Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Thanking Senator Laphonza Butler For Answering A Call To Service In The Senate And Applauding Her Accomplishments During Her Term

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to thank Senator Laphonza Butler of California for her impressive tenure in the Senate, including her work on women’s rights, artificial intelligence, farmers and small businesses, and more. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

This week, our colleague from California, Senator Laphonza Butler, will deliver her farewell address here on the Senate floor. Before she speaks, I want to share a few words about her time in the Senate.

When our late colleague, Senator Feinstein, passed away a little over a year ago, I remember wondering to myself how anyone could ever follow in her footsteps. To follow Dianne, I knew it would take someone really special, someone really brilliant, someone really honorable, someone who always stepped up to the plate.

It would take someone like Laphonza Butler.

Senator Butler wasn’t out looking for this job, she didn’t campaign for it, but it came to her doorstep. But when asked to serve, she answered with great humility and a great sense of service and belief in America.

She followed her innate calling for service, which she learned while watching her mom work multiple jobs to keep their family above water.

And for the last year, she represented her beloved California – a huge, complicated, beautiful state – admirably.

There’s a general assumption around here that if you want to make a real difference in Washington, you have to spend years –sometimes people say even decades – learning the ropes and rising through the ranks.

Well, Senator Butler turned that myth on its head. She proved that it isn’t about how long you’re here, it’s about what you choose to do with the time you’re here. And Senator Butler did a lot.

As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Butler helped advance and confirm one of the most well-qualified and diverse class of judicial nominees in recent history.

She has been a champion for women and women’s rights. She co-led legislation to restore the rights enshrined under Roe v. Wade.

She has done great work to help bring our workforce up to speed in the age of artificial intelligence.

She has introduced legislation to provide more opportunities to farmers and small business owners, to help parents and families and caregivers address the mental health and substance abuse crisis, to increase civic participation among young voters, and so much more.

The bottom line is that Senator Butler did practically everything during her time in the Senate. And she did it in only one year.

She was always ready to serve. When I had a tough job, or even a job that wasn’t very glamorous but would take some time and effort, Senator Butler always said yes. She wasn’t one of these people just looking out for herself, she was looking out for the greater good in a beautiful way.

And of course, as well, Senator Butler, much like her predecessor, was a history-maker too.

When she was sworn in a year ago, she became only the third Black woman in American history to serve in the Senate, the first openly lesbian senator from California, and the first openly LGBTQ senator of color.

And finally, while I say reluctantly as a New Yorker, Senator Butler’s year in the Senate concludes with one of the greatest accomplishments a senator can achieve: one of her home state teams winning the World Series.

So, Senator Butler, thank you for all you’ve done. Thank you just for being you, such a decent, wonderful, honorable person. The people of California – and all of America – are certainly proud of you and grateful for your service.

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