Speaking on the one-year anniversary of announcing her presidential exploratory committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday lambasted her GOP colleagues in Congress before an enthusiastic crowd in Boston.
The 2020 hopeful accused Republicans of forgoing their morality to defend President Donald Trump amid impeachment proceedings against him. In the past year, the president has only "become bolder with his lies, more brazen with his lawbreaking" and "tried to squeeze a foreign government to advance his own personal political fortunes," Warren said.
"Meanwhile, the Republicans in Congress have turned into fawning, spineless defenders of his crimes," the Massachusetts senator continued, earning cheers and applause. "It has brought no one any joy that the House Democrats upheld their sworn duty to the Constitution and impeached the president of the United States of America."
The liberal Democrat has been at the top of recent polls, alongside Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. She used the New Year's Eve speech, which took place in the Old South Meeting House, a Congregational church famous for being the epicenter of 1773's Boston Tea Party, to court voters ahead of February's caucus and primary in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.
Before those events occur, the GOP-controlled Senate will hold an impeachment trial, where it's all but certain the president will be acquitted of the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress impeachment articles passed by the House.
Many senators—Republicans and Democrats alike—have suggested their minds are made up on whether Trump is guilty of committing impeachable offenses, despite the notion they should act as impartial jurors. But remarks by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that he'll work in "total coordination" with the White House to defend Trump throughout the trial has enraged Democrats and even concerned at least two Republicans.
"Soon, I will return to the Senate and do my sworn duty as well, Warren said. "But unless some Senate Republicans choose truth over politics, Donald Trump will be emboldened to try to cheat his way through yet another election."
Stumping for the Massachusetts senator was Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), whose district encompasses parts of Boston. Last month, she endorsed Warren over Sanders, in a break from the group of her progressive freshmen peers known as "The Squad," which consists of herself, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Seated toward the front of the room sat Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is challenging Markey for his Senate seat.
Warren challenged her supporters to imagine what it would be like to have the first woman president and, in line with her anti-corporate message, promised to "attack corruption in Washington head-on."
"Imagine a country where the fossil fuel industry doesn't have a death grip on our planet. Imagine a country where private prisons and detention centers don't exist, and no one makes a profit from locking people up," she said.
"Imagine a country where the NRA and the gun industry don't get to put their own profits above the safety of our children," Warren went on. "Imagine a country where big drug companies in the insurance industry don't stand between Americans and the basic health care they need. Imagine a country where no politician has to kiss the rings of the rich in order to win elected office."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ramsey Touchberry is a Washington Correspondent for Newsweek based in the nation's capital, where he regularly covers Congress.
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