Outgoing Sen. Al Franken used his final speech as a U.S. senator to thank family, staff and Democratic colleagues — and to excoriate President Trump.
Over the course of a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, the Minnesota Democrat, who is stepping down next month following allegations of inappropriate touching made by multiple women,
tore into Trump and Republicans over their “attacks” on voting rights,
LGBT rights, science, health care and — most recently — the middle
class.
“During
his inaugural address, President Trump vowed that ‘the forgotten men
and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,’” Franken said.
“But the Republican tax bill represents a slap in the face to those
forgotten men and women. I guess the president forgot about them.”
Franken
decried what he described as the repeated “lies” of the Trump
administration, including the president’s baseless claim that millions
of people voted illegally in the 2016 election.
“It’s
all based on a lie — and not a lie President Trump came up with,”
Franken said. “Right-wing conservatives have been raising a false alarm
about so-called voter fraud for years despite the fact that no credible
evidence has ever been [found] demonstrating that it is a real problem.”
The same, Franken said, goes for the administration’s policies affecting the LGBT community.
“Lurking
behind these policies are lies,” he said. “Lies that the advocates of
LGBT rights want to trample on people’s religious freedom. The lie that
families led by a gay or lesbian couple don’t provide a safe environment
for children. The lie that allowing transgender people to use the
appropriate bathroom opens the door to sexual assault. President Trump
didn’t invent these lies. But he and his administration proudly repeat
them.”
Franken also lamented Trump’s “attacks on science,” citing a recent Washington Post report
that the Trump administration had prohibited the Centers for Disease
Control from using such terms as “evidence-based” and “science-based.”
“We
now have enough evidence to conclude that climate change is real and it
is man-made and it is a threat to our nation’s security and an
existential threat to the planet,” Franken said. “President Trump didn’t
launch the war on science, but now he’s leading the charge.”
Franken, who is stepping down on Jan. 2, praised his replacement, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, as a worthy successor.
“I have no doubt Sen. Smith will serve Minnesotans and all Americans well,” Franken said.
Franken
did not mention the allegations of sexual misconduct that led to his
resignation. In a speech on the Senate floor announcing his intention to
step down earlier this month, Franken insisted that some of the claims
were not true and others he remembered differently.
“There
is some irony that I am leaving while a man who bragged on tape about
his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who
preyed on young girls runs for Senate with the full support of his
party,” Franken said then, referencing Trump and Alabama Senate
candidate Roy Moore.
He concluded Thursday’s speech on a positive note.
“Politics
is about the improvement of people’s lives,” Franken said. “The
American people know that to be true. And they fill me with hope for our
future.”
Read more from Yahoo News:
- Al Franken announces intention to resign from Senate
- Franken says he’s ‘ashamed’ by harassment allegations
- Franken backs ethics investigation after woman accuses him of groping her
- Trump defends Roy Moore: ‘He totally denies it’
- Roy Moore accuser: ‘I wonder how many me’s he doesn’t know’
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