Wednesday's inauguration "defied the terrorists" who raided the nation's Capitol, but they and former President Donald Trump must still be held accountable for what happened that day, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday.
"I think the House did the right thing in impeaching the president for a second time," the Illinois Republican said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "They will be sending it over to us in a day or two. We have to decide how to work it into a busy calendar. It is a priority."
Meanwhile, there have been some calls for the Senate to vote out Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, after the Jan. 6 attacks after their calls to challenge the Electoral College votes for Biden, but Durbin said that if there is anything to happen, it would be initiated by the Senate Ethics Committee.
"I will tell you that what they did and the incitement of that mob and the first bump or whatever followed is inexcusable in light of what happened to this Capitol building and our government," said Durbin. "We have to take it seriously in terms of my colleagues being held accountable, I don't think we heard the end of that story."
Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee "won't forget" the impact of the Trump administration's immigration policies, in particular, the separation of families at the border, Durbin said.
"To think that people in that administration thought that was a good way to discourage people from coming to America is shameful, just shameful," said Durbin, after telling about witnessing a hearing for two children, ages 2 and 3, who appeared in court alone in Chicago after the policy was announced.
"Trust me, the Senate Judiciary Committee won't forget that," said Durbin.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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