On the recordDecember 20, 2018
During this holiday season, I am baffled as to why and how we have gotten here to this place. In the last 24 hours, a tweet went out from the White House that would end the Syrian war, to the opposition of the national security team--General Mattis, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and others who thought that a tweet ending the war was never heard of in the history of the United States. In the course of these 24 hours, we are in the midst of a political collapse, a catastrophic collapse, and a shutting down of the government. Included in the shutting down of the government will be the funding for the State Department and Homeland Security. It is clear that we are at a constitutional crisis, one that requires the attentiveness of this body, and to recognize the leaving and retiring of General Mattis, who has indicated: Maybe you can have a Secretary of Defense that fits your thinking. What thinking? And then to hear from North Korea: Maybe you can remove the troops off of our borders. This is a time for us to speak up, to protect the American people, and not a time to shut the government down. I hope the President is listening. ____________________
