[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 165 (Thursday, November 17, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6442-S6443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BANNON APPOINTMENT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, while we are on the subject of the
President-elect, he has indicated some of the appointments he will
make. Some, of course, will require advice and consent by this body,
and I hope we will do that, even though this body has refused to advise
and consent on the Supreme Court nomination now pending before it.
There are others he can appoint without being confirmed by the
Senate. It is amazing that the President-elect, having said that he
wants to bring the country together, that he wants to be a President
for all of us, would then appoint to his inner circle, someone with the
ear of the President, Stephen Bannon.
Let me just read part of an editorial in the Chicago Tribune.
``The problem is that Bannon, who will sit at the right hand of a
president, also works as a conduit to hate and intolerance. Bannon has
said Breitbart is `the platform for the alt-right.' Yet the `alt-right'
is a repellent, nationalist political movement that breeds racism,
anti-Semitism and misogyny. The alt-right miasma `opposes feminism,
diversity, gay rights, globalism, gun control and civil rights,'
according to Baruch College professor Thomas Main, who is writing a
book on the movement. At the fringes of alt-right is where you will
find American neo-Nazis and the Klan, two groups evidently thrilled by
Trump's victory.''
Those aren't my words. Those are the words from the Chicago Tribune.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed at this point
in the Record the full editorial.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Chicago Tribune, Nov. 17, 2016]
Editorial: Stephen Bannon: The Next President's Whisperer
With just a week or so under his belt as president-elect,
Donald Trump has spoken in public briefly, given a few
interviews and bashed out some colorful tweets. Americans
still processing his stunning victory will have to wait a bit
longer to get a full sense of the next president's
priorities.
But already there's this: Trump has named Stephen Bannon,
62, his White House chief strategist.
Bannon, the political equivalent of a shock jock, was
little known until he became Trump's campaign chief executive
in August. He is a conservative media impresario whose resume
includes Georgetown, Harvard, the Pentagon and Goldman Sachs.
He's now the executive chairman of Breitbart News, whose
popular website dabbles in the swamplands of the far right. A
lot of bigoted ugliness swims out there in the so-called alt-
right, and Bannon has let it fester on Breitbart.com.
Trump won as a populist insurgent who used bullying and
intemperate language to fan his message. The strategy worked
but also helped divide the country. Appointing Bannon as
consigliere is not a good step toward unity. It agitates the
not-my-president slice of the American populace. And it
confuses Americans who are trying to give the president-elect
a fresh start--but who also need to see evidence that Trump
will abide his promise to be ``president for all Americans.''
When Trump takes office, Bannon--if he's still around--
won't be the Treasury secretary or the attorney general or
the secretary of state: leaders working largely in public.
Bannon instead will play the role David Axelrod played for
the nation's last novice president. His will be the whisper
in President Trump's ear. His work product won't be what the
White House proposes or what Congress passes. His work
product will be what the president does. What the president
says. What message the president projects to the country and
the world.
We get what Trump is trying to do by appointing Bannon. The
president-elect made two major picks early this week: He also
chose Reince Priebus to be chief of staff, the Oval Office
gatekeeper. Priebus, head of the Republican Party, was a
shrewd selection. Someone in the White House needs political
experience to guide Trump's agenda through Washington's
thicket. Priebus is perfectly positioned to be the hour-by-
hour liaison to his friend and fellow Wisconsinite, House
Speaker Paul Ryan.
Priebus is nobody's bomb thrower. He's a member of the
Normal Club. But that also pegs him as an establishment guy,
making Trump vulnerable to accusations of being a sell-out.
So to assuage the anti-establishment crowd, here comes
Bannon, whose website was one of Trump's most vocal
cheerleaders.
The problem is that Bannon, who will sit at the right hand
of a president, also works as a conduit to hate and
intolerance. Bannon has said Breitbart is ``the platform for
the alt-right.'' Yet the ``alt-right'' is a repellent,
nationalist political movement that breeds racism, anti-
Semitism and misogyny. The alt-right miasma ``opposes
feminism, diversity, gay rights, globalism, gun control and
civil rights,'' according to Baruch College professor Thomas
Main, who is writing a book on the movement. At the fringes
of the alt-right is where you find American neo-Nazis and the
Klan, two groups evidently thrilled by Trump's victory.
On the issue of Trump's presidency, we want to remain
patient as well as vigilant. We've said in prior editorials
that presidents get fresh starts and wide latitude to set
their agendas. Bannon helped Trump get elected, which makes
him more clever than the Democratic operatives who backed
Hillary Clinton, the losing presidential candidate. Maybe his
primary White House role is to be a sop to supporters and
that's all.
But Trump voters aren't the only Americans anxiously
waiting for positive signals from the new administration.
While Trump will never placate Democrats, there's another
crucial group we'll call America's middle third who need to
be assuaged. Many of them didn't vote for Trump but they may
make the biggest difference in the success of his presidency:
They'll either be won over or will bolt to the opposition.
Like every president, Trump will calibrate many of his
actions according to how far he can go without losing them.
That's always a tough balance. In today's America it's
especially tough. By adding someone as notorious as Bannon to
his team, the new president has more than sent the wrong
signal. He also has risked alienating the vast swath of
Americans who will determine whether his presidency succeeds
or fails. And he's done it well before even taking the oath
of office.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, everybody, whether we supported Donald
Trump or not--and, obviously, I did not--wants to give any President a
chance to bring this country together. Throughout the country, during
this campaign, we have become terribly divided. Even in my own State of
Vermont, we heard of some of these divisions.
I feel fortunate that Vermonters reelected me. I have never run
negative campaign ads, and did not this time. I was opposed by somebody
who ran a completely negative campaign. I think people reject
negativity. There are so many positive aspects to America. We talk
about making America great
[[Page S6443]]
again, and there is no other country we would trade it for. What
country would we trade our country for? None. We are a great nation.
But what makes us great is our diversity and our ability to come
together. That is what we should be doing.
I hope the President-elect will reconsider naming Stephen Bannon as
his chief White House strategist and understand what kind of signal
this sends to the country. We do not need more division. We certainly
do not need people who might attack someone because of their religion.
We need people who will realize the United States is an inclusive
country, not an exclusive country. This is not the message we should
send within our own country or throughout the world.
Mr. Bannon wants to continue making these horrible and offensive
comments, as he has a First Amendment right to do at Breitbart News,
but let us not have that be the example set from the White House, by
the President of the greatest nation on Earth.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I believe Senator Warren of
Massachusetts will be joining me on the floor, and I ask unanimous
consent that if she is here on the floor at the conclusion of my
remarks that she be recognized next so that our remarks can be
conjoined with one another.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I thank the Chair.
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