WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection, which is responsible for oversight of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released the following statement in response to President Trump’s proposed Executive Order targeting online political speech:

“This Executive Order is egregiously excessive with clearly malevolent intent to suppress free speech. It is a blatant attempt to use the full power of the United States government to force private companies to lie for him.”

“Whatever the criticisms I may have of current law, Trump’s demagogic meat-ax Executive Order is exactly wrong. This Executive Order is an authoritarian attack against freedom of expression and accountability. It provides no relief to the countless children, victims of human trafficking, and others who have suffered real harms by Big Tech. I am appalled by the President’s attempts to suborn the Federal Trade Commission into his condemnable campaigns when the FTC should be protecting Americans from rampant fraud, scams, and price gouging during a national emergency. President Trump is trying to wield the immense power of the federal governmental as a sledgehammer against the truth. It should be condemned by anyone who believes in the Constitution.”

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