Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing For The Heads of DEA & USMS
Today’s hearing features Terrance Cole, nominated to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Gadyaces Serralta, nominated to be Director of the United States Marshals Service
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Terrance Cole, to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Gadyaces Serralta, to be Director of the United States Marshals Service (USMS). Before addressing the nominees, Durbin spoke about President Trump’s assault on the Justice Department and the federal judiciary during his first 100 days in office.
Key Quotes:
“Immediately after President Trump returned to the Oval Office, the Justice Department began reallocating its resources away from critical national security and public safety efforts towards the President’s mass deportation agenda. Trump appointees have fired dozens of career law enforcement officials with hundreds of years of experience protecting our country. These actions have destabilized the Justice Department and made our country less safe.”
“Career prosecutors and law enforcement agents, including those in the DEA and the Marshals Service, have been diverted from their mission and conscripted into immigration enforcement.”
“Today, we will hear from the nominee to be the Director of the Marshals Service, Gadyaces Serralta. I am deeply concerned by what is happening at the agency that you hope to lead.”
“Beyond redirecting marshals from their mission—which includes providing judicial security and executing court orders—the Marshals Service has reportedly deputized members of unelected co-President Elon Musk’s private security detail.”
“Equally disturbing are recent reports that, at the request of DOGE, the Acting Director of the Marshals Service is actually downsizing the agency. In a time when threats towards judges are rising, it is baffling that more than 5,000 employees of the Marshals Service received letters asking them to consider resigning.”
“Judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats, including those appointed by President Trump, have expressed fear that this Administration will withdraw this protection—critical, lifesaving protection—from judges and their families.”
“In the past few months, this Administration and its supporters have repeatedly attacked individual federal judges by name simply because they have the audacity to rule against President Trump. This rhetoric puts the lives of judges and their families in danger.”
“Mr. Serralta must commit that, if he is going to get my support to be confirmed, he will not withdraw or reduce judicial security. Period.”
“We will also hear from Terrance Cole, nominated to lead the DEA, whose mission is ‘combatting criminal drug networks bringing harm, violence, overdoses, and poisonings to the United States.’”
“It is surprising the Administration is shunting the expertise of DEA agents away from this critical mission to go after immigration enforcement.”
“This is not the only attempt to gut the DEA. Late last month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo proposing to combine the DEA and ATF. How would a smaller workforce and a smaller budget help effectuate the mission—the critical, lifesaving mission—of these two agencies?”
“This Administration may claim that this proposal is to make the government more efficient, but it will only make America less safe. I look forward to hearing from Mr. Cole on whether he supports these gutting changes to the agency he would like to lead.”
“These first 100 days of this Administration have thrown America into chaos. While President Trump and Elon Musk are intent on dismantling the Justice Department, Americans are feeling the consequences.”
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.
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