[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 20, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3003-S3005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING ``ASSAULT ON AMERICAN DIPLOMACY''
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, since the start of his second term,
President Trump has upended the international world order and America's
leadership on the global stage. He and his allies are working
decisively to erode the values that are central to our Nation. Notably,
retired diplomats, military leaders, national security experts, and
even former Trump administration officials have denounced these actions
as undermining our democratic norms and traditions, and I would like to
highlight one such open letter from former U.S. leaders.
I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The Assault On American Democracy: A Call to Action
As American diplomats around the world and national
security leaders here at home, we saw no greater cause than
serving our fellow citizens. We swore to support and defend
the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Foreign and domestic. None of us thought the second part of
that phrase would ever come into play--until now.
American global leadership has depended on many factors,
including political, economic, and military power. But most
important was the moral foundation for that power--America as
an example to others. Though our actions didn't always live
up to our ideals, we stood for simple but powerful ideas that
people everywhere embraced: democracy, equality, individual
liberty, and human rights.
That moral foundation is now in grave danger. The challenge
comes from within, as President Trump and his administration
have assaulted the pillars of our democracy here at home and
our strength around the world.
Internationally, Trump has questioned the value of long-
standing alliances in Europe and Asia. On our borders, he has
poisoned ties with our closest neighbors. He has undermined
the bedrock principle of world peace that sovereign borders
will be respected. The United States now seeks to lay claim
to Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada, greenlighting
other countries to proceed as they see fit, most notably
Russia in Ukraine. The global economic order that
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ushered in a period of unparalleled prosperity for Americans
is being undermined by Trump's senseless tariffs and war on
legally binding trade agreements. America as the first
responder to global humanitarian crises becomes a distant
memory with the dismantling of USAID.
Domestically, Trump is aggressively eliminating constraints
on his power and fomenting fear. He is intimidating
independent media outlets with frivolous lawsuits. Our
universities are retreating from freedom of speech because of
explicit threats to withdraw federal monies. Our law firms
are being bludgeoned into denying representation to anyone
whom this administration does not like. Our medical research
centers are seeing an exodus of experts forced out by an
administration that does not believe in basic science.
Congress and the Department of Justice threaten to impeach
sitting judges that rule against the government. Federal
trade unions have been shut down by executive order. State
governments that challenge the administration face cuts in
federal funding. A racist, misogynistic and homophobic
mindset is leading to the erasure of history and national
heroes at our cultural institutions. In a country with a
proud history of immigration, legal residents are being
illegally deported for expressing an opinion. People are
whisked off the street by masked officials in unmarked cars
or sent off to imprisonment abroad without due process. Trump
talks publicly about an unconstitutional third term without a
word of concern from his own party.
American democracy and American security are inextricably
linked; weaken one and the other inevitably begins to fail.
As patriots and public servants from both parties who worked
to protect America over many decades, we see that link
unraveling at lightning speed. Many of us have served in
countries where democratically elected leaders followed a
path to autocracy, and we know this crisis requires an urgent
and unified response. As a result, we call for the following:
--Former senior officials, including presidents,
secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, and chiefs of
staff of our military services must jointly and publicly
challenge the administration's dangerous policies and
dismantling of essential institutions.
--Business leaders must condemn Trump's disastrous trade
policy which is plunging the global economy into chaos and
disrupting supply chains that support millions of jobs.
--Medical institutions, like the CDC, NIH, and major
research centers around the country must defend science with
non-partisan funding of medical investigation and warn of the
dangers of abandoning global engagement on pandemic
prevention.
--Universities and media must protect free speech. Without
a unified stance, they will be picked off one-by-one and
first amendment rights for every American will be in peril.
--Our largest law firms must remain guardians of the rule
of law by resisting administration pressure to undermine the
legal system of checks and balances which is so fundamental
to our democracy.
--Finally, politicians on both sides of the aisle who
believe in the core values of our constitution must actively
oppose the administration's efforts to undermine our national
security, our freedoms, and our democracy. Waiting passively
for the electoral calendar to fight back does nothing more
than give the administration additional time and running room
to impose its authoritarian stamp ever more securely on
government and on all of us.
No American should be silent. No American who cares about
our freedoms, our institutions, and our identity as a nation
can afford to be a bystander. Each of us in different walks
of life must do what we can--speak out, mobilize, defend our
way of life. The moment requires nothing less. We must
recognize the seriousness of what is taking place and act
collectively to restore our democracy and our security. If we
do not, the American ideals of liberty, prosperity, and
equality will quickly become relics of the past.
Bernadette Allen, US Ambassador, retired; Rand Beers,
Former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor; Mark Bellamy, US
Ambassador, retired; John Beyrle, US Ambassador, retired;
James Bishop, US Ambassador, retired; Charles Blaha, Senior
Foreign Service Officer, retired; Anne Bodine, Senior Foreign
Service Officer, retired; Avis Bohlen, US Ambassador,
retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Michele Bond,
US Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State;
Paul L. Boyd, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Aurelia Brazeal, US Ambassador, retired; Sue Bremner,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Steven Browning, US
Ambassador. retired, Former Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State; David Buckley, Former Inspector General,
Central Intelligence Agency; Susan F. Burk, Former Special
Representative of the President; Peter Burleigh. US
Ambassador, retired; Scott Busby, Former Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State; Prudence Bushnell, US Ambassador,
retired; John Butler, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, retired;
Constance Carrino, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID,
retired; Steven Cash, Former Senior Advisor, DHS, Former
Chief Counsel to Senator Feinstein, Former CIA Officer.
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, Senior Executive Service, DOD,
retired; Judith Chammas, Senior Foreign Service Officer,
retired; Phillip Chicola, Senior Foreign Service Officer,
retired; Roberta Cohen, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State; Ellen Conway, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired;
Frances Cook, US Ambassador, retired; Sarah Cook, Senior
Foreign Commercial Service Officer, retired; Thomas
Countryman, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Ruth Davis,
US Ambassador, retired, Former Director General of the US
Foreign Service; David Davison, Senior Foreign Service
Officer, retired.
Greg Delawie, US Ambassador, retired; Christopher Dell, US
Ambassador, retired; Anne E. Derse, US Ambassador, retired;
Vicki Divoll, Former General Counsel, Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence; Mary Draper, Senior Foreign Service Officer,
retired; Melvin Dubee, Former Deputy Staff Director, Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence; Martha Duncan, Senior
Executive Service, DOD, retired; William Eacho, Former
Ambassador to Austria; William Eaton, US Ambassador, retired;
Luigi Einaudi, US Ambassador, retired.
Jonathan Elkind, Former Assistant Secretary of Energy;
Nancy Ely-Raphel, US Ambassador, retired; Gregory Engle, US
Ambassador, retired; Joseph Fallone, Captain, US Navy,
retired; John Feeley, US Ambassador, retired, Former
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Gerald
Feierstein, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Jeffrey Feltman, US
Ambassador, retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State;
Mark Fitzpatrick, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State; Kathleen Fitzpatrick, US Ambassador, retired; Mike
Fitzpatrick, US Ambassador, retired.
Karen Freeman, Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID,
retired; Bennett Freeman, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State; Susan Kosinski Fritz, Senior Foreign Service
Officer, USAID, retired; Laurie Fulton, Former US Ambassador
to Denmark; Julie Furuta-Toy, US Ambassador, retired;
Rosemary Gallant, Senior Foreign Commercial Officer, retired;
Melvin Gamble, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired;
William Garvelink, US Ambassador, retired; Brian Goldbeck,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Juan Gonzalez,
Former Special Assistant to the President.
Rose Gottemoeller, Former Undersecretary of State; Deborah
Graze, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Eric Green,
Former Special Assistant to the President; Jennifer Gregg,
Senior Intelligence Officer, retired; Laura Griesmer, Senior
Foreign Service Officer, retired; Anne Gruner, Senior
Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired; Sheila Gwaltney, US
Ambassador, retired; Brent Hartley, US Ambassador, retired;
Patricia Haslach, US Ambassador, retired; William Haugh,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired.
John Heffern, US Ambassador, retired; Robert Herman, Former
Policy Planning Staff, Department of State; Catherine Hill-
Herndon, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Heather
Hodges, US Ambassador, retired; Elizabeth Hopkins, Senior
Foreign Service Officer, retired; Sharon Houy, Former Chief
of Staff, Defense Intelligence Agency; Jeff Hovenier, US
Ambassador, retired; Vicki Huddleston, US Ambassador,
retired; Robert Hutchings, Former Chairman, National
Intelligence Council; Charles Ikins, Colonel, US Marine
Corps, retired.
Robert Jackson, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary; Susan Jacobs, US Ambassador,
retired; Ali Jalili, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired;
Oliver John, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Kathy
Johnson, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Deborah
Jones, US Ambassador, retired; Beth Jones, US Ambassador,
retired, Former Assistant Secretary of State; John Jones, US
Ambassador, retired; Denis Kaufman, Senior Chief Petty
Officer, US Navy, retired; Richard Kauzlarich, US Ambassador,
retired, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Yvonne Keeler, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired;
Ian Kelly, US Ambassador, retired; Herbert Kemp, Colonel, US
Air Force, retired; Laura Kennedy, US Ambassador, retired;
Patrick Kennedy, US Ambassador, retired, Former Under
Secretary of State; Donald Kerrick, Lieutenant General, U.S.
Army, retired, Former Deputy National Security Advisor; Scott
Kilner, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Harold
Hongju Koh, Former Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State,
Former Assistant Secretary of State; Christopher Kojm, Former
Chair, National Intelligence Council; James Kovar, Senior
Foreign Service Officer, retired.
Thomas Krajeski, US Ambassador, retired; Anne Kremidas,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; James Kunder, Former
Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International
Development; Daniel Kurtzer, US Ambassador, retired, Former
Assistant Secretary of State; Anthony Lake, Former National
Security Advisor; Eileen Laubacher, Rear Admiral, US Navy,
retired; James Lawler, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA,
retired; Suzan LeVine, Former US Ambassador to Switzerland;
Dawn Liberi, US Ambassador, retired; Carmen Lomellin, US
Ambassador, retired.
Frank Loy, Former Under Secretary of State; Deborah Malac,
US Ambassador, retired; Eileen Malloy, US Ambassador,
retired, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary State; Angela
Maloney, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Noah
Marnet, Former US Ambassador to Argentina; Lawrence Mandel,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Steven Mann, US
Ambassador, retired;
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Niels Marquardt, US Ambassador, retired; Dennise Mathieu, US
Ambassador, retired; Deborah McCarthy, US Ambassador, retired;
Bill McCulla, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired;
Nancy McEldowney, US Ambassador, retired; Former National
Security Advisor to the Vice President; Michael McFaul,
Former US Ambassador to Russia; Elizabeth McKune, US
Ambassador, retired; James Melville, Jr., US Ambassador,
retired; Leo Michel, Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired;
Thomas Miller, US Ambassador, retired; Derek Mitchell, Former
US Ambassador to Burma (Myanmar); Luis Moreno, US Ambassador,
retired; Joseph Myers, Former Chief Risk Officer, US
International Development Finance Corporation; James Nealon,
US Ambassador, retired.
Brian H. Nilsson, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State; Suzanne Nossel, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State; Joseph Nye, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense;
Geoffrey Odlum, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Ted
Osius, US Ambassador, retired; Maurice S. Parker, US
Ambassador, retired; David Passage, US Ambassador, retired;
Michael Pelletier, US Ambassador, retired; Robert Perry, US
Ambassador, retired; David Petri, Commander, US Navy,
retired; James Petti, US Ambassador, retired.
Annie Pforzheimer, Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired;
Randal Phillips, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired;
William Piekney, Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired;
Steven Pifer, US Ambassador, retired; Michael Polt, US
Ambassador. retired; Former Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State; Michael Posner, Former Assistant
Secretary of State; Ned Price, Former Spokesperson,
Department of State; Charles Ray, US Ambassador, retired;
Helen Reed-Rowe, US Ambassador, retired; Stacy Rhodes, Senior
Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired.
Susan Rice, Former National Security Advisor, Former U.S.
Permanent Representative to the United Nations; John Ries,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Thomas Robertson, US
Ambassador, retired; Enrique Roig, Former Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State; Peter Romero, US Ambassador, retired,
Former Assistant Secretary of State; Jeremy Rosner, Former
Special Assistant to the President; Leslie Rowe, US
Ambassador, retired; Eric Rubin, US Ambassador, retired,
Former President, American Foreign Service Association;
Richard Sanders, Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired;
Janet Sanderson, US Ambassador, retired.
Teresita Schaffer, US Ambassador, retired; Mark Schneider,
Former Assistant Administrator, USAID, Former Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Eric Schwartz, Former
Assistant Secretary of State; Kyje Scott, US Ambassador,
retired; Tod Sedgwick, Former US Ambassador the Slovak
Republic; Michael Senko, US Ambassador, retired; Mattie
Sharpless, US Ambassador, retired; Dana Shell Smith, US
Ambassador, retired; Dilpreet Sidhu, Former Executive
Secretary of the National Security Council; Emil Skodon, US
Ambassador, retired.
Adrian Snead, Former Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to
Senator Jeffrey Merkley; Sylvia Stanfield, US Ambassador,
retired; Gregory Starr, Former Assistant Secretary of State;
Adam Sterling, US Ambassador, retired; Clyde Taylor, US
Ambassador, retired; Harry Thomas, US Ambassador, retired,
Former Director General of the Foreign Service; Linda Thomas-
Greenfield, US Ambassador, retired, Former U.S. Permanent
Representative to the United Nations; Susan Thornton, Former
Assistant Secretary of State; Thomas Tiernan, Senior Foreign
Service Officer, retired; Charles Uphaus, Senior Foreign
Service Officer, retired.
Kurt van der Walde, Senior Foreign Service Officer,
retired; Alexander Vershbow, US Ambassador, retired, Former
Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Former Assistant Secretary
of Defense; Shari Villarosa, US Ambassador, retired; Patricia
Wagner, Senior Commercial Service Officer, retired; Alexander
Watson, Former Assistant Secretary of State; Linda Watt, US
Ambassador, retired; John Wecker, Senior Foreign Service
Officer, retired; Bruce Wharton, US Ambassador, retired;
Kevin Whitaker, US Ambassador, retired; Pamela White, US
Ambassador, retired.
Stephanie Williams, Senior Foreign Service Officer,
retired, Former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General;
Bisa William, US Ambassador, retired; Jonathan Winer, Former
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; David Thomas Wolfson,
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired; Marcia Wong, Former
Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID; Kenneth Yalowitz, US
Ambassador, retired; Stephen Young, US Ambassador, retired;
Marie Yovanovitch, US Ambassador, retired, Former Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Jane Zimmerman, Former
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Ricardo Zuniga, Former
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
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