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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in reintroducing the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act, legislation created to strengthen protections for part-time workers and allow them to better balance their work schedules with personal and family needs. The legislation will address one of the primary issues that hourly workers face – work schedules that do not provide as many hours as they need to support their families – and provide additional protections and benefits for part-time workers.

“Part-time workers across the country deserve better. More than one in five American workers are part-time and they face volatile work hours, unstable incomes, and low wages,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “I reintroduced the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act with my colleagues Representative DeLauro and Senator Warren to ensure equitable workplace treatment and conditions for part-time workers. This legislation requires employers to treat part-time and full-time employees impartially and gives part-time workers access to stable hours and medical leave. We must improve the quality of part-time work for millions of families across the country.”

“Part-time workers are crucial to the strength of our economy,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “Yet, far too often, these workers are at a disadvantage when it comes to the stability, opportunity, and benefits that are afforded to full-time employees. The Part Time Workers Bill of Rights Act provides part-time workers with the peace of mind they deserve by ensuring they have access to additional hours and receive benefits like Family and Medical Leave and retirement plans, which we know are crucial to the well-being of our workers and their families. I am glad to partner with Congresswoman Schakowsky and Senator Warren on this issue.”

“Every worker deserves a chance at providing for themselves and their families, but greedy giant corporations are using loopholes to exploit part-time workers instead,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “I’m fighting hard to pass the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights and ensure companies put their workers over profits.”

Corporations often attempt to avoid providing workers benefits and higher wages by giving part-time workers fewer hours than they want and spreading work among many part-time employees rather than hiring full-time employees.

This month, Starbucks agreed to pay $38.9 million to settle claims it violated New York law by failing to provide regular schedules to employees, cutting workers’ scheduled hours without their consent, and giving shifts to new hires first instead of to existing employees. 

The Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act would:

• Require employers to offer available hours to current, available, qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees or subcontractors. The legislation requires employers with more than 15 workers to compensate existing employees if they hire new employees instead of assigning new work to available, qualified, existing employees. This provision is based on successful access to hours ordinances in cities across the country, including those in Chicago, Emeryville, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.
• Make more part-time employees eligible for family and medical leave. The legislation guarantees any employee who has worked for their employer for at least a year access to federal leave protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Allow part-time workers to participate in their employers’ pension plans. The legislation amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to give part-time workers who have worked at least 500 hours for two consecutive years access to retirement plans if they are offered by their employers to full-time workers.

The Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act is supported by: 9to5, A Better Balance, Action for Children, AFL-CIO, African American Health Alliance, All-Options, American Association of University Women, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, BreastfeedLA, Catch Fire Movement, CDF, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Center for Popular Democracy, CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Chicago Foundation for Women, Child Care Aware of America, Citizen Action of New York, Coalition for Social Justice, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Coalition on Human Needs, Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF), Economic Policy Institute, Equal Rights Advocates, Every Texan, Faith in Public Life, Family Values @ Work, Healthy Nourishment,  Jobs With Justice, Justice for Migrant Women, Kentucky Equal Justice Center, Legal Aid at Work, Legal Momentum, The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, MANA – A National Latina Organization, MomsRising, National Black Worker Center, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, National Council of Jewish Women, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Network of Jewish Human, Service Agencies, North Carolina Justice Center, Oxfam America, Poligon Education Fund, Public Justice Center, ROC United, Service Employees International Union, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Start Early, Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, TakeAction Minnesota, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, United for Respect, We All Rise, Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest PA, Women Employed, Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, Women’s Law Project, Women’s Media Center, Workplace Fairness, YWCA of the University of Illinois, YWCA USA, ZERO TO THREE.

The legislators also introduced the Schedules That Work Act, complementary legislation to help ensure that low-wage employees have more certainty about their work schedules and income. The Schedules That Work Act protects workers who ask for schedule changes from retaliation and requires employers to consider their requests. For retail, food service, and cleaning occupations, it requires employers to provide schedules two weeks in advance. The legislation also provides compensation to these employees when their schedules change abruptly or they are assigned to particularly difficult shifts, including split shifts and call-in shifts.

A recent Berkely study found that unpredictable schedules – which often mean lack of access to enough working hours – are associated with financial insecurity, housing insecurity, high stress, poor health outcomes, and, for parents, less time spent with children, which, in turn, leads to worse outcomes for children. One study found that 65% of respondents with part-time jobs had dealt with “at least one serious material hardship” in the past year. Workers facing these challenges are disproportionately women and workers of color as exposure to schedule instability is 16% higher among workers of color compared to white workers.

Laws to help workers access more work hours have already been passed as part of fair workweek laws across the country, including in Chicago, Emeryville, California; New York City; Philadelphia; San Francisco; San Jose; Seattle; and SeaTac, Washington.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

AURORA — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), a former paratrooper and Army Ranger who serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s military action in Venezuela:

“After decades of failed conflicts, trillions of  taxpayer dollars spent, and thousands of lives lost, Americans are struggling to get by and are exhausted by endless wars.

“It’s true that Maduro is a brutal dictator. It’s also  true that not every problem is ours to fix. But now this one is.

“The Trump Administration repeatedly lied to Congress  and the American people about Venezuela. Over and over, officials testified  that this was not about regime change.

“Congress needs an immediate briefing on the Trump  Administration’s strategy for the day after. Donald Trump has already done  incalculable damage to America’s reputation. We have to prevent this from  spiraling into another nation-building disaster.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ted Lieu (33 District of California)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) released the following statement to honor the five-year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection:

“Today marks five years since Donald Trump incited the deadly attack on our Capitol and our democracy. For weeks leading up to January 6, 2021, Trump fueled lies about the election he lost – lies that culminated in a violent mob scaling walls, smashing windows, and brutally assaulting law enforcement officers in an attempt to overturn the will of the American people.

“January 6 was one of the most shameful days in our nation’s history, and no amount of revisionism or whitewashing by Trump or his allies in Congress will ever change that. Trump continues to minimize the violence, lie about what happened, and he even pardoned rioters who assaulted police officers and desecrated our Capitol. Unlike Trump and Republicans who refuse to recognize the law enforcement officers on that day, many of whom still live with the physical and emotional scars from the attack, I want to sincerely thank them for their bravery.

“On January 6, I was evacuated from my office and sheltered with my friend and then-colleague, Congressman David Cicilline, as we watched the horrific events of that day unfold in real time. In the immediate aftermath, David and I – along with Representative Jamie Raskin – drafted the single article of impeachment charging Donald Trump with incitement of insurrection. That article passed the House, and I later served as an Impeachment Manager during the Senate trial where 57 Senators voted to convict on a bipartisan basis.

“It was a solemn responsibility to help lead the effort to hold Donald Trump accountable for his actions. While not enough Senate Republicans summoned the courage to convict, our work ensured that the truth was placed permanently in the historical record. No pardon, no lie, and no act of political cowardice can erase what happened on that dark day.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (USVI)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Last night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MS NOW’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell where he pointed out how House Democrats are fighting for everyday Americans, while Donald Trump and sycophantic House Republicans continue to focus on schemes that reward the wealthy, the well off and the well connected.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Leading off our discussion tonight is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Thank you very much for joining us, Mr. Leader, really appreciate it. You were one who got to be in the briefing today to find out what this is really all about. What did you learn from Marco Rubio and the other members of the Cabinet who were in that briefing?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think many of us on the Democratic side certainly left with more questions than answers. We pressed Secretary Rubio and others about the plan moving forward and what exactly Donald Trump meant when he said that we, meaning the Trump administration, presumably, were running Venezuela, when what’s clear is that Donald Trump and the administration can’t even run the United States of America and keep the promises that they made to American people, including promising to lower the high cost of living on day one, when we know that’s been a disaster. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up. Life is more expensive under Donald Trump and his policies and his Trump tariffs. Now, the American people, we made clear, are not interested in seeing American boots on the ground, our men and women in uniform put in harm’s way as part of whatever scheme Donald Trump and his administration are executing relative to Venezuela or any other place. And so, one of the things that we’re going to have to do, Lawrence, here in the Congress, is to act immediately to make clear that no further military action can take place without explicit congressional approval.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: So Marco Rubio has said publicly that he thought this is the kind of operation where you just can’t give—you just can’t follow the rules. You just can’t give any prior notice, no matter how secretly, to anyone in Congress.

LEADER JEFFRIES: We pressed them on that, and, in fact, the administration, though they’ve said that their concern is that if they communicate anything to Congress, even a subset of congressional leaders, the problem is that information is going to leak. But I explicitly asked them to give us a single example of them communicating with Members of the Gang of Eight or other high-level Members of congressional leadership and that information then becoming public, and the response was crickets, Lawrence. They had no answer because there’s no example of it. And we’re going to continue to make the case, of course, that the Constitution is not a mere inconvenience in the United States of America. It needs to be followed. And Congress explicitly was given the sole authority to declare war and, therefore, to authorize acts of military aggression that have all of the indicia of an act of war.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: What did you hear from Marco Rubio or anyone else from the administration in that briefing that they have not said publicly?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, you know, we’re not at liberty, of course, to reveal many of the details that were discussed because it was a highly classified briefing. But suffice is to say that many of us, I don’t think, were persuaded that the justification that has been articulated publicly by the administration, that this was a law enforcement operation that had anything to do with keeping the American people safe. We weren’t persuaded by that argument because they can’t explain in clear terms how this helps the national security of the American people in any way, shape or form. You broke down the indictment. I know others are going to talk about it. This is the same administration that, of course, just pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former President of Honduras, who’s one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world, who was sentenced after being found guilty of narco-trafficking of epic proportions, flooding the country with more than 400 tons of cocaine, then sentenced to 45 years of hard time in a federal prison. Donald Trump pardons him just a few weeks ago, and they now want the country to believe that this unprecedented military action in Venezuela is about narco-trafficking. Of course it’s not. It does appear to be about oil, and I can tell you that there was a lot of conversation, we’ve heard this publicly as well, about oil and American access to that oil and being able to control it, but still nothing that was discussed as it relates to how the life of everyday Americans is going to be made any better.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: What—did you come out of it with an understanding of what the administration’s next step is in Venezuela?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we pressed the administration on this very point, and there’s a lack of clarity as it relates to the situation. Of course, the Chavez regime remains in place, in many ways. And the Maduro folks who’ve taken over over the last several years, they remain in place, including the Vice President, who’s now apparently at least the titular head of the regime at this moment, and how that makes life better for the Venezuelan people is unclear. The one thing that we’ll continue to point out is that the future of Venezuela should be determined by the people of Venezuela, not by Stephen Miller, God forbid, or any other member of the Trump administration, notwithstanding what Donald Trump is talking about. But there’s no real plan that we’ve heard from the Trump administration as to how to ensure that the Venezuelan people will actually get self-determination, the self-determination that they certainly deserve.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Was there any form of confusion between, say, the Defense Secretary, the Secretary of State, CIA Director, people in the room? Was there an indication that they, as a group, didn’t know what was happening next?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, you know, most of the jurisdiction, in terms of what comes next does fall within the portfolio of the Secretary of State. And so, when we pressed him repeatedly on what comes next, there was just a lack of clarity because, of course, there’s a great deal of uncertainty, there’s chaos that could be unleashed in Venezuela. There are competing forces who are battling for power in the vacuum that was left as a result of, you know, Maduro now being apprehended. And look, Maduro’s a bad guy, and he oppressed the Venezuelan people. He was not legitimately elected. That election in 2024, we know, was stolen. But when it comes to actually having a plan to put the people of Venezuela in the best possible position moving forward, it doesn’t exist, and that’s problematic. And that’s why, when you take these type of military actions, but you’re not thinking through what comes next, we’ve seen this turn into a disaster. That certainly was the case in Iraq, and the American people don’t want to see that type of foreign policy disaster happen ever again.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Donald Trump has succeeded in pushing aside stories he really doesn’t want covered, at least temporarily. Epstein files, Jack Smith’s testimony and January 6th anniversary tomorrow, less than a year after Donald Trump pardoned everyone who attacked you at the Capitol that day.

LEADER JEFFRIES: That’s exactly right. And the irony is that Donald Trump promises to lower costs on day one, but instead, on day one of his presidency, he pardons hundreds of violent felons who brutally assaulted the Capitol, beat police officers, seriously injured more than 140 brave law enforcement men and women. Some subsequently lost their lives. Many were injured in ways both physically and psychologically in terms of damage that is now permanent, and yet Donald Trump pardons these individuals and then unleashes them to go back to communities all across the country, where many of them have committed violent crimes and have reoffended. And we’ve got to make sure that that story is told, and we also have to make that there’s value to free and fair elections in the United States of America. There’s value to the peaceful transfer of power. There’s value to ensuring that the rule of law remains central to who we are as a country. All of those things were threatened, of course, by what took place five years ago on January 6, which is why it’s important that we never forget and that we learn the lessons of January 6, so that we never allow it to happen again.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Leader Jeffries, I hope you can join us on this program on this exact date a year from now, because you may be Speaker of the House by that time, one year from now. Just one year from now. As we sit here in January drowning in Trumpian abuse of power and this swirl of stories, what do you think will be the issue in the first week of November when voters are deciding who will run the House of Representatives next year.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think central to what the American people decide is going to be who’s actually committed to making their life better. That’s our fight as Democrats. We want to lower the high cost of living. We want to make life more affordable. We want to fix our broken healthcare system. And, of course, we want to clean up corruption so we can deliver a country that actually works for working class Americans. And I think the failure of the Trump administration has been they’re focused on so many other things, most recently, what took place in Venezuela, but not focused on improving the quality of life of everyday Americans because they’d rather spend their time trying to engage in this scheme or that scheme to subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless and reward their billionaire donors, which is exactly what they did in their One Big Ugly Bill while cutting Medicaid by the largest amount in American history and ripping healthcare away from more than 14 million Americans. The whole thing has been a failure. The American people are rejecting Republican extremism, and they’re embracing the Democratic vision for making their life better and dealing with the affordability crisis that exists here in our great country.

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Thank you in advance for joining as one year from tonight and many times in between. Thank you very much.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you so much.

Full interview can be watched here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adam Smith (9th District of Washington)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s announcement regarding U.S. military activities in Venezuela.

“President Trump’s announcement this morning that U.S. forces carried out ‘a large-scale strike against Venezuela’ and have captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife has introduced more chaos and instability into Venezuela. It appears the Trump Administration gave no consideration or plan for what comes next in terms of a functioning government in Venezuela. This vacuum threatens to destabilize South America, will likely have no impact on the drug cartels, and could make the situation worse.

“For weeks, Secretary Rubio and the administration claimed that U.S. activities in the region were not aimed at regime change in Venezuela. Today’s military action, taken without consultation with or authorization from Congress, shows that Secretary Rubio misled the Congress and the American people. The administration must immediately and truthfully brief Congress on its plans in the region and Congress, specifically the Republican majority, must stop abdicating its responsibility.

“I have grave concerns about the impact that today’s actions will have on international relations and the United States’ standing in the world. It appears to violate the very international laws and norms that have protected the United States and our partners and allies for more than 80 years. Based on the administration’s National Security Strategy, I am deeply concerned that this may be an indication of more to come as the administration seeks to dominate the Western Hemisphere.

“Today’s actions will not make Americans safer and do nothing to address the everyday concerns regarding the rising cost of health care, housing, groceries, and other critical issues impacting affordability and the quality of life here at home. These actions run counter to everything Trump campaigned on and rather than ending conflicts the president has chosen to drag the U.S. into further foreign wars.”

https://democrats-armedservices.house.gov/2026/1/smith-statement-on-regime-change-strike-in-venezuela 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21)

Today, Representative Lois Frankel (FL-22) released a memo updating the community on her recent meeting with the U.S. Secret Service and her ongoing efforts with both the Secret Service and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address the 24/7 flight restrictions surrounding Mar-a-Lago. The memo explains how the restrictions were implemented and details their significant impact on nearby neighborhoods, including increased noise and air pollution, and concerns about safety, property values, and quality of life.

“Keeping the President and our country safe is essential, and our community wants security measures that are fair, reasonable, and minimize harm to the tens of thousands of people affected,” said Rep. Frankel. 

While some portions of the briefing remain classified, Rep. Frankel outlines next steps in the memo, including continued engagement with the Secret Service, the FAA, airport leadership, and affected communities. The full memo to the community is included below.

For questions or to share concerns related to the flight restrictions, residents are encouraged to contact Rep. Frankel’s office through her website.

MEMO TO THE COMMUNITY

From: Congresswoman Frankel
Re: Update on Mar-a-Lago Airspace Restrictions
Date: January 06, 2026

Recently, I met in a classified setting with five members of the U.S. Secret Service to discuss the ongoing 24/7 flight restrictions over Mar-a-Lago and the significant impact on surrounding neighborhoods. While some portions of the briefing remain classified, most of our discussion was not, and I want to share what I can with you directly.

My goal is to facilitate a solution that keeps the President and our country safe, using flight restrictions that impact the least number of people in the safest, fairest way possible. 

Background: On October 20, at the request of the Secret Service, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a one-nautical mile no-fly zone around Mar-a-Lago, regardless of whether or not President Trump is in Florida. Under these new restrictions, aircraft taking off and landing at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) must fly over neighborhoods northeast of the airport instead of a previous more direct route out of PBI that had been established after an extensive environmental review. When the President is at Mar-a-Lago, the FAA implements regular procedures for when the President travels, which requires varying levels of restrictions up to 30 nautical miles around PBI. 

Impact of New Restrictions: The previous flight paths impacted about 2,200 homes and 5,000 people. The new route, northeast of the airport, impacts over 11,000 homes and 21,000 residents and at least five schools and many businesses. Planes are taking off and landing as frequently as every 90 seconds.  

In the two months since these restrictions were put in place, the Palm Beach County Department of Airports has received hundreds of complaints. Community concerns include increased noise and air pollution, lower property values, and potential flight delays.

Key Takeaways From the Meeting with the Secret Service:

1. The Secret Service has requested 24/7 flight restrictions for two of President Trump’s properties: Mar-a-Lago (Palm Beach, FL) and Trump Tower (New York, NY). These residences are the President’s formal “non-governmental residences” which require them to be fully secured by the Secret Service at all times. No such request for 24/7 flight restrictions has been made for Bedminster, NJ, or any other residence, which are not the President’s designated non-governmental residences. In the past, the Palm Beach County restrictions were temporary and tied to the President’s presence at Mar-a-Lago.

2. The FAA Makes the Final Determination: The Secret Service makes security requests to the FAA, which has the authority to determine the exact airspace restrictions to meet the requests.

In this situation, the FAA imposed a 1-nautical-mile, 24/7 no-fly zone around Mar-a-Lago. I have formally requested a meeting with the FAA to address these decisions and advocate for solutions that reduce the community impact.

3. I Raised the Community Impact — Loud and Clear: I expressed to the Secret Service that the community understands that security is essential for the President, but the community does not understand why the new restrictions must be in place when the President is not in Palm Beach County.

I told the Secret Service that community complaints include increased noise and air pollution affecting quality of life, lowering of property values, potential flight safety issues, and delays.

4. I Requested Further Community Engagement: While they did not commit to specific changes, the Secret Service expressed openness to further engagement with:

• Local elected officials
• County and airport leadership
• Community groups
• Concerned residents
• Other affected parties

This is an important step toward transparency and ensuring community concerns are part of the federal decision-making process.

Next Steps:

• I am pursuing a direct meeting with the FAA and PBI staff to discuss the possibility of alternate or scaled-back restrictions.
• I am requesting another classified briefing with the Secret Service to get more details of the reasons that have led to severe flight path restrictions. 
• I am pursuing a meeting among the Secret Service, FAA, and community and local officials. 
• I will keep the community updated as new information becomes available.

If you have questions or concerns you want raised with federal agencies, please contact my office through my website. I am committed to ensuring your safety, your quality of life, and your peace of mind remain central to these discussions.

Congresswoman Lois Frankel

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32) issued the following statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the January 6th attack on our democracy:

“Five years ago today, our democracy was tested. On January 6th, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to overturn a free and fair election. Law enforcement officers were injured, lives were lost, and the peaceful transfer of power was put at risk.

We must never minimize what happened or allow it to be repeated.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, on the five-year anniversary of January 6, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered remarks setting the record straight about the Trump-incited January 6 insurrection:

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you all for your presence here today on this solemn anniversary. Five years ago today, a violent mob incited by Donald Trump attacked the Capitol as part of a concerted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and halt the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history. This bloodthirsty, treacherous mob brutally assaulted police officers and seriously injured more than 140 brave men and women of law enforcement. Many have suffered lasting physical and psychological damage. Several tragically lost their lives. Because of the extraordinary bravery of the U.S. Capitol Police, other law enforcement officials and the resolve of the Congress to return that night, this unprecedented attack on our country and on our democracy failed.

Over the last five years, instead of holding those responsible for the attack accountable, Donald Trump and far-right extremists in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the horrific events of January 6. We will not let that happen. On the first day in office of his second term, instead of fulfilling his promise to lower the high cost of living on day one, Donald Trump pardoned hundreds of violent felons who brutally beat police officers while storming the United States Capitol. The criminals and thugs that Donald Trump pardoned have flooded communities across the country, unleashing violence and mayhem.

The crimes committed by those rioters before and after the violent insurrection include child sexual assault, production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, rape, conspiracy to murder FBI agents, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, reckless homicide, driving under the influence causing death, illegal possession of firearms, domestic violence by strangulation, burglary, vandalism, grand theft, stalking, violation of protection orders, threatening public officials and drug trafficking. It’s been a Trump-inspired crime spree.

Why won’t Republicans in Congress condemn this dangerous behavior, an ongoing threat to public safety? They refuse to serve as a check and balance on an increasingly out-of-control executive branch, preferring to be nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. The January 6 violent attack on the Capitol that took place five years ago today was shameful then, it is shameful now and it will be shameful always and forever.

We must continue to learn from what happened on January 6 in order to make sure that it never happens again. We must protect our free and fair elections. We must protect the peaceful transfer of power. We must protect the preeminence of the rule of law. And we must protect the eternal commitment to a democratic America which remains the last, best hope on Earth. 

Ongoing hearing can be viewed here.

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