Last week, Republicans in the Senate tried to ram Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, John Ratcliffe. They wanted to avoid a full debate, and even though it only took one Senator to require a full debate, none of my colleagues seemed ready to make the objection.

So I did. I went to the floor and stopped the fast-tracking of a deeply unqualified nominee — one of the most important national security jobs in the world with unfettered access to our most sensitive information.

Republicans wanted to give the Senate 120 minutes of debate. 120 minutes for 100 people to deliberate and discuss a job that will make life-and-death decisions.

Certainly there are some nominees for the job that would be undisputedly qualified and capable, but that is not John Ratcliffe.

There are serious concerns about how John Ratcliffe plays politics with sensitive intelligence. Most notoriously, a month before the 2020 election, he declassified a cherry-picked CIA memo from four years earlier that outlined Russian claims that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie Trump to Russia’s hack of the DNC. Let me be clear: These were unverified claims directly from Russia.

His decision ran counter to the advice from CIA’s career civil servants. They warned that it would put American sources, methods and personnel at risk. So why did he do it? He wanted to bolster Trump’s campaign, plain and simple.

And to my Republican colleagues who are accusing me of putting national security at risk, let me not mince words here: Spare me.

If they cared about national security or law and order, they would have far more to say about Donald Trump pardoning 1,500 rioters — including the most violent ones. People who brutally attacked law enforcement officers, hunted for Democratic elected officials with zip ties, and brought gallows and a noose to chant “hang Mike Pence.”

An extra day to deliberate does nothing compared to mainstreaming political violence and releasing violent criminals back into our society because their acts of violence were done in the name of the President of the United States.

Spare me the crocodile tears of my colleagues who are outraged about my request for a debate but remain silent about pardons for 1,500 individuals who attempted a coup on January 6.

This is the job we were elected to do, and you deserve leaders who take it seriously and do their due diligence.

If you agree, I would be humbled to earn your support today. Small-dollar contributions allow me to spend more time focused on this important work without worrying about fundraising. Please consider making a contribution if you can afford it.

Thank you for putting me in a position to lead and fight for you at such a critical time for our democracy. I hope you see that I do not take this responsibility lightly.

Every best wish,

Chris

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