'They Have Zero Respect For The American People': Rich McCormick Rails Against 'The Deep State'

3 months ago

During remarks on the House floor, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) spoke about witnesses dodging questions in hearings and unelected bureaucrats.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind this body that our role as members of Congress is not

00:10just to pass laws and allocate funding.

00:14We are the people's house because we are the closest to the people.

00:20We have the most crucial duty to oversee the executive branch and hold the bureaucracy

00:25accountable for their actions.

00:28With the founding of our nation, this oversight function has been a cornerstone of our democracy.

00:35Yet time and time again, we see witnesses from the executive branch refusing to answer

00:40the questions of the people.

00:43They quibble over details and dodge questions.

00:48Our hearings have become political theater.

00:51Witnesses act like teenagers caught out after curfew.

00:54And the deep state evades the constitutional oversight authority that the people's house

00:59is supposed to yield.

01:01This authority is the way our founders intended to keep the federal bureaucracy in check.

01:08Enough is enough.

01:10This cannot continue.

01:12It is time to take a stand and restore the power of the people's house.

01:18We must ensure that the men and women who would act like rulers over the American people,

01:24despite never being elected, and then intentionally withhold information from the United States

01:28Congress finally face consequences.

01:34Under Title II of current law, their duplicity is already illegal.

01:39Refusing to answer the people's questions that are deemed pertinent to the question

01:43under inquiry is currently punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

01:49The application of this law, however, has been lost to history.

01:54Just this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Department

01:59of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and many others blatantly and boldly violated

02:06the law and have gleefully and unabashedly refused to answer questions in hearing after

02:12hearing.

02:14They have zero respect for the American people and no fear of the United States Congress.

02:20At a hearing on June 4th, Attorney General Garland was asked if the Supreme Court's then-pending

02:26decision on obstruction charges would change the Department of Justice's actions in prosecutions

02:32related to January 6th.

02:34Garland's response was, I don't answer hypotheticals.

02:39In November of last year, at the hearing of Homeland Security Committee, Secretary Mayorkas

02:44simply refused to answer when asked by the vice chairman guest how many daily apprehensions

02:53constituted a crisis at the southern border.

02:57Just today, the Director of Secret Service, Dr. Kimberly Cheadle, refused to answer nearly

03:03every single question she was asked from members on both sides of the aisle about

03:09the egregious security failures of July 13th.

03:14This is what we have experienced over and over again.

03:19That is why I am introducing the Stop the Sump Act.

03:24Our legislation will make it clear that those bureaucrats who refuse to answer the questions

03:29of the American people will be permanently disqualified from federal employment.

03:34It will further empower committee chairs and ranking members, members from both parties,

03:39to refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecutions.

03:43Lastly, it will give the United States Congress more tools to withhold the salaries of those

03:49who obstruct our oversight efforts.

03:53We cannot allow the swamp, the entrenched bureaucrats in Washington who believe they

03:57know better than the people they are supposed to serve, to continue to dodge the oversight

04:03of Congress and rule by fiat over the American people.

04:08We must stand up for the American people and demand transparency and honesty from those

04:13who serve in our government.

04:16Our republic's survival hinges on it.

04:19It is time to send a clear message that we will not tolerate any attempts to undermine

04:24our oversight role.

04:26We are the voice of the people, and we will not be silenced.

04:32Together, we can stop the swamp and ensure that our government is truly of the people,

04:40by the people, and for the people.

04:43With that, I yield.

'They Have Zero Respect For The American People': Rich McCormick Rails Against 'The Deep State'

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