Ben Cardin actually said...

"You can always justify a decision."

"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..."

"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."