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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Trump's actions last night make it crystal clear that he is the one standing in the way of FISA.

It was already clear that Trump was the one blocking FISA, but the fact that he withdrew Jay Clayton should erase anyone's doubts. Trump wants FISA to stay expired. Trump is twisting himself up in knots and jumping through hoops to make it impossible to reauthorize FISA right now, and he is embarrassing his Republican colleagues in the process.

Trump can blame Democrats all he wants, but no one is going to believe him. Trump just got caught redhanded undermining America's national security.

Withdrawing Clayton even shocked Trump's closest Republican allies. Trump also reasserted his demand to tie FISA to his radical SAVE Act, which would strip millions of Americans of their voting rights and resurrect the ghost of the Jim Crow south.

Trump is just so, so off base and should get it out of his mind that he can save SAVE by attaching it to FISA. It ain't happening; it ain't passing.

The SAVE Act is perhaps the most vicious piece of anti-voting rights legislation Trump has ever come up with and has absolutely nothing-- nothing--to do with FISA whatsoever.

So every time Republicans find a path to negotiate on FISA, Trump slams the door shut on them. Every time the Republicans find a path to negotiate FISA, Trump slams the door shut on them, and you can hear the howls.

Trump is taking America's national security hostage to serve his own personal interests. This is Trump's hostage note. Here is what he said:

I will not approve FISA . . .

He said:

We are cancelling the Senate hearing . . .

He said:

[B]ill Pulte will remain as the acting Director of National Intelligence.

Trump should know national security is not a pawn. It is not a pawn, and yet it is clear that he is holding our national security hostage, and it is absolutely disgraceful.

Trump is gleeful about undermining national security and leaving America vulnerable, saying it is simply to add a ``slight bit of intrigue'' when Americans' safety is at stake in a dangerous world with dangerous countries? And he says he is adding a ``slight bit of intrigue?'' Are you kidding me? Intrigue when it comes to America's national security, intrigue when it comes to the safety of our people?

Trump ought to add a slight bit of common sense as he does this. But, again, just to repeat what he said, he said:

I will not approve FISA . . .

We are cancelling the Senate hearing . . .

[B]ill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.

All three sentences show that Trump is making national security a pawn to his own political and off-base interests.

There can be no other explanation for the choices Trump is making and his insistence on having a political hack like Bill Pulte serve atop our Intelligence Committee, other than he plans to order Pulte to abuse his powers as Director of National Intelligence.

The question for oversight now is: What exactly will Trump ask Pulte to do? Expose intelligence sources? Alter analysis? Target political opponents? Mess with elections?

Pulte has shown that he knows no limits and will do whatever Trump asks, legal or not, ethical or not, in American people's interests or not. Make no mistake, all of the consequences that come from undercutting our national security will fall on Trump and any Republicans who go along with his dangerous, partisan games.

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