Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the administration. Murphy condemned the broad federal workforce cuts initiated by Trump and criticized the administration’s alignment with Russian interests, calling the current state of US politics, “a constitutional crisis”
Murphy is also a JR parent. He spoke with The Beacon last week about the recent actions of the Trump administration and the potential impacts for students. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Beacon: Since January 20, Trump has issued a series of orders that have altered the organization and workings of the federal government. You have been very vocal about your views of the Trump administration. What are your top concerns about the direction of our country?
Murphy: What we are watching is a billionaire takeover of our government in order for those billionaires to steal from us to enrich themselves. No one wants that. They are also trying to destroy our democracy so that they are not held accountable for what they are doing. This is a crisis like we haven’t seen in any of our lifetimes because our democracy could die if the very rich and powerful take it over and we lose the ability to object. They are seizing the spending power that the Constitution grants to the legislature and not to the president. What they are trying to do is to use spending as a way to compel loyalty. They have cut off spending to a lot of groups and individuals, and the idea is that they will turn that spending back on only if you pledge political loyalty to the president. That is deeply un-American and it is something that we have to fight with all we have.
Beacon: Trump has threatened to shrink or eradicate the Department of Education. How do you see this playing out?
Murphy: We expect him to issue an order that would begin the process of eliminating the Department of Education. Trump is doing it because he has no idea what a public school is; all these billionaires who surround him send their kids to private school, so they don’t have any idea of the value of a public education. The funding could be cut for schools—Jackson-Reed relies on a lot of federal funding as a school for a lot of lower-income families. You could also see the civil rights aspects of the Department of Education disappear. Schools are not allowed to discriminate against kids, but it still happens all over the country. And when it happens, the Department of Education steps in and stops it. If the Department of Education isn’t protecting kids’ civil rights there are going to be a lot of kids in this country, unfortunately, especially those who live in very conservative areas, that are going to have their civil rights violated.
Beacon: One of Trump’s biggest issues has been DEI, including in education and curricula. How concerned are you about this? What do you think the risks are?
Murphy: When Trump says he’s worried about DEI what he means is that he is worried about anybody other than a white man getting a job in this country. Trump believes unapologetically in white male supremacy, and that is what “DEI” stands for. In our country we believe that anybody, regardless of your gender, your race, your religion, your ethnicity, should have an equal shot at an education, an equal shot at getting a job. Donald Trump doesn’t believe that. We know that discrimination still exists and so you have to be purposeful to make sure that the people who are subject to racist and discriminatory regimes have a shot of success in this country. Trump isn’t really talking about erasing preferences, he is talking about instituting new preferences. This time though, just a preference for people who look like him.
Beacon: Trump’s executive orders have attempted to take away federal protections for transgender students. What are your thoughts on the impact of these policies?
Murphy: It’s really sickening to me that the president and his allies think that the biggest threat to this country are transgender kids and drag shows. This is just a distraction campaign so that people don’t see the real threats in this country like the weaponization of the Department of Justice, or the consolidation of economic power, or the fentanyl crisis. We should aggressively pursue equal rights for everybody in this country and every student in this country regardless of what your gender identity is or your sexual orientation.
Beacon: Many students in DC have undocumented family members. What do you think will happen if Trump enforces mass deportations and ICE begins showing up at schools?
Murphy: I hope that cities that are run by Democrats and states that are run by Democrats won’t do anything to illegally infringe on the civil liberties of their residents. But the fact of the matter is that a majority of Americans want us to provide a pathway to citizenship for people who are undocumented, so what Trump is proposing, kicking out of the country kids who have been here their entire life and who know nothing except for being an American, is a deeply unpopular opinion.
Beacon: Obviously most of us at JR aren’t old enough to vote, but we’re all affected by politics. How would you advise students to participate in politics and advocate for our beliefs?
Murphy: You know, what I’ve learned is that there is no great political movement or social movement in this country that wasn’t led by young people. Many of those young people weren’t old enough to vote. If you look at the antiwar movement in the ’60s and ’70s, the gun violence movement of the last 10 years, they were led by young people, often high school students.
There’s a purity of voice that is attached to young people when they speak. Adults pay more attention to young people often than they pay to their age bracket. I started out as a student activist. I was a high school student when I started speaking up for student rights. I was the youngest member of the state legislature in Connecticut when I was elected at age 25. So I know what it’s like to be a young person navigating, and while it can be frustrating sometimes, you have immense power that sometimes you don’t often see. So in a moment like this, it’s really important for young people to speak up.
Beacon: Is there a message that you would like to leave for the Jackson-Reed student body?
Murphy: Every student has to make up their own mind, but there are really important actions and protests that are happening virtually every day in this city. I hope that students who feel anxious and upset right now at what’s happening in the Trump administration may choose to join an action at some point. I think you’ll find that it’ll make you feel much better and it’ll help relieve your anxiety or your anger at the situation and at the moment.
