Political Quotes

“Mr. President, just a few minutes ago, my Republican colleagues voted down the National Security and Border Act. In doing so, they essentially said no to supporting Israel, no to supporting Ukraine, no to supporting Taiwan, no to humanitarian assistance, which is absolutely critical, no to rebuilding our defense industrial base, no to border security funding, and no to combating fentanyl. These items are not the partisan demands of any one party; they are bipartisan priorities and necessities. They are the fulfillment of our commitments to our allies and to our national security. I believe the majority of our Republican colleagues do believe this, but some may see this as leverage--as one of my colleagues put it in a discussion, leverage for extreme immigration legislation that they don't at the moment have the votes to pass. In delaying the much needed assistance that I indicated, my Republican colleagues are indirectly, directly, or however you want to put it, giving too many opportunities or at least ideas to people like Putin and Chinese communists and others who are engaged in trying to undermine democracy throughout the world. Speaking for myself, I hope that what we can do is begin a serious debate now--not on the one issue that I listed but on all those issues--and come to a serious, principled compromise so that we can move forward together.…”