Durbin Highlights The Senate’s Responsibility To Hold The Executive Branch Accountable Amid President Trump’s Abuses Of Powers
During Durbin’s opening statement in a Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, he also condemned President Trump’s attempts to undermine the Senate blue slip tradition
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing highlighted the Senate’s responsibility to provide advice and consent on presidential nominees; called out President Trump’s cruel immigration tactics, as well as his unlawful and un-American actions; and commented on the longstanding bipartisan Senate tradition, the blue slip. Durbin also condemned Secretary Hegseth’s refusal during a classified briefing yesterday to share with all Senators the full, unedited video of the September 2nd lethal strikes on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors.
Today’s hearing is on the nominations of Daniel Edward Burrows, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (OLP); Megan Blair Benton, to the U.S District Court for the Western District of Missouri; Brian Charles Lea, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee; and Justin Ross Olson, to the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Key Quotes:
“The Senate, as part of the legislative branch, must provide advice and consent on presidential nominees. It is a responsibility that goes back to our nation’s founding… To ensure the president could not become a despot like King George III, our Founders designed a system of checks and balances [that] separated the federal government’s powers among its three branches.”
“The Senate’s role in providing advice and consent on presidential nominees is one critical check on the executive branch. Today’s hearing is a step in that process. And it has never been more important that the Senate exercise this role—because the President is determined to push the bounds of his power at every opportunity.”
“Across the country, immigration agents are racially profiling and arresting American citizens—even veterans. At a spotlight forum last week, I spoke about how one Chicagoan—a U.S. citizen on her way to work—was physically assaulted, arrested, and detained for several hours after ICE agents crashed into her car and pointed their weapons at her… [This] is not conduct that we can or should tolerate in the United States.”
“But the Trump Administration’s unlawful and un-American actions are not limited to our own shores or our fellow citizens. The President has ordered extrajudicial killings of at least 95 people off the coast of Venezuela. Yesterday, our self-styled ‘Secretary of War’ essentially told Senators to ‘go to hell’ when we asked to see videos of the episode where two stranded victims may have been executed in violation of international, legal standards.”
“The Trump Administration alleges that these individuals are ‘narco-terrorists.’ Drug trafficking is a serious crime and should be prosecuted. But that is not what is happening here. Instead, President Trump is engaging in the summary executions of criminal suspects. That is a violation of law—in both peacetime and wartime.”
“Today’s hearing is part of our effort to fulfill our obligation. But we must also conduct oversight and hold accountable a President who too often ignores the limits of power… We are now about to finish this calendar year with the Department of Homeland Security spurning every effort made to bring and hold her [Secretary Noem] accountable for what’s happening [in regard to immigration raids across the country].”
“In closing, I want to note that multiple nominees on today’s panel are here because of this Committee’s longstanding, bipartisan tradition of requiring blue slips from Senators supporting district court nominees from their states.”
“Just this week, the President falsely claimed, ‘if you have one Democrat in a state, it is not possible to appoint because of blue slips.’ In fact, this year the Committee has reported—and the Senate has confirmed—numerous judicial and U.S. Attorney nominees from blue states with the support of Democratic Senators.”
“[Blue slips] simply require that President Trump do what every other President before him has done—work with home-state Senators to identify well-qualified nominees who will follow the law. Blue slips remain a critical part of this body’s advice and consent [responsibility] even when they frustrate the party in power. I want to thank Chairman Grassley for continuing to follow this practice.”
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.
-30-