Video: On the Rachel Maddow Show, VA Speaker Don Scott Says “not one Republican – not one in Virginia! – will step up and say what the President of the United States is doing is wrong!”

Superb job by VA Speaker Don Scott last night on the Rachel Maddow Show. See below for video and a partial transcript:

“I live in a community in Portsmouth, Virginia. the Portsmouth Naval Hospital is there…a few miles away is the largest naval station in the world, Norfolk Naval Base. I’m a former Naval officer, a veteran. Every single day I get to see those folks and see how they’re being impacted. We have a Veterans Hospital, the largest one right across in Hampton, Virginia, and it’s on land where they have a lease there and then Elon Musk saying he’s going to end that lease. Well, who will take care of our veterans? Who’s going to protect them? These people have put their lives on the line many times before to protect our country and guess what? Many are Republicans and Democrats and they always stuck together. And right now, I’m saying I’m worried about our country a little bit. But it’s not the time to panic, it’s the time to fight. I’m worried because it looks like we’ve lost the ability to have any empathy for people, you know people whose spouses are worried about where they’re going to live, where the next paycheck is going to come from, they’re worried about their health care…are they going to be able to take care of their children, their families? We’re seeing this impact and it’s playing out in real time.

And so we have a responsibility in government, I believe in state government, we still have a responsibility to make sure that we’re protecting people. But we’re finding out the data, we don’t want to panic…because that’s what Donald Trump wants us to do, he wants everybody to go look around and and lose their minds and not sit down and look at the facts, look at the data. That’s why we formed this emergency committee so we can actually look at what’s happening in Virginia. That’s what we do. That’s what Americans always do. We live in the greatest country on the planet. Our Constitution has a a clear outline how we separate powers. If Congress and the Republicans there won’t do their jobs, then we’ll do our jobs and make sure that we step up to protect families, because that’s what our responsibility is.

As we’re hearing from people, they’re hurting here in Virginia. And it’s really sad that not one Republican – not one in Virginia! – will step up and say what the President of the United States is doing is wrong. Not one will step up and challenge Elon Musk, who’s now an unelected multi-billionaire! Not one will step up and challenge him. And so we have a responsibility I think to get the facts…and I think when we do that, then I think we will get some allies from the Republican Party. I hope we’ll get some. But if they don’t, I’m hoping that every single Democrat – because right now our country and our vision is on the line – will step in and help us.

We have an election here in November 2025. I’m hoping that every single Democrat in this country will come to our aid to help fight for the values that we’ve all grown up knowing and believing in the vision of America and the dream. And I think right now there are some people trying to take us backwards and we have a responsibility to fight for that and an obligation. When I took that oath as a Naval officer years ago, I haven’t forgotten it. And when I took that same oath here as Speaker of the House to protect and defend our Constitution, and right now it’s time for all patriots to step up and fight back…I’m hoping these Republicans will step up, they’re celebrating these job cuts in Virginia, when really they should be fighting back for us; we hope that they will.”