President Trump continues to pick billionaires, millionaires, and Wall Street executives to run top government agencies
Murray: “Look at the people the President is surrounding himself with– a cast of characters with long records demonstrating very little interest in fighting for working families in our state or anywhere else in the country.”
Senator Murray standing with advocates, a staff member of IBEW Local 46, and a local father with his daughter, about why holding President Trump’s administration accountable to working families is so important.
(Seattle, WA) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) toured a job-training program in downtown Seattle, and joined local workers and families to speak out against President Trump’s Rigged Cabinet, so far filled with billionaires, millionaires and Wall Street executives who have demonstrated little interest in putting working families first. Sen. Murray said that even though there was great news for the American people last week when his nominee for Secretary of Labor Andrew Puzder dropped out amid public pressure, the same energy is needed to continue holding the Administration accountable to the people it represents. She emphasized how critical it is to make everyone’s voice heard to fight back against President Trump’s hurtful agenda.
“Republicans may control Congress, but the American people have a voice and I urge everyone to use it. That is how we can fight back against this President’s harmful agenda,” said Senator Murray. “That is my message to the people of Washington state. Make your voice heard—whether that means calling, writing, or marching in the streets. And I will lift your voice up in the U.S. Senate.”
Senator Murray’s remarks as prepared:
Thank you, it’s so great to be in Seattle. I want to thank FareStart for showing me around to learn about what you do here. This program really exemplifies what so many of us here in Washington state believe—that we should be lifting up people who want to participate in the workforce. That’s good for families, and it’s good for the economy.
Fare Start knows that. The people standing with me today know that. The many tens of thousands of people who have contacted my office in recent weeks—or marched in the street—know that. But unfortunately, despite all his campaign promises of fighting for the workers in our country—not to mention “draining the swamp”—it is clear our new President isn’t getting the message.
One month on the job—and he’s already trying to take our country backward and threatening the progress we have made. Just look at the people the President is surrounding himself with– a cast of characters with long records demonstrating very little interest in fighting for working families in our state or anywhere else in the country.
We have Betsy DeVos—our new Education Secretary– who called public education a “dead end.” Steve Mnuchin – now heading up Treasury—who made a fortune off of foreclosing on homeowners during the Recession. Then there’s Scott Pruitt at the EPA. He spent his time as Attorney General in Oklahoma trying to dismantle the very environmental protections he’s now supposed to uphold.
This isn’t draining the swamp. This is filling it with even scarier creatures! Now in all the bad news, I am happy to be with you today—especially here at Fare-Start—to say we were able to deliver one serious blow to the Trump Administration’s cabinet.
Just hours before he was set to appear before our Senate committee, the Labor Secretary nominee—the guy in charge of the fast-food chains Carl’s Junior and Hardee’s– dropped out amid a whole lot of pressure. I was proud to lead the fight against this nominee—and to be a voice for Washington state workers and families. That was a great moment for everyone who cares about upholding vital federal protections to make sure workers across this country are safe on the job—and paid fair and square for a hard day’s work. And it was a great moment for any woman who goes to work every day and expects and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
So this was a good step—but we can’t forget that the President’s first choice to head up the Labor Department was someone with an absolutely abysmal record on workers’ issues—someone who opposed raising the minimum wage; who opposed expanding access to overtime for low-wage workers; and who dismissed the need for paid sick days and other worker protections that help families balance their responsibilities to their loved ones and their work.
When the President nominated Andrew Puzder to take control of the Labor Department, it set off alarms bells to workers across the country about how this Administration views them and their contributions. And people spoke up to send this Administration a message– and it worked. So I’m proud to say that Andrew Puzder will not get a say over our nation’s labor laws. But this is just the start.
Now that the President has announced a new nominee, we need to bring that same energy to make sure we hold this Administration accountable to the people it represents. Republicans may have the numbers when it comes to votes, but the American people have a voice and I urge everyone to use it. That is how we can fight back against this President’s harmful agenda.
So that is my message to the people of Washington state. Make your voice heard—whether that means calling, writing, or marching in the streets. And I will lift your voice up in the U.S. Senate. With that, I’d like to introduce one of our great local leaders, who works on behalf of so many hardworking men and women in our state – Chelsea Nelson with IBEW. Thank you.
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