Civil Rights, Public Trust, and Democracy

Our constitutional civil rights are the heart of our democracy and the foundation of our government. Public trust in our government and elections is also essential to the health of our nation. Public trust can only be gained if we also stand up for the civil rights of all Americans, not only by ensuring that all citizens can participate freely in our democracy, but also by addressing injustice and making government work better for everyone, not just the well-connected.
When I first arrived in the Senate, scandals in Washington had eroded the public’s confidence in government and cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the laws and policies coming out of Congress. Our elected leaders should be focused on public service and addressing economic injustices, not enriching themselves with foreign gifts, self-serving business deals, paid perks, and privileges.
We’ve made progress in strengthening the ethics laws and standards for members of Congress and their staffs, including passing the first meaningful ethics reform legislation since Watergate and the first mandatory sexual harassment training for Senate employees. But I believe there is so much more we can do to restore the public’s trust in our institutions, including reforms that cut red tape, and make government work better for people.
That’s why I am so concerned by President Trump’s decision to fire the independent watchdogs in certain federal agencies. I strongly oppose these illegal firings and have called for the president to reinstate all of the inspectors general. Now more than ever the responsibility will fall to Congress to conduct oversight and ensure these agencies are working for the American people, not special interests. Restoring trust also requires free and fair elections. Our country is stronger when our campaigns are transparent and accountable to the people and when all Americans are able to participate freely in our democracy, confident that no foreign interference has occurred, and that their votes have been counted and have not been suppressed.
When I served as Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, I worked to secure funding for states to make their elections more resilient and to ensure that voters have options to cast their ballots. And I am leading the effort to advance theFreedom to Vote Actin the Senate, legislation that would reform our elections and campaign finance system to ensure that our democracy is of, by, and for the American people. I also took a lead role in passing theElectoral Count Reform Act, bipartisan legislation that updated a law passed in 1887 to make sure that electoral votes for president accurately reflect the election results in each state and avoid the chaos we saw on January 6th. As we are now seeing artificial intelligence used as a tool to influence our democracy, I am working on a bipartisan basis to put rules of the road in place to address the threats posed by those who would use this technology to spread disinformation and upend our elections. I oppose the administration’s efforts to undermine the enforcement of theVoting Rights Actand to dismantle the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Finally, we must work to ensure that all Americans—regardless of their race, gender, ethnic background, religion, or sexual orientation—are treated with dignity and respect and that we protect their civil rights—including fighting against racial discrimination and preventing hate crimes, securing equal pay and reproductive rights for women, LGBTQ equality, and investing in equal access for people with disabilities.
Minnesotans hold their elected representatives, government, and elections to the highest standards. Our state has a proud tradition of civic participation—in fact, Minnesota has a strong tradition of having among the highest voter turnout in the nation. As I have traveled across our state, Minnesotans have joined me in emphasizing the need for strong ethics rules, free and fair elections, equal rights for all, and government reform that restores both integrity and common sense to our nation’s capital.
As Minnesota’s U.S. senator, I will continue to focus on these priorities: