Control Act--I mean, you can just take a marker through the Constitution and cross out those provisions, right? The 14th Amendment--cross it out. The First Amendment--cross it out. Cross out article I. That is what everybody in this body who is not standing up to the President is complicit in right now. What bullies do--and make no mistake, President Trump is a bully. What they do is they try to pick on people they think are weak. If the rest of us don't stand up for the rights of those people, then it is a very fast and slippery slope to losing the rights of everybody who lives in America.”
“Congress passed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to counter external emergencies, not to grant Presidents a blank check to write domestic economic policy. They go on to point out that, yes, we have a fentanyl crisis in America--all of us agree with that--but using this statute, which is for economic emergencies, and using the statute in the way the Trump administration is doing is a gross violation of the President's legal authority. As we can see by the downturn in the economy--we just learned that we are seeing the economy contract; we are seeing consumer confidence plunge--President Trump's illegal use of that statute is causing incredible economic pain across the country.”
“Finally, I want to talk about another area where Donald Trump is violating the law to the detriment of our economy, and that is in the area of tariffs. Now, Presidents, of course, have some authority to apply tariffs, and I have supported targeted tariffs in the past for strategic purposes. But a number of small businesses around the country and others have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration for their illegal use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. I see the ranking member of the Finance Committee on the floor here, and he has spoken to this many times, and I want to thank him for his leadership. I do want to read directly from the complaint that has been filed because the complaint--and this is one.”
“But you are going to be the head of OMB, and here today, at this hearing, you are refusing to comply--to commit to comply--with the Impoundment Control Act; is that right? Are you refusing to commit to complying? This dance went on and on, and never did he commit to comply with the Impoundment Control Act. So that is what we are witnessing right now--a violation of the Impoundment Control Act. We, the Senate, were supposed to get the Trump administration's spending plans for the remainder of fiscal year 2025 a few days ago. For many Agencies, we haven't seen them yet. So we don't know what they say their plans are, but we do know that, as of now, they are withholding about $430 billion of appropriated funds.”
“When the head of OMB--the Office of Management and Budget--Russ Vought, was before the Senate Budget Committee for his nomination, at his confirmation hearing, I asked him about the Impoundment Control Act, and I asked him about the past violations of the Impoundment Control Act because, guess what, he also was the head of OMB at the time of the earlier violation, and Russ Vought is back at it again as the head of OMB. So when I asked him about the Impoundment Control Act at his hearing, I got this answer. I asked him about President Trump and the Impoundment Control Act. Here was his answer at the hearing: Senator, the President ran against the Impoundment Control Act. My response to him: Mr. Vought, I know what the President did. He wants to change a lot of things. He can submit legislation to do that.”
“So, back at the time, I wrote a letter to the GAO, asking them to investigate that withholding to see if it violated the Impoundment Control Act. That is a statute of the United States of America. In that case, the GAO found that, yes, the Trump administration--the first round--had illegally withheld those funds. It was an illegal impoundment. So that is what we are seeing right now, and they are not even working too hard to show that they are violating the Impoundment Control Act.”
“And yet, just yesterday, the head of the Government Accountability Office, as we know by GAO, testified before a Senate appropriations subcommittee that the Trump administration was stonewalling GAO's efforts to investigate this illegal withholding of funds. Gene Dodaro, who is the Comptroller General, testified that the Office of Management and Budget ``has not been responsive'' to GAO's questions about the freezing of billions of dollars in funding Congress had already approved. Now, this is not the first time we have seen a Trump administration violating the Impoundment Control Act. The last time President Trump was in office, he illegally withheld funds that the Congress had appropriated for helping the people of Ukraine, and he refused to spend those funds--Donald Trump did.”
“Go to the local Social Security offices. We are closing the local Social Security offices, and, by the way, we are also firing thousands of people so there won't be anyone in those local offices. And then they say: Oh, well, maybe we better turn the phones on again. This isn't about government efficiency. This is about rigging the government for people like Elon Musk at the expense of everybody else. This is an issue that should concern every Member of Congress because it is a direct attack on article I, and it is an attack on the American people and their rights to have these investments made when their elected officials direct them to be made on their behalf.”
“And because of past research at NIH, her daughter's cancer was, thankfully, in remission, gone away. But she was there--the mother was there--to say she wants other families who have kids with cancer to have the same opportunities and that those opportunities only exist if we continue to do research into lifesaving cures and treatments. And yet, the Trump administration is sowing chaos at NIH and has frozen some clinical trials. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies are taking a chain saw to the Federal Government and are destroying the ability of the Federal Government to deliver reliable services to the American people, like the damage they are doing at the Social Security Administration. First they say there is no more phone service, use the internet. People couldn't get through on the internet.”
“He is also tearing up article I of the Constitution by illegally freezing, withholding, and impounding funds for important public purposes--funds that have been appropriated by the Congress and signed into law. The Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars of investments to support public services in communities all over America. The latest count is they are holding up about $430 billion that was appropriated by the Congress. You know, just this morning, we had a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee about the Trump administration's freezing and cutting of funds for NIH, the National Institutes of Health. There was lots of powerful testimony from witnesses, including from a mom who was there with her daughter who had suffered through childhood cancer.”
“It is pretty pathetic that students expressing their views represent a threat to the foreign policy of the United States. We have students of all different faiths who are protesting the war in Gaza and advocating for Palestinian rights. Others may agree or strongly disagree with what they say, but to claim that they somehow represent a threat to the foreign policy of the United States is ridiculous. It is so clearly being used as a ruse to deny their First Amendment freedom of [[Page S2686]] speech rights that I hope the courts will see right through it. What it is, is an effort to punish speech. Donald Trump's lawbreaking doesn't end with his efforts to tear up the constitutional rights of due process and the First Amendment.”
“We sort of went back and forth between the United States and other countries. I was proud to be from a family that represented the United States overseas. We are far from perfect, and we have a lot of work to do to live up to the principles that we say we stand for around the world. But one of the things we do--or used to do--is stand up as a beacon for human rights and freedom of speech. That is no longer happening. You can't say you want everybody else around the world to live up to that principle when you are violating it right here at home. Now Secretary Rubio has doubled way back into a McCarthy-era statute from what was called the McCarran-Walter Act. That was a law passed at the height of the McCarthy era, and he is using that to claim that these students represent a threat to the foreign policy of the United States.”
“President, you know that our colleague who served with us, Senator Rubio, used to take to this Senate floor regularly to talk about an American foreign policy based on democracy, based on human rights, based on freedom of religion, and, yes, based on freedom of speech and suppression around the world, telling other countries that it was wrong to have the governments lock them up for expressing their points of view. And yet now in their home, Secretary of State Rubio is trashing freedom of speech. He is ripping up the First Amendment of the Constitution, and it is shameful. The American people should not stand for it because if you rip up the First Amendment for some people, you threaten it for everybody who lives in the United States of America. I was fortunate to grow up in a Foreign Service family.”
“I think members of the Trump administration need to take a refresher course, the kind we ask citizens to take in this country because, apparently, President Trump, Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, and others would like to cross that question right off the citizenship test. We observed recently, when Vice President Vance took an overseas trip, that he lectured some of our European allies like the UK and Germany about freedom of speech. He said that they had too many limits on freedom of speech; that they were curtailing freedom of speech for people who lived in their countries, but here at home, they are tearing up the First Amendment of the Constitution. Apparently, here at home for the Trump administration, freedom of speech exists only for those who agree with their point of view. Mr.”
“They don't get to cherry-pick speech under the First Amendment and use governmental power, state power, to sanction those who disagree with their points of view. But that is exactly what they are doing in cases like those of Rumeysa Ozturk, Mahmoud Khalil, and Mohsen Mahdawi. Mohsen Mahdawi was illegally snatched as he was taking his citizenship test in the State of Vermont. I want to read one of the questions that is on the U.S. citizenship test. It is important that everybody recognize what we ask those who are working to become citizens to understand. Question 6 on the citizenship test reads: What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? And under it there are a number of things, but the first one on there is speech. The second one on there is assembly--speech and assembly.”
“Now I want to turn to another area of lawbreaking--constitutional violations being committed by the Trump administration because not only are they violating the due process clause of the Constitution in the Abrego Garcia case and others, but they are also tearing up the First Amendment and trampling over free speech rights of individuals in America, especially students on college and university campuses but many others as well. The Trump administration and Secretary Rubio apparently think the First Amendment is like an a la carte menu. In other words, they seem to believe that the U.S. government can punish those who engage in speech that they don't like. That is not how it works.”
“I will continue to fight to defend the Constitution and due process rights of all who live in America. That was my letter to President Trump. I haven't heard anything back from them, and they continue to violate the Supreme Court orders. You know, colleagues, Members can look the other way but cannot deny the fact that this is happening as we speak today. I would urge every Senator to recognize the threat to everybody's rights under the Constitution.”
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia was snatched from his car while he was driving in Maryland with his five-year-old autistic son, then illegally stashed away in a prison in El Salvador. His wife, his mother, and his brother have been unable to communicate with him in any way. He has a work permit and his fellow sheet metal workers have been organizing to bring him back [home], as have thousands of Americans. His constitutional rights must be respected. I close with this paragraph in my letter to the President: This case is not about Kilmar alone. It is about everyone in America. While Mr. Abrego Garcia is at the center of this case, its consequences impact the due process rights of everyone who lives in America. If your Administration can strip away the constitutional rights of one man in defiance of court orders, it can do it to all of us.”
“The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has [already] rid itself of custody there is nothing [else] that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear. I should point out that Judge Wilkinson was a Reagan administration appointee and this was a unanimous opinion of the three-court panel. I went on in my letter to President Trump to say: The Fourth Circuit got to the heart of the case.”
“More than two decades ago [I pointed out to him] I helped establish a regional anti-gang task force to combat MS-13 and other gang violence in the Maryland-Virginia-D.C. area. We have made substantial progress in this fight, but there is more that can be done. But that is not what you and your Administration are doing. You are engaged in gross violations of the Constitution and due process rights. I then, in this letter, cite Judge Harvie Wilkinson, who wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit the following. I am going to quote him, and I have this in my letter to President Trump: It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all.”
“Apparently, no one informed the President of this, or he just decided to pretend he didn't know. In this interview, he said: He had MS-13 on his knuckles, tattooed. The reporter said: That was photoshopped. And Trump's response was to the reporter: Terry, they are giving you a big break of a lifetime. I picked you, but you are not being very nice. Well, my point here, again, is whatever evidence there may be, the proper form to submit it is in the courts of the United States. And at least today, judges in those cases have made clear that the declaration has not relied on such evidence. I went on in my letter to President Trump to say this: It is also dangerous for you to suggest that we cannot fight gang violence without trampling over constitutional rights.”
“Yet the federal district court judge in this case said your Administration had presented the court with ``no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity.'' So your Administration should put up or shut up in court. I am not vouching for the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, I am vouching for his rights. I am going to take a little departure here. I don't know if my colleagues witnessed the interview that President Trump had with an ABC reporter, Mr. Moran, yesterday, but it is all over social media because it turned out that, you know, President Trump had taken a picture of what was Abrego Garcia's fingers, and he had superimposed--or someone in the administration put an ``MS-13,'' written that on. That had been photoshopped or otherwise falsely there.”
“Instead of fixing the egregious ``administrative error'' that the Administration conceded has wrongfully deposited Mr. Abrego Garcia in a prison in El Salvador, your Administration chose to attack and punish the lawyer who told the court the truth. That is shameful. I went on to write to the President--I think this is important. It is also shameful that you and your Administration continue to try to change the subject in this case. You-- Referring to President Trump-- [[Page S2685]] continue to put out information on social media asserting that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 and Vice President Vance falsely asserted that he has been convicted of crimes in the United States.”
“My conversation with Vice President Ulloa shows that your Administration's claim that El Salvador is exercising its ``sovereign'' decision to continue to hold Mr. Abrego Garcia is a farce. The Government of El Salvador is imprisoning him because your Administration is paying them to do so and they claim to be contractually obligated. Obviously, your Administration could say El Salvador was no longer contractually obligated to imprison Mr. Abrego Garcia. Then El Salvador can release him, and Attorney General Bondi can, as promised, send the plane. I went on to write to President Trump that: It is outrageous that Mr. Abrego Garcia and his family have been forced to suffer through this trauma because your Administration has, to date, refused to follow the requirements of the Constitution and the orders of the federal courts.”
“Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in a plane, and Attorney General Bondi has said the United States could send a plane to pick him up. And the U.S. government can certainly provide him with the papers necessary to return.'' I went on in my letter to President Trump to say this: My conversation with [the] Vice President. . . . clearly demonstrates that the Government of El Salvador has no independent legal basis for imprisoning Mr. Abrego Garcia; that, as they readily concede, the only reason for keeping him in prison is that they entered into an agreement with your Administration to be paid by the United States. This also reveals that your Administration could easily facilitate his release by letting El Salvador know that--given his wrongful detention--they are not contractually bound to continue imprisoning Mr. Abrego Garcia.”
“We don't have it.'' So I continued to report on this conversation in my letter to President Trump, and I said: I repeatedly pointed out that neither I nor anyone else was asking El Salvador to ``smuggle'' Mr. Abrego Garcia back into the United States. That argument is, of course, a red herring. I repeatedly pointed out that Attorney General Bondi had said, when President Bukele was in the Oval Office with you-- Referring to the President of the United States-- that the U.S. would send a plane to pick up Mr. Abrego Garcia. So, I was not asking the Government of El Salvador to ``smuggle'' him into the United States, only to release him from prison. And I pointed out to President Trump that ``Your Administration illegally took Mr.”
“And that's it.'' When I asked the Vice President why El Salvador cannot release Mr. Abrego Garcia from prison when the U.S. government conceded in court that he was wrongfully abducted--and whether he is being charged under El Salvador's law--he responded, ``What is your recommendation to El Salvador's government? We can take him to the airport and ask an airline to take him to the States? Are you saying the airline would take a person without a passport? What kind of visa should we carry?'' He went on to say--this is the Vice President of El Salvador: President Bukele said we cannot smuggle a person to the United States. Because if we send a person without a visa, tourist visa, working visa, student visa, what kind of reason can we call to get legally into the United States?'' Regarding his papers, he asked, ``Who will provide that?”
“whether El Salvador had any evidence that Mr. Abrego Garcia had committed a crime, his response was, ``how can I have it?'' He said the Government of El Salvador does not ``qualify those persons who are there, we just take them.'' I asked if El Salvador is imprisoning Mr. Abrego Garcia simply because the United States is paying to keep him and others there. His response was, ``exactly, that's it.'' He also said, ``I mean, if the person that you send is not a criminal, is not whatever, I mean it is up to you, that's what I'm saying. I don't want to express any opinion . . . I think it is up to you . . . The ball is in your court.'' And the Vice President of El Salvador ``made it clear that they did not review the file of Mr. Abrego Garcia.'' He said, ``we have a deal with the U.S. government. They send people. We host them. They pay.”
“We have not expressed, we cannot express any opinion on that case, because it is up to you.'' Again, this is what the Vice President of El Salvador told me and what I reported to President Trump in this letter. I went on in my letter to President Trump to say: All of this makes crystal clear that, even though your Administration's lawyers admitted in federal court that Mr. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully detained in Maryland and sent to prison in El Salvador and despite the Supreme Court's order to ``facilitate'' his return, your Administration has not lifted a finger to comply with the court order. As [the] Vice President. . . . indicated, ``the ball is in your court.'' When I asked-- And I am continuing to report this to the President of the United States. When I asked [the] Vice President. . . .”
“and usually we do not express any opinion on domestic affairs.'' He went on to say-- I quoted him again-- I mean, the ball is in your court. Meaning the ball is in America's court, and he used that expression multiple times during our conversation. I went on to tell President Trump that the Vice President of El Salvador: . . . made clear that ``once the case will be resolved definitely and there will be clear instruction regarding this case . . . El Salvador's government will apply [our] principles . . . of course we will act accordingly.'' He indicated that, ``at this current moment we cannot take any actions because the case is still in the United States' situation.'' He reinforced this point throughout our conversation, saying the ``bottom line is this is an issue that has to be solved in the United States.”
“Abrego Garcia's return to the United States and revealed that the Government of El Salvador is holding him solely at the request of your Administration and, specifically, because you are paying them to imprison him. While I had expected a private meeting with Vice President Ulloa, when I arrived at his office there were several cameras rolling-- I think they were probably his own private cameras. I don't know, but they were rolling to record the conversation. [So] I agreed to have our conversation on the record. And then I write: [Mr. President,] I want to report some important details of our [conversation]. Vice President . . . told me that, ``El Salvador is not able to take any action regarding the case because the case is in the U.S.”
“Abrego Garcia's constitutional and due process rights--and when you deny the due process rights of one person, you threaten them for everyone in America. The American public knows this. Recent polling shows that a majority of Americans reject your trampling over constitutional rights in this case. I went on to write this: During my visit to El Salvador, I had the opportunity to meet with [the] Vice President. . . . My conversation with him revealed the extent to which you and your Administration are violating the orders of the federal courts and the Constitution of the United States. Our discussion-- Again, referring to my discussion with the Vice President of El Salvador-- showed that your Administration is doing nothing to comply with and implement the Supreme Court order to ``facilitate'' Mr.”
“Here is what I wrote in that letter: Dear President Trump, I read with great interest your interview with Time Magazine regarding the Supreme Court's 9-0 decision ordering you and your Administration to ``facilitate'' the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who your lawyers admitted in federal court was wrongfully seized and deported to prison in El Salvador. You conceded in that interview-- This is the interview he had with Time magazine just a short while ago. You conceded in that interview that you have not asked President Bukele-- That is the President of El Salvador-- to return him. You also said, regarding this case, that you ``don't make that decision'' because your lawyers do. Your comments and the actions of your Administration clearly demonstrate your failure to comply with court orders as you continue to violate Mr.”
“[[Page S2684]] And now the Trump administration is ignoring orders from the Federal district court, the Fourth District Court of Appeals, and a 9-to- nothing order from the Supreme Court. We don't get 9-to-nothing decisions out of the Supreme Court very often. But that is what all those courts ordered the Trump administration to do with respect to facilitating the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia, to facilitate his return. This is not just trampling over his rights. And, again, I want to emphasize: If you allow the President to trample over the rights of one person, you do threaten the rights of everybody who lives in America. That is why yesterday I wrote to President Trump about this case, and I am going to read that letter to the Senate so no one can say they don't know what is going on in this matter.”
“He was denied the opportunity to make that phone call. He was then shipped to the State of Texas. From there, his feet were shackled. He was handcuffed. He was put in a plane where he couldn't see out the windows, and he didn't know where he was going, and he landed in El Salvador and was taken to one of the most notorious prisons in our hemisphere, a place reserved for the worst of the worst, for terrorists. Now here is the thing: There was a standing court order not to deport him to El Salvador because doing so could put his life in jeopardy from gangs. Indeed, the Trump administration admitted in Federal court that Abrego Garcia was wrongfully seized and shipped to this prison in El Salvador. But instead of fixing the problem they admitted to in court, what did they do? They punished the lawyer who told the truth in court.”
“As I have repeatedly said, this case is not about one man alone. It is about all of us. I am not vouching for Mr. Abrego Garcia, but I am vouching for his constitutional right to due process--because, if Donald Trump can ignore court orders and trample over the rights of one man, he threatens the rights of everyone who lives in the United States of America. Mr. Abrego Garcia had legal status in the United States. He lived in Maryland with his family. He had a work permit. He was an apprentice with the sheet metal workers, SMART Local 100, where he worked full- time to help support his family. He was driving in his car with his 5- year-old autistic son when he was pulled over by Federal agents. He was taken to some facility in Baltimore where he asked to make a phone call to let folks know what was happening.”
“I want to cover four categories: his violations of constitutional due process rights; his violation of First Amendment rights; his illegal withholding and impoundment and freezing of public funds that benefit communities all over America; and fourth, exceeding his authorities, claiming emergency powers that he doesn't have in the area of tariffs, making sham claims to justify his tariff chaos that is sabotaging our economy as we speak. I want to start with Trump's violations of the constitutional right of due process--a bedrock American principle. As we speak, President Trump is violating the due process of many, many individuals, including the rights of a man by the name of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was snatched off the streets of Maryland and illegally shipped to one of the most notorious prisons in Latin America, called CECOT.”
“The only people who don't seem to get it are some of our Republican colleagues here in the Congress who apparently live in constant fear of being on the wrong end of a tweet from Donald Trump or Elon Musk and want to look the other way in the face of this massive lawbreaking and ripping up of the Constitution. So I want to take a little inventory, just a small sampling of the actions of this lawless President.”
“He is violating the First Amendment by cracking down on students at colleges and universities for their exercise of free speech and right to assemble and also violating another vital constitutional provision: the constitutional right to due process for those who live in America. It is a staggering amount of lawbreaking in just 100 days. That is why all of us should fight back--in the courts, in this Congress, and in communities all over America. We know that the American people don't like what they are seeing, what they are experiencing. They are rising up in communities all over America to voice their disapproval with President Trump's performance. They are giving him a big fat F for the first 100 days--total, miserable, failure.”
“Over 200 lawsuits have been filed in Federal courts around the country because we are watching this President break laws on every front, on everything from his illegal freezing and impoundments of taxpayer funds for important public programs that benefit communities all over the country, to his illegal firing of patriotic Federal employees, including many veterans who provide critical public services, to letting Elon Musk loose on Federal Government programs with a chain saw--not to make government more efficient but to rig government for the already rich and powerful like Elon Musk at the expense of everybody else. President Trump has also been abusing his authority to create tariff chaos that has sent consumer confidence plummeting, badly damaging our economy.”
“He has thrown the Ukrainian people under the bus, and in Gaza, the hostages have not been released, and we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe. Over the last 100 days, Donald Trump has embarked on a lawbreaking spree that has torn up our Constitution, torn apart our government, and torn down our economy.”
“The Senator from Maryland. El Salvador Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, yesterday marked 100 days since Donald Trump was sworn in as President. It happened right down that hallway. He promised a golden age for America. He has not delivered that golden age. In fact, in that 100 days, all he has delivered is chaos and destruction. Consumer confidence is plummeting, and today we learned that our economy is shrinking. This is all a totally self-inflicted, Trump- inflicted wound on America and American families. That is here at home. On the world stage, Candidate Trump promised to be the great peacemaker, to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza on day one, but he has nothing to show for that other than distrust from our allies and smiles from our adversaries.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S2683-S2708] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TERMINATING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED TO IMPOSE GLOBAL TARIFFS The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, S.J. Res. 49 is discharged and the clerk will report. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 49) terminating the national emergency declared to impose global tariffs. Thereupon, the committee was discharged and the Senate proceeded to consider the joint resolution. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 6 hours of debate only, equally divided between the leaders or their designees.”
“So I want to say thank you to the Senator from Virginia, Senator Kaine, for blowing the whistle on this phony action taken at our friend Canada, all as a pretext to increase tariffs, which amounts to a huge sales tax on the American people in service of a tax cut for the very wealthy. I thank my colleagues. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.”