We began our careers here with the following words, "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against… - Angus King

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We began our careers here with the following words, "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic." When each of us arrived here in the Senate, we took this oath to support and defend the constitution and as it says against all enemies foreign and domestic. I think it's interesting that the framers concede that there might be domestic enemies to the constitution. Our oath was not to the Republican Party, not to the Democratic Party, not to Joe Biden, not to Donald Trump, but our oath was to defend the constitution. And right now — right now literally at this moment that constitution is under the most direct and consequential assault in our nation's history. An assault not on a particular provision but on the essential structure of the document itself. It's hard to grasp what is happening because of all the events that are swirling around us over the last several weeks. It's coming from so many different quarters and so many different actors. It's hard to get a picture of what's really happening fundamentally. But this is an assault, and how we respond to it will define our life's work, our place in history, and the future of our country. None of us will ever face a greater challenge.

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About Angus King

Angus Stanley King, Jr. (born 31 March 1944) is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from the state of Maine. As an Independent, not affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic parties, he served as the 72nd Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003. In March 2012 he announced that he would run as an Independent for the Maine seat in the U.S. Senate which was being vacated by Olympia Snowe. King won Maine's 2012 Senate election and took office on January 3, 2013. For committee assignment purposes, he caucuses with the Democratic Party.

Also Known As

Birth Name: Angus Stanley King Jr.
Alternative Names: Angus Stanley King, Jr. Angus King, Jr. Angus S. King, Jr. Senator Angus King Sen. Angus King Sen. King Senator King Angus Stanley King Angus S. King Jr. Angus S. King Angus King Jr.
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Additional quotes by Angus King

I'm giving it some thought for the very reason that Olympia quit. It's just not working down there and maybe we need to try something different. … We have serious problems in this country but we can't begin to solve them until we solve this shrill deadlock.

Our framers understood this. They were deep students of history and also human nature. And they had just won a lengthy and brutal war against the abuses inherent in concentrated governmental power, George III. The universal principle of human nature they understood was this — power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's a universal principle, all over the world throughout history.

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We could send down a combination of Pericles and Thomas Jefferson, and if that person's reporting to Harry Reid [Senate Majority Leader] or Mitch McConnell [Senate Minority Leader], he's going to be ineffective. … Every vote is a test vote. Every vote is party loyalty. We're sunk if it keeps up this way. … It wouldn't take but four or five centrists like me to completely change the dynamics.

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