[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 17, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3408-S3409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Senate Safety

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, about safety and the Capitol and 
our meeting today that Senator Thune and I called.
  First, I would like to say that the Capitol Police have always been 
the silent heroes behind the scenes, keeping Members safe. That is no 
secret. The country saw that for themselves on January 6 and in the 
footage after, and they are doing a good job. We had a very good 
meeting where Members

[[Page S3409]]

brought up their concerns, and efforts--strong efforts--are going to be 
made to answer those concerns with expanded--expanded--activity by the 
Capitol Police. But after the awful situation this weekend, there is 
real concern, not just here in the Capitol but with folks across the 
country, about the safety of elected officials.
  These violent acts are an attack not just on the individuals who were 
targeted but on our democracy itself. Public servants should never have 
to fear for their lives simply for doing their jobs. There should not 
be an attempt to intimidate public servants not do their jobs or not to 
take their jobs. So we need to take immediate steps to ensure the 
safety of Members. That includes sending additional funding and 
resources to the Capitol Police. There was agreement today in the 
Senate, among Democrats and Republicans, that we ought to be spending 
some more dollars here to protect the Capitol, the Senators, and their 
staffs.
  But it is amazing. Instead, the Trump administration is doing the 
exact opposite. USA Today reported that, as lone actor attacks are on 
the rise, Donald Trump had cut the program called AIMED at spotting 
them. This program is aimed to spot lone-actor, violent, domestic 
extremists--exactly what happened in Minnesota.

       The day before a violent political attack in Minnesota 
     [occurred], the last top officials at a program that aims to 
     spot so-called ``lone actor'' violent domestic extremists 
     were reassigned to other roles.

  And that is USA Today's reporting.
  In the 4 months since Trump took office, his administration has 
shrunk the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention 
Programs and Partnerships, known as CP3, from dozens of analysts and 
supervisors. Now it has fewer than 10 people, and it is led by a 22-
year-old recent graduate with no law enforcement experience. Here we 
have more violent attacks, and at the same time, the Trump 
administration is cutting the very unit in law enforcement that is 
supposed to go after these lone-wolf, violent attacks and prevent them. 
Right now, we need to give law enforcement more resources to prevent 
these horrific attacks, not less. A program in charge of doing these 
things shouldn't have fewer than 10 people and be led by a 22-year-old 
with no experience.
  What I am saying here, that this program has been cut dramatically--
the AIMED Program--will reverberate among everybody who wants a safer 
America and should reverberate among all elected officials, Democrat 
and Republican, about the need to keep this program.
  So we need to give more resources to law enforcement, but let me be 
clear: This dangerous environment isn't spontaneous. It is being 
stoked, often deliberately, by the reckless rhetoric coming from some 
of the most powerful voices in the country.
  When political opponents are treated like enemies, danger follows. 
And that is what Trump has done. He has weaponized the Justice 
Department and law enforcement. It is going after his political enemies 
instead of going after criminals.
  It is the responsibility of all leaders, especially the President of 
the United States, to not just unequivocally condemn hatred but to stop 
violent and aggressive language against political opponents.
  Trump has to see that his words have real impact and consequences, 
and here is one way he could start right now: He could demand of 
Senator Lee that he take down his inflammatory, despicable posts about 
the deaths of the two people in Minnesota. They are gross. They are 
disgusting. They are the kind of thing that just riles people up.
  Let Trump call Lee up and say: Take them down. Take those posts down.
  That will be a start. But in general, he has to stop treating his 
political opponents as enemies because danger will always follow.