[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H703-H704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 GREATEST LIVING THREAT TO OUR REPUBLIC

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bresnahan). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2025, the Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Green) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise, a proud, liberated 
Democrat, unbought, unbossed, and unafraid. I rise, Mr. Speaker, today, 
in the name of liberty and justice for all, in the name of government 
of the people, by the people, for the people. I rise to remind us of 
the words of Ben Franklin. He reminded us that we have a republic if we 
can keep it.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to warn all of the greatest living threat 
to our Republic. I rise to explain how we must deter this threat or we 
must remove it. I rise to explain how the consequences of doing nothing 
can be harmful to all that we hold dear.
  Mr. Speaker, our greatest living threat is a President who defies 
court orders. Our greatest living threat is a President who defies 
court orders. One can but only imagine what America would be like today 
if President Eisenhower had defied the order of the court in Brown v. 
Board of Education.
  It was Brown v. Board of Education that desegregated society to the 
extent that it is, that integrated it to the extent that it is, that 
probably has given me a means by which I can stand here in the House of 
Representatives.
  Brown v. Board of Education was a seminal moment in time. It was a 
moment in time which has changed time from the point of its 
announcements to

[[Page H704]]

this very day. Brown v. Board of Education has made a difference in my 
life and in the lives of many others.
  I am so grateful that President Eisenhower--who was reluctant, who 
was not a fan of Brown v. Board of Education, who didn't really want to 
deal with the great racial issues of his time. I am glad that he did 
not defy the court. There are things that he could have done to prevent 
Brown from being fully realized. Quite frankly, it has not been fully 
realized to this day.
  A President who defies court orders is the greatest threat to 
American democracy because that President has the ability to not only 
defy court orders but in so doing to become the final arbiter of what 
the law is. That President assumes an inordinate amount of power.
  That President will destroy what we know as the three branches of 
government, because that President will no longer recognize the 
judiciary and what the judiciary has been allowed to do since Marbury 
v. Madison. That President, Mr. Speaker, will become a person who is 
not only above the law, but that President will become the law, if we 
allow a President to defy court orders.
  What we must do to prevent this? We can prevent a President from 
defying court orders with impeachment, impeachment in two senses of the 
word.
  One, it can act as a deterrent. The other is it can act as a means of 
removal. If a President defies a court order, we can remove him, but 
let's not go there just now. Let's talk about deterrence.
  I learned from the last time I engaged in this impeachment process of 
the value of deterrence, impeachment as a deterrent.
  Here is how it works. If a President believes that he will be 
impeached for defying a court order, because he will in effect become 
the law of the land, we will no longer be a land where laws govern but 
a land where a man governs or a woman governs, a person governs.
  We are a land of laws, and we want to remain such. If a President 
defies a court order and if he knows this, that we can deter him or we 
can impeach him, he can opt to take advantage of the warning of 
deterrence. This is what I learned.
  This President or any President can be deterred if the President 
believes that impeachment is a remedy. If the President does not 
believe that impeachment is a remedy, then he can go on and defy the 
court's orders.
  If he believes that impeachment is there as a possible remedy, then 
he will not.

                              {time}  1300

  I say it can be a deterrence. I say it can be a deterrence if the 
President believes that we will impeach. I believe that if a President 
knows that we will impeach, then he may back off, and he may back down.
  I believe that this President knows that I will bring Articles of 
Impeachment against him. He knows that I have no fear of him as many 
others do.
  I believe he understands that those who fear him will cower. They are 
pusillanimous. I am not a pusillanimous politician. I will not kneel; I 
will not bend; and I will not break. I will stand for liberty and 
justice for all.
  Mr. President, you know that if you cross the line and if you defy 
court orders, then there is one Member of Congress who has pledged to 
bring Articles of Impeachment against you.
  Let that deter you, Mr. President. Don't go forward, Mr. President. 
Don't believe what the Vice President is telling you about defiance of 
court orders. Don't believe those around you who are trying to convince 
you that you can do this with impunity.
  Mr. President, you have been made immune to some laws, but you are 
not immune to impeachment. Impeachment is the final straw that can 
break the back of the camel who happens to decide that he is going to 
continue with his ruthless, reckless orders and defy even the courts of 
this country.
  No President--no President--should ever defy court orders because, at 
that point, that President becomes a dictator. We in this country have 
decided that we have a republic, and we want to keep it. If we are 
going to keep this Republic, then we must use impeachment as a 
deterrence, which means that this President has to know that it is 
there for him and that we will use it against him, impeachment as a 
deterrence.
  Now, let's move to impeachment as a form of removal. If a President 
defies a court order or court orders, then that President has committed 
an impeachable act. It is an impeachable act to defy your oath of 
office to execute the laws, to honor the laws of the United States, and 
to protect the Constitution. You are charged with the responsibility of 
defending the Constitution.
  If you do this, Mr. President, then you will now have committed an 
impeachable act. The question is not whether you will be impeached by 
way of a resolution being presented and not whether a resolution will 
be presented because you know that I am going to present that 
resolution. I am telling you now that I will present the resolution.
  If you defy court orders, then I will present resolutions to impeach 
you. I will present the resolution.
  Now, the question is: Will the Congress act? What will the Congress 
do? I believe that even some of the most conservative Members of 
Congress will recognize that we don't want a dictatorship and that if 
we don't act, then we will have a dictatorship. The consequences of our 
inaction and the consequences of our failure to impeach and convict 
would be a dictatorship.
  I don't believe that the Congress of the United States of America and 
I don't believe that the Senate of the United States of America will 
stand by and watch a dictatorship develop while they are in office.
  This is our watch. I don't believe that, on our watch, we have such 
persons who are going to simply stand by. There may be some, but I 
believe there will be enough to impeach, and I believe there will be 
enough to convict. That is because no one in this country, I believe, 
wants a dictatorship. If there are some who want it, then you don't 
know what you are asking for.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an alarm. I am warning our country. I want you 
to know that we are this close to a dictatorship because we have a 
President who is seriously considering, it seems, disobeying court 
orders.
  That is the line. That is the line in the dirt. That is the Rubicon. 
If you cross this line in the dirt, you will have moved into the area 
of impeachment, and I assure you, Articles of Impeachment will be 
brought against you.
  Mr. President, you are a Goliath. You have been made to be above the 
law in certain cases. You are a Goliath. There is nothing on the planet 
like you, it seems, because you happen to be armed with the nuclear 
weapons that are capable of changing life on Earth as we know it or 
obliterating all life on Earth. You are armed with the mightiest Army.
  You are armed, Mr. President, and you are dangerous if you decide you 
are going to move forward and deny court orders. You are a Goliath, but 
I will let you know now, Mr. President, that there are Davids among us. 
There are Davids, Mr. President. There are 435 Davids.
  The question is, will these Davids use their slings to bring you down 
with impeachment?
  That is the only question. I believe the Davids among us will do 
this. I believe that there is a majority on a given day when 
impeachment is brought who will vote to impeach. These are the Davids 
that will save this country. They will preserve the Republic. They will 
continue to have the justice that we understand we should have through 
the courts. They are the persons who are on watch, and they understand 
that this is their watch, Mr. Speaker.
  I would pray that the President would not move forward. I would pray 
that he will back down from his notion of defying court orders. I also 
know that if he does, the Davids of the Congress of the United States 
of America will bring him down.
  Mr. Speaker, I am one of those Davids.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President and to direct their 
remarks to the Chair and not to a perceived viewing audience.

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