Cloture Motion
Floor Speech
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are a week into the Trump administration, and it can be summed up in one word: lawlessness.
Trump is showing every day, with nearly every action, that he has zero regard for the laws of this country--from pardoning en masse violent insurrectionists to illegally firing government watchdogs charged with holding him accountable, to issuing blatantly unconstitutional Executive orders, to asking OMB to halt funding Congress passed, which is something that is now causing serious chaos and harm to red States and blue States.
We are not going to let his strategy of overwhelming chaos win the day. We are fighting each of the actions, and we will not stop asserting our power as an equal branch of the government. But right now, today, we are going to focus on one issue in particular, one that is not just alarming but actually personal to all of us here in the Senate because it concerns the Capitol Police each of us walked by every single day.
I have made it clear I will not sit back and allow President Trump to rewrite the history of the January 6 insurrection. Already, his Justice Department has taken down the public database that laid out the thousands of investigations. He is literally trying to erase the evidence from public memory. But no President can rewrite history, not unless we stand by and let him, and that is absolutely not going to happen.
We will not forget what really happened here on January 6, 2021. As we all remember, as the American people witnessed in real time, armed insurrectionists, egged on by the sitting President, broke into the U.S. Capitol and violently assaulted Capitol Police officers in their attempt to overturn a free and fair election. You do not have to take my word for it, although, like many of my colleagues, I have a first- person account of that day.
The reality is well documented in videos, in photos, in case documents from thousands of people charged with felonies after that day, including assault. We know as a matter of fact that some insurrectionists brought knives, tasers, axes, hatches, pepper spray, zip ties, and more. We know as a matter of fact that some assaulted officers with flagpoles, stun guns, fire extinguishers, and bear spray. We know as a matter of fact that Capitol Police officers suffered severe injuries as a result, including cracked ribs, smashed spinal discs, brain injuries, and even the loss of an eye.
Officers here sacrificed tremendously to keep Senators safe, Republicans and Democrats alike, and we have the footage, the photos, and the police reports that clearly show the crimes and the violence that were committed.
President Trump's decision to pardon en masse 1,500 people charged in the insurrection is truly an unthinkable attempt to erase the facts of that day and undermine our democracy, but it is especially heinous that he chose to pardon individuals who violently attacked our Capitol Police officers, not to mention commuting the sentences of 14 others, people found guilty of seditious conspiracy, people like Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers. It is a betrayal of the law enforcement that protected all of us that day and a dangerous endorsement of political violence, telling criminals that you can beat cops within an inch of their lives as long as it is in service to Donald Trump.
Every one of us here owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to our Capitol Police. They protected our lives, and they protected our democracy. That is why we are here today to pass a resolution that makes clear the U.S. Senate stands with our Capitol Police officers by disapproving the pardon of those who violently attacked the officers who keep us safe.
It is a very simple, modest resolution. It reads in its entirety:
Resolved, That the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.
It is that simple. We aren't relitigating every case; this is only about people guilty of assaulting Capitol Police.
I made sure this was short and clear, something we can pass unanimously because a message like this really should be unanimous. In fact, just to underscore how straightforward this is, I want to read it in its entirety once again:
Resolved, That the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.
That is it, the entire thing. I don't think there is anything here for anyone to disagree with.
I yield to the Democratic leader.
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 42, my resolution condemning the pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers, which was submitted earlier today; further, that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am deeply frustrated that is the response we got today. We cannot agree on something as simple as standing by the officers who keep this building safe, officers every one of us walks by every day? There are officers standing outside the floor right now keeping watch as we are forced to debate whether it was not OK to pardon the people who violently attacked them. I don't know how my colleagues who oppose this simple resolution can look them in the eye.
It is insulting enough that Speaker Johnson--someone who has a dedicated 24/7 detail--has refused to put up the plaque honoring the brave officers who kept us safe 4 years ago, but the fact that we can't pass a resolution as simple as the one I presented today, the fact that we can't all agree that we should side with the people who keep us safe over the people who are attacking us, is disgraceful. It is unworthy of this body and unworthy of the sacrifice our Capitol Police have demonstrated time and again. We owe them better. I will not stop pushing to make sure we show them we understand that.
The President may be able to grant pardons, commute sentences, release criminals, delete databases, but I will tell you here, he can take no action that will erase the past unless we let him. As long as I can stand, as long as I can speak, as long as I am here, I will not let him or anyone rewrite the history of the January 6 insurrection or erase the important lessons that we must learn from it.
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we have several other colleagues who are going to come later to speak about this as well.
I wanted to thank everyone who is here today. We want to make it very clear that we will not forget what happened on January 6. I don't care what records they raise or what kind of new stories they want to tell. We know what happened. This country cannot forget.
And, today, we are here simply to say that the Senate disapproves of the pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol police officers. I am disappointed that our Republican colleagues, today, refuse to join us.
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