Abigail Spanberger (146:59)
Democrats across the country are laser focused on affordability in our nation's capital and in state capitals and communities across America. In the most innovative and exceptional nation in the history of the world, Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that that keep them up at night. Problems that dictate where you live, whether you can afford to start a business, or whether you have to skip a prescription in order to buy groceries. So I'll ask again. Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? We all know the answer is no. I grew up in a house of service. My mother was a nurse, and my father was a career law enforcement officer. I began my career by following in my father's footsteps as a federal agent working money laundering and narcotics cases. I work side by side with local and state police to keep our community safe and to uphold and enforce the law. Law enforcement officers across the country know that it is a unique responsibility to do the serious work of investigating crimes, comforting victims, and making arrests. It's about building trust, and that requires an abiding sense of duty and commitment to community. And yet, our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans. And they have done it without a warrant. They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies. They have sent children, a little boy in a blue bunny hat, children, to far off detention centers. And they have killed American citizens in our streets. And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability. Every minute spent sowing fear is a misunderstood minute not spent investigating murders, crimes against children, or the criminals defrauding seniors of their life savings. Our President told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children. Think about that. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed, not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities. After working in law enforcement, I continued my career of service as a CIA officer working undercover to protect the United States and our allies from global threats, terrorism, nuclear weapons, and the aggression of adversarial nations around the globe. But as the President spoke of his perceived successes, tonight he continues to cede economic power and technological strength to Russia. Bow down to China, bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran. Here's the truth. Over the last year, through Doge mass firings and the appointment of deeply unserious people to our nation's most serious positions, our President has endangered the long storied history of the United States of America being a force for good. So I'll ask again, is the President working to keep Americans safe both at home and abroad? We all know the answer is no. In his speech tonight, the President did what he always does. He lied, he scapegoated and he distracted. And he offered no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges, so many of which he is actively making worse. He tries to divide us. He tries to enrage us, to pit us against one another, neighbor against neighbor. And sometimes he succeeds. And so you have to ask, who benefits from his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, the short list of laws he's pushed through this Republican Congress? Somebody must be benefiting. He's enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. There's the COVID up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams. Cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms. Putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation's capital. This is not what our Founders envisioned, not by a long shot. So I'll ask again, is the President working for you? We all know the answer is no. But here's the special thing about America. On our 250th anniversary. We know better than any nation what is possible when ordinary citizens, like those who once dreamed, right here in this room, reject the unacceptable and demand more of their government. We see it in the determination of students organizing school walkouts all across the country, whose voices are becoming so powerful that the Governor of Texas seeks to silence them. We see it in the bravery of Americans in Minnesota standing up for their communities. From peacefully protesting in sub zero temperatures to carpooling children to school so that their immigrant parents are not ripped away from them in the parking lot. As a mother of three school age daughters, I am inspired by their bravery. But I am sickened that it is necessary. And Americans across the country are taking action. They are going to the ballot box to reject this chaos. With their votes. They are writing a new story, A more hopeful story. In November, I won my election by 15 points. And we won 13 new seats in our state legislature. Because voters decided they wanted something different. Our campaign earned votes from Democrats, Republicans, Independents and everyone in between because they knew as citizens they could demand more, that they could vote for what they believe matters and that they didn't need to be constrained by a party or political affiliation. This is happening across the country. New Jersey elected Mikey Sherrill as governor in a double digit victory. Democrats flip state legislative seats in places like Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi and Texas. The list goes on and on. Ordinary Americans are stepping up to run in the spirit of our forefathers. They are running to demand more and to do more for their neighbors and communities. I know this story well. I first ran for office in 2018 alongside dozens of other Democrats who did the seemingly impossible, flipping 41 seats in Congress. In my case, I was the first Democrat elected in 50 years, swinging our district 17 points. Those who are stepping up now to to run will win in November because Americans, you at home know you can demand more and that we are working to lower costs. We are working to keep our communities and our country safe. And we are working for you. In his farewell address, George Washington warned us about the possibility of, quote, cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men rising to power. But he also encouraged us, all Americans, to unite in a common cause to move this nation forward. That is our charge once more and that is what we are seeing across the country. It is deeply American and patriotic to do so. And it is how we ensure that the state of our Union remains strong, not just this year, but for the next 250 years as well. Because we the people have the power to make change, the power to stand up for what is right. The power to demand more of our nation. May God bless the Commonwealth of the Virginia and may God bless the United States of America.
