What Jamie Raskin said, and what was done

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate 2026 NBA champion Josh Hart. Josh just helped lead the New York Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973. An outstanding shooting guard and rebounder, he is an essential force on the Knicks and, many say, the beating ``Hart'' of the team.”

“Mr. Speaker, I can understand why our colleagues talking about deranged Trump syndrome don't want us talking about the actual President himself. He just said, ``I don't think about Americans' financial situation,'' and, ``not even a little bit.'' Well, no kidding.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary Colman McCarthy, an accomplished writer, philosopher of nonviolence, Catholic activist, educator, golfer, and runner, who cut a singular figure in Montgomery County, Maryland, and in the Washington, D.C., area.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the great Colman McCarthy, who recently passed away at the age of 87. For decades, Colman McCarthy cut a singular figure in Washington, D.C., known for both riding his three-speed Raleigh bicycle to work every day and for putting his sharp writing to good use challenging militarism, fascism, materialism, capital punishment, the war complex, and mindless overconsumption.”

“Often monitors are put in place after there is a finding of serious misconduct, including violations of constitutional rights or actions that jeopardize people's public health, safety, and well-being.”

“None of it. The President said he was going to lower inflation on day one. Inflation is soaring. Now the cost of gasoline is up $1.50 across the country because of his illegal, unconstitutional war he has waged against us.”

“Where is the interstate nexus that would even give us jurisdiction to adopt this dramatic expansion of the law governing insurance fraud? I would love the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin to illuminate where is the interstate nexus or character that justifies this dramatic enlargement of law governing insurance fraud in the United States.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Georgia. Mrs. McBATH. But this bill doesn't do it. I need to reiterate that a charge is not a conviction, and H.R. 6260 will keep charged Americans jobless.”

“Menefee, a couple other points occurred to me. One is that our same colleagues who want to crack down on the ability of people to associate and raise money for the purposes of providing bail for people who can't afford it are also the ones who basically want to blow the doors off the hinges when it comes to campaign finance.”

“Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit so we can move forward with this absolutely essential legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Harris for his thoughtful remarks. I rise to support and will vote for H.R. 5625, the Cashless Bail Reporting Act, because it would simply direct the Attorney General to publish a list of State and local jurisdictions that permit cashless bail.”

“States are grappling with these issues every single day. In my home State of Georgia, Republican politicians just reversed course on a whole slate of reforms that they ushered in by Republicans in the State legislature just a few years ago.”

“So I agree with the prior speaker. We don't want people getting out of jail for any reason, whether it is bail or parole or a pardon from the President, without due consideration of what the effects are going to be on the community.”

“Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close if the gentleman is prepared to close. He seems to be in a hurry. Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining?”

“Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to my colleague for a moment if he wants to respond about the pardon of the former President of Honduras, whether that is something that our colleagues on that side of the aisle support or not.”

“Madam Speaker, I reclaim my time. We consider the safety of the people to be the highest law that there is, along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Knott for those thoughtful remarks. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the author of the resolution.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my resolution, H. Res. 1251, to recognize Jewish American Heritage Month and honor the role of Jewish Americans throughout our country's 250-year history.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida. Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, as we mark Jewish American Heritage Month, I urge my colleagues not only to support this measure, but to take this opportunity to engage with their Jewish and non-Jewish constituents during the month of May to educate them about Jewish contributions to the success of the United States of America.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida. President Washington, in the summer of 1790, penned a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. In it, he explained the key advantage that would set our new Republic apart from all prior nations.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, yes, it is foreign intelligence, which is why when it comes to U.S. persons--U.S. citizens--the Fourth Amendment has to apply.”

“Mr. Speaker, please forgive me because I didn't even have 15 minutes to read it. I had to drive down from Maryland's beautiful Eighth District, so I have had about 90 seconds to review this product that we were supposed to have been working on for the last several months.”

“I don't think that our friends in the Freedom Caucus have done the American people any favors if they are signing off on this. The first thing that they do is they change the terms of the length of the legislation, a 5-year authorization with the fraudulent warrant requirement not kicking in for 2 years.”

“Georgia for his points, but I hope that their entire case doesn't rest on the argument that he just advanced from page 5. He quoted the section saying that any information concerning a United States person acquired under 702 may not be used in evidence against that person in any criminal proceeding if such information was acquired in violation of subsection (o).”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and the gentleman from Texas for his remarks. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6310. This is a bipartisan bill to rename the Olney Post Office after Sergeant Edward Lawrence Ramsey.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the B'nai Israel Congregation's Centennial. B'nai Israel is an essential part of Maryland's 8th District's vibrant and diverse Jewish community, and it is a privilege to represent a congregation with one hundred years of storied history and activism.”

“Marie served 3 days in jail. His food was confiscated, taken away, and he was deported from the country. Why? Because assaulting a dog like that is a crime of moral turpitude.”

“The administration used fraud as an excuse to send thousands of masked Federal agents to terrorize the people of Minneapolis and surrounding areas, a blunder so egregious our colleagues are told not even to use the phrase ``mass deportation'' anymore because the vast majority of Americans reject what they saw on the streets of Minneapolis, agents beating up peaceful protesters and killing them.”

“I am not the only Cato analyst who has explained the risks of political and constitutional crisis created by presidential attempts to get state-level election criminals pardoned; normalizing such actions will inevitably create ripple effects in future elections.”

“In it, it answers the question between the gentleman and me. I thought that I was submitting a very simple, humble request, that he withdraw the false statement that Joe Biden, as President, had forgiven hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and restitution.”

“Mr. Speaker, before the distinguished gentleman leaves, I would be happy to yield to him for an answer to a question. The bill, as he originally introduced it, required a criminal conviction.”

“Representative Taylor, this is your bill, H.R. 1958. It begins like this: ``Any alien who has been convicted of an offense that involves defrauding the United States Government or unlawfully receiving a Federal public benefit . . . or a State or local public benefit . . . is deportable.'' You have got the language of ``convicted'' in there.”

“Mr. Speaker, I will reclaim my time. I supported the original vision. It was basically unnecessary because it was a restatement of what the law is, to put it all in one place, so I could certainly support that.”

“We have already heard that their side of the aisle is looking for a military budget of $1.5 trillion for next year. They are looking for $1.5 trillion for the war budget, for Secretary of War Hegseth.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Nadler for his extraordinary leadership on this legislation and on this issue. I rise in strong support of S. 1884, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025.”

“I have no further speakers, Madam Speaker. I will just restate my strong support for this legislation. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Arizona for bringing it forward.”

“Mr. Speaker, to close, I strongly support H.R. 6719, the Combating Online Predators Act. I encourage all of our colleagues to support it, and I praise the gentlewoman for her leadership on this legislation.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan legislation, and I extend my praise to the distinguished gentlewoman from Missouri who has demonstrated a remarkable initiative and high octane energy in organizing the House of Representatives behind it.”

“Mr. Speaker, many of us in Congress are calling for the immediate release of Mr. Ekrem Imamoglu, who is the mayor of Istanbul, Turkiye. Istanbul is Turkiye's largest city.”

“Madam Speaker, we are invited to believe that the United States Congress is not only more competent to make medical decisions for America's children than their own parents, but that the United States Congress is more competent than all 50 State legislatures to run medical practices within their States.”

“Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Washington. Madam Speaker, it is outrageous for the government to commandeer those decisions. Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to all vote ``no.''”

“Mr. Speaker, why did the Framers vest the power to declare war in Congress alone? It was because the kings were constantly plunging their entire nations into wars of vanity, of conceit, of caprice, of mere whimsy.”

“Mr. Speaker, I urgently commend to our colleagues across the aisle the speech that President Lincoln, the founder of their party, made about the Mexican-American War. He stood in this Chamber and said: On something as important and as grave as going to war, we want to know exactly what the rationale is, exactly why we are doing it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Peter and Cora Weiss's lifelong passionate dedication to peace, social justice and civil rights for all. I would like to ask for unanimous consent that two articles summarizing the remarkable lives of Peter and Cora Weiss.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the public service of Rev. Dr. Della J. Owens-Barber in advance of her fourth anniversary banquet as Senior Pastor at the Saint James Christian Church on December 7, 2025.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. McBath for yielding, Mr. Roy for his leadership on this, and Mr. Biggs for his comments. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan legislation.”

“When they are unable to start fresh or move on because of the obstacles that they face as a consequence of the crimes that they were forced to commit, victims and survivors often return to their traffickers or fall victim to new predators.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia. Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, we must ensure our government continues to invest in prevention services and enforcement that keeps survivors protected.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this cynical and silly resolution. I am not a socialist myself, but a Tom Payne Democrat, a champion of strong democracy, universal freedom, and equal rights for everybody, but this resolution is ridiculous.”

“Mr. Speaker, Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington this week has been a disgrace to American democracy. The President of the United States scolded a reporter as insubordinate and then tried to explain away bin Salman's central role in the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi, The Washington Post journalist, who was ambushed in Istanbul, strangled, drawn and quartered, and dismembered by bin Salman's 15-member security detail, according to U.S. intelligence.”

“Before that, if the President is true to his word, and he wants to see all of this come to light, he can release it now instead of fighting, kicking and screaming every step along the way.”

“Mr. Speaker, I have never heard a more defensive presentation in my life than we are hearing from over there. The gentleman should spend a little less time pointing out hypocrisy and a little more time trying to ferret out cruelty, humiliation, and rape.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a dedicated public servant. Ms. Maryam Azarion has given over 26 years of her career to serving our Nation's veterans and advancing scientific innovation across the federal government.”

“Madam Speaker, on the occasion of her retirement, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary public service of Julie Tagen, who served over the last 9 years in a succession of critical posts for me: as my chief of staff, as my staff director when I was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, as my staff director when I was the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, and always as a cherished friend, a trusted adviser, and an active constituent.”

“Park as we discussed her storied career in public life working for former Congressman Alan Grayson, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and the Human Rights Campaign.”

“Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Congress, nearly 60,000 of my constituents in Maryland's beautiful Eighth District woke up every morning to serve their country in the federal government.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McGovern for yielding. The American people across the political spectrum are now demanding the release of the complete Epstein file. This is what President Trump and Vice President Vance and the whole Trump team was demanding up until the last couple of weeks when President Trump suddenly decided he wanted to sweep the whole thing under the rug.”

“There is nothing in there except for a series of qualifying weasel words which are added to give complete, unilateral, and subjective discretion to the Attorney General to decide what should be in and what should be out.”

“USAID Administrator took some time off from his work in these full-time positions to exercise his additional powers as Secretary of State of the United States. The guy with four Federal jobs fired, en masse, more than 1,300 professional civil servants at the State Department, each of them doing just one job and, in general, doing it in an exemplary and excellent way.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her excellent point. The California delegation has advanced, with Ms. Lofgren, a truly bipartisan resolution that deplores all violence because the political violence is getting out of control in America.”

“Republicans are defunding the police, and we know that because we debated it for hours on this floor. His DOGE agents, back when Elon Musk was still in town before he got run out of town by somebody, DOGE said a guy in the Department of Justice cut out an estimated $500 million in community project funding to police departments across America, victim rights organizations, and others receiving those grants.”

“Unfortunately, this bill does not do anything like that. Indeed, it is hard to see how it will reduce drunk driving at all. It is obviously not a serious attempt to address the social problem of drunk driving.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member McBath for her extraordinary leadership. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act, which seeks to improve law enforcement officer safety and wellness by requiring that the AG and other Federal officials issue regular reports on attacks on police officers, aggression against police officers, and on officer mental health.”

“Mr. Speaker, the gentleman stirred me out of my stupor there by coming back with a couple of grants that apparently were eliminated. I will take his word for it.”

“Mr. Speaker, perhaps my friend from South Carolina would indulge me a few questions because I am puzzled by some of the representations that were just made. The gentleman answers a point I didn't make.”

“Then we are establishing legislative history that, according to the gentleman, this legislation is designed to apply only to handguns and not to all of these other things which the gentleman says are irrelevant.”

“In the Biden administration's national strategy to counter anti- Semitism, the U.S.' first-ever blueprint, it called on all aspects of society to commemorate JAHM and use it as a tool to fight hate.”

“Mr. Speaker, I will start just by asking my friend from Ohio whether he is referring to me when he uses the word ``you'' or if he is referring more generally to some other people because I would categorically deny having done any of those things.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my distinguished constituent and friend, Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, as his fourteen years of remarkable leadership as the Washington Director of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action come to a close.”

“Mr. Speaker, we rarely take time to recognize the hundreds of public servants who, with great diligence, work behind the scenes to support this body's work for the American people.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Francine Kerner, who retired on February 28, as Chief Counsel of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after dedicating over 50 years of her career to public service.”

“Counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Enforcement Division. She was in her office at Main Treasury when the terrorist attacks began. That fateful day changed the worId and changed Ms.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember my beloved friend and Montgomery County legend, Jack Fitzgerald, who passed away this week at the age of 89. He will be sharply missed by friends, family, and customers of the Fitzgerald Auto Malls up and down the East Coast.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reflect on the profound responsibility that accompanies public service. As public officials across the country are sworn into office, each affirms a commitment to faithfully execute the duties of public office and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

“English officers were kept to heel not with injunctions issued by the Chancellor in equity, but instead with common law damages suits or ``prerogative'' writs (mandamus, quo warranto, and so on) issued by the King's Bench--a common law court.”

“Mr. Speaker, the link to the entire document can be found here: https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/920- 1009__Online.pdf. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet.”

“The President purportedly is asserting powers under a statute which applies to emergencies in extraordinary and unusual situations. Then he said this has been going on for decade after decade.”

“Mr. Speaker, nationwide injunctions are something that my friends across the aisle not only endorsed but took liberal advantage of in the last administration. Remember Judge Matt Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas?”

“Kacsmaryk. If the gentleman wants to change his position, fine, but please explain to us why the position has changed since the gentleman was praising nationwide injunctions in the last administration.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his astute observations there and say that Judge Kacsmaryk was reversed several times by higher courts. We never came out and said, therefore, let's ban nationwide injunctions.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court has already rejected at least two of the actions that Donald Trump has taken since he got in. One was firing the executive director of the Office of Special Counsel.”

“Mr. Speaker, listening to the debate, it occurs to me that Bonnie and Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid should have just denounced traditional activism and moved to change the Federal rules of civil procedure: Always better to blame the judge than to take responsibility for your own unlawful actions.”

“Mr. Speaker, thousands of my constituents have been illegally fired by Elon Musk and by Donald Trump. One of them was with me last night, Dr. Lauren McGee, who was an NIH pediatric cancer specialist heading up a team looking into osteosarcoma, bone cancer for children.”

“Let's stop clutching our pearls. There has been lots of heckling over on that side of the aisle. I saw the gentlewoman from Georgia heckle the last President and have a whole heckling section there.”

“States to Elon Musk, the fourth branch of government. In any event, they want us to pass again something that is already against the law. We don't need it.”

“Border Patrol when they initiate a high-speed chase through a crowded neighborhood. He forgets that there are many, many acts that are themselves deadly and dangerous that we sanction.”

“Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the gentleman's bill is not to give Congress the power to undo midnight rules because Congress already has that power. Under the Congressional Review Act, House Republicans can go to the floor this week, and they can try to undo every single regulation that was issued by the Biden administration from August of last year to Inauguration Day.”

“Mr. Speaker, I know they talk about the deranged Trump syndrome. Now they are talking about the deranged Musk syndrome. I do know that Steve Bannon has described him as a truly evil individual, so I understand that there are major conflicts emerging over there.”

“Animal Welfare Institute, CalWild, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Economic Integrity, Center for Food Safety, Center for Justice & Democracy, Center for Progressive Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Christian Council of Delmarva, Citizen Action/Illinois, Climate Action Campaign, Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, Consumer Action.”

“Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Morrison, and Ms. Clark for their poignant, riveting personal testimonies. I hope our colleagues are listening to our colleagues over here.”

“Madam Speaker, I appreciate the passionate vehemence of the gentleman, but the whole substance of his argument completely undercuts the meaning of their bill. In the case that I could hear him talking about, Kermit Barron Gosnell was an American serial killer who indeed engaged in precisely the conduct the gentleman is talking about and was convicted of murder in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.”

“Infanticide is against the law in 50 States in America, and this guy was picked up for the conduct the gentleman spoke of. He was prosecuted for it, and he was sent to jail.”

“We urge lawmakers to oppose the insertion of politics into medicine and vote against H.R. 21/S. 6. Sincerely, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Nursing, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American College of Nurse-Midwives, American College of Physicians, American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society, American Psychiatric Association, American Public Health Association.”

“Mr. Speaker, my distinguished colleague from Texas keeps referencing his female staff and colleagues, but it seems like there has been a coed exodus from his side of the aisle as support for this bill vanishes.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her eloquent words. When will Republicans stop feeding on other people's tragedies? We don't need MAGA in the delivery room. Mr.”

“At least today shows they think something can be done to stop violent crime in America. Will they take their newfound sense of moral outrage and compassion and apply it not just in one case but to the tens of thousands of victims of gun violence in America?”

“The signers of this letter include a range of national groups like the YWCA, National Council of Jewish Women, AFL-CIO, Coalition of Labor Union Women, and dozens of State and local groups, like the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Catholic Charities in Omaha, Nebraska, and dozens and dozens more from States across the country.”

“Mr. Speaker, I ask the majority to reconsider this legislation and for my colleagues to join us in opposing it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”

“If this bill were to become law, both provisions would have the perverse effect of undermining the Federal Government's efforts to prioritize the detention and the deportation of the truly most dangerous convicted felons.”

“Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Democrats got behind a bipartisan border security bill, which beefed up law enforcement at the border, which beefed up judges at the border, and that was tanked by Donald Trump and by Republicans in the House.”