Recognizing ``Assault on American Diplomacy''
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, since the start of his second term, President Trump has upended the international world order and America's leadership on the global stage. He and his allies are working decisively to erode the values that are central to our Nation. Notably, retired diplomats, military leaders, national security experts, and even former Trump administration officials have denounced these actions as undermining our democratic norms and traditions, and I would like to highlight one such open letter from former U.S. leaders.
We swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Foreign and domestic. None of us thought the second part of that phrase would ever come into play--until now.
American global leadership has depended on many factors, including political, economic, and military power. But most important was the moral foundation for that power--America as an example to others. Though our actions didn't always live up to our ideals, we stood for simple but powerful ideas that people everywhere embraced: democracy, equality, individual liberty, and human rights.
That moral foundation is now in grave danger. The challenge comes from within, as President Trump and his administration have assaulted the pillars of our democracy here at home and our strength around the world.
Internationally, Trump has questioned the value of long- standing alliances in Europe and Asia. On our borders, he has poisoned ties with our closest neighbors. He has undermined the bedrock principle of world peace that sovereign borders will be respected. The United States now seeks to lay claim to Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada, greenlighting other countries to proceed as they see fit, most notably Russia in Ukraine. The global economic order that ushered in a period of unparalleled prosperity for Americans is being undermined by Trump's senseless tariffs and war on legally binding trade agreements. America as the first responder to global humanitarian crises becomes a distant memory with the dismantling of USAID.
Domestically, Trump is aggressively eliminating constraints on his power and fomenting fear. He is intimidating independent media outlets with frivolous lawsuits. Our universities are retreating from freedom of speech because of explicit threats to withdraw federal monies. Our law firms are being bludgeoned into denying representation to anyone whom this administration does not like. Our medical research centers are seeing an exodus of experts forced out by an administration that does not believe in basic science. Congress and the Department of Justice threaten to impeach sitting judges that rule against the government. Federal trade unions have been shut down by executive order. State governments that challenge the administration face cuts in federal funding. A racist, misogynistic and homophobic mindset is leading to the erasure of history and national heroes at our cultural institutions. In a country with a proud history of immigration, legal residents are being illegally deported for expressing an opinion. People are whisked off the street by masked officials in unmarked cars or sent off to imprisonment abroad without due process. Trump talks publicly about an unconstitutional third term without a word of concern from his own party.
American democracy and American security are inextricably linked; weaken one and the other inevitably begins to fail. As patriots and public servants from both parties who worked to protect America over many decades, we see that link unraveling at lightning speed. Many of us have served in countries where democratically elected leaders followed a path to autocracy, and we know this crisis requires an urgent and unified response. As a result, we call for the following:
--Former senior officials, including presidents, secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, and chiefs of staff of our military services must jointly and publicly challenge the administration's dangerous policies and dismantling of essential institutions.
--Business leaders must condemn Trump's disastrous trade policy which is plunging the global economy into chaos and disrupting supply chains that support millions of jobs.
--Medical institutions, like the CDC, NIH, and major research centers around the country must defend science with non-partisan funding of medical investigation and warn of the dangers of abandoning global engagement on pandemic prevention.
--Universities and media must protect free speech. Without a unified stance, they will be picked off one-by-one and first amendment rights for every American will be in peril.
--Our largest law firms must remain guardians of the rule of law by resisting administration pressure to undermine the legal system of checks and balances which is so fundamental to our democracy.
--Finally, politicians on both sides of the aisle who believe in the core values of our constitution must actively oppose the administration's efforts to undermine our national security, our freedoms, and our democracy. Waiting passively for the electoral calendar to fight back does nothing more than give the administration additional time and running room to impose its authoritarian stamp ever more securely on government and on all of us.
No American should be silent. No American who cares about our freedoms, our institutions, and our identity as a nation can afford to be a bystander. Each of us in different walks of life must do what we can--speak out, mobilize, defend our way of life. The moment requires nothing less. We must recognize the seriousness of what is taking place and act collectively to restore our democracy and our security. If we do not, the American ideals of liberty, prosperity, and equality will quickly become relics of the past.
Bernadette Allen, US Ambassador, retired; Rand Beers, Former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor; Mark Bellamy, US Ambassador, retired; John Beyrle, US Ambassador, retired; James Bishop, US Ambassador, retired; Charles Blaha, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Anne Bodine, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Avis Bohlen, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Michele Bond, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Paul L. Boyd, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Aurelia Brazeal, US Ambassador, retired; Sue Bremner, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Steven Browning, US Ambassador. retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; David Buckley, Former Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency; Susan F. Burk, Former Special Representative of the President; Peter Burleigh. US Ambassador, retired; Scott Busby, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Prudence Bushnell, US Ambassador, retired; John Butler, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, retired; Constance Carrino, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired; Steven Cash, Former Senior Advisor, DHS, Former Chief Counsel to Senator Feinstein, Former CIA Officer.
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, Senior Executive Service, DOD, retired; Judith Chammas, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Phillip Chicola, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Roberta Cohen, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Ellen Conway, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Frances Cook, US Ambassador, retired; Sarah Cook, Senior Foreign Commercial Service Officer, retired; Thomas Countryman, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Ruth Davis, US Ambassador, retired, Former Director General of the US Foreign Service; David Davison, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Greg Delawie, US Ambassador, retired; Christopher Dell, US Ambassador, retired; Anne E. Derse, US Ambassador, retired; Vicki Divoll, Former General Counsel, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Mary Draper, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Melvin Dubee, Former Deputy Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Martha Duncan, Senior Executive Service, DOD, retired; William Eacho, Former Ambassador to Austria; William Eaton, US Ambassador, retired; Luigi Einaudi, US Ambassador, retired.
Jonathan Elkind, Former Assistant Secretary of Energy; Nancy Ely-Raphel, US Ambassador, retired; Gregory Engle, US Ambassador, retired; Joseph Fallone, Captain, US Navy, retired; John Feeley, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Gerald Feierstein, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Jeffrey Feltman, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Mark Fitzpatrick, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Kathleen Fitzpatrick, US Ambassador, retired; Mike Fitzpatrick, US Ambassador, retired.
Karen Freeman, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired; Bennett Freeman, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Susan Kosinski Fritz, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired; Laurie Fulton, Former US Ambassador to Denmark; Julie Furuta-Toy, US Ambassador, retired; Rosemary Gallant, Senior Foreign Commercial Officer, retired; Melvin Gamble, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; William Garvelink, US Ambassador, retired; Brian Goldbeck, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Juan Gonzalez, Former Special Assistant to the President.
Rose Gottemoeller, Former Undersecretary of State; Deborah Graze, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Eric Green, Former Special Assistant to the President; Jennifer Gregg, Senior Intelligence Officer, retired; Laura Griesmer, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Anne Gruner, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; Sheila Gwaltney, US Ambassador, retired; Brent Hartley, US Ambassador, retired; Patricia Haslach, US Ambassador, retired; William Haugh, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
John Heffern, US Ambassador, retired; Robert Herman, Former Policy Planning Staff, Department of State; Catherine Hill- Herndon, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Heather Hodges, US Ambassador, retired; Elizabeth Hopkins, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Sharon Houy, Former Chief of Staff, Defense Intelligence Agency; Jeff Hovenier, US Ambassador, retired; Vicki Huddleston, US Ambassador, retired; Robert Hutchings, Former Chairman, National Intelligence Council; Charles Ikins, Colonel, US Marine Corps, retired.
Robert Jackson, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary; Susan Jacobs, US Ambassador, retired; Ali Jalili, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Oliver John, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Kathy Johnson, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Deborah Jones, US Ambassador, retired; Beth Jones, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; John Jones, US Ambassador, retired; Denis Kaufman, Senior Chief Petty Officer, US Navy, retired; Richard Kauzlarich, US Ambassador, retired, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Yvonne Keeler, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; Ian Kelly, US Ambassador, retired; Herbert Kemp, Colonel, US Air Force, retired; Laura Kennedy, US Ambassador, retired; Patrick Kennedy, US Ambassador, retired, Former Under Secretary of State; Donald Kerrick, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, retired, Former Deputy National Security Advisor; Scott Kilner, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Harold Hongju Koh, Former Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Christopher Kojm, Former Chair, National Intelligence Council; James Kovar, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Thomas Krajeski, US Ambassador, retired; Anne Kremidas, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; James Kunder, Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Daniel Kurtzer, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Anthony Lake, Former National Security Advisor; Eileen Laubacher, Rear Admiral, US Navy, retired; James Lawler, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; Suzan LeVine, Former US Ambassador to Switzerland; Dawn Liberi, US Ambassador, retired; Carmen Lomellin, US Ambassador, retired.
Frank Loy, Former Under Secretary of State; Deborah Malac, US Ambassador, retired; Eileen Malloy, US Ambassador, retired, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary State; Angela Maloney, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Noah Marnet, Former US Ambassador to Argentina; Lawrence Mandel, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Steven Mann, US Ambassador, retired; Niels Marquardt, US Ambassador, retired; Dennise Mathieu, US Ambassador, retired; Deborah McCarthy, US Ambassador, retired;
Bill McCulla, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Nancy McEldowney, US Ambassador, retired; Former National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Michael McFaul, Former US Ambassador to Russia; Elizabeth McKune, US Ambassador, retired; James Melville, Jr., US Ambassador, retired; Leo Michel, Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired; Thomas Miller, US Ambassador, retired; Derek Mitchell, Former US Ambassador to Burma (Myanmar); Luis Moreno, US Ambassador, retired; Joseph Myers, Former Chief Risk Officer, US International Development Finance Corporation; James Nealon, US Ambassador, retired.
Brian H. Nilsson, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Suzanne Nossel, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Joseph Nye, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense; Geoffrey Odlum, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Ted Osius, US Ambassador, retired; Maurice S. Parker, US Ambassador, retired; David Passage, US Ambassador, retired; Michael Pelletier, US Ambassador, retired; Robert Perry, US Ambassador, retired; David Petri, Commander, US Navy, retired; James Petti, US Ambassador, retired.
Annie Pforzheimer, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Randal Phillips, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; William Piekney, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; Steven Pifer, US Ambassador, retired; Michael Polt, US Ambassador. retired; Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Michael Posner, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Ned Price, Former Spokesperson, Department of State; Charles Ray, US Ambassador, retired; Helen Reed-Rowe, US Ambassador, retired; Stacy Rhodes, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired.
Susan Rice, Former National Security Advisor, Former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations; John Ries, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Thomas Robertson, US Ambassador, retired; Enrique Roig, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Peter Romero, US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Jeremy Rosner, Former Special Assistant to the President; Leslie Rowe, US Ambassador, retired; Eric Rubin, US Ambassador, retired, Former President, American Foreign Service Association; Richard Sanders, Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired; Janet Sanderson, US Ambassador, retired.
Teresita Schaffer, US Ambassador, retired; Mark Schneider, Former Assistant Administrator, USAID, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Eric Schwartz, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Kyje Scott, US Ambassador, retired; Tod Sedgwick, Former US Ambassador the Slovak Republic; Michael Senko, US Ambassador, retired; Mattie Sharpless, US Ambassador, retired; Dana Shell Smith, US Ambassador, retired; Dilpreet Sidhu, Former Executive Secretary of the National Security Council; Emil Skodon, US Ambassador, retired.
Adrian Snead, Former Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Jeffrey Merkley; Sylvia Stanfield, US Ambassador, retired; Gregory Starr, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Adam Sterling, US Ambassador, retired; Clyde Taylor, US Ambassador, retired; Harry Thomas, US Ambassador, retired, Former Director General of the Foreign Service; Linda Thomas- Greenfield, US Ambassador, retired, Former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations; Susan Thornton, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Thomas Tiernan, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Charles Uphaus, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Kurt van der Walde, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Alexander Vershbow, US Ambassador, retired, Former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense; Shari Villarosa, US Ambassador, retired; Patricia Wagner, Senior Commercial Service Officer, retired; Alexander Watson, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Linda Watt, US Ambassador, retired; John Wecker, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Bruce Wharton, US Ambassador, retired; Kevin Whitaker, US Ambassador, retired; Pamela White, US Ambassador, retired.
Stephanie Williams, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired, Former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General; Bisa William, US Ambassador, retired; Jonathan Winer, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; David Thomas Wolfson, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Marcia Wong, Former Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID; Kenneth Yalowitz, US Ambassador, retired; Stephen Young, US Ambassador, retired; Marie Yovanovitch, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Jane Zimmerman, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Ricardo Zuniga, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
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