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Americans for Contraception Calls Out Virginia Republicans for Voting Against Protecting the Right to Contraception

By
lowkell
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3

The following press release, from Americans for Contraception, “call[s] out Republican lawmakers for voting against Virginia’s Right to Contraception Act, vital legislation aimed at protecting the fundamental right to contraception for all Virginians.” Fortunately, the bill passed the House of Delegates today by 53-44 margin, but the fact that 44 Republicans voted against it tells you everything you need to know about today’s Republican Party.

Americans for Contraception Calls Out Virginia Republicans for Voting Against Protecting the Right to Contraception
RICHMOND, Va. — Americans for Contraception (AFC) today called out Republican lawmakers for voting against Virginia’s Right to Contraception Act, vital legislation aimed at protecting the fundamental right to contraception for all Virginians. By opposing this bill, Republican lawmakers signaled their continued willingness to undermine the basic reproductive freedoms and health care rights of the people they serve.

HB 1716 from Delegate Marcia “Cia” Price (D-Newport News) today passed the Virginia House of Delegates by a vote of 53-44. Nearly every House Republican voted against the legislation. Meanwhile, the Senate bill, SB 1105 from Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond), advanced through the Senate Education and Health Committee earlier today by a party-line vote of 9-6, with every Republican on the committee voting against the right to contraception.

Katie Baker, Virginia spokeswoman for Americans for Contraception, said:

“By voting against the Right to Contraception Act, the overwhelming number of Republican lawmakers in the Virginia House and all the Republicans on the Senate Education and Health Committee turned their backs on the people they represent. Contraception is a basic health care right that allows individuals to make their own decisions about their bodies and futures. Republicans’ continued opposition to this legislation reveals a consistent pattern of prioritizing extremist ideology over Virginians’ reproductive freedom.”

Senator Hashmi and Delegate Price reintroduced the Virginia Right to Contraception Act to safeguard the fundamental right to contraception and ensure legal protections for all Virginians. The proposed legislation would enshrine the right to use FDA-approved contraceptives, including condoms, birth control pills, IUDs, and emergency contraceptives.

This renewed effort follows Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto of the legislation in May 2024. This year’s push to pass the Virginia Right to Contraception Act comes amid national uncertainty over reproductive rights. President Donald Trump’s statement that he is “looking at” restrictions on contraception and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ call for his colleagues to “re-consider” Griswold v. Connecticut have raised alarms about the future of contraception rights nationwide.

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Americans for Contraception is a leading advocacy organization committed to protecting and expanding the fundamental right to contraception nationwide.

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Rips Trump’s Pardon of People Who Assaulted Cops; Attempts to “Traumatize” Federal Workers; Potential Immigration Raids on Schools; etc.

By
lowkell
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1

See below for video and highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s press availability yesterday afternoon – *lots* of questions on some VERY important issues (e.g., Trump’s assault against federal workers, immigrants, etc.; also, Trump’s pardoning of violent 1/6/21 insurrectionists), and Sen. Warner had a lot to say, so check it out!

  • “It feels like it’s been quite a week already. I attended President Trump’s inauguration on Monday, frankly to show support for a peaceful transfer of power…Even I was a bit surprised though when I saw some of the wealthiest people in the world lined up having better seats than anyone that was proposed by Mr. Trump for his cabinet. So the wealthy folks first, then the Cabinet. And to the extent that, you know, folks like Republican Governors including our governor were in the overflow room rather than where the inauguration took place. Listen, I celebrate success in America, I’m proud of my own business success. But it was a bit unsettling to say the least that you had the wealthiest people in the world so prominently positioned. And what kind of signal does that send to the American public, who I think at the end of the day elected Mr Trump because they thought he was going to cut grocery prices and find ways to make America stronger.”
  • “The speech itself…sounded to me like more of a campaign speech. I wish we would have seen even a small gesture of grace, for example to President Biden on the the work that was done jointly, for example on bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza and starting the release of the hostages that have been so brutally taken by by Hamas.”
  • “We’ve gone from that action on Monday to then a a huge flurry of executive actions. One of the most prominent was his unconditional pardoning of the rioters who assaulted police officers and took over the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. That speaks volumes in terms of Trump’s respect for law officers…He says he wants to be tough on crime, and one of his first actions is to pardon people who physically assaulted police officers and assaulted our Capitol. And remember, there were five deaths directly related to that tragedy, most of them were Virginians.”
  • “We also saw a flurry of other executive actions, some things just plain unconstitutional. The idea that he can write away part of the Constitution by eliminating Birthright Citizenship. You don’t show respect for the Constitution by thinking that a presidential executive order can somehow override what the Founders put in place.”
  • “So there’s so much action, I feel like he’s a little bit flooding the zone, maybe to take the eyes off of of some of these horribly unqualified nominees. But we’re going to have to sort through all of this. And I want to work with President Trump, I want him to be successful – he is the president of the United States, and if he is successful and America’s successful, I’m all for it. I’ve already voted for a couple of his his nominees. But where there are people that are clearly unqualified or clearly have interests that I think are adverse to our country… I’m going to stand up.“
  • “One of those individuals I had a chance to question this morning in the budget committee, Russell Vought, who is the President’s nominee for OMB. This is a man whose resume looks like it reads right out of the description of somebody that comes using Republican terminology from the swamp. This guy has never managed anything, he’s not run a business, no private sector experience, worked on Capitol Hill, worked as a bureaucrat, worked as a right-wing think tank. But it’s a little curious that he for draining the swamp that does not seem like a drain the swamp kind of guy. But what concerns me more and I think is the thing that is deter this positive to me it’s not his it’s not his background is the fact that he literally used terms such as he would hope that all federal workers would be traumatized, they need to feel the trauma, they’re villains. He seems to measure success by how many people he can make quit the federal government. And again, this was the guy that was deeply involved in the Project 2025. In that in that missive, it laid out ideas to try to break up the intelligence community. I tell you, as somebody who’s worked so closely with the intelligence community is as chairman of the committee and long serving member, it would weaken America’s national security if we were to somehow take the CIA and break it up and put it all over the country. There is value and efficiency involved by having for example all of our intelligence agencies close together in the greater capital region. In my mind, that kind of mismanagement approach means that I will not be supporting him in terms of his willingness to break up the intelligence committee, in terms of his willingness to frankly politicize all federal employees with the so-called Schedule F effort. We created the Civil Service in the first place to make sure that government service was not going to be political, it was going to be protected, it could be independent. And Mr. Vought, unfortunately, represents a complete reversal on those issues. My good friend Tim Kaine followed afterwards, he uses some of the language that Mr. Vought uses about ‘weaponized governments’ and ‘woke government’ and as Tim Kane said, what is woke or or weaponized government in terms of assistance to to kids, in terms of food stamps for example. So clearly Mr. Vought will be one in a number of nominees that I will strongly oppose.”
  • “I have supported two of Mr Trump’s nominees so far – John Ratcliffe for the director of CIA and I believe he will be confirmed tomorrow, Scott Bessent as the Treasury Secretary. I was not totally pleased with his hearing presentation but I do think he has the financial background skills to be an able Treasury Secretary.”
  • “And finally, I just want to touch on on immigration. I voted to support the Laken Riley Act. I wish it had been further amended. But the notional idea that if you violate the law and you are in this country illegally,  that could and should lead to deportation, is a theory that makes sense; frankly, it’s already partially enshrined in law. But let me be clear, that does NOT mean that I’m going to end or stop my career-long support for legal immigration and for the contribution that immigrants make to Virginia to our country. It means I’m not going to support getting rid of temporary protective status for our Salvadoran community or Sudanese community where I’ve been working very closely to try to end that conflict in Sudan or others who’ve come here under legal programs that are not yet fully citizens but are here legally. And if Mr. Trump or his actions start doing these mass deportations that have with no regard to the law, I will stand firmly opposed against that.”
  • “But again, I’ll close with what I opened  – I want Donald Trump to be successful, but I hope he will understand he’s got to meet people halfway. That’s not been his approach in the past. But I want you know this is a second Trump presidency, I want to give him an initial benefit of the doubt. But I am deeply deeply concerned about the volume and tenor of these executive orders that he’s launched and in particular the notion of pardoning individuals who’ve assaulted police officers in the riot on January 6 2021.”
  • “I have supported a return-to-work policy. I’ve agreed frankly with Mayor Bowser on this, we need to get federal employees back to work in offices. Not criticizing remote work, but I think the expectation of being in the office is something that makes sense. But I also believe if we go back to the pre-COVID policies, there are a number of jobs where telework made sense. Matter of fact, the champion for telework for many many years in Congress was Frank Wolf, a Republican member from Northern Virginia. So my hope is in the return to work that there will still be legitimate telework exemptions, but the kind of broad-based approach right now where people can only show up in some areas one day in the office for every pay period I think is too far on the other end.”
  • “In terms of the kind of treatment why I’m going to not support support Mr. Vought, the idea that it is a good idea to try to get federal workers to quit or to put them in trauma, you know, I was a business guy, that would be you know malpractice in management if you’re trying to intimidate and traumatize your workforce. And so I’ve got legislation along with Gerry Connolly and Tim and a number of of the Virginia delegation to make sure that you don’t politicize the workforce with this Schedule F effort. So I’m going to stand up against any effort to get rid of the Civil Service protections for federal workers.”
  • “I am waiting with some anticipation on what the so-called DOGE effort that now I guess is simply led by Elon Musk. If there are ways to bring efficiency to our government, count me in. And one of the things I was proud to of when I was governor was Virginia got named best-managed state. And we found a host of ways to leverage our purchasing power to cut back on our auto fleet, to try to bring smoother operations. There’s plenty areas in the federal government where we can find greater efficiency. But that starts by actually respecting your workforce and not demonizing them. And so far, we’ve seen from Trump and from some of his potential appointees, this notion of demonizing the federal workforce. That may be a political sound bite for some, but that is I can tell you as a former Governor as a former business guy, that’s not the way you make your workforce the most effective. Reform, count me in. Wholesale attack on federal workers, politicizing our workforce, eliminating any flexibility in the workforce I will stand strongly against.”
  •  “I am concerned about that, and one of the reasons why I think law enforcement itself took these positions a number of years back was because law enforcement does its job best when it works with the community. And if anybody of Hispanic heritage, citizen, green card holder or not, suddenly fears that any police officer could potentially detain them or deport them, then you don’t drive crime down, you break off all kind of relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities. So I want to talk again with the both the prosecuting and Commonwealth’s Attorneys in some of those jurisdictions, I want to talk again with law enforcement to get their views on this, but again, this is an example of kind of a sledgehammer approach as opposed to a scapel. You know, if President Trump simply does what at least some of his folks say, which is if you are here illegally, undocumented, and you commit a crime then you should be deported, I think one that’s already law, but two I’m supportive of those policies. But the idea of turning every local cop or sheriff’s deputy into an immigration enforcement officer, I think that would actually really undermine their top priority, which is keeping our community safe.”
  • “I think at the end, particularly with his family members, President Biden overused his pardon ability. Pardons by presidents in the past have been used selectively, targeted and on an individual basis. This across-the-board pardon of rioters, regardless of how violently they assaulted police officers, is irresponsible; it sends a awful signal about respect for rule of law. It also frankly, for those individuals on the far right who think, and in the militia groups that are out there, we’ve seen threats against elected officials increase dramatically. What signal does that send, if you can assault a cop and not have to serve time because Donald Trump will have your back, as long as you’re a political supporter, what does that say to more violent extremists, particularly on the right, but on either end of the political agenda, about a warning in terms of what consequences they’ll face? It sounds to me like the the underlying message is, if you got Donald Trump’s back, he’s going to have your back regardless of what you do. That is something that should concern all of us, no matter who we supported for president.”
  • “My hope is working with the balance of the Virginia delegation, because you know we think about federal workers in Northern Virginia, but we got a ton of federal workers down in Hampton Roads as well. We also have a huge number of contractors. And while the venom has been approached at federal workers, there’s also been kind of ad hominem attacks against contractors as well. We’re trying to get those answers as quickly as possible. It is my hope before the end of the week that we can have better guidance. There were so many of these executive orders, and so many of them will obviously be contested in court. But this puts what’s so concerning to me is that this is exactly what the guy I questioned today, Russell Vought, who wants to be the head of OMB, and remember that’s budget and management, and using his own words that he wants to have do as much as possible to chase people away from the the federal workplace, to put ‘trauma’ and have federal workers feel ‘trauma’. They’re feeling trauma right now. And if we look at their past actions, I pointed out to him, you know last Trump Administration they moved the headquarters of Bureau of Land Management out of our region. The number of vacancies went up 170% and the General Accounting Office, the kind of independent auditor, said it dramatically degraded the service. This kind of action that seems more on a political vendetta as opposed to you know efficiency, this flies in the face of efficiency. You want to have a federal workforce that’s ready to go to work, that works hard, that is held accountable – count me in on the accountability piece. And if there’s ways to make it more efficient, particularly using technology, I’m wide open to that. But unduly bringing trauma, Mr. Vought’s own words, to the federal workforce is again management malpractice in terms of how you operate, I say that as a former business owner.”
  • “I do believe obviously you they have not been able to change the law in terms of civil service protections. Whether…if somebody who was serving as a DEI officer has the ability to be terminated simply because of the nature of their job, truthfully I need to check that out in terms of what rights – I think you still have some appeal rights, but I want to, that’s a fair question, and I want to check it out. And…again, an area that I spend a lot of time on in terms of national security and our intelligence community, you know, I don’t care what you call some of these programs, but to have programs that our workforce actually looks like America, I think means you’re going to have a better level of service. Or one of the things that that I spent a lot of time with are folks at the CIA. The fact that if we have spies in Africa or Latin America or in Asia, they ought to look like the populations where they’re working. I don’t care what you call that, I call that good spy practice. I call that good intelligence hygiene. And I’m just so worried that under these kind of actions, you know there may have been times where where these programs went overboard, but to throw it all out and somehow go back to a workforce that’s simply made up of a bunch of folks that look like me, I’m not sure that’s in the best interest of our country, I know it’s not in the best interest of our country.”
  • “I think Richmond, I had the opportunity to live there back when I was governor. Richmond is a great city, it is a hot city in terms of how it’s viewed around the country, it ranks so high on quality of life – and not just Richmond but the surrounding suburban counties…I do feel like the idea that the kind of COVID work schedule was going to last forever was probably not feasible. I do believe that there is value in working in the office that sometimes you can’t measure… especially for younger employees to learn and and be part of a culture. But it ought to be done with some level of flexibility. And I hope people wouldn’t leave federal government employee, but there are obviously I think a lot of job opportunities open in the Greater Richmond market. But at the same time, I’ve known folks that have made that commute for years long before we had this remote work process. My hope and belief is that the ability to do that commute is actually going to improve dramatically as we construct what’s called Long Bridge from the district to Virginia that will double the amount of rail capacity coming into Virginia. The ability to get on a regular, convenient and fast train from Richmond that could get you to DC quickly could be the best of both worlds. I mean, you could end up still having the benefits of living in the Richmond region, but hopefully in a commute that’s feasible. That is one of the outgrowths of the infrastructure bill…that 700 million dollar plus project on this bridge is one of the biggest achievements we got for Virginia out of the infrastructure bill so far. So that increased rail will help…And it goes back to my first answer though, which is you know for a long time we promoted some level of telework as long as it didn’t you know as long it was it was in certain areas and it didn’t degrade the quality of the output. I do worry that we may have during COVID where we went so much the other way. Bringing it back to a kind of pre-COVID balance makes sense. At the end of the day, that doesn’t mean… getting rid of all the pre-COVID telework policies. I do think you have to make the case and show that you can still be as effective. And that’s why I’m fearful,  that in the effort to kind of get a headline, that any kind of nuance or any kind of non-sledgehammer approach to a lot of these issues I think is not going to work. And again, the focus on these activities, where’s President Trump’s effort to try to lower grocery prices to bring down inflation – I don’t think we’ve heard barely a word on those subjects. We’ve heard more about renaming bodies of water or trying to take over other countries or some of these efforts going against our federal workers. I don’t believe that’s what Virginians expected whether they voted for Trump or didn’t vote for Trump.”
  • “In terms of naming these drug cartels as terrorist organizations, being able to bring fuller power against them, I’m supportive of. And I go back again, these drugs are not coming for the most part over actually on undocumented individuals, they’re coming through our ports of entry. And I really think the the bipartisan immigration bill we had last year would have made sure that those ports of entry had much better protections. I also think we need to continue to hold China accountable  – the precursor chemicals that go into fentanyl still come in many cases from China. And so the ability to bring further resources, I can tell you, particularly in the realm that I have a lot of oversight…the intelligence community understands you the power of these drug organizations to not only destabilize Mexico or potentially destabilize Central America but this is an assault on America. And bringing our full resources to bear I think is the right move.”
  • “I’ve had a very strong working relationship with Governor Youngkin and particular on economic development; we’ve worked on a lot of projects together. And we worked very closely together to make sure that Virginia got the kind of emergency relief that we deserved after Hurricane Helene – and we were very successful there. On this one, I just disagree with the governor. I think the federal workforce is a critical part of our economy. These are folks that are well educated, well trained, I think do their job well. Matter of fact, if you look at the number of federal workers all in today it’s about the same number as it was in the 50s and 60s. The federal workforce has not expanded…at any dramatic rate with the growth of our economy… our population growth. If there are ways to be more efficient, again count me in; that’s why I’m not going to you know criticize the DOGE effort until I see what they’ve got, and I would I’m willing to work with them, I’ve even had contact with some of the leadership there. But the federal workforce and then the contractor workforce as well you know are what not only keep our economy strong but we disproportionately have federal workers that are involved in the defense area, we have contractors involved in the defense area. Willy-nilly cuts to those individuals or trying to bring ‘trauma’  -again, not my words, the potential OMB director’s words, he wants to ‘traumatize’ and ‘bring trauma’ to the federal workforce and he wants them in effect not to go to work so they’ll quit. That’s not good management and that’s sure as heck not good for Virginia and in terms of trying to get a workforce that’s going to be more productive, I’ve run enough businesses to know that you don’t demonize your workforce if you want to get more production from them.”
  • “This is a challenge we’ve been struggling with for a long time in Virginia, and it’s one of the reasons why we do need a tighter border. And I do think one of the areas I was quite critical of President Biden, the border was too open for too long. But the notional idea that you were to have kids at schools, documented or not, that somehow might be singled out just because of their ethnic heritage or what they look like or their color of their skin or the idea that you would have local law enforcement potentially coming to raid schools, that just goes way too far. Let’s tighten up the border. If people are here undocumented and they’ve committed a crime and been convicted of that crime, there ought to be a deportation process. But the idea that you’re going to simply spread fear across communities – and one of the communities that I think a lot about in disproportionately in Northern Virginia, it’s the El Salvadoran community. We’ve had folks from El Salvador in large numbers in our region going back to the early 90s when there was a brutal civil war there. They have been in our country, many of them for 25 to 30 years, they’re deeply ingrained and a valuable part of the community, most all of them have kids that have been born here or or so that the idea that they are suddenly thrown into this level of trauma and fear, you know I’m going to do everything possible to make sure that we keep schools safe and not places that are subject to any kind of raids that are not appropriate or not about law breaking.”

Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Pleads with GOP Colleagues Not to “Rush” Defense Secretary Nomination, Given “the gravity of behavioral challenges that have been demonstrated” by Hegseth

By
lowkell
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0

Great stuff by Sen. Tim Kaine – more of this from every Democratic member of Congress!

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VIDEO: KAINE SPEAKS ON SENATE FLOOR REGARDING HIS STRONG OPPOSITION TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE NOMINEE PETE HEGSETH

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2013 who has previously voted to confirm five Secretaries of Defense nominated by Democratic and Republican presidents, spoke on the Senate floor regarding his opposition to President Trump’s nominee for that position, Pete Hegseth. Kaine’s remarks followed the release of a new affidavit—or sworn statement—from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, in which she says Hegseth’s behavior caused his second wife to fear for her safety.

“…I rise to oppose the nomination and urge my colleagues to oppose it or at least take the time to really understand the gravity of behavioral challenges that have been demonstrated by Mr. Hegseth during his career. I have multiple problems with this nominee for this position. And this position, Secretary of Defense, is the position that I view – and many Virginians view – as the most important cabinet post,” Kaine said.

Kaine then expressed the reasons for his opposition.

  • Kaine discussed Hegseth’s pattern of infidelity and said, “Because he wouldn’t meet with members of the committee on the Democratic side, we didn’t get a chance to talk about that in a closed setting, which would have been most important.”
  • Kaine then mentioned reports of Hegseth’s poor management at two veteran service organizations. He said, “Mr. Hegseth has been the leader of two nonprofit organizations that are veteran service organizations… Women were made to feel they were second class in the organization, and alcohol abuse was common in workplace events.”
  • Kaine also brought up allegations of sexual assault, including a 2017 incident in Monterey, California. Kaine said, “I will call it an undisclosed sexual assault claim because Mr. Hegseth never told the Trump Transition Team about this event when he was being considered and vetted to be Secretary of Defense… He says it was consensual – not a sexual assault or rape… but he acknowledges that [the event] occurred…The survivor went to local law enforcement [and] filed a sexual assault claim. The claim was investigated over a period of time. The prosecutor ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges against Mr. Hegseth, but there was a civil claim as well that later led to a settlement with the victim, payment of cash to the victim, and the entrance into a non-disclosure agreement with the victim.”
  • Kaine then continued about his concerns with Hegseth not disclosing this 2017 case to the Trump Transition Team and said, “None of this was disclosed to the Trump Team as they were examining him to be Secretary of Defense. He didn’t disclose the event. He didn’t disclose the criminal sexual assault claim. He didn’t disclose the fact of an investigation. He didn’t disclose the civil claim. He didn’t disclose the settlement. He didn’t disclose the cash payment. He didn’t disclose the non-disclosure agreement… When I asked him why, he didn’t really have an answer, and I told him I know the reason why. You were worried that if you told [the Trump Transition Team] about this, they would not nominate you to be Secretary of Defense. The relationship between a Secretary of Defense and a President is a very important relationship that demands complete candor… I don’t want a Secretary of Defense who is unwilling to be candid with the Commander-in-Chief, and he’s already demonstrated grave reason to doubt whether he will be candid…”
  • Kaine then discussed the recent affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law and said, “An affidavit was filed yesterday by… the former sister-in-law of the nominee revealing publicly facts suggesting spousal abuse in Mr. Hegseth’s second marriage… I haven’t talked to her. I was not aware of that allegation, but it didn’t surprise anyone on the committee who had reviewed the record. Why not? Because there are already facts in the record raising this very question.”
  • Kaine brought up Hegseth’s nomination hearing last week. He said, “I found it very unusual that when I asked Mr. Hegseth at the hearing – a sexual assault would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense? He would not agree with me. Spousal abuse would be disqualifying to be a Secretary of Defense? He would not agree with me. Being impaired by alcohol while on the job would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense? He would not agree with me. These are not hard questions. That they are clearly disqualifying behaviors, and the fact that he would not agree that they were disqualifying behaviors suggested to me as I was watching that testimony that they evinced a little bit of a guilty conscience.”
  • Kaine continued to discuss the lack of a thorough FBI investigation into Mr. Hegseth, which all nominees go through. He said, “The FBI didn’t even interview the wives – even after a mother’s letter had said that [Hegseth is] a serial abuser of women, including [his] two wives. The FBI did not even go out and interview the wives. Why not? …Was it an investigation or was it just … a box checking exercise? A lot of us when we heard it sort of raised hell about it… After the fact, [the FBI] went out and did a very cursory discussion with one of the wives… I have not seen that material. I have not been allowed to see it. That in itself should shock my colleagues and the public.”

“…My request of my colleagues is a simple one. Why rush? Why rush? Why would we rush to put through a nomination for a position of this importance that is freighted with so much baggage and so much evidence of glaring character and judgment errors? Do we want to have egg on our face? Do we want to rush and have this blow up later? Do we want to rush and then have other witnesses come out as Danielle Hegseth did yesterday? Is that what the Senate’s Advice and Consent process mandated by the Constitution for a very important reason has come to – [a] cursory investigation that doesn’t get to the underlying facts even when they’re sitting right out there before us and we’re going to rush to confirm someone? For what reason?” Kaine concluded, “Let’s take the time, and when we cast a vote on confirmation, cast it with the confidence that we have complete information about the man who has been nominated to be our Secretary of Defense.”

During Hegseth’s nomination hearing last week, Kaine asked Hegseth if he had committed sexual assault or spousal abuse. Hegseth denied both. Kaine also asked Hegseth if committing sexual assault or spousal abuse or working under the influence of alcohol would disqualify an individual from being Secretary of Defense, and Hegseth refused to answer. Kaine’s questions followed public reporting of an email that Hegseth’s mother wrote to him in 2018, in which she said he had routinely mistreated women for years.

Kaine has never before voted against a nominee to be Secretary of Defense.

Thursday News: Trump’s “Retreat From Global Climate Leadership”; “Trump’s war on DEI is not about ‘merit'”; “Trump’s Executive Order Power Grabs”; Trump’s Nonsensical Definitions of Male and Female; “Youngkin and Miyares fall silent as Trump pardons violent Jan. 6 rioters”

By
lowkell
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17

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 23.

Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07): “Thanks to Trump, over a thousand violent criminals, some of whom have been convicted of assaulting a police officer, now walk free. What happened to law and order?”

By
Blue Virginia
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2

From Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07)’s office:

Vindman Addresses President Trump’s Inability to Deliver for Working Families and Lower Costs

WASHINGTON – Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) released the following statement:

“Our national security, basic freedoms, and ability to get ahead is under threat thanks to 200 executive orders signed by President Trump. What stood out to me about his first day is not what he did but what he didn’t do: offer any plan or take any meaningful action to lower costs for hard working families.

“Thanks to Trump, over a thousand violent criminals, some of whom have been convicted of assaulting a police officer, now walk free. What happened to law and order?

“Thanks to Trump, over a thousand families, including unaccompanied minors, had their flights cancelled to reunite with their loved ones. President Trump deserted them, leaving them stranded. These are folks that stood shoulder to shoulder with our warriors for 20 years in Afghanistan.

“Thanks to Trump, America will no longer lead the world in health and disease prevention, and are now less prepared to withstand a global pandemic.

“He is not concerned with lowering costs for hard working families, he’s using his pen to make it harder for folks like us to get ahead.

“In case you’re wondering if Trump really threw law and order out the window, let me be clear:

  • Steven Cappuccio, who ripped off Officer Daniel Hodges’ gas mask and beat him in the face while he was stuck in a door, is now back on the street. Cappuccio held his phone in his mouth so he could beat Officer Hodges with both hands.
  • David Dempsey climbed over other rioters during the Insurrection so he could stomp on at least one officer’s head. He continued his violence by beating officers with a flagpole, a crutch, and a broken piece of furniture.
  • DJ Rodriguez drove a stun gun into an officer’s neck at the Capitol. Proud of his assaults and violence that day, he bragged in a text: [I] tazed the f— out of the blue.

“This is who President Trump stands up for, not you, your family, or your friends. These actions show he does not care about strengthening our country’s national security or the welfare of American citizens.”

Five of the worst executive orders:

  • The “Betray Our Allies” Executive Order that cancelled existing flights for Afghan families and U.S. Military personnel attempting to build new lives in the United States. These are folks that stood shoulder to shoulder with our warriors for 20 years in Afghanistan. President Trump has also suspended all refugee resettlement programs.
  • The “I Didn’t Read the Constitution Before Taking the Oath of Office” Executive Order that would end birthright citizenship which is protected and guaranteed by the 14th Amendment in the Constitution.
  • The “Leave Americans Behind” Executive Order which enacted a federal hiring freeze, without consideration of the ability to mitigate fires raging in Los Angeles and deliver services folks rely on like veterans’ benefits, Medicare, and Social Security.
  • The “Kill the Bears in Alaska” Executive Order which would open oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve. Thousands of grizzly bears, polar bears, caribou, and birds would die, and the local ecosystems would cease to exist.
  • The “Get Sick Quick” Executive Order which would withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization.

###

Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Presses Trump’s Nominee for OMB Director on His Extreme Comments, Including “a gleeful speech about traumatizing the federal workforce”

By
lowkell
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3

See below for video and highlights, courtesy of Sen. Tim Kaine’s office, of “today’s exchange between [Kaine], a member of the Senate Budget Committee, and President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought during Vought’s nomination hearing before the committee.” This guy is as extreme as – or worse than – many other Trump nominees, and for a very important/powerful job, OMB Director. In a sane world, Vought would get ZERO votes for confirmation, but unfortunately, we don’t live in a sane world at this point… 🙁

During the hearing, Kaine pressed Vought about disturbing comments he made about the federal workforce. “…You gave a speech that got a lot of attention when you said: ‘we want bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning. We want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains’… I’ll go to a New Testament Luke 6:45: ‘from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.’ ‘We want people to be traumatized. We want people to be traumatized.’ I’ve heard a million people in this room give speeches about ‘we want to cut the budget, we want to reduce federal spending, we want to deal with the deficit.’ But I haven’t heard anybody give a gleeful speech about traumatizing the federal workforce,” Kaine said.

Kaine then asked Vought if he was a fan of President Abraham Lincoln. “Lincoln spoke to a nation at war, and he said, ‘with malice towards none and charity towards all.’ And he was saying that to the North and the South. He didn’t say, ‘We want you to be traumatized.’ He was a bridge builder and a unifier, and that’s what public servants should be. They shouldn’t gleefully be wishing trauma on people who are trying to serve their fellow man,” Kaine continued.

Kaine also asked Vought to explain why he supports cuts to Pell Grants, food stamps, Medicaid, Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, and the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program. “You were the president of the Center for Renewing America, and the think tank produced a 2023 budget proposal calling ‘A Commitment to End Woke and Weaponized Government’… it’s 104 pages of details to end woke and weaponized government, and it proposes deep cuts to the SNAP program. Is providing nutrition assistance to low-income kids woke and weaponized?” Kaine asked. Vought refused to explain.

“You can say it’s not woke and weaponized, or you can tell me why it’s woke and weaponized. I don’t think SNAP programs or benefits for kids are woke and weaponized. You agree with me?” Kaine continued. Vought refused to answer the yes or no question.

“…You proposed deep cuts to Pell Grants. Is helping kids pay for college and helping their families that woke and weaponized?” Kaine continued.

Vought again refused to answer the question, saying: “Again, I’m not here to defend the Center for Renewing America’s budget.”

“I get it that you’re not here to defend that work product, and I can understand why. You propose deep cuts to Medicaid for millions of low income families. Why is that woke and weaponized? You propose undermining health insurance. Why is that woke and weaponized? Eliminating tenant based rental assistance, why is that woke and weaponized? Eliminating the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program. This was all in your document about ending woke and weaponized government. Okay, let’s see. We want to traumatize federal employees, and then we want to take all these programs that help everyday people who are struggling and cut them because they’re ‘woke and weaponized.’ Those are your words, not mine. ‘From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks,’” Kaine concluded.

Video: In Confirmation Hearing, Sen. Mark Warner Tells Trump’s OMB Nominee Russell Vought, “you want to put the workforce in trauma?” “I find [those comments] disqualifying”

By
lowkell
-
1

Great job by Sen. Mark Warner in the nomination hearing for far-right-extremist Russell Vought as OMB Director. As Sen. Warner says, Vought’s outrageous “comments about the federal workforce I find disqualifying.”

WASHINGTON – Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today questioned President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought. Vought previously served as the Director of OMB, which has expansive jurisdiction over the performance of federal agencies and administers the federal budget, during President Trump’s first term. He has repeatedly attempted to weaken protections for federal workers and disrupt agencies by shifting their operations across the country.

Reflecting on Russ Vought’s previous experience and statements, Sen. Warner summarized:

“I looked at what you said from just the management standpoint, and it seems like what you want to do is… how many federal workers can you get to quit? How many federal work offices can you get to relocate? And I got to tell ya… your words, ‘We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected because they are increasingly viewed as villains. We want to put them in trauma.’ I got to tell you, you want to be OMB Director and help oversee this workforce… and you want to put the workforce in trauma? Sir, that would be management malpractice.

“Let’s look at your record… You helped move the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) out… [as a result,] 170% increase in vacancies at the BLM. GAO, the folks that are supposed to be independent, said that move dramatically impaired its ability to serve the American people. Another failure, that some of us pointed out… you said… ‘Let’s move part of the Department of Agriculture out, two bureaus…’ that led to 40% and 60% reductions in effectiveness.”

Vought is an architect of Project 2025, a far-right blueprint for President Trump’s second term that details an expansive vision to slash and relocate key portions of the federal workforce. On Project 2025’s proposal to break up the Intelligence Community:

“So in your Project 2025, you put forward the idea that somehow breaking up the CIA and moving it around the country would make our nation more safe. Do you not understand, sir, that President Trump, by having the intelligence community close to him, has the ability to have from folks from NSA, CIA, Pentagon, FBI in this region?

“Your idea of let’s somehow… break up the intelligence community’s effectiveness… I would ask you, sir, can you show any evidence that somehow how we would make our nation safer if you put your political litmus test and this idea of bringing ‘trauma’ to the federal workforce by taking the intelligence community, which has been supported on a bipartisan basis year in and year out, and somehow breaking it up and spreading it hither and yon just for a political purpose. How does that make our nation safer?”

In closing, Sen. Warner said:

“I hope my colleagues will raise your completely irresponsible actions on Schedule F… But I urge you, sir, if you become in this position, think long and hard about the men and women of the national security and the intelligence community before you go… trying to score points by simply trying to break up an operation that actually functions better because of their close collaboration. And your comments about the federal workforce I find disqualifying.”

The Budget Committee will vote on Vought’s nomination in the coming weeks.

**********************************

Sen. Tim Kaine rips Vought about his comments about “traumatizing” federal workers…

VA Young Democrats Express Their “Great Disappointment’ in Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10)’s Vote on the Laken Riley Act, Urge Him to Reverse Course Immediately

By
lowkell
-
13

I strongly agree with this letter from the Virginia Young Democrats to Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10), expressing their “great disappointment” in Subramanyam’s “recent vote to support HR 29” (the “Laken Riley Act”), for the reasons outlined:

  • “…we have put our trust in you to do right by your constituents, many of whom would be directly affected and harmed by this bill. Voting for it would be a direct betrayal of that support and trust.”
  • “It is a key Democratic tenet to not persecute or judge anyone based on where they come from or what their immigration status is and to see one of our elected officials disregard our principles is a deep betrayal.”
  • “The Laken Riley Act exploits one person’s tragic death to put thousands of our family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Virginians in danger of unjust detention and deportation.”
  • “While we mourn the death of Laken Riley, we cannot allow this horrific act to falsely paint millions of innocent long-time residents, children, DREAMers and others as criminals.”
  • “Specifically, [the Laken Riley Act] would require the government to detain people who have not been convicted or even charged with a crime, potentially sweeping thousands into mandatory detention based solely on accusations with no due process. In America, you are innocent until proven guilty and this does not grant that same grace to immigrants.”
  • “HR 29 has no exceptions for children or DACA recipients. It has no exception for people whose alleged offense took place decades ago and in another country, and for which there may be a limited record. It will allow Virginia residents who are arrested for low-level misdemeanors like shoplifting diapers or candy to be held without bond for indefinite periods of time in detention centers, where conditions are often inhumane and it is difficult, if not impossible, to find legal assistance.”
  • “This will allow Attorneys General from certain states to cause chaos in the federal courts as the bill provides a blanket standing, regardless of whether a state has any interest whatsoever in the case or policy being challenged.”
  • “Our immigrant population is living in constant fear of what these next 4 years will bring. We ask you to look into your heart and ask yourself what if this was your family member, your friend, or your neighbor who was at risk for nothing but allegations alone. Would you say that they deserve it? Or would you fight to keep them in the place that they call home?”

Overall, I’ve got to say, Subramanyam has been unimpressive, to put it mildly (so far, at least) – and, so far at least, a MAJOR downgrade from former Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who was a SUPERB Congresswoman! – on a number of fronts, including his vote on this bill, as well as his apparently happy attendance of Trump’s inauguration. Hopefully, Subramanyam will turn things around quickly, as it’s only been a few weeks and maybe he’s still unsure of his footing? But if this continues, month after month, I’d just say that Subramanyam *barely* won the 2024 Democratic primary for this seat, even *with* then-Rep. Wexton’s endorsement, and that in 2026, there are certainly others who could challenge him for the nomination if he doesn’t shape up, fast.

Virginia Young Democrats Letter on Opposing HR 29 and Protecting Virginia Immigrants

January 21, 2025
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam
119th Congress
US Capitol
Washington, D.C.

The Virginia Young Democrats express their great disappointment to see your recent vote to support HR 29 and with a second vote scheduled for tomorrow, we urge you to reconsider your support. As some of your most loyal supporters and hardest working volunteers in your first election as Delegate, your successful run for State Senate, and your successful bid for Congress this last fall, we have put our trust in you to do right by your constituents, many of whom would be directly affected and harmed by this bill. Voting for it would be a direct betrayal of that support and trust. It is a key Democratic tenet to not persecute or judge anyone based on where they come from or what their immigration status is and to see one of our elected officials disregard our principles is a deep betrayal.

The Laken Riley Act exploits one person’s tragic death to put thousands of our family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Virginians in danger of unjust detention and deportation. While we mourn the death of Laken Riley, we cannot allow this horrific act to falsely paint millions of innocent long-time residents, children, DREAMers and others as criminals. This legislation facetiously expands the detention of people accused of non-violent offenses, without actually improving public safety while encouraging discriminatory and arbitrary overdetention. Specifically, it would require the government to detain people who have not been convicted or even charged with a crime, potentially sweeping thousands into mandatory detention based solely on accusations with no due process. In America, you are innocent until proven guilty and this does not grant that same grace to immigrants. 

This bill will not improve public safety, as it will waste law enforcement resources by focusing arrests and detention on people who even Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thinks are not a threat. Our local, state, and federal resources should not be spent on the mandatory, potentially multi-year detention of a mother accused of stealing diapers or a loaf of bread. Mandatory detention costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year to the enormous benefit of the private prison industry, an industry that you and your former colleagues in the General Assembly took enormous strides to reform during your time in the House of Delegates and State Senate. It will erode the public trust in our law enforcement institutions and create a dangerous environment where actual crimes go unreported. 

HR 29 has no exceptions for children or DACA recipients. It has no exception for people whose alleged offense took place decades ago and in another country, and for which there may be a limited record. It will allow Virginia residents who are arrested for low-level misdemeanors like shoplifting diapers or candy to be held without bond for indefinite periods of time in detention centers, where conditions are often inhumane and it is difficult, if not impossible, to find legal assistance.

This bill will also allow states to enact laws that target populations from specific countries and sue the Federal Government for not cooperating with them, even at the expense of other states that do not wish to do the same. This will allow Attorneys General from certain states to cause chaos in the federal courts as the bill provides a blanket standing, regardless of whether a state has any interest whatsoever in the case or policy being challenged. Without the ability to dismiss for lack of standing, the federal courts would immediately be drowning in immigration lawsuits.

The Virginia Young Democrats has had a long standing support for helping our undocumented population in our Commonwealth. We fought hard alongside our allied organizations for Virginia to provide DACA recipients with drivers’ licenses and in-state tuition and you, Congressman, were there with us. In your first session in the House, you voted yes on SB 34 in 2020 to give Driver privilege cards to undocumented immigrants. That same session you voted yes on HB 1547 to grant in-state tuition to anyone regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. And since then, you have always stepped up and represented all your constituents and Virginians, regardless of their citizenship, until voting yes for HR 29 on January 8th.

Congressman, we the undersigned, representing thousands of Democrats under the age of 36 in Virginia, are calling on your better judgment to join all of your fellow colleagues in the Virginia Democratic Delegation to the House of Representatives and Senator Tim Kaine to vote no on the final passage of this bill. Our immigrant population is living in constant fear of what these next 4 years will bring. We ask you to look into your heart and ask yourself what if this was your family member, your friend, or your neighbor who was at risk for nothing but allegations alone. Would you say that they deserve it? Or would you fight to keep them in the place that they call home? 

Vote No on HR 29.

Trump’s Plans to Screw Over Virginia’s Seniors: Gutting Social Security and Medicare

By
Blue Virginia
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0

From the DNC War Room:

Trump’s Plans to Screw Over Virginia’s Seniors: Gutting Social Security and Medicare
As Donald Trump enters his first week in office surrounding himself with billionaires at his inauguration and enriching himself on the backs of his supporters with a new cryptocurrency grift, he’s made his plans clear from the start: he will screw over Virginians at every turn in order to benefit himself and his billionaire friends.

It’s clear Donald Trump will screw over Virginians by doubling down on his Project 2025 agenda by cutting Social Security — despite 1,618,643 Virginians who have earned Social Security benefits. Trump attempted to cut essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid every year in his first term. And he’s already showing us he’ll screw over Virginians again: One of his first orders of business was rescinding President Biden’s executive order aimed at lowering prescription costs for our seniors. DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman released the following statement:

“Trump has a long and shameful history of threatening hard-earned benefits like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare — and with help from Project 2025 architect Russ Vought, he’ll do it again. Trump has already started screwing over Virginia, and he’ll cut Social Security if he gets the chance — threatening Virginia seniors’ pocketbooks while he continues to protect billionaires’ bottom lines. While Trump tries to scam Americans out of their hard-earned benefits, Democrats won’t stop fighting to protect access to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and every critical program hardworking Virginians rely on.”

Only hours after he was sworn in, Trump immediately rescinded President Biden’s executive order aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for people on Medicare or Medicaid. 

KFF Health News: “Hours Into Presidency, Trump Rescinds Attempts To Lower Prescription Costs, Rolls Back Some ACA Rules”

“Trump also halted some prescription cost-saving efforts for people on Medicare and Medicaid, which might stall momentum for Medicare drug pricing negotiations.”

With help from Vought, Trump proposed slashing Social Security in every single one of his first term budgets, and he’s called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” 

Vox: “Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.”

Trump’s FY18, FY19, FY20, and FY21 budgets each proposed billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security programs.

CNN: “In his book, Trump lamented big cuts the program would need without changes, and said he would consider privatization.

“‘The truth is undeniable, the workers of America have been forced to invest a sixth of our wages into a huge Ponzi scheme,’ Trump wrote.” 

Trump can’t hide from his shameful record of attacking Social Security — he’s repeatedly promised to threaten the pocketbooks of America’s seniors. 

Trump: “Oh we’ll be cutting [entitlements]”

CNN: “Trump suggests he’s open to cuts to Medicare and Social Security after attacking primary rivals over the issue”

Trump: “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.”

On Day One of his presidency, Trump took immediate action to install billionaire Elon Musk’s task force at the White House — setting up efforts to put hard-earned benefits like Social Security on the chopping block. 

CNBC: “DOGE’s Musk, Ramaswamy want Congress to pass huge spending cuts. That’s a tough sell”

New York Times: “Musk Wants to Slash $2 Trillion in Federal Spending. Is That Possible?”

“‘To eliminate a third of the government, you would have to dramatically eliminate full functions of the federal government,’ said Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute. ‘You would have to dramatically scale back programs like Social Security, Medicare and defense and veterans.’”

Trump’s returning OMB director Russ Vought, who is slated to soon be voted out of committee for Senate confirmation, repeatedly pushed cuts to Social Security in Trump’s first term — and will shape Trump’s agenda again. 

Common Dreams: “Trump’s Nomination of Project 2025 Architect Means Social Security, Medicare ‘Are At Risk’”

“President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, to lead the White House budget office was seen as further evidence of the threat the incoming administration poses to Social Security, Medicare, and other critical government programs.

“Vought, who currently heads the far-right think tank Center for Renewing America think tank, served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during Trump’s first term, and he’s set to return to the post after playing a central role in crafting the Project 2025 agenda that the Republican president-elect attempted to disavow on the campaign trail.”
###

Video: Fmr. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Calls Trump’s Pardons of 1/6/21 Insurrectionists “Heinous,” “Ludicrous,” a “Body Blow Against the American People”

By
lowkell
-
4

Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) was on the PBS NewsHour to discuss Trump’s pardon/commutation of the sentences of January 6 rioters, including ones that assaulted police. As Riggleman correctly notes, Trump pardoning these people was “heinous,” “ludicrous,” a “body blow against the American people,” something that “really shakes the foundations of everything we stand for as Americans.” Also, according to Riggleman, “[Trump’s] pardon actually showed that he thought he was responsible for it”; “it is not ‘back the blue,’ it is ‘screw the blue'” Etc. See below for video and a partial transcript of what former Rep. Riggleman had to say…

“It’s heinous. We have insurrectionists that were actually pardoned, and I think it is just ludicrous that that’s happening in the United States of America. I don’t think it’s just a body blow against the Department of Justice, I think it’s a body blow against the American people. And the fact is that the Republican Party can’t claim to run on law and order ever again. For me personally, knowing what happened this day, that these coup-like movements and these insurrectionists are being pardoned by the President of the United States, I think it rattles our allies also and it really shakes the foundations of everything we stand for as Americans.”

  • “I think the real-world impact is these individuals are back in their communities where they can organize…run for office…presented with medals, that they actually get positions within certain government offices, maybe on the staffs of Congressional representatives who support…this kind of insanity…I think that is the real-world implications. And also if you look at U.S. Capitol police and those that were attacked that day, it is really this baseline disrespect against law enforcement. It is not ‘back to blue,’ it is ‘screw the blue’. I think that is what you are seeing from the GOP today. And for me, how they are going to recruit the type of people they need when they see there is nobody backing them up, especially when they were trying to protect the Capitol, and our most, my goodness, our most enshrined and valuable institutions that were attacked that day by really ignorant, violent insurrectionists.”
  • “I had no idea [I was going to get a pardon]…I was never asked if I wanted to pardon. If I have asked — if they would have asked me, I would have said no. It just really chafes me that I have to have a preemptive pardon and sort of be in the same boat as a bunch of violent mouth breathers, like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers that broke the law and went to jail – and we have to worry about political retribution for doing our duty. And as somebody who has served in the U.S. military, took the oath there…took the oath as a United States congressman, as a J6 committee member, it really does make you feel like a stranger in your own country when you have to worry about a preemptive pardon on actually trying to protect our institutions. And I would do it all over again.”
  • “I think when you have preemptive pardons of people who try to uphold the law, people who were actually doing their work under the United States Congress resolution. And when you have pardons of violent, superstition-driven fantasists who would rather attack the Capitol than have the rational ability to tell fantasy from fiction, or fantasy from fact, those who literally believe the Lord of the Rings is a documentary, I think that is the difference here. It is really hard to even compare the preemptive pardons from Biden for January 6 committee members and  congressional members to pardons of violent criminals that have no ability to discern fact from fiction. I think it should absolutely  frighten the American people.”
  • “…[Trump’s] pardon actually showed that he thought he was responsible for it. And I think that is something we can look at. Obviously, he didn’t do it for any noble reason. But he was ultimately responsible for what happened on January 6. As far as the foot soldiers, are we saying that people are of sound mind actually think that Qanon is a real thing, if you think about what happened that day, that was purely based on conspiracy theories. Every single person that day, whether they attacked the Capitol or not, believed in something that was false. They believed in this sort of cultlike thing that the election was stolen, whether it was through German servers or through a broken algorithm, or space satellites, or NSA or CIA or white vans with ballots, all the ludicrous, ridiculous things that was pushed into the ecosystem by Trump and his minions. So yeah, it should scare the hell out of people that you have somebody up there that pardoned a bunch of violent people, where he is saying, yeah, it was me, I’m the one who told them to do it. So for me, I don’t care how other people react in Washington, D.C., or care how people react outside of Washington, D.C. What I care about is truth, what I care about is fighting corruption. What we see in the Republican Party is such a deep rot that I don’t know if you can actually take it out. So for me, I would rather be alone telling the truth than with the many following a lie.”
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