WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, yesterday joined his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Floor to speak out against President Trump’s and Republicans’ ongoing attacks on the right to vote and pledge his commitment to protecting access to the ballot box. Senator Welch condemned President Trump’s new antidemocratic executive order that would effectively disenfranchise millions of eligible citizens. The Senator also warned about the dangers of Congressional Republicans’ SAVE Act, which recently passed the House of Representatives and contains many of the problematic provisions in President Trump’s Executive Order.
“This Executive Order makes an assumption that noncitizen voting is a problem. The assertion that noncitizens are voting is alarming. Fortunately, it’s not true,” said Senator Welch. “Also, federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in congressional and presidential elections. This is not a question of whether there’s some back door effort on the part of one party to allow noncitizens to vote. It can’t be done. Illegal now—this executive order would not change that.”
Watch Senator Welch’s speech below:
Senator Welch was joined on the Senate Floor by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
Senator Welch’s Committee and Subcommittee Assignments for the 119th Congress include:
- Senate Committee on Finance
- Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution
- Senate Committee on Rules & Administration
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