Supporting Dei

Floor Speech

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Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, I originally came to the floor today because I was dismayed by the President's continued assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Department of Defense, the State Department, and countless other agencies have been instructed to no longer recognize Black History Month as part of a broad order to pause all activities and events related to ``special observances.'' It is because the President is trying to scrub our government and our country of its history and its diversity.

Our diversity is our power, and the President is threatened by that power. That is why he wants our country and our government to fit his narrowminded view of what it should be like.

We know who President Trump is. Barely coded racist rhetoric is his standard practice. The disgusting comments the President made, blaming the tragic crash at Reagan National Airport on DEI, were just the latest example. It is sickening, inflammatory, and pathetic.

We should all be clear-eyed about what the President is doing. While the President has picked up right where he left off with his racist and xenophobic attacks, it is part of a broader mission by him and shadow president Elon Musk to dismantle and destroy our government.

Since last Friday, Elon's acolytes, none of whom are government employees and by all appearances have no understanding of how our government even works, have been installed and have taken over at the State Department, the U.S. Treasury, the Office of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Here is what they have done. They have downloaded the most sensitive personal information of millions of Americans to private servers. They have taken possession of all financial and personal information of everyone who does business with the Federal Government. They are taking control of security systems, personnel files, and intelligence reports that pertain to thousands upon thousands of U.S. Government workers operating overseas, many of whom are in classified roles.

This is all to say that we are witnessing a coup of our government. Without any legal authority, robber baron Elon Musk has embedded himself in our government, unlawfully obtained information that affects millions of Americans, and tasked himself with carrying out President Trump's grievances against his political enemies, not to mention the President has already fired over a dozen January 6 Federal prosecutors, begun to scrutinize the perceived loyalty of thousands of rank-and-file FBI agents, and invalidated the contracts of thousands of government employees.

Again, we are witnessing the power grab of two men who idolize dictators and who are now playing at being one.

This is a coup. The American people will not stand for this. They will not. I have heard from my constituents who have called my office, expressing their outrage at the criminality and corruption. I plan to do everything I can at every opportunity to call out the President and Elon Musk for what they are doing.

I ask my Republican colleagues to actively examine what is going on, to sincerely ask themselves if this is acceptable. Throughout our country's history, our government has served to assist the people in their times of need, to act in service of the common good, and to work for the people. The President and Elon Musk are trying to make a mockery of that purpose. They are actively perverting that purpose to make the government act as a tool of retribution and to work against the people, specifically against their political enemies.

That is not why I serve.

Service and leadership are not about bending government to your own personal will. It is about civic duty and public service. It is about good people doing the right thing.

I ask my Republican colleagues if they really think the President and Elon Musk are doing the right thing. It is time for the people of this House to speak up.

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