op-ed

Rep. Joe Morelle: Our American democracy needs us now more than ever.

By Congressman Joe Morelle

As Members of Congress gathered for a joint session to certify the results of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, former President Trump incited the fatal insurrection against the U.S. Capitol. He encouraged his supporters to stop the fulfillment of the constitutionally required process of certifying the election and facilitating the peaceful transfer of power. After brave military and law enforcement officers fought to end the violent insurrection, 147 Republicans in Congress proceeded to vote to overturn the 2020 election. They did this despite the attack on the Capitol. They did this despite the attack on our democracy. 

Our democracy was threatened because former President Trump and his allies in Congress launched an unprecedented campaign to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. To put it simply they launched a Big Lie, which is a baseless and dangerous campaign that threatens every aspect of our democracy. 

Their plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government and deepened public distrust in our safe and secure elections. It is imperative that we bolster our efforts against the Big Lie and the coordinated attack on our democracy as we approach January 6, 2025. That includes proactively urging all of my colleagues in Congress to ensure a peaceful certification of the next presidential election.

I have said it before and I will say it again: elected officials like the president and members of Congress swore an oath before our colleagues and constituents. We are obligated, we are duty-bound, to defend this republic – not undermine it. Yet, the former president regularly says that the 2020 election was stolen, fraudulent, or rigged.

I fear some people have normalized not only constant election lies and disinformation but have forgotten the lives lost, the law enforcement officers who were beaten and stabbed, and just how close we came to losing our democracy. 

None of us will forget where we were on that dark day or the abhorrent attack on our democracy. None of us ever should. What the 140 police officers endured while defending my colleagues and I should be commended and honored. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues continue to minimize or outright lie about what happened on January 6th, 2021. They lie about the outcome of the 2020 election, lie about non-citizens voting in our federal elections, replace local boards of elections with individuals who are election deniers, normalize political violence, and credential insurrections when their political ideology is not successful in the final tally of election results.

This Congress, House Republicans have pushed election denial legislation as a top priority for their extreme agenda. This includes bills like the SAVE Act, a byproduct of the continuous spreading of misinformation surrounding the 2020 election and the legitimacy of the election results. They barely pushed through their anti-American SAVE Act, which would make it incredibly difficult for millions of eligible Americans – including military voters – to register to vote in elections. Now they are advancing Project 2025, which would move election denialism from the violence we witnessed on January 6th into a bureaucratic assault on the rule of law. 

These are deep, dark, and awful things that we as Americans have to fight back against and ensure the preservation of our American democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. We have to continue fighting even when threats to our democracy come in unexpected forms. 

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the United States undermined not just the foundation of our constitutional government, but the foundations of our democracy with their ruling in Trump v. United States. At its core, our nation relies on the principle that no American stands above another in the eyes of the law. 

The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity gave Trump immunity for parts of his plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election and remanded the Trump v. United States case back to the United States District Court to determine whether Trump’s other actions possess immunity. I introduced a constitutional amendment to correct this grave error of the Supreme Court and protect our democracy by ensuring no president is above the law. 

Our leaders should be held to the same, if not higher, standards as any other American. Presidents are not monarchs, they are not tyrants, and they should not escape accountability. I will continue to use every tool at my disposal as I stand on the front lines defending our democracy. I will continue to push my colleagues to do the same. 

So, I will ask my Republican colleagues in Congress: in 147 days, on January 6, 2025, will you fulfill your duty to your fellow Americans and your constituents, will you protect the peaceful transfer of power, or will you put your political ambitions ahead of the oath you swore?


Congressman Joe Morelle represents New York’s 25th Congressional District. Rep. Morelle currently serves as the top Democrat of the Committee on House Administration. In this role, he conducts oversight of the Committee’s two principal functions–federal elections and day-to-day operations of the House of Representatives.

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