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senate judiciary committee
Schiff Lists All the Questions Pam Bondi Refused to Answer During Contentious Senate Hearing
"This is supposed to be an oversight hearing!" Sen. Adam Schiff exclaimed after documenting Bondi's obstruction.
Oct 07, 2025
US Attorney General Pam Bondi received a grilling from Senate Democrats on Tuesday, although much of her testimony was notable for the numerous questions she refused to answer.
Near the conclusion of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that lasted nearly five hours, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) confronted Bondi by running down a list of questions asked his colleagues that she had either dodged or outright refused to answer.
Among other things, Schiff noted that Bondi refused to answer if she had consulted with professional ethics attorneys before she signed off on President Donald Trump receiving a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari government; if she had played any role in allegedly ordering federal agents to flag any mentions of Trump in the Jeffrey Epstein criminal case files; if Trump border czar Tom Homan had kept a $50,000 cash bribe he allegedly received from undercover FBI agents; or if the DOJ had provided any legal guidance or justification for bombing attacks ordered by Trump on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
Additionally, Schiff said that Bondi had refused to answer if she supported a "restoration fund" to pay money to Trump supporters who violently attacked the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021; if she had fired career Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors because of their work on January 6-related cases; and if she believed that government officials are obligated to abide by court rulings.
Schiff: I think it's valuable that the American people get a sense of what you have refused to answer today. So these are just some of the questions you refuse to answer, but or have answered with personal attacks on members of this committee. You were asked whether you consulted… pic.twitter.com/SP0l0PY082
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 7, 2025
After running down his list, Schiff exclaimed, "This is supposed to be an oversight hearing!"
This prompted Bondi to interject, to which Schiff replied, "You can attack me later, I know you have plenty of canned attacks, we've heard them all day."
Schiff then pivoted back to his original statement.
"This is supposed to be an oversight hearing of the Justice Department," he said. "And it comes in the wake of an indictment called for by the president of one of this enemies. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing, and it comes in the wake of revelations that a top administration official took $50,000 in a bag, and this department made that investigation go away. This is supposed to be an oversight hearing in which dozens of prosecutors have been fired simply because they worked on cases investigating the... president."
At this point, Bondi interjected with an apparent non-sequitur.
"What about the fires in California, do you care about that, Sen. Schiff?" she demanded to know.
Shortly after, she suggested that Schiff should "apologize to Donald Trump for slandering him."
Schiff: This is supposed to be an oversight hearing when dozens of prosecutors have been fired simply because they worked on cases investigating the former president.
Bondi: What about the fires in California? Are the riots in LA serious? pic.twitter.com/GUkOQvBDxM
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 7, 2025
The day before the hearing, nearly 300 former DOJ employees released a letter blasting Bondi's leadership of the department, while accusing her and other administration officials of "taking a sledgehammer to... long-standing work the department has done to protect communities and the rule of law."
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Democrats Launch Probes of Trump Border Czar After He Reportedly Took $50K Bribe
"Such allegations of high-level corruption and cover-up demand your close cooperation with congressional oversight," wrote Senate Democrats to the US Department of Justice.
Sep 23, 2025
Democrats in both the US Senate and House on Tuesday announced they were launching a probe into President Donald Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, after MSNBC reported this past weekend that he was caught on camera accepting a $50,000 cash bribe by undercover FBI agents.
In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they had "grave concern" about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly shutting down the probe into Homan despite the FBI allegedly possessing video evidence of him accepting $50,000 in cash from agents who were posing as businessmen.
"These reports allege that Mr. Homan received a significant amount of money... in 'exchange for facilitating future contracts related to border enforcement,'" the Democrats wrote. "Such allegations of high-level corruption and cover-up demand your close cooperation with congressional oversight and transparency to restore public trust."
The Democrats then asked the DOJ to preserve "any and all records related to the investigation into Mr. Homan and the decision to close the investigation," and to hand over materials including the FBI's full investigative file and "any recordings of Mr. Homan receiving cash from undercover FBI agents."
MSNBC reporter Ken Dilanian noted in a post on X that Democrats lack subpoena power given that they are in the minority in the Senate, which means it's unlikely that the DOJ will hand over the materials requested.
However, he said that they had other options to gather information about Homan's alleged actions.
"They certainly could interview career officials involved in the investigation and senior FBI and DoJ officials in the last administration who were briefed on it," he said.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday demanding that they turn over all audio and video recordings of the reported meeting, communications between the White House and the DOJ regarding the decision to close the investigation, and other materials related to the bribery allegations.
Ryan Nobles of NBC News noted that "should Democrats win back the majority in 2026... this request will quickly become a legal subpoena the DOJ and FBI cannot just ignore."
Trump and Homan have maintained that the border czar "did nothing criminal or illegal."
" House Democrats are keeping receipts, Tom," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). "And when law and order returns, we will let people of honor determine whether you did anything 'criminal or illegal.'"
The launch of an official investigation into the Homan allegations comes after Democrats over the weekend demanded answers from the Trump administration into why it shut down the DOJ's probe of the Trump official.
“Release the tapes—Americans deserve disclosure of evidence showing top DHS official Homan accepting a bag full of $50,000 in cash,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said on Sunday. “We need to know why the investigation was dropped—all the facts and evidence.”
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Third DOJ Whistleblower Unveils New Allegations That Bove Misled Senate About Adams Case
"What will come out next about Bove?" said one senator as a confirmation vote loomed. "That's precisely the problem with this disaster of a nominee. And why Senate Republicans are rushing through his nomination."
Jul 29, 2025
With the U.S. Senate poised to vote as early as Tuesday on Trump administration official Emil Bove's nomination for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge, a third whistleblower came forward with information about Bove's conduct at the Department of Justice and Democratic senators made their latest push to stop his confirmation.
As The Washington Post reported, a whistleblower shared evidence with lawmakers that Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general and a former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, misled the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding his role in the DOJ's dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
During his confirmation hearing in June, Bove told senators that U.S. District Judge Dale Ho granted the DOJ's motion to dismiss the Adams case because it "reflected a valid exercise of prosecutorial discretion."
He denied the existence of the DOJ deal with Adams to drop the charges in exchange for the mayor's cooperation with Trump's mass deportation agenda, saying that "the suggestion that there was some kind of quid pro quo was just plain false."
The decision to drop the charges led several prosecutors to resign from the DOJ in protest.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and condemned Republicans' decision to advance Bove's nomination earlier this month, first received evidence from the third whistleblower, according to the Post. Several other Democrats have also reviewed the evidence, which Booker told the outlet was "significant."
"We have substantial information relevant to the truthfulness of the nominee," Booker said on the Senate floor, calling on Republicans on the committee to review the new evidence.
"Another whistleblower has come forward with evidence that raises serious concerns with Emil Bove's misconduct. Senate Republicans will bear full responsibility for the consequences if they rubber stamp Mr. Bove's nomination."
Lawyers for the anonymous whistleblower told the Post on Tuesday that they had turned over the new information provided by the person to the DOJ inspector general.
Booker was joined by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Tuesday in calling on the DOJ's inspector general to promptly open an investigation into Bove in light of the latest whistleblower complaint.
"In the event these whistleblower complaints and other reports have not already prompted investigations by your office, we urge you to undertake a thorough review of these disclosures and allegations," said the lawmakers.
Two other whistleblowers have come forward in recent weeks, alleging Bove told DOJ lawyers to ignore court orders that would impede Trump's mass deportation agenda. Former DOJ attorneys and federal and state judges have urged the Senate to oppose his nomination.
Schiff condemned Republicans on the committee for attempting to dismiss the whistleblowers' complaints.
"What will come out next about Bove?" said Schiff. "That's precisely the problem with this disaster of a nominee. And why Senate Republicans are rushing through his nomination. Before more disqualifying information can come out."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) emphasized that the fight to stop Bove's confirmation "isn't over, even when subservient Senate Republicans ignore another whistleblower and shove this character through their new-low, hide-the-ball Senate confirmation process and onto the bench."
Republicans can afford to lose only three votes for Bove and still confirm him with a tie-breaker vote from Vice President JD Vance. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are expected to oppose him.
Josh Sorbe, a spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Judiciary Committee's ranking member, said the latest complaint is "another damning indictment of a man who should never be a federal judge."
"Another whistleblower has come forward with evidence that raises serious concerns with Emil Bove's misconduct," said Sorbe. "Senate Republicans will bear full responsibility for the consequences if they rubber stamp Mr. Bove's nomination."
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'Absolutely Insane': GOP Committee Shuts Off Debate to Advance 'Extreme Ideologue' Emil Bove
"Today's Senate Judiciary Committee meeting was a clear indication of MAGA Republicans' willingness to put blind loyalty to Trump before their oaths of office and duties to their constituents," said one advocate.
Jul 17, 2025
Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday said Republicans on the panel had broken several Senate rules by forcing a vote on judicial nominee Emil Bove, and questioned whether the committee's vote to advance Bove's nomination to the chamber floor was legitimate, since it took place after they walked out in protest.
As NBC News reported, a spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Democrats are questioning whether the vote to advance Bove was officially reported out, and the question "may be up to the Senate parliamentarian" because the GOP broke several committee rules when Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) shut down debate.
The Democratic members of the committee walked out of the hearing room after Grassley said the debate would not continue regarding Bove, who was the subject of a whistleblower report that alleged he told Department of Justice lawyers to ignore court rulings that got in the way of President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.
Bove, currently the principal associate deputy attorney general, reportedly said the DOJ should "consider telling the courts 'fuck you' and ignore" court orders that aimed to stop deportation flights from taking off, carrying hundreds of migrants to other countries without due process.
Earlier this week, Grassley rejected a request by Democrats on the committee to hold a hearing so the whistleblower, former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, could testify.
Grassley said he saw no reason to delay a committee vote on Bove, who in addition to being the subject of Reuveni's complaint, has been accused of belittling subordinates, making "power plays," and lacking professionalism during his tenure in New York's Southern District.
"Bove is an extreme ideologue, and his lifetime appointment sets the stage for the president and his allies to seek out favorable rulings no matter how unconstitutional their actions," said Caroline Ciccone, president of Accountable.US. "It's reprehensible that Senate Republicans silenced a basic acknowledgement of the facts, in order to jam through judicial appointments who will be a rubber stamp for Trump's out-of-touch agenda."
Bove also refused to condemn the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and played a key role in the DOJ decision to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Bove's former role as Trump's personal attorney led 75 former state and federal judges to warn this week that his nomination to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit was "deeply inappropriate."
"He has been trailed by a history of complaints, long predating his affiliation with President Trump about his temperament, his poor judgment, and lack of candor in front of the court," said Durbin on Thursday. "Think of it: We're talking about a judge for life."
Ahead of the committee's proceedings on Thursday, more than 900 former DOJ attorneys joined the call for lawmakers to reject Bove's nomination, saying it was "intolerable... that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land, as it should be intolerable to anyone committed to maintaining our ordered system of justice."
But Grassley disregarded the warning and other protests from Democratic committee members as he cut off the debate over Bove during Thursday's session.
"This is out of order," Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said. "This is absolutely insane. What is the rush?"
After the rest of the Democrats left the room in protest, Booker remained in the hearing room and shouted over the votes of several other judicial nominees before joining his colleagues.
"This lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows that you do not want to simply hear from your colleagues," Booker said. "This is us simply trying to rush through one of the most controversial nominees we've had under this presidential administration."
Grassley denounced the concerns raised about Bove as a "political hit job," but Booker emphasized that "time and time again, there were allegations made against this nominee by independent people, by Republicans, by career professionals, and we are not listening to them or demanding answers."
As Bove's nomination headed to the Senate floor, Durbin and Booker also brought up questions about whether Bove was involved in a DOJ decision not to release files regarding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was a former associate of Trump's and was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
Booker wrote a letter to Bove on Wednesday, saying his "involvement in the DOJ's review of the Epstein files is a matter of significant public importance given the contradictory statements by Attorney General [Pam] Bondi concerning the existence of an Epstein 'client list' and DOJ's stated commitment to transparency. Furthermore, it warrants scrutiny whether the DOJ intentionally withheld evidence related to the trafficking and sexual abuse of minors to protect certain individuals."
Maggie Jo Buchanan, interim executive director of the advocacy group Demand Justice, said Booker had "correctly accused his colleagues across the aisle of abusing their power. We applaud his efforts to ensure the public could learn more about the serious allegations Bove faces, as well as the committee Democrats who walked out of the meeting in light of their Republican colleagues' actions."
"Today's Senate Judiciary Committee meeting was a clear indication of MAGA Republicans' willingness to put blind loyalty to Trump before their oaths of office and duties to their constituents," said Buchanan urging senators from both parties to reject Bove's nomination now that it has advanced to the Senate floor.
"Senators on both sides of the aisle must show their commitment to judicial independence and keep this extreme, Trump loyalist off the federal bench," she said. "Voting 'no' should not be a difficult choice for any senator with an ounce of self-respect or respect for the courts."
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'Free Mahmoud Khalil': Progressives Demand Release of 'Disappeared' Columbia Grad
"If the feds can snatch up an American green card holder for speech they don't like and get away with it, they won't stop here. They'll be able to erase the right to speech they don't agree with and kidnap anyone who dares resist."
Mar 10, 2025
Condemning the Trump administration and immigration officials for detaining and imprisoning Mahmoud Khalil over his involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University last year, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a warning for those who believe the arrest is an isolated incident rather than an indication of the president's approach to dissenters.
"If the federal government can disappear a legal U.S. permanent resident without reason or warrant, then they can disappear U.S. citizens too," said the New York Democrat. "Anyone—left, right, or center—who has highlighted the importance of constitutional rights and free speech should be sounding the alarm now."
Khalil, a graduate of Columbia who was a student at the school until December, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday evening as he was returning home to his university-owned apartment with his wife, who is eight months pregnant. He is reportedly being held in Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, over a thousand miles away from home, while the Trump administration works to revoke his green card under the State Department's "catch and revoke" initiative launched last week with the goal of deporting students who are deemed to be "pro-Hamas."
Khalil, who is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, was an organizer of the solidarity encampment that was erected on Columbia's New York City campus last spring to demand the school divest from companies that have supported Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
Jewish-led rights groups including Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow were among those demanding his release on Monday, and a group of Columbia faculty members were preparing to give a press conference alongside Jewish leaders and immigrant rights defenders to speak out against "the unprecedented and unconstitutional arrest of a permanent resident and Columbia graduate student in retaliation for his political activity."
IfNotNow said that ICE had "abducted and disappeared" Khalil and that the attack on his constitutional rights "enables [President Donald] Trump's authoritarian consolidation of power against his political opponents.
The group condemned the Trump administration for "carrying out this authoritarian lurch under the guise of fighting for Jewish safety."
In New York, hundreds of people gathered Monday afternoon in front of the city's ICE office to demand Khalil's release.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, said the arrest and efforts to deport Khalil are "an assault on our First Amendment and freedom of speech."
The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also spoke out against Khalil's arrest, noting that after he was taken away, his pregnant wife had "no idea where" he was. She attempted to visit him at a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she was told he was being held, but he was not there.
"This should terrify everyone," said the Democratic lawmakers. "So pro-'freedom of speech' that Republicans will DETAIN you if you disagree with them."
While Columbia University officials released statements in recent days about "reports of ICE around campus" and said the Ivy League school "has and will continue to follow the law," administrators have not spoken out about Khalil's detention or demanded his release.
Columbia administrators faced condemnation last year for their crackdown on student protests against the United States' support for Israel's assault on Gaza, which had killed tens of thousands of Palestinians when the demonstrations started, with ample evidence that Israel was targeting civilian infrastructure and not just Hamas targets.
Zeteo reported that Khalil reached out to the administration the day before his arrest, asking officials to "provide the necessary protections" and expressing fear over the Trump administration's threats.
Khalil told officials he had been "subjected to a vicious, coordinated, and dehumanizing doxxing campaign led by Columbia affiliates Shai Davidai and David Lederer who, among others, have labeled me a security threat and called for my deportation."
"I haven't been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support, and I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm," Khalil wrote.
New York City Council member Chi Ossé said that "every Democratic politician and American with a conscience" should speak out against Khalil's detention.
"They're not doing this despite his rights," said Ossé. "They're doing this because of his rights—they're violating the Constitution on purpose, testing the fragile system to see what they can get away with... If the feds can snatch up an American green card holder for speech they don't like and get away with it, they won't stop here. They'll be able to erase the right to speech they don't agree with and kidnap anyone who dares resist."
Ossé called on all those who support civil and constitutional rights to "flood the phones" of members of Congress and demand they push for Khalil's release.
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Durbin Demands Answers on Bondi's Foreign, Corporate Lobbying Clients
"I remain concerned about her ability to serve as an attorney general who will put her oath to the Constitution ahead of her fealty to Donald Trump," said the senator.
Jan 10, 2025
Ahead of a planned confirmation hearing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Democrat on Friday joined government watchdogs in raising alarm over Bondi's past lobbying work.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the panel's ranking member, asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over information regarding Bondi's past registration as a foreign agent working on behalf of countries including Qatar, Kosovo, and Zimbabwe.
Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, did not list foreign clients as potential conflicts of interest on her Senate Judiciary Questionnaire, said Durbin, who met with her earlier this week.
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the DOJ is "privy to a number of disclosures, including details on any written or oral contracts as well as money spent and received while lobbying," reported The Hill.
"To understand the extent to which her work as a FARA-registered lobbyist may create potential conflicts of interest should she be confirmed as attorney general, the committee requires additional information from the Department of Justice that is not otherwise available," Durbin wrote to the DOJ.
The senator also asked the National Archives and Records Administration to disclose to the committee records on more than 25 companies Bondi lobbied for, including Major League Baseball (MLB), Amazon, and General Motors (GM).
The DOJ in 2023 asked a federal court not to extend MLB's exemption from antitrust laws, and the department has reached settlements with Amazon and GM, along with other companies Bondi lobbied for.
"The role of the attorney general is to oversee an independent Justice Department that upholds the rule of law and is free of undue political influence," said Durbin on Wednesday. "Given Ms. Bondi’s responses to my questions, I remain concerned about her ability to serve as an attorney general who will put her oath to the Constitution ahead of her fealty to Donald Trump."
Durbin raised the concerns following the release of reports by Public Citizen and Accountable.US, on Bondi's history of lobbying work.
Accountable.US found that at least five of Bondi's major corporate lobbying clients "faced DOJ fines, investigations, or related scrutiny that could pose serious conflicts if she is confirmed as AG."
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Democratic Senator Rips Judicial Body's Decision Not to Refer Clarence Thomas to DOJ
"By all appearances, the judicial branch is shirking its statutory duty to hold a Supreme Court justice accountable for ethics violations," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
Jan 03, 2025
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse slammed the policy-setting body of the U.S. judiciary for declining his request to refer Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Department of Justice over the right-wing judge's repeated failure to disclose luxury trips taken on the dime of billionaire benefactors.
Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the decision by the Judicial Conference "contains a number of inconsistencies and strange claims, and ultimately doesn't address the only real question the Judicial Conference should've been focused on for the nearly two years it's spent on this matter: Is there reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas willfully broke the disclosure law?"
"By all appearances," Whitehouse added, "the judicial branch is shirking its statutory duty to hold a Supreme Court justice accountable for ethics violations."
In a letter to Whitehouse on Thursday, Judicial Conference Secretary Robert Conrad wrote that Thomas "has filed amended financial disclosure statements" addressing his past failure to divulge trips and other gifts funded by billionaires, including GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. Thomas has insisted he did not know he was required to disclose such gifts, a claim that Whitehouse and other critics have met with deep skepticism.
Conrad also expressed doubt that the Judicial Conference has the power to refer Supreme Court justices to the Justice Department, even as he acknowledged the body's referral authority under 5 U.S.C. § 13106(b).
That statute says the Judicial Conference "shall refer to the attorney general the name of any individual which such official or committee has reasonable cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information required to be reported."
"There is at least reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas intentionally disregarded the disclosure requirement."
In April 2023, Whitehouse and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) urged the Judicial Conference to "step in and refer Justice Thomas to the attorney general for investigation" after ProPublica revealed that in addition to funding luxury trips, Crow purchased property from the judge.
Thomas did not disclose the transaction, a failure that Whitehouse and Johnson characterized as "part of an apparent pattern of noncompliance with disclosure requirements."
"There is at least reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas intentionally disregarded the disclosure requirement to report the sale of his interest in the Savannah properties in an attempt to hide the extent of his financial relationship with Crow," the Democratic lawmakers wrote in their 2023 letter to the Judicial Conference.
The body's decision Thursday came days after the Senate Judiciary Committee uncovered two additional private jet and yacht trips Thomas took in 2021 at Crow's expense.
"It's clear that the justices are losing the trust of the American people at the hands of a gaggle of fawning billionaires," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement last month after his panel released a report on the Supreme Court's "ethical crisis."
The report accuses the Judicial Conference of failing "to adequately respond to the Supreme Court's ethical challenges," noting that the body's September 2024 changes to disclosure requirements "are oddly specific in expanding the personal hospitality exemption and seem more likely to absolve past misconduct and facilitate the acceptance of future largesse than strengthen judicial ethics."
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Congressional Report Calls Trump Deportation Plan 'Catastrophic' for Economy
"All it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy," JEC Chair Martin Heinrich said of the president-elect's plan to deport millions of immigrants.
Dec 12, 2024
Echoing recent warnings from economists, business leaders, news reporting, and immigrant rights groups, Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee detailed Thursday how President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
"Though the U.S. immigration system remains broken, immigrants are crucial to growing the labor force and supporting economic output," states the new report from JEC Democrats. "Immigrants have helped expand the labor supply, pay nearly $580 billion a year in taxes, possess a spending power of $1.6 trillion a year, and just last year contributed close to $50 billion each in personal income and consumer spending."
There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and Trump—who is set to be sworn in next month—has even suggested he would deport children who are American citizens with their parents who are not and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
- Reduce real gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 7.4% by 2028;
- Reduce the supply of workers for key industries, including by up to 225,000 workers in agriculture and 1.5 million workers in construction;
- Push prices up to 9.1% higher by 2028; and
- Cost 44,000 U.S.-born workers their jobs for every half a million immigrants who are removed from the labor force.
Highlighting how mass deportations would harm not only undocumented immigrants but also U.S. citizens, the report explains that construction worker losses would "make housing even harder to build, raising its cost," and "reduce the supply of farmworkers who keep Americans fed as well as the supply of home health aides at a time when more Americans are aging and requiring assistance."
In addition to reducing home care labor, Trump's deportation plan would specifically harm seniors by reducing money for key government benefits that only serve U.S. citizens. The report references estimates that it "would cut $23 billion in funds for Social Security and $6 billion from Medicare each year because these workers would no longer pay into these programs."
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who chairs the JEC, said Thursday that "as a son of an immigrant, I know how hard immigrants work, how much they believe in this country, and how much they're willing to give back. They are the backbone of our economy and the driving force behind our nation's growth and prosperity."
"Trump's plan to deport millions of immigrants does absolutely nothing to address the core problems driving our broken immigration system," Heinrich stressed. "Instead, all it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy. His immigration policy is reckless and would cause irreparable harm to our economy."
Along with laying out the economic toll of Trump's promised deportations, the JEC report makes the case that "providing a pathway to citizenship is good economics. Immigrants are helping meet labor demand while also demonstrating that more legal pathways to working in the United States are needed to meet this demand."
"Additionally, research shows that expanding legal immigration pathways can reduce irregular border crossings, leading to more secure and regulated borders," the publication says. "This approach is vital for managing increased migration to the United States, especially as more people flee their home countries due to the continued risk of violence, persecution, economic conditions, natural disasters, and climate change."
The JEC report followed a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that explored how mass deportations would not only devastate the U.S. economy but also harm the armed forces and tear apart American families.
In a statement, Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the advocacy group America's Voice, thanked Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) "for calling this important discussion together and shining a spotlight on the potential damage."
Cárdenas pointed out that her group has spent months warning about how Trump's plan would "cripple communities and spike inflation," plus cause "tremendous human suffering as American citizens are ripped from their families, as parents are separated from their children, or as American citizens are deported by their own government."
"Trump and his allies have said it will be 'bloody,' that 'nobody is off the table,' and that 'you have to send them all back,'" she noted, arguing that the Republican plan will "set us back on both border control and public safety."
Cárdenas concluded that "America needs a serious immigration reform proposal—with pathways to legal status and controlled and orderly legal immigration—which recognize[s] immigrants are essential for America's future."
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Pro-Democracy Alliance Says Supreme Court's Trump Immunity Ruling Must Not Stand
"The ramifications of this ruling are not abstract, especially following the January 6 attack on the Capitol," said one coalition member. "This decision impacts everyone, because the actions of the president of the United States affect all of us."
Sep 23, 2024
Dozens of civil society groups on Monday told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that congressional action is "imperative" to ensure the Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States does not stand, warning that the court's ruling on presidential immunity in July "poses a significant threat to our democracy."
In deciding that a U.S. president has "absolute immunity" for "official acts" taken while in office, said the groups, the court "effectively [provided] the president with sweeping legal immunity for criminal acts" two-and-a-half years after former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to block the 2020 election results from being certified with a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"The idea that a president should be granted constitutional protection from prosecution for otherwise criminal 'official acts' is an affront to the fundamental principle of American democracy that no one is above the law," reads the letter sent to the committee by groups including Public Citizen, Accountable.US, and Free Speech for People.
The organizations asked the committee to enter the letter into the official record ahead of a hearing on the Trump v. United States ruling, which is set for Tuesday.
The signatories quoted Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent to the ruling, in which she listed scenarios in which a president could now be immune from prosecution following the 6-3 decision.
"The idea that a president should be granted constitutional protection from prosecution for otherwise criminal 'official acts' is an affront to the fundamental principle of American democracy that no one is above the law."
"Under the ruling, if the president '[o]rders the Navy's Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune,'" wrote the groups.
Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of Public Citizen's Democracy Campaign, emphasized that even without hypotheticals, the harm done by Trump v. United States is clear.
"The language in Trump v. United States suggests the president, in theory, could do whatever they want, whenever they want, without facing accountability under criminal law, so long as they could claim to be carrying out 'official acts,'" said Minkoff-Zern. "The ramifications of this ruling are not abstract, especially following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. This decision impacts everyone, because the actions of the president of the United States affect all of us. It's telling that so many different organizations have signed onto this letter."
The ruling sent a case regarding Trump's alleged attempts to conspire to obstruct an official proceeding on January 6 back to a lower court, ensuring that he won't face trial for charges against him before the November election, in which the Republican is running against Vice President Kamala Harris.
The groups pointed to a number of congressional actions that could be taken to "address the harms" of the ruling, including the passage of:
- Rep. Joe Morelle's (D-N.Y.) "Not Above the Law" constitutional amendment, which would reverse the decision;
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) No Kings Act, which would establish that president and vice presidents don't have immunity from prosecution for criminal acts, and
- Sen. Mazie Hirono's (D-Hawaii) amendment to "clarify that Presidents and other federal officeholders are, in fact, accountable to the law for their actions."
"Our country elects our leaders through a democratic process," said Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert, "and those duly elected leaders, including the president of the United States, must follow the law, not stand above it."
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Senate Dems Seek Special Counsel to Investigate Clarence Thomas and Billionaire Benefactors
"The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics."
Jul 09, 2024
Stepping up efforts to hold U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accountable for alleged ethics violations, two Democratic senators on Tuesday announced they'd requested that the Biden administration appoint a special counsel to investigate the right-wing judge.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the federal courts and oversight, was joined by and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland, warning that extensive reporting has pointed to possible violations of the Ethics in Government Act by Thomas.
While the senators' committees have presented Thomas with opportunities to explain his failure to disclose a significant forgiven debt and several financial gifts he received from wealthy benefactors, the justice "has maintained a suspicious silence," said Whitehouse and Wyden.
"The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations," wrote the senators. "No government official should be above the law. Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code."
"We therefore request that you appoint a special counsel authorized to investigate potential criminal violations by Justice Thomas," they added.
The senators cited a loan of more than $267,000 to Thomas, in connection with his purchase of a luxury motor coach. The Senate Finance Committee found that the provider of the loan, Anthony Welters, a wealthy businessman in the healthcare sector, stopped collecting principal and interest on the loan in 2008—suggesting the debt was forgiven and therefore taxable.
"The Ethics in Government Act requires justices to disclose any 'income from discharge of indebtedness,'" wrote the senators. "Justice Thomas did not report any such forgiveness as income on his financial disclosure report covering the year 2008, or for any other year."
The letter also points to numerous financial gifts Thomas received from benefactors including billionaire Harlan Crow, businessman Wayne Huizenga, and former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol. The justice has reportedly received free private jet travel, lodging, tuition for his grandnephew, a country club membership, and free rent for his mother, among other gifts, "all of which Justice Thomas failed to disclose" in violation of the Ethics in Government Act.
"Justice Thomas has claimed that some omissions were 'inadvertent,' and he has amended some past reports accordingly," wrote Whitehouse and Wyden. "However, Justice Thomas has not disclosed all of the gifts that have been uncovered, and there may well be more. His long history of omissions indicates a pattern of willfulness meriting investigation under the Ethics in Government Act."
On social media, Whitehouse added that "the American people deserve a comprehensive investigation into the potential violations of ethics and tax laws by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas."
Court reform groups and other progressives have long called for Thomas to be held accountable for multiple alleged conflicts of interest and other possible ethics violations—demanding that he recuse from cases involving former President Donald Trump due to his wife's involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and calling for a federal investigation into gifts he's received from people and groups who had business before the Supreme Court.
"It's beyond time we hold Clarence Thomas accountable for his actions," said the advocacy group End Citizens United.
The senators noted that an ethics investigation by a special counsel appointed by Garland could shed light on payments reportedly facilitated by Leonard Leo, board chair of the right-wing Federalist Society, which has pushed for the appointment of right-wing judges to the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
"Last year, The Washington Post reported that Leo directed payments of at least $25,000 to a consulting firm run by Justice Thomas's spouse, with Leo specifying that the documents related to the payments should make '[n]o mention' of Mrs. Thomas," wrote Whitehouse and Wyden. "The furtive nature of the payments raises further questions about how many such payments were orchestrated, whether legitimate services were actually rendered, and whether such payments required additional reporting by Justice Thomas."
An investigation is needed, said the senators, to uncover "the full scope of potential unlawful conduct related to any coordinated gifts program for certain justices."
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