Addressing the Hack of U.S. Treasury Payment Systems

Floor Speech

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Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is Tuesday afternoon. I am here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives and my question is, where are my Republican colleagues?

There is not a single one of my Republican colleagues here on the House floor. In fact, I am standing on the Republican side of the aisle and there is not a single one in the Chamber right now. While Donald Trump and Elon Musk and their group of teenage hackers are dismantling the Federal Government, not a single one is to be found here on the House floor this afternoon.

Let me say to the American people: This is not normal. What is happening right now in this country is not normal, and Democrats are fighting back.

We are fighting to defend the Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, vital funding for our communities, the health and safety of our people, and saving our democracy because what is happening in this country right now is not normal.

Over the last 3 weeks since Donald Trump took office, Federal agencies have been dismantled. Thousands of Federal workers have been fired and put on leave and are left in limbo. Millions in Federal funds have been frozen for our communities and your private data has been hacked by a group of teenage software hackers at the Department of the Treasury.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are breaking the law daily inside of these agencies. In fact, not only are they breaking the law, they are violating the Constitution, appropriations law, and statutory law. There are 55 court cases pending right now in front of Federal courts. Federal stays filed by Federal judges to stop Trump and Musk from these illegal activities, and Democrats are here on the House floor fighting.

We are fighting in the Halls of Congress. We are working with our allies on the outside to fight in the courts, and, yes, we are fighting in the streets alongside the American people.

Where are the Republicans? Have you so abdicated your constitutional responsibility that you can't hold your own party accountable?

Just last week in the Oversight Committee, we asked for Elon Musk to come testify, and when we tried to subpoena him, Republicans went out of their way to stop him from appearing in front of the United States House of Representatives' Oversight Committee.

If Republicans are so proud of what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing inside of these agencies, then why are they trying so hard to shield them from public scrutiny and appearing in the people's House?

What the hell is going on? That is what the American people want to know.

Why are they trampling on their fundamental rights as millions of Americans are terrified right now across this country, and we know that thousands of their constituents are calling their offices as we speak.

Seniors and elders from our communities are afraid that their Social Security checks aren't going to come. Housing and homeless organizations are afraid they are going to have to shut down and not be able to give out vouchers so that people have housing. Food banks are concerned they are not going to have enough funding to get to the end of the month to make sure that families can eat.

Hospitals and clinics are wondering if they are going to have to shut down whole parts of their treatment to the public, universities whose funds have been frozen, and State, local, and Tribal Governments who are continuing to get notifications from the administration that their funding is not coming, even though a court has already ordered Donald Trump more than once that they are violating the law.

Where are our Republican colleagues? Why are they pretending like there is nothing to see here? Maybe it is because while we are standing here, they are literally meeting behind closed doors putting together a tax package that has yet to see the light of day, that will literally make permanent the largest tax breaks for billionaires in the history of this country.

That is right. That is what they are up to. That is what they are doing. Do you know who those tax breaks are going to go to? They are going to go to people like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and all the billionaires and millionaires who are serving in the Cabinet right now and giving unfettered access to Elon Musk and his software engineers to hack your private data.

How are they going to pay for it? They already told us how they are going to pay for it. They are going to steal your Medicaid and your Medicare. They are going to do it by illegally shutting down grants and funding for these agencies and for all of the countless services and programs that we know they are hacking this data to do.

We know what they are up to and the Republicans are acting like there is nothing to see here because they are in on it. That is why they are not here on the floor. That is why they are missing. That is why they are letting Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley buddies raid the Federal Treasury.

We want you to know, the American people, what is actually going on here. Tomorrow, in the very first hearing of the Oversight Committee's new DOGE Subcommittee, Democrats are ready to fight. We are ready to show the American people what is actually happening and how we are fighting back to defend and to serve our people and to reveal what is actually going on not only in this Chamber but across this town as they try to dismantle our agencies and funding.

I say to the American people: Not only are we fighting for you but continue to join us in the fight. We need your voices. We need them loud. We need them clear. Keep calling your Republican Representatives, keep calling us, and let them know not only is this not normal but this is not okay. We are going to continue to fight for our democracy.

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