In addition to the Russia scandal and related concerns that the Trump administration faced in its first two years or so, they’ve now got the impassioned onslaught of Democratic presidential candidates like Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) to deal with. This weekend on CNN, she denounced the White House’s behavior as flatly opposed to the basic principles of the American democratic system, sharing a perspective she said was based on an up close and personal look at the breakdown thanks to her ongoing role in the Senate and more particularly, on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Responding to Jake Tapper asking whether it’s right to declare the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis” in the wake of new stonewalling from the Trump team, Harris shared:
‘I think we probably are. I mean listen, a constitutional crisis is generally when the system that we set up with checks and balances — when each of the independent, coequal branches of government fails to perform its duties. And I think we are seeing a breakdown of responsibilities. We saw it last week in the Barr hearing, we’re seeing it in terms of a failure to comply with a subpoenas… There is a failure to respect the significance of Congress’s duty to perform a role of oversight over the administration, over the agencies.’
Sen. Kamala Harris on the US being in a constitutional crisis: “I think it is fair to say that we’re looking at a crisis, not only of confidence, but potentially a constitutional crisis.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ld0D1us0pD
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 12, 2019
In her Senate Judiciary role, Harris was there recently when Trump shill Attorney General William Barr testified before the committee and flailed in defense of the supposed innocence of President Donald Trump, posing questions like whether Trump had ever pressured an investigation. Barr twisted himself into a pretzel of lies for the guy, suggesting, for instance, that Trump hadn’t wanted now former White House counsel Don McGahn to lie when he asked the lawyer to say Trump never wanted him to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. After all, Barr insisted, Trump only wanted McGahn to have someone else fire Mueller — and that kind of hair splitting that would make the most passionate filibuster blush pretty much sums up the whole hearing.
Barr eventually refused to appear for a previously scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, leading to the panel voting to hold him in contempt of Congress. There are other similar lingering issues, too, like the president’s declaration of executive privilege over the entire final report from Mueller’s probe, even the parts where that claim doesn’t apply.
Harris insists she would be a counter to these violations of the rule of law — she’s served as everything from a prosecutor to district attorney to state attorney general. As some concrete examples, she told Jake Tapper in her interview airing this weekend that she would be prepared to address gun violence with “executive action, because that’s what’s needed.” On that front, even in the face of repeated mass shootings, the Trump team has mostly failed to act outside of steps like banning bump stocks, which up the power of semi-automatic weapons.
“On this issue of the need for gun safety laws, we’re not at any loss for good ideas… What we’re waiting for is Congress to have the courage to act,” says Sen. @KamalaHarris.
As President, “I am prepared to take executive action, because that’s what’s needed.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/qhn72sCDri
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 12, 2019
The issue is one of many lingering ahead of the 2020 election. Others include health care — many Democratic contenders have presented plans for Medicare for all, while Trump is continuing to try and upend ObamaCare with no replacement plan currently on the table, which would leave millions of Americans without coverage. In other words, the contrast couldn’t be much more clear.
Featured Image via screenshot
