When a party can’t defend its complicity with shameful actions, it hides behind silence
May 7, 2025
Last week, Judiciary Republicans voted down 30 amendments aimed at restoring basic civil liberties and decency to their $81 billion budget bill, including one to stop ICE from deporting American kids with cancer.
Not one Republican spoke up to defend their vote. In fact, the Republicans sat in silence for 9 hours.
The members of the minority have
advanced a whole series of amendments on
the weightiest of topics including due
process and uh birthright citizenship
and freedom of speech and so on. We've
obviously gotten the silent treatment
today. I don't know what Chairman Jordan
said to all of you to compel you to say
we're just get this gag order. You're
not allowed to talk for 24 hours. I mean
it is insanity.
Not a
single
Republican on this committee has spoken
on any amendment and they have
uniformly and unanimously voted down
every single amendment including as you
mentioned deporting US citizens.
Apparently that is okay.
It'd be one thing if they were listening
to all of these eloquent evidence-based
speeches on this side and the voting
with us, but our friends have listened
to all of them and just voted against us
without uttering a
peep. Your bill will deport more kids
who are American citizens with cancer.
The silence is deafening. Raise your
hand if you do not think children with
cancer who are American citizens should
be deported.
None.
Looks like it's all the Democrats and
none of the Republicans. The American
people need to really pay attention to
what's happening here. is an inability
of our Republican colleagues to take
this seriously and to care about the
welfare, the protection, and the safety
of the Justice Department, your public
safety, and what's going to happen in
this country if we do not stand and
defend democracy, civil liberties, and
defend Two.