Dick Durbin commends Biden for timely meeting with allies, adversaries

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has commended President Biden for meeting with world allies and adversaries at a right time.

Senator Durbin was speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday about the president’s first foreign visit.

President Biden met with G-7 and NATO countries and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip.

“I’ve often said a great deal of America’s influence around the world comes from the power of its ideals and values, critical and precious assets we must nurture and never take for granted…,” said Senator Durbin on the Senate floor today. “So let me take this moment to commend the President and his team for a timely, critical, important visit with international allies and adversaries in recent days.”

The senator from Illinois said the US leadership is critical in leading joint efforts to solve “the problems we face,” like climate change, COVID-19 pandemic, rogue nations and maintaining international norms of behavior.

“Perhaps what was most important was that President Biden reasserted America’s role as a leading champion of democracy, security and international norms,” he said.

Criticizing the previous US administration, Senator Dick Durbin said, “I hope this spells an end – and I believe it does – of the unimaginable events that occurred in the previous administration. Coddling a foreign dictator such as Putin, dismissing our closest allies, and threatening the critical North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC) released a statement on the Biden-Putin meeting today, criticizing President Biden for meeting with the Russian president.

The statement released by RNC Communications Director Danielle Alvarez reads, “Giving Putin a meeting is just the latest win that Joe Biden has handed Russia, including waiving sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline while he crushes U.S. energy jobs at home. Biden’s foreign policy failures have strengthened Russia at the expense of our country. The American people deserve a leader who prioritizes our interests and holds bad actors accountable.”

Also today, Senator Durbin met with Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and a group of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders to mark the DACA announcement’s ninth anniversary and stress the need for Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act. The TPS holders and DACA recipients are all immigrant women who currently work several different essential jobs.