Text of Senate Amendment 4454

Text of Senate Amendment 4454

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S1143] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 4454. Ms. ROSEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: SEC. ___. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONDEMNING FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TIED TO PREVIOUS FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO HIS UNLAWFUL ACTIONS. (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following: (1) The President of the United States holds a constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States and an obligation to respect the independence of the Department of Justice's prosecutorial role. (2) The Department of Justice is the preeminent law enforcement agency of the United States and must remain free from personal influence, political coercion, or self-dealing by any elected official, including the President. (3) Any demand by a President for personal financial compensation from the Department of Justice, an agency under the executive branch of the Federal Government that he or she oversees, represents an extraordinary abuse of the public trust and a breach of fundamental ethical norms. (4) President Trump, as a private citizen, filed administrative complaints seeking payments from the Federal Government for alleged damages related to a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Counsel investigation into his conduct during the 2016 election and his handling of classified documents. (5) These complaints may ultimately be reviewed by employees of the Department of Justice who have worked closely with President Trump in his capacity as a private citizen and political candidate. (6) In January 2025, the Department of Justice removed Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer, the senior career ethics official in the Department, from his position. (7) In March 2025, the Department of Justice fired Jeffrey Ragsdale, the Director and Chief Counsel of the Office of Professional Responsibility, who was responsible for overseeing the office within the Department of Justice that investigates attorney misconduct. (8) In July 2025, the Department of Justice fired Joseph Tirrell, the Director of the Departmental Ethics Office, who was responsible for advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on ethics and overseeing the ethics program of the Department of Justice. (9) On October 21, 2025, President Trump alleged that he had ``a lawsuit that was doing very well'' and stated that the Department of Justice would ``owe [him] a lot of money''. (10) The public or private attempts by the President to extract $230,000,000 in personal payments from the Department of Justice raise serious questions about violations of article II, section 1, clause 7 of the Constitution of the United States (commonly known as the ``Domestic Emoluments Clause''), misuse of Government funds, and potential violations of Federal ethics and anti-corruption laws. (11) Such actions erode public confidence in the impartial administration of justice. (12) Taxpayer dollars will be used to pay for any financial award to the President. (13) The people of the United States are struggling with an unprecedented housing affordability crisis, rising health care costs due to cuts by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress and their failure to address expiring tax credits that directly lower the cost of private health insurance, and other rising costs due to inflation and the tariffs imposed by President Trump. (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress-- (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the calls by President Donald Trump for the Department of Justice to pay him $230,000,000; (2) opposes the provision of financial compensation through lawsuits, paid from taxpayer money, to President Trump; (3) urges any officials of the Department of Justice with personal or professional ties to President Trump to recuse themselves from any review or settlement of these administrative complaints; (4) affirms the foundational principle that no public office may be used for personal enrichment; (5) reaffirms its commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice's prosecutorial role and the rule of law; and (6) calls upon all public officials, including the President of the United States, to uphold the highest ethical standards and to place the public interest above personal gain. ______