In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, Durbin Slams Trump Administration’s Deployment Of Military To American Cities, Discredits Narrative That Crime Is Only A ‘Blue City’ Issue

In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, Durbin Slams Trump Administration's Deployment Of Military To American Cities, Discredits Narrative That Crime Is Only A 'Blue City' Issue

"As Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will not sit idly by while this President tramples the Constitution. And I will use every tool at my disposal to reduce crime and protect our communities-in a lawful way that promotes lasting change," Durbin said during his opening statement in today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered opening remarks in today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on reducing crime and making communities safer for all Americans. As President Trump has continuously threatened to deploy troops to Chicago, Durbin requested a hearing to examine the harms of military deployment to cities. While today's hearing was politically reframed to blame "blue cities" for Republican refusals to support effective solutions to gun violence and to glamourize the Trump Administration's illegal and unconstitutional deployment of the military to American cities, Durbin underscored that the President continues to engage in political theater rather than prioritize serious policymaking that would address violent crime.

In his opening statement, Durbin discredited the Trump Administration's narrative that violent crime is rampant in blue cities. Durbin emphasized that, as crime rates have dropped in cities like Chicago, Republican-led cities like Shreveport, Louisiana, see a higher violent crime rate than Washington, D.C.

After delivering his opening remarks, Durbin introduced the two minority witness - Gregory Jackson, Jr., and Major General William L. Enyart. Mr. Jackson is the President of the Rocket Foundation, an organization founded in 2022 that centers on ending the gun violence epidemic. A gun violence survivor himself, Mr. Jackson previously served as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention under the Biden Administration.

Major General William L. Enyart is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force and Army National Guard. His nearly 36-year military career included active-duty service in the Air Force and nearly 30 years in the Army National Guard. His service culminated as Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard from 2007 to 2012. He previously served as a Brigadier General and Deputy Commanding General of the Illinois Army National Guard.

Key Quotes:

"This is such a political hearing, and it shouldn't be. What's at stake here is something that we all value. That is the safety of our families, homes and neighborhoods. I regret that you have reframed this hearing to focus on 'blue city chaos.'"

"Violent crime is on the decline, but statistics don't mean much to victims… Any crime is too much crime, and every American deserves to feel safe. So, we should be working together on a bipartisan basis, which we have done over and over again in this Committee, to continue reducing crime and making our communities safer for all Americans."

"Let's look at the reality. For the last two decades, the murder rate in my home state of Illinois has been lower than the murder rates in Missouri, Louisiana, and Alabama-all states represented by Republicans on this Committee."

"In 2023, Illinois spent $516 per capita on policing - more than the states of Iowa, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Missouri, North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama."

"In Chicago, over the first six months of the year, homicide rates are down 32 percent, [and] shootings have dropped 37 percent. We need to build on this success, not ignore it."

"During my time as Chair, I held more than a dozen hearings on reducing violent crime. We focused on legislation, not lamentation. I reported numerous bills supporting law enforcement that were signed into law by President Biden, including the Protecting America's First Responders Act and the Recruit and Retain Act. And we passed the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to crack down on gun violence."

"Instead of political theater and partisan attacks, we should focus on proven efforts like the Heal Initiative, a project I launched in 2018 with ten of Chicago's largest hospitals to address the root causes of violence in 18 Chicago's neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence, poverty, and health disparities."

"Unfortunately, President Trump has done everything he can to undermine efforts like this. He cut $169 million from community safety funding authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. He cut $72 million in funding for state and local law enforcement. The 2026 Trump Budget would slash the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program - better known as HIDTA - by more than a third, from about $300 million to $196 million."

"While President Trump claims to be tough on crime, he granted full and unconditional pardons to nearly 1,600 January 6 rioters, including more than 600 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement."

"Here's the reality. President Trump isn't interested in reducing crime. He is interested in political posturing. 100 troops into the city of Chicago. Did you hear the announcement this morning by the Secretary of Defense? One of the characteristics he insists on when it comes to building a strong military is that it be apolitical. His word - apolitical."

"The President has deployed thousands of American troops to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and made disturbing threats to wage war against Chicago, Portland, and other American cities."

"Let's be clear: these are illegal, unconstitutional, and un-American power grabs by the President that actually endanger Americans. President Trump is looking for any excuse to send soldiers into American communities so he can play the role of strongman on TV."

"In Illinois, his misguided mass deportation [scheme] is targeting communities, but it's not making them safer. Remember the litany that we heard, over and over again, about immigrants to this country? [The President claimed immigrants are] rapists, murderers, terrorists, the criminally insane. Did you know that 70 percent of the immigrants detained so far by the President have no criminal convictions?"

"The Administration's main focus seems to be photo ops for social media, like these pictures from downtown Chicago of armed masked men, which just happen to feature the Trump Tower in the background. Just yesterday, we learned the Department of Homeland Security requested the deployment of 100 military personnel to Illinois over the objections of the governor. Simply put, despite what the Secretary of Defense said at Quantico this morning, the President's use of the military to police American streets is political theater staged for his MAGA supporters, not effective law enforcement aimed at making communities safer."

"Meanwhile, thousands of FBI, DEA, and ATF agents, as well as thousands of service members across this country, have been diverted from critical missions to carry out the President's immigration agenda. Not surprisingly, federal drug prosecutions this year have dropped to the lowest [level] in decades."

"We need to support law enforcement and policies that improve-not erode-trust between them and our communities."

"As Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will not sit idly by while this President tramples the Constitution. And I will use every tool at my disposal to reduce crime and protect our communities-in a lawful way that promotes lasting change."

Video of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin's opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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