In his farewell speech on the U.S. Senate floor Thursday, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania offered his thoughts on the political climate, suggestions for the Senate, and his outlook for the nation’s future.
While he didn’t mention former President Donald Trump by name, Toomey urged Republicans to quash the MAGA movement.
“For my Republican colleagues let me say, our party can’t be about, or beholden to, any one man. Our party is much bigger than that,” Toomey said. “We are the political representation of this huge, center-right coalition across America. On a good day, that’s more than half of Americans. And I hope we resist the temptation to adopt the protectionist, nativist, isolationist, redistributive policies that some are suggesting we embrace. I think those are inconsistent with the core values of a majority of the people in this coalition. More important, I think those ideas lead to bad outcomes for our country.”
Toomey told Democrats to look beyond elections to preserve democracy.
“The purpose of elections is to provide the mechanism of accountability of the government, to the people whose consent is our sole source of legitimacy,” Toomey said. “When we hand over Congress’s responsibilities to unelected and therefore unaccountable parts of our government, be that the courts, or independent regulators, or executive branch agencies; we really undermine our democracy which of course, is really our republic, because we weaken the accountability of our government.”
He suggested his colleagues keep the filibuster.
“It’s the only mechanism that forces bipartisan consensus,” Toomey said. “It prevents governance from the extremes. By forcing bipartisanship, it results in more durable legislation, and so lessens the likelihood of big swings and policies. That provides stability for our constituents. If you want to see more polarization, get rid of the filibuster and we will have much more polarization.”
Democrat Senator-elect John Fetterman, who will replace Toomey, has often said Congress should get rid of the filibuster. Toomey did not mention Fetterman directly.
Toomey has held the Pennsylvania Senate seat since 2011 and chose not to run for another term. He also served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives and did not seek reelection to the House in 2004. He had pledged to serve only three terms.
Pennsylvania’s other senator is Democrat Bob Casey. Their votes were opposite on most issues and often canceled each other out. Incoming Senator John Fetterman is a Democrat, and that is how both of Pennsylvania’s senators will likely vote in the coming session.
Toomey was on the Senate’s Banking, Budget, and Finance committees, including Finance’s Subcommittee on Health Care (chairman), Subcommittee on Social Security Pensions and Family Policy, and Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight.
Under the Banking Committee, Toomey served as ranking member of the Banking Financial Institutions and Consumer Protections Subcommittee, Subcommittee on Economic Policy, and Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment.
Future of Nation
In his farewell speech, Toomey said he is often asked how worried he is about the future of the United States and his usual answer is that the country has gotten through much tougher times, and he still holds to that. But there are stress points.“It’s important to remember, on national security, I believe there are real threats out there. Russia is obviously led by a vile and dangerous bully. The Chinese Communist Party is a rising and increasingly aggressive threat,” Toomey said. “But nowhere do we face the imminent threats that we faced during World War II and at several moments during the Cold War.”
The nation is polarized and it’s uncomfortable and problematic, Toomey said, but in 1968 there were political assassinations. And he imagines living through the Senate’s first tumultuous decade, starting in 1859.
“As for the economy, there’s always risks to any economy. Ours is no exception. I think inflation is a significant problem. There is a possibility we have a recession next year. We have huge and growing national debt and I think that is going to be a real challenge for us, but I think it’s worth remembering this: the vast majority of Americans have a much higher standard of living today than our parents did when they were our age,” Toomey said.
“I always answer that question about America’s future with the truth, and that is, despite our challenges, I’m extremely bullish on America. And I think my optimism is easily justified by our history. America has always been able to survive and thrive. And America remains the greatest nation in the history of the world. If we keep on being Americans, it will remain the greatest nation on the planet.”
