-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today and join my colleagues in support of Senator Blumenthal's bill to curtail the President's authority under the Insurrection Act. This legislation is critical, given President Trump's blatant disregard of our democratic values and the rule of law.
He has deployed National Guard troops throughout the United States over the objections of Governors, mayors, and the local communities. These deployments are intended to incite fear and distract from Republican attacks on healthcare, social services, and the release of the Epstein files.
Trump isn't keeping anyone safe. He is sowing chaos in our communities, not to mention fear. His plan could not be more clear: He wants to manufacture a confrontation. I fear his next step is to invoke the Insurrection Act, a law that was passed over 217 years ago.
This extreme action would allow Active-Duty troops to take the place of local law enforcement. Under the Insurrection Act, our military could execute search warrants and arrest American citizens.
We cannot allow this violation of civil liberties to happen over a crisis of President Trump's own making.
I support this legislation because it adds important checks on the President's power under the Insurrection Act. It would first require commonsense congressional approval; two, protect habeas corpus; and, three, provide a clear avenue for judicial review to ensure Americans' liberty and our safety are protected.
Now is not the time for the military to be distracted with domestic policing and President Trump's political agenda. Our troops are not trained or equipped to replace local law enforcement. Given the national security challenges that we face around the globe, our military's focus must be on their own readiness to do the mission that they are constituted to do.
But, instead, from the Department of Justice to the military, we have a President who is politicizing traditionally nonpartisan Agencies for his own political agenda. What could be more chaotic than that?
This bill is an opportunity for Congress to finally step in and check President Trump's abuse of power.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source