MCGOVERN ON ONE YEAR OF UNIFIED REPUBLICAN CONTROL

WASHINGTON—Today, Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-MA) delivered the following opening remarks at a meeting of the House Rules Committee:

Thank you, Madam Chair. On today’s Republican agenda: control women, reward special interests, and prioritize the powerful while doing nothing to help regular people.

Look at what you are choosing to bring to the floor this week.

We have a pair of bills designed to police pregnant women and steer them away from real care.

H.R. 6359 forces colleges to push GOP anti-choice propaganda on pregnant students.

H.R. 6945 redirects resources meant for low-income families to anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers,” places that pretend to offer real medical care but which actually push a political agenda.

In Worcester—in my district—a woman went to one of these centers. She was looking for care. She was told her pregnancy was healthy after an ultrasound. And a month later, she needed emergency surgery because the pregnancy was not healthy; it was ectopic. And as a result of the bad medical advice that Republicans are funding today, she suffered permanent, irreversible consequences.

So yes—help pregnant students. Help parents. Help families. But if Republicans actually wanted to help families, they’d expand childcare, lower prescription drug costs, protect Medicaid, raise wages, invest in SNAP, and build affordable housing. They’re not doing any of that here.

This week’s third measure scraps environmental protections in northern Minnesota so mining companies can bulldoze public land, threaten clean water, and leave communities holding the bag. Once again, Republicans bend over backwards to help out the billionaire corporations that dump pollution into our cities and towns. It’s the same story, every time.

Let me also say, Madam Chair—while this committee considers nonsense messaging bills, what we are not talking about is the global crisis this president has started. We are currently dealing with a president who is attacking our friends. Who is spinning completely out of control. Who is one step away from launching a military strike on a NATO ally.

So, you may want to sit here and pretend like everything is normal. But it is not.

Let me read you something that was made available to everyone publicly over the weekend—a letter from Donald Trump to Norway’s Prime Minister: “Dear Jonas, Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.”

He goes on to say: “Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway?”

And he concludes with: “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT.”

And then today, Trump shared a post saying that NATO—not Russia or China—is the real threat.

Is that what the Republican party believes today? That NATO is a greater threat than China? I mean what the hell is going on?

First let me just say—the U.S. already has a military presence in Greenland. We already help protect the land from Russia and China. And Denmark has already offered to give us whatever we need to make sure Greenland stays safe.

But I want to be very, very clear here. This is not bluster. This is not a joke. This is not Trump being Trump. This is not something you guys can shrug off or turn away from.

This is a very, very, very serious situation.

Denmark sent troops to Greenland to protect it from an American invasion. Let that sink in. Our NATO allies are treating us like a belligerent power.

 Canada has signaled that such an invasion would activate Article 5, meaning our allies would be obligated to take military action against us. Do you guys realize how insane this is?

And instead of de-escalating, Trump is ramping up his rhetoric. He’s trying to bully and blackmail our closest allies—raising tariffs and trying to blackmail them into letting the United States annex a sovereign nation that does not want to be part of the United States.

Markets are watching the chaos and “Sell America” is back in the headlines—the dollar is sliding as geopolitical and trade tensions flare.

And Putin and Xi are watching America pick fights with friends while also giving them all the permission they need to take Taiwan, take more of Ukraine, and annex whatever the hell they want.

And this brings me to a larger point. Today marks one year since Donald Trump was sworn into office. One year of unified Republican control: House, Senate, and the White House.

So, I’ll ask a simple question: Are Americans better off than they were a year ago?

People don’t want Greenland. They want healthcare.

They don’t want Venezuela. They want cheaper groceries.

You guys have your priorities totally backwards. Nothing you have done is American First. This is all Donald Trump First. It was all a big lie.

Supermarket bills are still crushing families. Rent is still out of reach. Energy costs still hurt. Trump’s tariffs sure as hell haven’t helped.

And today you’re pushing bills that restrict women’s health care choices and making it easier for billionaires to pollute our air and water. 

Get a grip on reality. Millions of Americans have lost health coverage thanks to your policies and inaction. Wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. People are working harder than ever and getting less.

Meanwhile, billionaires and special interests are doing just fine—because Republicans have turned Congress into an all-you-can-eat buffet of favors for the rich and powerful.

We all saw it from day one—the Big Tech CEOs lined up behind Trump at the swearing-in like it was a shareholders’ meeting. And since then, it’s been one big giveaway after another for billionaires. Self-enrichment on top of self-enrichment. Trump and his family have made nearly $4 billion while working people are putting food back on the shelf because they can’t afford it.

And the majority’s crown jewel—your Big Ugly Bill—is the perfect symbol of the whole rotten deal: take from regular folks who are already struggling, so billionaires and big corporations can get more loopholes, more tax breaks, and more giveaways.

And by the way, the Big Ugly Bill also gave $75 billion in new funding to ICE. That’s where your healthcare money went, America; ICE is using it to sow fear and chaos in our communities.

After 365 days, I’m here to tell you that there are no more scapegoats. No more saying it’s “Biden’s economy” or “Democrats’ fault.” Republicans have been in charge for a year. Prices are up, consumer confidence is down, our allies don’t trust us, our adversaries are laughing at us, and our country is more divided than ever before.

And this Republican Congress has not only failed to meet the moment—it has been a complete, total, embarrassing failure on all counts.

With that, I yield back.

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