Angus King: “we all began our careers here with the following words: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the…”

“we all began our careers here with the following words: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. When each of us arrived here in the Senate, we took this oath to support and defend the Constitution, as it says, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I think it is interesting that the Framers could see that there might be domestic enemies to the Constitution. Our oath was not to the Republican Party, not to the Democratic Party, not to Joe Biden, not to Donald Trump, but our oath was to defend the Constitution, and right now--right now, literally at this moment--that Constitution is under the most direct and consequential assault in our Nation's history--an assault not on a particular provision but on the essential structure of the document itself. It is hard to grasp what is happening because of all the events that are swirling around us over the last several weeks. It is happening so fast, coming from so many different quarters and so many different actors, it is hard to get a picture of what is really happening fundamentally. But this is an assault, and how we respond to it will define our life's work, our place in history, and the future of our country. None of us will ever face a greater challenge.…”