LOADING ERROR LOADINGWASHINGTON ― Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) spoke on the Senate floor for over 15 hours on Wednesday in protest of President Donald Trump’s policies, accusing him of shredding democracy and orchestrating an “authoritarian takeover” of the U.S. government. “I’ve come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells. President Trump is shredding our Constitution,” Merkley warned in his opening remarks. “We’ve got an authoritarian president bent on being able to use military against the people of the United States,” Merkley said. “An authoritarian president proceeding to attack free speech, attack free press, weaponize the Department of Justice, and use it against those who disagree with him, and then seeking the court’s permission to send the military into our cities to attack people who are peacefully protesting.”
