- 4 days ago
Senate Democratic leaders hold their weekly press briefing.
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00:30We're not only joined by Senator Padilla, Amy Klobuchar, and Ron Wyden,
00:55but we're joined by his family who watched his amazing speech in the gallery.
01:01We have Angela, his wife, and Roman, one of his kids.
01:05So we're proud to have them here with us.
01:07Our whole caucus, I just have to say, our whole caucus was completely moved
01:12by Alex, what he said on the floor, and then what he said to us privately in the room there.
01:23And we had a great discussion, and I've got to find my remarks.
01:27You can just wing it.
01:28No, I don't know where they are.
01:33I'll read Alex's, but not as eloquently.
01:36Hey, my staff, I don't have my speech.
01:42You know what we're going to do?
01:43It's not in the folder.
01:49There is a folder, but it's empty.
01:51So you know what I'm going to do?
01:52I'm going to call on Alex first, and then I should do that anyway, and then I'll go after him.
01:58You're right.
02:00It's out there.
02:01Alex.
02:02Alex.
02:02Thank you, Leader Schumer.
02:08Of course, I want to thank not just my colleagues, but most importantly, my wife, my sons,
02:15for their love, their support, always, but particularly this last week, which has been so tough for so many.
02:24Thank you all for being here, for listening.
02:29I'm hoping that you all saw and heard my remarks on the floor just a little while ago,
02:35and I do thank so many of my colleagues that took time out of their busy schedules to be there, to listen, and to support.
02:44Now, the first, I won't repeat the entire speech, but I do think there's a couple things worth emphasizing,
02:50a couple things worth calling out, beginning with the fact that we are on record as a United Senate Democratic Caucus.
02:58Calling for President Trump to withdraw the military from the city of Los Angeles.
03:07We cannot and will not stand by while this administration attempts to militarize our cities
03:15and to ignore the laws passed by this Congress.
03:20As I mentioned during my floor speech, today, the focus is Los Angeles,
03:27but the administration has laid the groundwork to try to do this in any city, in any state in the country,
03:35and that's just wrong.
03:38Also, what happened to me last week was really not about me.
03:47If this is how the administration responds to a United States senator
03:51who simply wants to ask a question as part of our oversight responsibility as Congress,
03:59then imagine what they are capable of doing and what they are doing to people all across the country right now
04:07when cameras are not rolling.
04:09I'm speaking up because this is about every single American who cherishes our Constitution,
04:18our freedoms, and our rights.
04:21Federalizing California's National Guard and bypassing the governor's authority
04:26should be a wake-up call to everybody.
04:29As I said, it's happening in California today, but it can happen in any state tomorrow.
04:41Now, on Friday, I did have a small glimmer of hope because I heard an announcement by the administration
04:47that the president ordered the Department of Homeland Security to kind of pull back
04:52from aggressive enforcement actions in hotels, in restaurants, and in agricultural fields.
05:00I thought maybe that was a baby step in the right direction.
05:04But even before they reversed that directive yesterday, more chaos, more confusion,
05:10there was also that announcement that bears highlighting.
05:15Yesterday morning, we saw that Trump, via social media, has said,
05:21oh, no, we are doubling down on our targeting of big blue cities.
05:28It's a blatant partisan attack and nothing less.
05:34We all have a responsibility to speak out.
05:36That was my appeal to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
05:40It doesn't matter if you're a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent.
05:43We all have a responsibility to speak out and push back before it is too late.
05:56You all saw what happened when I had the audacity to ask a question.
06:01And despite that, I will continue to speak up because I will not and we cannot give in
06:09to the overreach of this administration.
06:13Do you want to answer a question, too, before we start?
06:15No?
06:16I'll wait.
06:17Alex will wait around for a few questions that you, I'm sure, have.
06:21But I just have to say, I hope anyone here who didn't watch his speech watches it.
06:29It has all kinds of things that I didn't see reported in the media until I heard him say it.
06:35It was powerful.
06:36It was strong.
06:38It was not at all arrogant or angry.
06:41But it was basically a strong plea for America to regain the gyroscope of democracy,
06:50which has led us forward for so many years.
06:54And we're now, we're losing it.
06:56I heard in the speech, what did Noam say?
06:59She brought in troops to, what was the word?
07:02To liberate.
07:03To liberate Los Angeles.
07:05What is going on here?
07:07I had not seen that in the media.
07:09So, please watch that speech.
07:14It was really powerful.
07:16But it's a wake-up call to all Americans, Democrat and Republican.
07:19And I was glad to see some of my Republicans stayed and listened to the speech about our democracy.
07:27Okay.
07:29And let me just say something a little bit about what happened in our Mansfield Room briefing
07:35that Senator Thune and I were part of.
07:37First, I want to be really clear about the Capitol Police.
07:41They've always been the silent heroes behind the scenes keeping our members safe.
07:47It's no secret.
07:49The country saw that on January the 6th.
07:52And in the footage after.
07:53But after the awful assassinations this weekend, there's real concern, not just here in the Capitol,
08:02but with folks across the country, about the safety of elected officials.
08:07And in that meeting and in our lunch, many of our colleagues got up and told how they had been under real duress
08:13in terms of being threatened in one way or another, one way or another.
08:19And we need a full investigation of who's making those threats and to stop it.
08:24And not just stop it, to make sure the whole force of the law is used against them
08:32because almost all of these were what was done was criminal in my judgment.
08:37So, but in any case, public servants and ordinary citizens should not have to fear their lives
08:47simply for doing their jobs.
08:49We believe we must take immediate steps to ensure the safety of members,
08:54and that includes sending significant additional funding and resources to the Capitol Police.
09:02Inside that room, there were a good number of Republicans who were nodding their heads
09:06and some who spoke out in favor of it.
09:08So, we hope, believe, and sort of demand that it be bipartisan.
09:15Look at the administration.
09:17They're doing the opposite.
09:19USA Today reported that as lone actor attacks are on the rise,
09:24Trump cuts the program aimed at spotting them.
09:29The program called AIM, the program aimed at spotting them,
09:33is a program to spot, it's called AIM,
09:37lone actor violent domestic extremists.
09:41They were taken out of that program and put in other roles.
09:45And since Trump took office, the administration has sunk
09:51the program that goes after people like this
09:55to 10 people, led by a 22-year-old graduate
10:00with no law enforcement experience.
10:03They should change that immediately.
10:05It's just incredible.
10:06With everything going on, they're just cutting, cutting, cutting.
10:10Right now, we need to give our law enforcement more resources
10:14to prevent horrific acts, not less, as the Trump administration is doing.
10:19But I want to be clear about something.
10:21The dangerous environment isn't spontaneous.
10:24It's being stoked, often deliberately,
10:27by reckless rhetoric coming from the most powerful voices in the country.
10:35It's the responsibility of leaders, especially the president,
10:39to not just unequivocally condemn hatred,
10:41but to stop the violence in aggressive language
10:44used against political opponents.
10:46We are opponents.
10:47We're not the enemy, as he has tried to make us be.
10:52And that kind of rhetoric is dangerous and inflammatory.
10:59And instead, they're cutting the programs to prevent these tragedies.
11:03Okay, let me speak for a minute on the cuts,
11:06the big, ugly betrayal.
11:10Amy has insisted we use the word betrayal, and she's right.
11:13It's a great word.
11:15Last night, Republicans dropped the much-anticipated
11:19finance committee portion of the big, ugly betrayal.
11:24Who would have thought that the bill could get worse in the Senate
11:27when everyone thought it would get better,
11:29at least a little closer to what the American people want?
11:31But it got worse.
11:32It got more extreme.
11:34It did more damage to the American people,
11:36even than the House bill.
11:39The Medicaid cuts the Senate Republicans planned
11:41are even deeper and more devastating
11:43than the cuts made in the House.
11:45They made the biggest cut in Medicaid history even worse.
11:48It means that our Republicans are looking to rip health care away
11:53for more than $16 million.
11:55CBO kept raising it.
11:57From $13 to $14 to $16 would lose health care.
12:00It's pretty certain that the next bill,
12:03the next CBO report,
12:05and of course, you know,
12:07Trump will say the CBO lies.
12:08Anybody who doesn't agree with him,
12:10he just discounts.
12:12And that's one of the many, many problems with this administration.
12:16But I'm sure it will be more than $16 million.
12:20With the ACA cuts and defunding a Planned Parenthood,
12:24their bill would be nothing short of a backdoor abortion ban.
12:27Not only do they eliminate money for Planned Parenthood,
12:31but they don't allow people who get their health care from ACA
12:36to use any monies for reproductive activities.
12:42They do nothing to modify the horrible strangulation
12:47of the clean energy economy.
12:51It's a head fake.
12:53So, you know, they moved up the deadlines somewhat
12:56for geothermal and for hydro.
13:04But the biggest producers of clean energy far and away,
13:07wind and solar,
13:08are still virtually eliminated by this bill.
13:12Virtually eliminated.
13:14800,000 jobs.
13:17Lower energy costs.
13:19All gone.
13:22In fact, it is estimated that at minimum,
13:25this bill would raise the average American's electricity bill by 10%.
13:29So they're cutting jobs and raising your costs,
13:33American people.
13:35The legislation
13:37is going to surrender
13:42our clean energy leadership to China.
13:45That's what it's going to do.
13:47China in 10 years
13:48will just dominate clean energy
13:49if this bill passes
13:50and have the American consumer,
13:53you can be sure,
13:54China will get Chinese consumers
13:56will get a lot lower prices than Americans.
13:58They'll have us by the neck.
14:00Why are Senate Republicans shipping the jobs overseas?
14:04Why are they doing this?
14:05Why are they cutting SNAP?
14:08Tax cuts for billionaires.
14:10Ron is going to talk about that at great length,
14:13or at greater length.
14:15At greater length.
14:17Greater length.
14:17But Republicans,
14:21their fundamental belief
14:22is help those at the tippy top.
14:23Trickle-down economics
14:24was discredited years ago,
14:27but this greedy,
14:30powerful,
14:31influential group of billionaires
14:33has the Republican Party's ear,
14:35and they just listen to them.
14:36They bow down in obeisance to them.
14:38And that's why they come up
14:40with such a very unpopular bill.
14:42Amy at our caucus lunch today
14:43showed how the American people
14:46so much dislike this bill.
14:49Those who know about it
14:50and more and more know about it,
14:51and it's our job
14:52to get them to know about it.
14:54So, folks,
14:57we're going to fight this bill
14:59in every way that we can.
15:01And with that,
15:03Senator Klobuchar
15:03went through a very harrowing experience
15:05this weekend.
15:07We talked regularly about it,
15:09and I'd like to call on her now.
15:12Thanks, Chuck.
15:13Thank you, everyone.
15:15And thanks, Chuck.
15:16And thank you, Ron and Alex,
15:18for that incredible talk.
15:20If you didn't see it,
15:21you should see it.
15:22And to have Angela here,
15:24Roman, know how proud,
15:26Roman, you must be your dad,
15:27along with your brothers.
15:31So we went through
15:32a devastating weekend in Minnesota.
15:35You all know that,
15:35Senator Smith, myself,
15:37and really our entire state.
15:39And we witnessed horrific murders
15:43of a good friend of mine,
15:45Melissa Hortman,
15:46her husband, Mark.
15:47And we pray for this speedy recovery
15:49for Senator Hoffman
15:51and his wife, Yvette.
15:52They were.
15:53One was shot eight times,
15:54one shot nine times.
15:56I'm not going to go through
15:57what law enforcement did here,
15:58but it was phenomenal.
15:59They were called.
16:02They were called to the scene
16:03of the Hoffman shootings.
16:05And then they communicated
16:07with other law enforcement
16:08at three in the morning,
16:10got them to other locations.
16:11We've now learned he went
16:12to two places
16:13before he shot the Hortmans,
16:15two additional places.
16:16And one wasn't home.
16:18The other,
16:18he would have shot the legislator,
16:20but the cops were there.
16:21He ends up at the Hortmans.
16:22They arrive just as he's shooting them
16:25and murdering them.
16:27And then they are able
16:27to locate information
16:29that stopped the spree
16:30and eventually caught him.
16:34I would just tell you about Melissa
16:36because people would just love her
16:39if they knew her.
16:40I got to know her as a mom with a child.
16:43She had young kids,
16:44both going door to door.
16:46She was a phenomenal speaker.
16:48She got there after being
16:50a Girl Scout leader,
16:50after teaching Sunday school.
16:53She trained dogs for veterans
16:55and she had one dog
16:56that was just too friendly
16:58to be focused on one veteran
16:59because he loved everyone
17:00named Gilbert.
17:01She kept that dog herself
17:03and the murderer shot that dog
17:05and her two kids,
17:07Colin and Sophie,
17:08had to make the decision
17:09to put the dog down this weekend.
17:13I just end with what Colin and Sophie
17:15said about their mom and dad
17:18last night
17:19when they issued their first statement.
17:21and in part they said
17:23they were the bright lights
17:25at the center of our lives
17:27and they said
17:29the best way to honor
17:30our parents' memory
17:31is to do something,
17:33whether big or small,
17:35to make our community
17:37just a little bit better
17:39for someone else.
17:40That's what we try to do
17:42every day around this place.
17:43That's what Alex tried to do
17:45when he walked in that room,
17:46what he did with his speech,
17:48what we do in ways
17:49that are big and small
17:50every day.
17:51And I hope this will
17:52bring people together
17:53so we do something more
17:54about security,
17:55so we bring down the rhetoric,
17:57do something about
17:58what's going on online.
18:01And it was a horrific weekend,
18:02but we have jobs to do
18:03and we all know that.
18:04And one of them
18:05is to engage in civil debate,
18:08not the horror show
18:09that we saw this weekend,
18:10but to actually debate
18:11consequential issues
18:12for the people of this country.
18:14And one of them
18:15is this bill.
18:17So trying to work together better
18:19doesn't mean you call things out
18:20when they're bad.
18:21And this bill is bad.
18:23It's a big, beautiful betrayal
18:24of the American people.
18:26It gives a whole bunch
18:27of tax cuts
18:28to the wealthiest among us
18:30on the backs of everyone else.
18:32To give you some examples,
18:33it lowers the income
18:34of the average full-time worker,
18:36making minimum wage
18:37by over $700
18:38while giving nearly
18:40a $400,000 tax break
18:43to people making
18:45over $4 million a year.
18:47It increases mortgages
18:49for regular people
18:50by $1,000 per year
18:51because of all the debt
18:53it piles on
18:54while spending $400 billion
18:56to lower the tax rate
18:58for people making
18:59over $600,000 a year.
19:01It raises interest rates
19:03on loans
19:04for small businesses
19:05by $800 per year
19:07while giving big corporations
19:09more than $1 trillion.
19:11You all know,
19:12you've heard the numbers,
19:13kick 16 million people
19:15off of Medicaid,
19:16and this is all based
19:17on the House bill
19:18because we just got
19:19the numbers today
19:20on the Senate side
19:21which Ron will explain.
19:23Raises grocery costs
19:24for millions,
19:25raises costs
19:25from energy to education.
19:29This is not what
19:30the Republicans
19:31or Donald Trump
19:32promised the American people
19:34when they went
19:35to the voting booth.
19:35This is the opposite.
19:37So it is no surprise
19:39that in the Washington Post poll
19:40that came out today
19:41it showed that almost twice
19:44as many Americans
19:45oppose this bill
19:46as supported.
19:4742% oppose,
19:4923% support.
19:53Poll after poll
19:54shows 60-some percent
19:55thinks it does so much
19:57for the wealthy
19:57and only like 30%
19:59say it helps the middle class
20:00at all and they're right.
20:02So instead of rubber stamping
20:03this bill,
20:04at least four Republican senators
20:06should stand up,
20:08call it out for what it is
20:09and they should start over.
20:11Thank you, Chuck.
20:12Senator White.
20:13Thank you, Leader.
20:14And let me first just say
20:16I so admire my colleague
20:20from the West
20:20for his dignity
20:22and his caring.
20:25I've never heard him
20:26even before what happened
20:31in Los Angeles
20:32raise his voice
20:33in a typical situation.
20:35This is the person
20:36we admire so much.
20:38It's so good to be here
20:39with his family.
20:42So much of our country
20:44is wrestling with chaos
20:46right now
20:47and I just wanted to take
20:51a minute
20:51because here in the Senate
20:53Republicans are working
20:55on a big economic piece
20:59of legislation
21:00that's going to bring
21:01loads more chaos
21:03into the homes
21:05of millions of Americans
21:07who are so vulnerable
21:09who wrestle every day
21:12with the food bill
21:13against the rent bill
21:14and the rent bill
21:16against the gas bill
21:17and now they're going
21:19to be pushed up
21:20against it every week
21:22trying to figure out
21:25how they're going
21:26to make ends meet.
21:28And this bill
21:30that my colleagues
21:31are talking about
21:32is a textbook case
21:35of class warfare.
21:38It is in effect
21:39caviar over kids
21:42and Mar-a-Lago
21:44over the middle class.
21:47Now some of the Republicans
21:49in the Senate said,
21:51well, we're going to have
21:53a milder and a more gentle bill
21:56than the House of Representatives had.
21:59Well, I've had a night now
22:01to study the Senate Republican bill
22:04but what I can tell you is
22:06it is going to cut Medicaid
22:09which is already
22:11the biggest healthcare cut
22:14in American history.
22:16It is going to cut Medicaid
22:19even more than the bill
22:22in the House of Representatives.
22:25And these deeper cuts
22:27in Medicaid
22:28are going to hit rural America
22:30like a wrecking ball
22:32and other essential
22:35healthcare providers
22:37plus our states
22:39that are on a funding cliff
22:42being put in a position
22:44where they too
22:45are going to be unable
22:47to help the vulnerable.
22:50Senator Schumer and I
22:52have led the effort
22:53to try to hold down
22:56energy bills
22:57for those who are vulnerable
23:00in America.
23:01And in particular
23:02we want to keep
23:04these tax incentives
23:07because these tax incentives
23:09ensure that we'll have
23:11good paying jobs
23:13and we'll be in a position
23:16to prevent price hikes
23:18in energy.
23:20But we are met
23:21with opposition there.
23:23I can tell you
23:24this Senate bill
23:26as it's written now
23:28is a stake in the heart
23:30of the solar manufacturing industry.
23:34And the reason this
23:35is so important
23:36is because of growth
23:38we need more energy.
23:40energy and even people
23:42who run gas companies
23:43are saying
23:44we need the electrons
23:46from renewable energy.
23:48So we are going to continue
23:50and my colleague from Minnesota
23:52touched on it very well
23:54to advance the cause
23:56peacefully,
23:57fairly,
23:59to try to listen
24:01to all sides
24:01but give everybody in America
24:04the chance to get ahead.
24:06Not just the people
24:07at the top.
24:07that's not an agenda
24:10that we're all about.
24:12We're all about
24:12giving everybody
24:13a fair shot.
24:15So in the spirit
24:16and the dignity
24:18of the Padilla family today
24:21I want you to know
24:22we're going to pursue
24:23this legislation
24:24in a thoughtful way
24:26to try to make sure
24:28that everybody can be heard
24:30and to do our best
24:32to write a fairer bill,
24:34a better bill,
24:35a bill that's in line
24:36with the spirit
24:37of what our country
24:38is all about.
24:39Thank you, Leader.
24:40Thank you, Ron.
24:40We'll take questions
24:41for any of us.
24:42Okay.
24:43Whoa.
24:44Go ahead, Seheal.
24:45Do you support
24:46Senator Kaine's resolution
24:47to require congressional approval
24:49for any U.S. involvement
24:50in the Israel-Iran conflict?
24:52I believe Congress
24:54and the Senate,
24:56Senate Democrats,
24:57if necessary,
24:58will not hesitate
24:59to exercise our authority.
25:01Yes.
25:02What do you make
25:03of the Republicans
25:04holding this hearing
25:05on President Biden's
25:06cognitive abilities tomorrow
25:08and talking about the 24th...
25:09This is the kind of coarseness
25:10that America doesn't like
25:13and they're just unrelenting
25:16in diversionary actions.
25:20This has nothing to do
25:22with cutting Medicaid costs,
25:25cutting Medicaid help,
25:28helping clean energy,
25:30keeping hungry kids fed.
25:32It's one of their many
25:33circus-like diversions
25:35that is a lot of sound
25:37and fury signifying nothing.
25:39Who wrote that?
25:41Who wrote that?
25:42Shakespeare.
25:43No.
25:44Sound and fury
25:45is from Shakespeare.
25:46Yeah, that's Shakespeare.
25:48I think it's William Faulkner.
25:50Shakespeare was around.
25:51He copied Shakespeare.
25:53So you get the question.
25:55Because I was thinking Faulkner.
25:57It's a trivia question.
25:59Faulkner's one of the great writers
26:00of all time.
26:01One of the greatest.
26:02Yoka Pataka.
26:04I can never say the county.
26:06He has a fictional county.
26:07Yoka Pataka.
26:09Yokna.
26:09Oh, she gets too...
26:10What?
26:11Go ahead.
26:12My question's about security.
26:14Yes.
26:14Yes.
26:14You spoke a little bit earlier
26:16to the reporters.
26:17But can you talk about
26:18the resources you think
26:19are needed?
26:20Yes.
26:20And how soon they can...
26:21They can't...
26:22Okay.
26:22First, we need significantly
26:24more resources.
26:25Obviously, in a Senate
26:27that's controlled by Republicans,
26:28we need their support.
26:30We did get some very hopeful signs
26:32in the meeting
26:32and in discussions afterward
26:34that we would get that support.
26:35A good number of Republicans
26:37in the room,
26:38some with real authority
26:39on the Appropriations Committee,
26:41said we needed it.
26:42And in terms of timing,
26:43ASAP.
26:45People are getting threats
26:47all the time.
26:48And the number of threats
26:50that I didn't even know,
26:51I know most of them,
26:52but some were revealed
26:53in that room
26:54that I had no...
26:54They didn't tell anybody
26:55about them.
26:56If I could add...
26:57Go ahead, Alex.
26:59Alex.
26:59Alex.
27:00On that note,
27:01I think it's important to add,
27:03I took the baton earlier this year
27:05from Senator Klobuchar
27:06as the top Democrat
27:07on the Rules and Administration Committee.
27:09So we work directly
27:11and closely with the Sergeant-at-Arms
27:12with the Capitol Police.
27:15God bless them
27:16for what they're able to do
27:17with their existing budgets
27:19and with their existing resources,
27:21whatever is necessary
27:22to address member safety
27:23in the short term,
27:24not alone,
27:25but leveraging a lot of partnerships
27:27with our state law enforcement agencies
27:30and our local sheriff's departments
27:33and police departments
27:35throughout the country.
27:36So in the short term,
27:37I just want to speak up for them
27:39and for member safety.
27:40But yes, for the long term,
27:42there needs to be
27:43a significant increase
27:45in the resources
27:46they have to work with.
27:47And just to add this
27:48from my time period...
27:49We have the former head
27:50of the Rules Committee
27:51and now the ranking member
27:53of the Rules Committee.
27:53With Alex so ably taking over,
27:56as you know,
27:56after January 6th,
27:57we made a whole bunch of changes.
27:58We got a new police chief.
28:00Now we're getting another one.
28:01New sergeant-at-arms.
28:03And we've really upped,
28:04I believe,
28:06our security around here.
28:08But the next step is the Capitol
28:09because, as Chuck mentioned,
28:11is at home.
28:12As Chuck mentioned,
28:13we went from 1,700 threats
28:15in 2016 to over 9,000 threats
28:20against members of Congress
28:21last year.
28:23And we also have seen
28:24more threats against judges
28:26and the like.
28:26So the funding
28:27is a major piece of it.
28:29But other things I'd mention
28:31is doing something
28:32like we did with judges
28:33for members' addresses.
28:35This murderer,
28:36he went to the addresses
28:37that he knew.
28:38He had some names
28:39without addresses.
28:40He didn't go there.
28:40He went to the addresses
28:41he knew.
28:42And Senator Cruz and I
28:43have long advocated
28:44for some changes.
28:45I believe we have
28:46growing support for that.
28:48Also, of course,
28:49bringing the temperature down,
28:50people looking in the mirror
28:51themselves when they're
28:53saying stuff that has
28:54instigated this kind of thing.
28:55So I just want to thank...
28:57In that vein,
28:58taking the temperature down,
28:59Senator Lee took down
29:01his tweets related to the shooting.
29:03He said he had a conversation
29:04with you about that.
29:05Is there any insight
29:05you can provide?
29:06Do you feel better
29:07about the direction
29:08this is headed
29:09after that conversation?
29:10Other than Senator Schumer
29:11is going to have me
29:11talk to Senator Lee
29:12about things in the future.
29:14Senator Lee,
29:15I told him what I've said publicly,
29:18that this isn't one bit funny
29:19for my state.
29:21They spent the weekend,
29:23many of them,
29:25locked in their homes
29:26in certain areas,
29:27depending on where they thought
29:28that the murderer went.
29:30For many,
29:31Melissa Hortman
29:32and her husband
29:33were beloved.
29:35Republicans in our state
29:36have come out very strong
29:37against his violence.
29:39And in fact,
29:40Congressman Emmer
29:41and I led
29:41a bipartisan statement
29:43of every single member
29:45of our delegation
29:46decrying this violence,
29:48calling it politically motivated,
29:50and saying there's no place
29:52for this in our politics.
29:53So Senator Lee
29:54and I had a good discussion
29:55and I'm very glad
29:56he took it down.
29:57And I also thank
29:58my colleague,
29:58Senator Smith,
29:59for also speaking out on this.
30:03Did he seem remorseful?
30:04Or contrite?
30:05Okay, I'm not gonna go
30:06into our discussion
30:07or I wouldn't be able
30:08to get things done,
30:09but I will just say
30:10he took it down.
30:11And let me just say
30:12one final thing
30:13in augmentation
30:14of what Amy said.
30:15The increase in violence,
30:18threats of violence
30:19against members,
30:20didn't happen by accident.
30:22It happened because
30:23of the coarseness
30:24of the debate,
30:25but beyond that,
30:26the kind of rhetoric
30:27that we hear some
30:29in the hard right use,
30:31which at least
30:32some people think
30:33gives them a permission structure
30:35to do very evil things.
30:36Mr. Leader of Bradley,
30:37is there any kind of Bradley?
30:39Thank you, everybody.
30:40Thank you, everybody.