The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S6628-S6629 on Nov. 10, 2020.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on another matter, I don't think many of us expected President Trump to leave the Office of the Presidency with grace--a quality he has not once demonstrated during his long career in business or his very short career in public life. But the extent to which the Republican Party is legitimizing the President's assault on our democracy is infuriating and deeply, deeply wrong.
The President is not merely bringing forward well-founded legal challenges. He is not simply taking advantage of the ability to request a recount in States where one is possible. He is declaring himself to be the winner of an election that he lost. He is claiming to win States that he lost. His legal team is filing scores of frivolous, unsubstantiated lawsuits. He is undermining faith in our elections and poisoning our democracy during one of the most delicate moments in our constitutional system, something we treasure: the peaceful transfer of power.
The President has fired the Secretary of Defense, threatening the continuity of our national security policy because he is having a temper tantrum. Not only does this put at risk a smooth transition in one of the most sensitive and critical areas of our government, it creates an opening for our adversaries to take advantage of instability and inexperience.
The current Attorney General of the United States has made a show of authorizing Federal probes into supposed election fraud, lending a veneer of false credence to the President's delusions. It violates the longstanding tradition of avoiding even the appearance of law enforcement interference in our elections. Almost immediately, Attorney General Barr's decision prompted the Chief of the Justice Department's elections branch to resign in protest.
The Government Services Administrator, GSA, has still not signed the paperwork necessary for the Biden transition team to begin its work. And here in the Senate, the Republican leader and several Republican Members are trying to give their President air cover.
Yesterday, in the same breath that Leader McConnell celebrated the reelection of certain Republican Senators, he declined to congratulate the winner of the Presidential election because the election results have not been officially certified. The political right seems eager to celebrate the results it approves of while delaying judgment and casting doubt on the results it doesn't. Indeed, the Republican leader could not even mention two words, ``Joe Biden,'' who, regardless of what Republican Senators may think, will be the next President of the United States.
Two Republican Members of this Chamber have called on their own secretary of state--a fellow Republican--to resign for no other apparent reason than the fact that President Trump did not win their State. They allege the secretary of state did not deliver honest and transparent elections. That is really a stunning charge in the United States of America. That is the kind of thing you hear about in banana republics and dishonest elections. Surely, U.S. Senators would have some evidence that in the world's premier--premier--democracy an entire State's election was not conducted ``honestly,'' as they say. Surely, you must think that those Senators have incredible, substantial, and weighty proof of such a scandalous and alarming allegation, but you would wrong. Those two Senators provided no evidence--not even a shred--to back up their claims.
Three lonely Republican Senators--three in total--have congratulated the next President and Vice President of the United States on their victory and called on the Nation to come together. The rest have been silent or outright sympathetic toward the President's completely unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
So look, here is where we are. Every major media outlet, including FOX News, has projected that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States, and Kamala Harris will be the next Vice President of the United States--not because the media declared them to be but because more than 76 million Americans voted them into office. There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud or any indication that results might flip in not one but several States.
The country is ready to move on from 4 years of tumultuous and incompetent administration. The institutions of our government will ensure it on January 20, no matter what the current President claims. But they cannot ensure faith in our democracy in the hearts and minds of the American people. That is a project for both parties to confer legitimacy on an election in which, yes, half the country will be disappointed but after which the entire country must pull together.
Every day that goes by without the Republican Party acknowledging and accepting the results of the election is another day Americans' faith in our democracy declines
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