Warner & Kaine Slam House GOP’s Effort to Help Trump Ignore Court Orders

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a former civil rights attorney and constitutional law professor, (both D-VA) issued the following statement regarding a provision in the tax proposal passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives that would make it harder for federal judges to hold government officials accountable when they act lawlessly:

“The reason district courts are blocking many of President Trump’s actions is because these actions are illegal. Presidents are not kings, no American is above the law, and House Republicans’ attack on checks and balances through this obscure provision hidden in their partisan tax bill is irresponsible and cowardly. Now it’s up to our Republican counterparts here in the Senate to figure out two things – first, how the heck this provision is even relevant to a tax bill; and second, whether they have the courage and the respect for the U.S. Constitution to vote this down.”

Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia families if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans. The senators have noted that the GOP bill would strip health insurance from Virginians, cut SNAP benefits for more than 204,000 people in Virginia, raise energy costs for Virginia households, and jeopardize more than 20,000 Virginia jobs. The bill would also explode the deficit, eliminate a program allowing Americans to file federal taxes for free, raise taxes on minimum-wage workers while giving the richest 0.1% a $188,000 tax cut, and eliminate gun safety measures.

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