[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7474-S7475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         President-Elect Biden

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if you follow the U.S. Senate, which, of 
course, many of us do, there was a noteworthy moment this morning. It 
was actually a prayer by our Chaplain, Barry Black. In that prayer, he 
acknowledged and called for the blessings of God on the President-Elect 
Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.
  The reason that was noteworthy is that has been a contested issue 
among politicians on Capitol Hill for weeks as to whether or not Joe 
Biden could be described as President-elect. Many have stepped forward 
and said yes, but many resisted. The acknowledgement by the Chaplain 
caught me a little by surprise this morning. And I came to the floor to 
hear the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, go through an accounting 
of the Trump Presidency and all of his achievements and then concluded 
by acknowledging as well that we have a President-elect in Joe Biden. I 
believe that that reflected the reality of the November 3 election and 
the finality of the electoral college decisions being made across the 
Nation in so many States.
  I thank those who have stepped forward to acknowledge the reality of 
a new President and hope that they will join me in an effort to do our 
best to make certain that his tenure is a success, not just for him 
personally and the Vice President but for our Nation. We deserve 
nothing less.
  It is a long story, these last few weeks since November 3 and what 
has happened across America. I don't think anyone could have predicted 
that we would see the divisive reaction that we have seen, nor could 
anyone have predicted what happened yesterday. Some States had to take 
extraordinary measures to protect electoral college electors--what used 
to be a routine, somewhat tedious and boring mission. It resulted in 
the closing of legislative

[[Page S7475]]

buildings in Michigan to the public and, according to press reports, 
credible threats of violence. In Arizona, electors met in an 
undisclosed location to safely cast their votes. These measures 
followed a last-ditch effort by 17 Republican attorneys general and 
more than half of the House Republican caucus joining in a lawsuit and 
accompanying an amicus brief before the Supreme Court, which incredibly 
argued that the Court should nullify the votes of more than 20 million 
Americans. These ludicrous arguments couldn't hide the true 
justification for joining this effort to undermine our democracy. The 
people who were protesting simply don't like the results of the 2020 
election, and they don't want to turn their backs on President Trump.
  The conservative-leaning Supreme Court summarily dismissed this 
effort outright, rejecting the lawsuit in an order on Friday evening, 
wasting no time in doing it. Despite repeated and forceful judicial 
rejections of their baseless allegations of fraud at attempts to 
nullify the votes of Americans, only 27 Congressional Republicans would 
publicly acknowledge the obvious President-elect of the United States, 
Joe Biden, as of last week.

  Now that the electoral college has spoken, more Congressional 
Republicans are finally stepping up. The fact that it took 6 weeks for 
my colleagues to recognize reality and stop undermining our Democratic 
process is sad and disappointing. When we were sworn in as Members of 
Congress, we took a simple oath: support and defend the Constitution of 
the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is not 
an oath to one person, nor one President; it is not conditional if one 
receives enough angry phone calls; it is not dependent on whether the 
responsibilities are difficult; and it is certainly not optional if one 
has to face a more challenging electorate. And yet, with the exception 
of only a few in this Senate Chamber, the silence in upholding this 
oath in the face of President Trump's blatant attempts to undermine our 
democracy has been overwhelming.
  Just compare it to the courage shown by State and local election 
officials across the United States, including many Republicans, who 
always hasten to add that they had voted for President Trump; they were 
disappointed in the election of Joe Biden; but the election in their 
State, by their measure, was honest and fair. They don't enjoy the 
perks or protections we have here in Congress, but they stepped up and 
spoke up, and I respect them for it--proud Americans of both parties 
under personal threat for their integrity and defending an American 
election that the President of the United States wants overturned.
  Senator Murphy, the junior Senator from Connecticut, came to the 
floor on Friday and spoke eloquently about this threat to American 
democracy that has been playing out in plain sight--the blatant and 
shameful attempt to use the power of the Presidency to overturn a free 
and fair election, an election which is the foundation of our 
democracy. Senator Murphy reminded us about the fragility of our 
democracy and how it should never ever be taken for granted. He warned 
about collaborating in silence as these efforts are made to destroy it. 
``How Democracies Die.'' The poignant remarks and the outrageous 
actions of recent weeks reminded me of a dinner I hosted with the 
authors of a powerful book, ``How Democracies Die.'' The authors, 
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, detail examples in which 
democracies are weakened, collapsed, and even destroyed. I recommend it 
as urgent reading to my colleagues in the Senate at this moment in our 
history. They highlighted the critical role of established political 
leaders in standing up, or failing to stand up, in key moments when 
events or persons threaten their democracies.
  Venezuela, in the early 1990s--the key establishment party leader 
opportunistically sided with Hugo Chavez after a coup attempt, 
devastatingly, giving Chavez critical legitimacy he then used to gain 
power and bring his country to its current state of decline. I believe 
we have such a moment here that demands leaders of both parties to 
carry out their oaths of office and defend our treasured democracy. 
Quite simply, silence is unacceptable.
  I am glad for what Senator McConnell said this morning on the floor 
of the Senate. Perhaps Chaplain Black inspired him and will inspire 
others to step up and speak the truth.