[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues.
  You know, President Trump likes to think that chaos is a useful tool. 
He can create disarray and disruption, and things will end up all 
right. There is another word that more aptly describes what he did: 
``cruel,'' deeply cruel.
  You know, on Sunday night in Vermont, it is really a special night. 
You have got the work of the week behind you. The errands of the 
weekend are done. If you are fortunate and have a family, you have 
dinner; you are watching the football game; you are gathering yourself 
for the week ahead.
  The week ahead for people is different. It is a mom who has a dentist 
appointment that she finally got after 8 months on Medicaid. It is a 
dump truck driver who is looking forward to getting back and seeing his 
friends at work and getting that construction project in town 
completed. It is a Medicaid doctor who, as tired as he was from the 
week before, is excited about the week he faces or she faces. It is the 
Meals on Wheels recipients--folks who have had a quiet weekend who are 
lonely and are anticipating the delivery of that meal, not only for 
physical nourishment but for the emotional comfort that comes with 
having that contact with the person who is delivering that meal.
  These are the everyday things that people do. They are living their 
lives, where they do work; they make appointments for their kids; they 
see them to childcare; they help their neighbors. Out of the blue--with 
no discussion--an announcement goes out. It is illegal. It is sent out 
by a person who hasn't even been empowered to act.
  It says to that mom who is going to the Medicaid appointment: It is 
off.
  It says to that person who was going to get a Meals on Wheels 
delivery: It is not coming.
  It says to that construction worker: That project you are so proud of 
that you are working on in that you are making a contribution to your 
community, don't show up for work.
  It comes out of nowhere--with no explanation, with no discussion. It 
is cruel taking away the expectations that people depend on to live the 
hard lives that a lot of people have.
  By the way, I talk about people who have a fair amount of stability 
in their lives. There are women who are getting beaten, and they have 
refuge because they can call a hotline, and they can go to a shelter--
closed. It is some kids who are homeless and have a shelter that they 
can go to because of the incredible effort of people in our 
communities--in your community and in mine--who care about that, when 
it is invisible to so many others. So the jeopardy of those people--
taking away their security in the name of showing how chaos works to 
accomplish your goals--that is cruel. That is cruel.

  You know, it is also cruel because of the folks who volunteer at some 
of these places. You are depriving them of the opportunity that makes 
so much of a difference in their lives when they see their lives being 
fulfilled by being able to help others.
  I got a ride from an Uber driver, and I was talking to him. He told 
me that he was retired. He is retired like a lot of people where they 
have a job or two, and his was driving. But the other thing he did was 
he delivered Meals on Wheels, and he told me about his mother-in-law 
who, until she was 91, delivered Meals on Wheels, oftentimes to people 
30 years younger. The joy he had in doing that is what made life so 
vivid and worthwhile for him to live. It is the joy of helping your 
neighbors. The President's order took that away from him--no meals to 
deliver. That is cruel.
  It is also totally illegal and totally unconstitutional, and this is 
the test that we face. If we are U.S. Senators and we believe that the 
Constitution is important, not in the abstract but in the role it has 
played in preserving and protecting the freedom of all Americans, and 
if we believe that freedom is preserved when there is a check and 
balance against unbridled power, then we are the ones who have to act 
in order to protect the well-being of this country against the illegal 
actions by a President who just doesn't care whether it is legal or it 
isn't.
  He worships power, and he is creating a new culture where, if you 
worship community service, if you worship generosity, forgiveness, 
empathy, you are a sucker. That is the emotional message from this 
President Trump.
  Our people in Vermont, our people in Utah--they want and they do 
better that, when they see injustice, when they see suffering, they 
respond to it. They don't intensify it.
  So we have a decision as U.S. Senators to stand up for what this 
institution requires, and that is that we are a separate and coequal 
branch of government, and when the responsibilities are being subverted 
by an overreach by the Executive, we resist, and we resist because it 
is absolutely vital to the well-being of this country that our 
democracy prevail with three branches of government and checks and 
balances.
  But it is really fundamentally important to the well-being of the 
people we represent--in their opportunity to live with stability, in 
the ability to help their neighbors, to have confidence that promises 
made are promises kept, that we defend the good work, the good will, 
and the integrity of the people of Vermont, of the people of Utah, and 
of all of our 50 States.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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