The RI House passed a resolution congratulating President Trump. The RI Senate voted theirs down.

It seems obvious that had the House required a proper vote of its members, the resolution would have failed, as it did in the Senate.

Senator Jessica de la Cruz

The Rhode Island Senate failed to pass a resolution on Tuesday congratulating Donald Trump “on his inauguration and historic and extraordinary victory in the 2024 presidential election.” The resolution was submitted by Senator Jessica de la Cruz (Republican, District 23, Burrillville, Glocester), who serves as minority leader. Vocal objections were raised by Senators Samuel Bell (Democrat, District 5, Providence), Jonathan Acosta (Democrat, District 16, Central Falls), and Meghan Kallman (Democrat, District 15, Pawtucket).

Senator de la Cruz: I understand that not everyone in the chamber may be enthusiastic about the resolution, as much as Senators Rogers, Morgan, Paolino, and myself - and maybe some others¹ - but I want to thank those who voted in favor of bringing the resolution to the floor and who will vote yes, honoring the tradition of this chamber to congratulate and wish success to an incoming President - as we have recently and previously done. And with that, I move passage.

Senator Bell: I object to this resolution because we are not in normal times. What’s happening at the federal level is not normal. We just saw our state plunged into an apocalyptic fiscal crisis illegally—flagrantly illegally. Federal funding for Medicaid and SNAP was cut off in all 50 states. The funds were stopped illegally in a flagrant violation of the law. It’s plunging us into chaos.

For us to vote for a resolution praising Mr. Trump - in terms I strenuously disagree with - and we don’t need to get into all of the details of the ludicrous things it says - sends the message that Rhode Island is saying, “Thank you for wrecking us. Thank you for hurting our State government deeply and painfully and hurting the people of America.”

The apocalyptic damage that is racing through our country from these insane and illegal executive orders hits the soul of our country because we are supposed to be a democracy. In a democracy, we have laws. The President cannot just supersede the law and ignore every written thing that holds us to be a democratic system.

Given what’s going on in our country, we have only one response: to fight for America and fight for our democracy because America is worth fighting for, and so is our democracy.

Senator Acosta: In this chamber, we’re often told to represent the interests of our constituents - our neighbors - whom we were elected to represent. I happen to represent a community that is over two-thirds Latino, that is approximately 38% foreign-born, many of whom happened to be undocumented.

Last night, my five-year-old son came home from kindergarten with a little red card that said, “Know your Rights,” and a whole set of questions about why somebody might ask him and his classmates where they are from and whether or not they belong. The rhetoric and the use of immigration enforcement over the last three weeks have led to widespread fear.

I would like to know who in this chamber wants to sit down with my five-year-old and his classmates and explain to them how we allowed ourselves to get to this place.

A few months ago, a colleague of mine in this chamber expressed indignation over the resentment and anger with which I carried myself. When I was just a few years older than my own son, I had to sit in the car at a gas station watching a man hurl insults at my mother, ask her where she was from, and demand that she go back to where she came from.

This does not happen overnight. We will not celebrate the condemnation, criminalization, and very existence of my residents and neighbors. I will not stand for this; I hope my colleagues don’t. As lines continue to be drawn in the sand, we’ll see who is human and who respects humanity.

Senator Kallman: As a person who is Jewish, [I will] say that in history, when people rise to power who are bent on criminalizing an entire community of people, they are empowered, not necessarily by the edicts and by the laws, but by the complicity of those in the community. So, I am imploring us not to do what Germany did in the 1930s, which is to look at an entire group of people and tell them that they’re unworthy of our protection. I’ll be voting against this, but because of the nature of this resolution, Madam President, I request that this vote be taken on the board rather than as a voice vote.

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Across the rotunda, the House of Representatives was embroiled in a similar debate with a very different outcome. There, Representative Michael Chippendale (Republican, District 40, Coventry, Foster Glocester) introduced the resolution congratulating President Trump, and it was passed by acclimation, a simple voice vote of Yea or Nay. Republicans (and many Democrats) were loud in their support of the resolution.

Further, the resolution was bound with other resolutions submitted for House approval, including a resolution congratulating Brown University Medical residents and interns for unionizing, a resolution honoring RI AFL-CIO Secretary General George Nee on the occasion of his retirement, and others.

This meant that either all resolutions would pass or none of them would. Faced with this reality, at least three Representatives, Karen Alzate (Democrat, District 60, Pawtucket), Brandon Potter (Democrat, District 16, Cranston), and Jennifer Stewart (Democrat, District 59, Pawtucket), pointedly walked off the floor to avoid the vote joining many other Representatives who had already left. Others, including Representative Enrique Sanchez (Democrat, District 9, Providence), who attempted to object to the resolution as it was introduced, were vocal in saying, “Nay.”

It seems obvious that had the House required a proper vote of its members, the resolution would have failed, as it did in the Senate.

There were many, many empty seats when the vote was made:

Representative Chippendale: Over the past four and a half decades, it has become a tradition in the Rhode Island House of Representatives to introduce and unanimously pass a resolution congratulating the newly elected president of the United States. This longstanding practice dates back to at least President Reagan and has been extended to all presidents, including Donald Trump, in 2017. This tradition reflects the protocol and decorum of our chamber, a sincere and nonpartisan gesture of respect for the democratic process that defines our republic.

While I recognize and respect the strong objections some may hold to this resolution, I would remind my colleagues that deviating from this established precedent would not only undermine our commitment to democratic values but also risk alienating the many Rhode Islanders who supported this outcome. It’s important to acknowledge that of the 75 members in this chamber, 19 of us represent towns that President Trump won outright, and another 22 represent towns where he earned between 45 and 50% of the vote for a total of 41 members of the majority of this body.

Furthermore, support for President Trump increased in every single one of Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities, underscoring our State's diverse and evolving political landscape. With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit to this House a Resolution Congratulating Donald J. Trump on his Election ...

Rperesentative Sanchez: Objection!

Representative Chippendale: … as the 47th President of the United States.

Rperesentative Sanchez: Speaker? Objection, please?

Representative Chippendale: Let us...

Speaker Shekarchi: You are out of order. This is not an objectable motion.

Representative Sanchez: I think it’s inappropriate to mention...

Representative Chippendale: Doesn’t matter.

Representative Sanchez: I think it’s important to mention that we recognize that we are a democratic chamber.

Speaker Shekarchi: I’m not going to let you make a speech. Stick to yourobjection.

Representative Sanchez: We are a democratic chamber. The minority leader mentioned statistics and data showing an increase in popularity that is not...

Representative Chippendale: Speaker, I object to this entirely!

Speaker Shekarchi: Please let me handle this. What is your objection? Don’t reiterate what he said because we all heard it. Just tell me what your objection is.

Representative Sanchez: My objection is that it’s not germane to what we are supposed to be doing - thanking the president.

Speaker Shekarchi: This objection is overruled. It’s not an objectable offense. Leader Chippendale, please send it up.

Representative Chippendale: I’m not done, Mr. Speaker. I was rudely interrupted by a member who didn’t understand our rules.

Speaker Shekarchi: I’m sorry, I thought you completed it. Please continue.

Representative Chippendale: Thank you, sir. As I was saying, before I was interrupted, Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit this House Resolution Congratulating Donald J. Trump on his Election as the 47th President of the United States. Let us uphold our tradition of nonpartisan respect, demonstrating unity in honoring the Democratic will of the people. It may be read at the rise.

Speaker Shekarchi: Thank you very much. Please send it up.

1. The Senate Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution include Peter Appollonio Jr., John Burke, Frank Ciccone, Andrew Dimitri, Walter Felag, Hannah Gallo, Tod Patalano, Leonidas Raptakis, Susan Sosnowski, and David Tikoian.