McCollum No Vote on H. Res. 516

Mister Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H. Res. 516, the Condemning the violent June 2025 riots in Los Angeles, California.  It is deeply unfortunate that instead of working with Democrats on a bipartisan resolution to condemn violence, Republicans have instead written a partisan resolution designed to attack elected officials in California.  Furthermore, the resolution fails to recognize the premature and escalatory deployment of the National Guard and active-duty Marines by President Trump to Los Angeles.

When the House of Representatives passes a resolution regarding current events, it should do its due diligence to cite the facts. Unfortunately, it is clear the Republican majority had no interest in accurately portraying the protests in Los Angeles when they wrote H.Res. 516.  Instead, the resolution perpetuates a false narrative about Democratic elected officials California.  H.Res. 516 states that local elected officials did not adequately respond to the bad actors and trouble-doers. These claims are patently false. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles implemented a multi-day curfew and surged law enforcement resources to downtown LA to maintain control of the situation. This kept the situation contained to 10 blocks of the downtown area. 

But even when the Los Angeles Chief of Police stated that the demonstrations “were nowhere near a level” where the National Guard was needed, President Trump disregarded his opinion and took the escalatory action of deploying 2,000 members of the California National Guard to Los Angeles. Then, on June 10, the President deployed 700 active-duty Marines. Our active-duty military has absolutely no legal role in domestic law enforcement.  Los Angeles County has 17,000 law enforcement personnel who are well trained in crowd control.  There was no need for the National Guard or the Marines to be deployed by the President, and his decision sets a dangerous precedent for the future. 

Republicans had the opportunity to bring a resolution introduced by my colleague, Representative Barragan, condemning violence and bad actors, and thanking local law enforcement for their work.  Instead, Republicans chose to use the unrest in Los Angeles to play partisan games and attack Democrats in California. 

Mr. Speaker, it is our duty as public servants to tell the truth.  We should all stand for condemning violence, de-escalation of force, and the right to peacefully protest.  It is unfortunate that this resolution walks away from these principles.  I cannot support it.

Thank you, and I yield back.