Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Smith), and the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) are necessarily absent.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, I came to the floor of the Senate to ask for consent on the simple, timely Senate resolution sponsored by nearly half of the Members of this Chamber. What did the resolution call for? Well, it urged the United States to join global coronavirus vaccine and treatment efforts. That doesn't sound like a radical idea, does it? In the midst of a global pandemic that is causing so much suffering and so many deaths, it would seem that asking the United States to join other countries of the world in searching for therapies and vaccines is just common sense.

We don't know where or when a vaccine will be discovered. We don't know if an effective treatment will be discovered in the United States or in some other place. Certainly, with the respected medical and scientific leadership in the United States, you would hope that it would be here, but let's be honest. If a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus is discovered in some other country, the United States would want to be there and be part of the discussion about its production and distribution. Wouldn't we? That is all this resolution says.

Why not team up with allies around the world since we are all looking for the same thing--a safe and effective vaccine. Whether that vaccine is stamped ``Made in the USA'' or is made in some other country is secondary. Is it safe? Is it effective? Will it save lives? Do we really want the American people to be left out of such an effort? It was a global effort to eliminate smallpox, Ebola, polio, and so many other deadly diseases we took for granted. We were all in it together.

These viruses and diseases don't know any boundaries. People around the world have the same fears and concerns that we have in the United States about what we are paying in price of suffering and death until we find a way to avoid it. This resolution would just call on the United States to be part of a global effort to find a therapy and a vaccine, but this resolution was blocked here in the Senate. Since then, since the 2 weeks that have passed, we have lost over 100,000 American lives. Sadly, the number still grows. This has been 100,000 lives in just a few months--the same number of American casualties in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined.

What was President Trump's response? Was there empathy or a message of national unity or healing during this tragic moment? No. Once again, President Trump refused to take any responsibility for leadership during this crisis. Sadly, he has cast blame in every direction and ignored his own responsibility amid a deadly global pandemic that has had devastating consequences for the American people.

Sadly, we lead the world in infections and death, but President Trump has decided that now is the moment in history for the United States to pull out of the World Health Organization--the same body that is heading the global pandemic response. What is he thinking--that we would walk away from the organization that has called to the table countries from around the world in an effort to find a safe and effective vaccine? Here we are, on the 40th anniversary of the World Health Organization's historic achievement in eradicating small pox, stumbling along with a President who is more interested in settling a score, casting blame, and finding ways to divide us. Once again, the majority of his party here in the Senate is not chiming in and joining us in this effort to pass this resolution.

While we continue to have some of the world's best researchers and experts, it is plausible that a vaccine will be found and developed elsewhere. In a rush to research and validate a vaccine, ramp up production, address global allocation and supply needs, ensure affordability and access worldwide, and make sure the United States gets its fair share of any safe and effective vaccine, where will we stand if the President insists on being on the sidelines, unengaged? When the United States pursues this Trump go-it-alone approach while the rest of the world is working together, where does that leave us? Pride cometh before the fall.

Just as with the smallpox effort, a global, collaborative approach makes obvious sense, and it will save American lives. Joining forces with other countries around the world will help to speed the development and eventual distribution of the coronavirus vaccine we desperately seek.

Do you want to know what one Republican Senator from Tennessee said about this? He said: ``I disagree with the President's decision.''

Withdrawing U.S. membership from the WHO could, among other things, interfere with clinical trials that are essential to the development of a vaccine. No one knows where this vaccine will eventually be perfected or produced. God willing, it will be soon. Yet why shouldn't we be joining in this global effort? Why? Why, at this moment in history, has President Trump said we are stepping away from the organization that leads this effort?

Given this President's--sadly, I hate to use the word--``obsession'' with blaming everyone but himself for mishandling this situation, maybe his dereliction of duty should come as no surprise, but what a bitter, bitter disappointment it is.

I return to the floor to ask unanimous consent on a straightforward resolution--a simple resolution that should have passed without any fanfare by a voice vote unanimously in the Senate. This resolution calls on the United States to join in the global effort to find a safe and effective vaccine--something that we have done consistently throughout our history until this President took office.

Ultimately, let's remember that this is a pandemic that affects the world, and any solution has to be a worldwide solution as well. We cannot isolate ourselves from the international ways of finding treatments and the development of a vaccine. Doing so not only wastes time but risks there being a loss of life. Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. Res. 579, a resolution encouraging the international community to remain committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and urging renewed United States leadership and participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further deaths; that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I have respect for my colleague and thank him for his positive statement about the work to be done in the Foreign Relations Committee. There is nothing in this resolution that preempts or tries to impact on anything he mentioned. The operative language is a few words, ``urging renewed United States leadership and participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further death.''

How we do that, whether we create an agency or not, this is simply an expression of policy that I hope we can embrace. I will be back if we don't move forward with alternatives. Lives are at stake, and we should be part of the international conversation to avoid it.

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Mr. DURBIN. Certainly.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Monday, President Trump stood in the Rose Garden and called for the use of military force against individuals who have been gathering across the country protesting racism and police brutality against Black Americans. This historic call for empowering the Commander in Chief to militarize law enforcement in our Nation pushes this President's reach for new Executive authority to the most extreme level.

This follows the President's tweets since last week, threatening to turn ``vicious dogs''--his words--on protesters outside the White House and quoting the racist phrase from the 1967 Miami police chief, stating: ``When the looting starts, the shooting starts,'' bringing to mind, sadly, for many, shameful moments in our Nation's struggle for civil rights.

President Trump said nothing to address the anguish felt by many in this country, particularly people of color, and instead called on Governors to ``dominate the streets,'' as though the Americans, who peacefully exercise their right to protest, are an enemy force.

Initially, Defense Secretary Esper went even further when he referred to cities as a ``battlespace.'' I am heartened by the fact that he has made it clear that he does not support the President's suggestion of militarizing the police forces and police across America. These calls by the President to militarize cities across America ignore that for far too long he urged law enforcement to ``dominate,'' as the President often says, rather than to protect and serve, which is exactly what is contributing to the challenge we face today.

The other night, minutes before Mayor Bowser's 7 p.m. curfew came into effect, the President used law enforcement personnel to use tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful demonstrators in LaFayette Square across the street from the White House. They even beat these peaceful demonstrators with batons and shields. There are conflicting reports as to whether the National Guard participated in the violence. I have made a direct inquiry to the Department of Defense, and they have denied it.

According to press reports, the assault began with law enforcement kneeling, not to express any solidarity with any racism efforts as we have seen some police officers do across the country; instead, they were kneeling to put on gas masks to protect themselves from the weapons they were readying to fire.

As soon as this gathering was dispersed, the President marched across LaFayette Square to St. John's Episcopal Church. The Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all followed--only the battle that they were witnessing was against Americans using their voices to stop racism who got in the way of a Presidential photo opportunity.

I simply cannot understand what the President and each of these senior officials were thinking, if they were consciously deciding to be part of this by taking a stroll in the aftermath of the violence in Lafayette Square and whether they approved of that treatment of their fellow Americans.

The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, DC, said she was not even given a courtesy call by the White House ahead of the President's action. In fact, the bishop was outraged by the use of physical force and tear gas in the shadow of her church to remove peaceful protesters so that the church and the Bible could be used for some photo opportunity.

President Trump has ``not acknowledged the agony of our country right now,'' she said in an interview. ``Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence.''

President Trump's actions violate the sanctity of our First Amendment freedoms and represent an abuse of his authority. We know this President well after more than 3 years. As shocking as Monday night's events were, they represent through and through who this President really is. It is wrong.

The American people will have the last word in November, but I am encouraged to see that in my home State of Illinois officials have rejected the use of military force and are committed to American's right to protest. Governor Pritzker said the President's call to send troops to Illinois is ``illegal'' and ``ridiculous.'' Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has called to ``turn our pain into purpose'' and to ``learn from this moment and move forward together.''

In my hometown of Springfield, IL, on Tuesday, three high school students, young African-American women, sponsored a Black Lives Matter rally, and 1,000 people in Springfield, IL, gathered peacefully to demonstrate against racism in law enforcement. No windows were broken. No one was arrested. They exercised their constitutional rights, and I am damn proud of them. They speak for me and for America; that we still have the right to stand up and express ourselves, and they did so effectively.

Right now those around the President should look themselves in the mirror and ask whose agenda they are serving and whether it is the right agenda for America. The collective leadership of our military, civilian and uniformed alike, needs to decide what kind of leaders they want to be for the men and women in uniform they command and what legacy they want to be associated with. Monday night was not the legacy this country deserves.

Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, was seething.

President Trump had just visited St. John's Episcopal Church, which sits across from the White House. It was a day after a fire was set in the basement of the historic building amid protests over the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Before heading to the church, where presidents have worshiped since the days of James Madison, Trump gave a speech at the White House emphasizing the importance of law and order. Federal officers then used force to clear a large crowd of peaceful demonstrators from the street between the White House and the church, apparently so Trump could make the visit.

``I am outraged,'' Budde said in a telephone interview a short time later, pausing between words to emphasize her anger as her voice slightly trembled.

She said she had not been given any notice that Trump would be visiting the church and did not approve of the manner in which the area was secured for his appearance.

``I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing [the area] with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop,'' Budde said.

She excoriated the president for standing in front of the church--its windows boarded up with plywood--holding up a Bible, which Budde said ``declares that God is love.''

``Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence,'' Budde of the president. ``We need moral leadership, and he's done everything to divide us.''

In a written statement, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal denomination, accused Trump of using ``a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes.''

``This was done in a time of deep hurt and pain in our country, and his action did nothing to help us or to heal us,'' Curry wrote.

``The prophet Micah taught that the Lord requires us to `do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God,' '' he continued, calling on Trump and others in power to be moral. ``For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be `one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.' ''

Budde and Curry are among the pantheon of progressive religious leaders who have long been critical of Trump's political agenda. The Episcopal Church's policies include supporting abortion rights, refugee resettlement, an expansion of health care and other issues that Trump has opposed or not embraced. According to the Pew Research Center, 49 percent of Episcopalians are Democrats or lean Democratic, compared with 39 percent of church members who are Republican or lean Republican.

Trump's longtime religious allies, who are far more conservative on both domestic and foreign policy, saw his walk to St. John's much differently. ``What kind of church I need PERMISSION to attend,'' tweeted Pastor Mark Burns of South Carolina after Budde and others said Trump should have let them know he was coming. ``Jesus welcomes All.''

Johnnie Moore, a spokesman for several of Trump's evangelical religious advisers, tweeted favorably about the incident as well.

``I will never forget seeing @POTUS @realDonaldTrump slowly & in-total-command walk from the @WhiteHouse across Lafayette Square to St. John's Church defying those who aim to derail our national healing by spreading fear, hate & anarchy,'' he wrote. ``After just saying, `I will keep you safe.' ''

Trump did not enter St. John's on Monday evening. No one associated with the church was present for his visit.

Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at Clemson University who studies Christian nationalism, said the president's appearance was an attempt to promote the idea of America as a distinctly Christian nation after his Rose Garden speech.

``Going to the church, not going in it, not meeting with any clergy, holding up a Bible, but not quoting any scripture, after an authoritarian speech, was about using the religious symbolism for his ends,'' Whitehead said.

``It was a signal to the people that embrace the idea of a Christian nation, that he will defend Christianity in the public sphere,'' Whitehead said. ``He said he'll make America safe. That raised the question, for whom? It's largely for white, mostly Protestant America.''

Budde--who spent 18 years in as a rector in Minneapolis before being elected bishop of the Washington diocese--said the Episcopal Church disassociates itself from the messages offered by the president.

``We hold the teachings of our sacred texts to be so so grounding to our lives and everything we do,'' she said. ``It is about love of neighbor and sacrificial love and justice.''

Following a tradition set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Trump attended a service at St. John's before his swearing-in ceremony in 2017. He visited the church again that year to mark a national day of prayer for victims of Hurricane Harvey and in 2019 on St. Patrick's Day.

Budde said she learned he was headed back to the yellow, 19th-century building on Monday by watching the news.

``No one knew this was happening,'' she said. ``I don't want President Trump speaking for St. John's.''

The Rev. Robert W. Fisher, the church rector, said he felt blindsided by the visit. Usually, the White House gives the church at least 30 minutes' notice before the president comes by.

``We want St. John's to be a space for grace, as a place where you can breathe,'' he said. ``Being used as a prop, it really takes away from what we're trying to do.''

Earlier in the day, Fisher said, he and other clergy were outside the church handing out water bottles and granola bars to protesters, and expressing solidarity with their cause. He said he left the area to be interviewed on television about the damage from the fire the previous night and later watched images of the protest being dismantled ``with disbelief.''

Fisher, 44, became the rector of St. John's in June 2019 and has not yet hosted a presidential visit. The church usually draws about 400 people on a typical weekend. But it has been closed since mid-March due to the broad shutdown restrictions in place to combat the novel coronavirus.

Damage to the building from Sunday night's fire and vandalism will cost at least $20,000, Fisher said. But he said the destruction should not become the focus of what has been happening in the streets outside the White House.

Fisher said that when people have talked about the church being burned, he has tried to redirect them, saying it was likely one person who does not represent the majority of people protesting.

``That has pulled away from the more important message that we have to address racism in this country,'' he said.

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Mr. DURBIN. Smith), and the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) are necessarily absent.

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