Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting
Durbin expressed his condolences for the two individuals who were shot and killed last night outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement during today’s Senate Judiciary Committee executive business meeting where he extended his thoughts and prayers to the two individuals, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who were shot and killed last night outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. Durbin reiterated that violence has no place in our society and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And, there is no justification for antisemitism, whether from the left or the right side of the political spectrum.
Durbin also spoke to two of the nominations that the Committee considered this morning: Terrence C. Cole, to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Gadyaces Serralta, to be Director of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Key Quotes:
“Let me join the Chairman in extending my thoughts and prayers to the two individuals who were shot and killed last night outside of the Capital Jewish Museum just blocks from the Capitol building here in Washington. My thoughts are with their families.”
“Violence has no place—no place—in our society and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. There is no justification—none—for hate speech, hate crimes, or antisemitism, whether from the left or the right side of the political spectrum.”
“As I have stated before, we must condemn political violence and hate no matter the ideology that promotes it—and we must work together to protect America from this urgent threat.”
“We must continue to equip federal and state law enforcement with the resources necessary to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish Americans and to combat violence. This includes asking this administration to reverse course on its dangerous cuts to domestic terrorism prevention efforts, which leaves our nation less secure and America less safe in today’s heightened threat environment. And we must support federal law enforcement programs focused on countering domestic terrorism and violent extremism.”
“I hope, Mr. Chairman, that I can appeal to you and the other members of the Committee to join me in asking the Justice Department and the FBI for an immediate briefing for members of this Committee on the investigation into this attack.”
“As I said at his [Mr. Cole’s] hearing, this agency [DEA] he seeks to lead is in a deep crisis due to the Administration’s actions in the last four months. The Justice Department has systematically diverted DEA agents away from the efforts to fight the fentanyl crisis that is killing our kids in order to provide more troops for President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.”
“Even worse, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has proposed combining DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms [and Explosives] into one agency. I strongly oppose this proposed merger. It would reduce the resources to address the critical goals of both agencies. The proposal is yet another effort by the Administration that does not strengthen but weakens public safety. This would only exacerbate the fentanyl crisis and make it harder to stop gun trafficking and other gun crimes.”
“Mr. Cole refused to take a position on the diversion of DEA agents toward immigration enforcement, or the proposal to merge the DEA and ATF. I respect his 21 years of service at the DEA, but his lack of clarity on this key issue troubles me to this moment.”
“I would like to say a word about… Gadyaces Serralta… He is a holdover. He was originally a U.S. Marshal under President [Trump]. And the people in charge of making this decision trusted him enough to give him the same responsibility under a [Democratic] president. That speaks well of him.”
“Here’s the bottom line that concerns me. I think we understand from what happened last night and what we read in the newspaper that we are living in a heightened, dangerous environment in this country. Judges, for example, have been targets already… When it comes to addressing those concerns, the first line of defense is the U.S. Marshal’s office.”
“We also have a situation where this President has already removed security protections for several former officials who served in the first Trump Administration simply because he was unhappy with what they said about him politically. The President has repeatedly attacked judges who ruled against him to the point where the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court made a statement urging people to calm their rhetoric when it comes to these judges.”
“I asked the Attorney General and the head of the FBI to respond to me by today to tell us what they are doing when it comes to judicial security and no response came forward… Is there anything more basic that we ought to share than bipartisan determination to keep our judiciary safe? For that reason, I am concerned about the progress of this nomination at this moment. I am going to withhold my vote for Mr. Serralta today, but I am not ruling out voting for him on the Floor if we get a complete response from the Administration about judicial security and whether they consider it important.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
Earlier this month, Durbin sent a letter to the Attorney General and the FBI Director urging them to investigate the ongoing and increasing threats against federal judges. Recently, federal judges and their family members have received anonymous deliveries to their homes intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge’s address or their family members’ addresses. The targeted individuals reportedly include Supreme Court justices, judges handling legal cases involving the Trump Administration, and the children of judges. In his letter, Durbin asked for a response by May 20, but has yet to receive such a response.
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