Senate Democrats staged a total boycott of the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on former President Joe Biden’s mental ability.
All but two Democrats, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), were present at the start of the meeting Wednesday morning titled, ‘Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution’.
Durbin, the ranking member, slammed Republicans for focusing on Biden’s cognitive abilities while ignoring the mental lapses of the current president.
“If we’re going to make a question of cognitive ability, I think we should consider what happened in Alberta, Canada, just this week,” Durbin said, before playing a video compilation of some of Trump’s bizarre statements including hurricane being “one of the wettest we’ve ever seen from the standpoint of water”.
The Democrat also criticized the Republican-led committee for ignoring their duties in favor of “armchair diagnosing” the former president.
“The Republican majority on this committee has not held a single oversight hearing despite numerous critical challenges facing the nation that are under our jurisdiction,” Durbin said, according to Politico.
He specifically pointed to the recent assassination of a state Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota and last week’s detainment of Sen. Alex Padilla (D), a member of the judiciary committee, at a DHS press conference.
“Apparently, armchair diagnosing former President Biden is more important than the issues of grave concern, which I have mentioned,” Durbin said.
Durbin walked out of the hearing after calling the entire proceeding a distraction.
The hearing includes testimony from Trump administration officials like former press secretary Sean Spicer, but Sen. Eric Schmitt (MO) claims Democrats boycotting the hearing is part of their refusal to acknowledge truths about Biden.
“This de facto boycott is not just a refusal to participate,” Schmitt said. “It’s a refusal to serve the American people who deserve answers about who was truly leading their government.”
Welch also left the hearing after declaring that the proceedings do not matter to his constituents.
“What has this Senate debated in the months that we’ve been here, other than nominations? Have we discussed the possible war with Iran? Have we had a serious discussion on the floor about the massive mounting debt?” Welch asked, according to The Guardian.
“I’m going to tell you what I think is a cover-up. I think this ‘big, beautiful bill’, done by reconciliation, whereby the decision of the majority, not a single member of the minority, who represents half of the citizens of this country, can even be in the room when the terms and the policies are being debated. We are not there.”
