U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke during a committee executive business meeting to criticize recent actions by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Trump Administration. Durbin specifically addressed "Operation Midway Blitz," a DHS operation in Illinois where agents arrested a preschool teacher at her workplace.
Durbin has repeatedly called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for oversight hearings, following past precedent with previous administrations.
He began his statement by criticizing President Trump's decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, who pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023. Durbin stated: “It just so happens that Binance hosts the Trump family’s crypto platform—known as World Liberty Financial—through which Trump and his family have made more than $5 billion. While Mr. Zhao was seeking a pardon, Binance accepted a $2 billion investment in a World Liberty token—essentially a $2 billion deposit for the Trump family’s cryptocurrency scheme.But when he was asked about the pardon this weekend in an interview with 60 Minutes, he said, ‘I know nothing about it … I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto.’”
Durbin also discussed what he described as President Trump's use of the Justice Department to serve personal interests and attempts to alter perceptions of the January 6 insurrection. He said: “On his first day in office, the President issued a full and unconditional pardon of nearly 1,600 January 6 rioters, including more than 600 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement…Then, Attorney General Bondi hired January 6 rioter Jared Wise as a senior official at DOJ, even though he was filmed urging his fellow rioters to kill police officers defending the Capitol.”
Addressing "Operation Midway Blitz," Durbin referenced reports from parents and witnesses regarding how children under six were affected by the arrest at their preschool: “In hot pursuit of President Trump's ‘worst of the worst’ criminals… They made a daring raid on a preschool without permission or a warrant to arrest one of the teachers. The children in that school, all under the age of six, were, according to one parent of a three-year-old, ‘crying, terrified and huddled together’ as the ICE agents tried to apprehend this one teacher… One parent said, ‘there is no low these people won't stoop to’… [DHS agents are] racially profiling and arresting U.S. citizens, simply because they are Hispanic or speak Spanish; zip-tying and traumatizing innocent children; and tear-gassing journalists, pastors, and police officers. Instead of addressing these violations of law, White House advisor Stephen Miller and Deputy Attorney General Blanche are threatening to prosecute my state’s governor with baseless claims that he could be arrested for ‘seditious conspiracy.’”
Durbin also urged Republicans on the committee to allow Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify before them: “[Mr. Smith] has offered to come. And yet, he's not being called. Perhaps there is an explanation for it, but I think we should call an official timeout on Senators commenting on this matter so long as we won’t bring Mr. Smith here under oath to answer our questions. He's willing to do it. There’s no excuse.”
Concluding his remarks about oversight and accountability within DHS operations and other administration actions before Congress oversight bodies like the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin said: “It’s time for DHS Secretary Noem to take time [out] from her glossy promo campaign in Chicago and come testify under oath before this Committee. I’ve been on this Committee for more than 20 years, and I’ve never encountered this level of obstruction that we’re witnessing with this Administration.”
Video footage and audio recordings from Durbin's opening statement were made available online.
