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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, colleagues, I, too, rise today to oppose President Trump's nomination of Pamela Bondi to serve as Attorney General of the United States.

And I don't do it lightly.

After evaluating her record, as well as her testimony before the Judiciary Committee, it has sadly become clear to me that Ms. Bondi is either unwilling or unable to put her duty to the Constitution of the United States and her duty to the American people above her loyalty to President Trump. With a President now in office who has proven his complete disregard for the rule of law on numerous occasions, Pam Bondi is simply unfit to serve as our Nation's chief law enforcement officer.

Time and again, we have seen Ms. Bondi more than willing to go on national television and push President Trump's lies about the results of a free and fair election. Despite the facts, despite overwhelming evidence, she has chosen to lie to the American people in defense of Donald Trump.

Now, as I shared in committee during the confirmation hearing this very issue, offering her an opportunity to withdraw those statements that she made back in 2020, reminding my colleagues and anybody watching that the danger of her refusal isn't just that she is sticking to some political talking points--in fact, when it comes to the integrity of our elections, lies have become threats to our democracy, threats to voters, and threats to election workers who dedicate themselves to administering our free and fair elections.

To this day, she refuses to state the simple truth that Donald Trump lost in 2020. Colleagues, consider the fact that these same lies have led to her associate Rudy Giuliani being disbarred. Think about that contrast. Rudy Giuliani lied, and he is being disbarred for those actions. Pam Bondi--same lies--refuses to take them back, and now you want her to be the top law enforcement officer for the United States of America?

It is this very behavior that actually endears her to President Trump, and it is the same reason why we cannot trust her to hold him accountable. If confirmed, Ms. Bondi will no doubt face far more daunting challenges to shield the Department of Justice and its professional civil servants from politics.

I mean, just look at President Trump's activities in the first couple of weeks in office. From his first day on the job--day one of his second term--he issued around 1,500 pardons for January 6 insurrectionists and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters, including those convicted of violence against police officers.

Let me say it again: The first day in office, Trump freed convicted violent criminals who pepper-sprayed and beat Capitol Police officers-- so much for ``Back the Blue.''

President Trump's appointees then proceeded to fire career Department of Justice lawyers involved in investigating and prosecuting him for his role in the January 6 insurrection and for his improper handling of classified documents. Now, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has already promised to investigate the prosecutors who helped put violent insurrectionists behind bars.

None of this comes as a surprise. Before she was even selected, before the nomination was official, Ms. Bondi had already publicly promised to investigate the investigators, to prosecute the prosecutors.

And just this past Sunday, President Trump's Department of Justice demanded specific FBI staff fill out a questionnaire sharing what involvement they had in the January 6 cases. This is a tough environment for any Attorney General to walk into and to act independently, let alone someone who has already shown blind loyalty to President Trump over the rule of law.

But these past few weeks, I was struck most by the fact that, despite her having practiced law for decades, despite the fact that she served once as the attorney general for the State of Florida, Ms. Bondi was somehow unfamiliar with the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and, specifically, its citizenship clause.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. We talked about it in my office the day before the hearing. I let her know I was going to be asking her about it during the hearing. And when I gave her an opportunity during the hearing to discuss it, she simply refused to answer my questions, and now we know why.

In his very first day back in office, President Trump issued a blatantly unconstitutional Executive order seeking to strip birthright citizenship from American citizens--citizens born here in the United States.

Now, someone who still needs to study birthright citizenship surely won't be a champion in defending it. And I point that out because that is what Ms. Bondi said in response to my question that she would ``study'' it.

Think about that, colleagues. The top law enforcement officer in the United States needed to study the Constitution?

The American people need and deserve to be able to trust that the Department of Justice is enacting the law fairly, neutrally, and free from political interference. We need and deserve an Attorney General who will speak truth to power; push back against illegal, immoral, and unethical requests; someone who can be a credible messenger to the American people in a time of crisis; and someone who will defend not only the American people but the proud public servants who work within the Department and who are being purged in not a Saturday night massacre or a Monday massacre but a January massacre by President Trump.

To my colleagues today, I ask this: Do you believe Ms. Bondi will fight against retribution or enact it? Do you believe she will stand up to the administration's chaos or further enable it?

Colleagues, I don't believe Ms. Bondi is up to the task, and for that reason, I will oppose her nomination, and I urge all of you to join me.

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