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The American people voted in record numbers in 2020, and we chose a new President and Vice President. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on January 20th. The fact that Donald Trump and his supporters don’t like the outcome doesn’t change anything. They would like to ignore the will of the people, but that is not how democracies work. In a democracy, voters choose their representatives, and politicians cannot override the people.

Americans expect and deserve a strong democracy, but we can never take the health of our democratic system for granted. The For the People Act (H.R. 1) brings to bear transformative reforms that will help safeguard our democracy which has been increasingly under attack by enemies both foreign and domestic. It has become clear that we must shore up the defenses of our democracy by expanding access to the franchise, empowering the voices of everyday Americans in our elections, and upholding strong ethical standards in government. H.R. 1 contains reforms that address all three pillars. Many of the solutions in H.R. 1 have worked successfully at the state and local level for years.

Tonight, under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s direction, Senate Republicans did profound damage to the Senate and the Supreme Court of the United States. They subverted the serious and deliberative constitutional obligation that we (and many others) called on them to uphold just 38 days ago. Instead, they rushed through Committee hearings and made a mockery of advice-and-consent by ramming Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination through to a lifetime appointment only eight days before Americans finish voting and after more than 60 million Americans have already voted. In so doing, Senate Republicans excused her incomplete answers to basic questions—demurring on whether “climate change is happening” (it is) and whether voter intimidation violates federal law (it does). They smothered Justice Ginsburg’s “most fervent wish” that her replacement be considered after the election. And they did so at the expense of millions of Americans suffering from the coronavirus pandemic who desperately needed the Senate to negotiate and pass COVID relief legislation.

Yesterday, Senate Republicans removed a measure from the intelligence bill that would have required presidential campaigns to report attempts or offers of foreign election interference to federal authorities and then defended President Trump’s excuses and refusal to act on U.S. intelligence reports that Russia has been paying bounties to Taliban militants to kill U.S. Troops. The so called “Duty to report” provision on foreign election interference, was passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee with bipartisan support in June but was removed from the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) currently before the full Senate.

I am very sorry to announce that Ann McBride, who served in many capacities at Common Cause, including President, passed away on May 5. She was 75 and had been in declining health. Ann is an important part of Common Cause’s history and was a cherished mentor and role-model to me. Ann’s message was clear. Our victories were, she would often say, a message of hope for citizens – a reminder that working together, we all could make a difference in our government and our world.

Today, Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. House Committee on House Administration, and the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and his landlord and donor Collier Merrill for their failure to disclose their longstanding relationship while seeking the required congressional approval of an office lease. The complaints urge an investigation into whether both men violated the criminal law prohibition on concealment of material facts in filings or statements to the federal government, and whether Rep. Gaetz is violating House gift rules by paying less than market value for his office rent.