Ben Cardin actually said...

"If it is true that the administration politicized this report, there are questions about why they chose to significantly diminish a tool that has been effective in fighting slavery around the world."

"I did not interpret from the President's remarks that he is challenging any of our independent judgments on this."

"I want to underscore a point that Senator Corker and I, working with our leadership, encouraged our leadership to provide for the debate on the floor of the United States Senate that we think is befit..."

"How we make the tough calls matters. The integrity of the TIP Report matters for our country's credibility when we speak up for the powerless and the oppressed."