Dear John,

Americans have witnessed many foreign strongmen ignore elections to cling to power. I never thought we would see this kind of attempted coup in our most hallowed temple of democracy, but that’s exactly what happened yesterday. The American people have rejected Donald Trump’s failed leadership, but he and his loyalists were trying to find any means by which to keep him in power. That is unacceptable in any democratic republic.

We should be clear, though, that the attack on our democracy was not only perpetrated by the violent mob that trashed the U.S. Capitol, but by elected representatives who serve there. There is no evidence of any systemic fraud in any of the six states that a group of senators on the other side of the aisle planned to challenge. All such claims were examined not only by respective state authorities, but also by the courts. The violent mob of insurrectionists and the Congressional objectors shared the same goal: overturn the election executed according to our Constitution and laws to seize power for their losing candidate.  


Click here to listen to the remarks I gave on the Senate floor once the chamber was able to reconvene and complete our responsibility under the Constitution to certify the Electoral College’s votes.>>> 

The riot in the Capitol demands swift accountability, including removing President Trump from office, either by impeachment or the 25th Amendment.  And there should be criminal investigation and prosecutions of both rioters and those who incited or conspired with them to address yesterday’s actions. Justice demands accountability.

Responsibility for yesterday’s attempted coup runs deep. It starts with the president of course, but the failure of President Trump’s allies in Congress to stand up and speak the truth and dismiss the false claims and conspiracy theories promoted by the president led to yesterday’s attempted insurrection. When a president attempts to deceive the public and inspire an anti-democratic revolt, it’s the responsibility of all every single leader -- regardless of party -- to stand up, set the record straight, and protect and defend our constitutional republic.

And we should be clear that the efforts to overturn the election are only the latest efforts by a privileged and powerful elite to hold power in spite of the will of the people. For years, their vast pools of corporate and dark money, voter suppression, and partisan gerrymandering have conspired to manipulate elections. Our democracy has been under assault for a long time and we need robust election reforms to rebuild government of, by, and for the People.

I look forward to serving in the Senate while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lead our nation. We must immediately address the economic and health care issues raised by the pandemic. We need to invest in the foundations for families to thrive -- which means health care, housing, education and good paying jobs. We need to restore our democracy and take on voter suppression, gerrymandering, and dark money -- the real issues corrupting our election system. And we need to take on the biggest issue facing our planet: climate chaos.

We have a long road ahead of us, and I hope you will join me in committing to traveling that road with decency and respect for one another and the institutions of our constitutional republic. We have so much work to do, and we need to get to that work right away.

All my best,
Jeff