celebrate with each of you, but i also have an important moment tonight some of you may member from so it is my god-given right as a mother to take pictures of my son, date, and impaired sympathy goes to perm so i be able to say hello but i think sneak out really, that's what i need to do, but i wish you every success in your career and life. i know we are going to see great achievements from this class of 2025 and and i hope you stay here, new hampshire and i wish you the very best, congratulations and have some fun and i look forward to seeing what you do in the future. [cheering and applauding]

his administration policies. [cheering] [applause] >> thank you and good morning. thank you for your passion and your unwavering for minnesota. thank you all for the privilege of being able to to the class of 2025 and good morning all. today. i am a graduate of the university of minnesota, but i have an affinity as minnesota and the past year the governor's residence should be except i have the privilege of sitting

down the street, the president of the university of minnesota and my wife went in my son, went up scout have the privilege of sitting in that envelope the river president cunningham, thank you for that and thank you for having me be part of the university of minnesota. [laughter] >> to the class of 2025, congratulations. all the award winners, congratulations, incredible work for those of you in a work, it will be okay. [laughter] i didn't either and i am the governor of minnesota. [laughter] so for long years, he worked buried in books and after fair share of cold calls and essays and briefs without much help chat gpt.

[laughter] now you rightfully stand amongst the brightest letting. for all those folks behind, the family and friends, the support graduations to you, it's no small be gradually on behalf of the state of minnesota, thank you for the initial contributions in the state of minnesota, we are grateful. to faculty and staff is a lot more thank you for the hard work and dedication of molding the minds of the next generation of lawyers and theaters. here in minnesota we are proud to be a hunk of the nation and i promise i'm not just saying that because of appointed nearly half of the judicial branch. [laughter] have extremely qualified diverse waffle bench. we have high-powered law firms from brilliant attorneys. of course, one of the finest schools in the world.

there is a reason so many of the leading public servants in our state for university of medicine. i'm proud to name 30 outstanding will. as heard my chief of staff with me in congress he was at georgetown and chose to turn down georgetown from staff and graduate of this loss will, i am credibly proud. [cheering and applauding] and i know any of you are going around but the outside impact of this is well beyond our state borders. legendary amanda leaders. he spent countless hours those rooms. mondale all. [laughter] walter mondale of public service

for devoted every breath to improving the lives of others. he received alma mater right now. maybe something about minnesota and got his butt kicked in as much of election. strikes a chord in my heart. [laughter] on like all of you, i am not but i did the people i supervised the high school lunchroom and i the son. [laughter] i am a longtime social studies teacher so indulge me for a moment. when you leave this place, you're getting more than that in a lifetime of lawyer jokes. stretched back to peers even

exist for us until lawyers brought about and everyone would be better off ruled by law, not the radical notion in fragile idea the real american revolution so we went to war to make it happened and depute his later they gave us a concept bringing us all together will notion that no one is above the law but the thing is a lot doesn't have any power of its own. it's got no military behind it

is all who are willing to fight for it. it was the lawyers who were the heroes. baker smartly dismantled crew. [cheering] justice ruth bader ginsburg, who argued gender discrimination suits against the supreme court, and 15 of them. [cheering] the court doesn't always get it right. nixon's attorney general chose to step aside, rather than follow through on unlawful order. in this pivotal moment in history. the last line of defense when you join, preserve and protect

the constitution and the laws of the state and elected leaders like me stakes in a matter what we do or where he worked we share not only moral duty a professional obligation to defend the rule of law. that's a pretty big. the rule of law is the foundation pretty much everything we care about and what lets us settle our differences makes it possible to start the world of business and empowers us to can't hear and exchange ideas freely. without the rulebook everything else crumbles away, and that's where you come in. right now, more than any other time in my lifetime with up to feel as i have to be honest you're graduating with the general urgency. some would say way to look and i

would argue if i didn't address this had on. [applause] i'm going to start with the flashing red light donald trump's modern-day. the no chance to kiss a loved one by and shoved into the vans and disappear. there's no way for us to know whether they were actually criminals are not as they didn't get to try to be members of congress exercise oversight of the facility bear shopped around to rest and when courts they

tell him to knock it off. what you know this use in times of rebellion or emergency. they're not only kicking out those who are undocumented. acute top three children all under eight years old. hyperbole to say not far from a world where anyone that and there's no guarantee, you never make it home alive whatever they seek you and a vice president marketing chastised he's offering up horrific arguments. it's his view due process optional. federal what they teach at yale

the constitution is pretty clear. it doesn't say when it's convenient. it's crystal clear. do something. due process is in just four years, it's a right that stretches back centuries. and that for. surrender to donald trump is only knowledge and criminal defendant, and i am going to talk about it. i don't know if you heard this, the president is getting this done on a little obsessive about the things that irritate me because the offense be there it is unconstitutional and even worse, the deal and off on the

attorney general of the united states and our nation's top lawyer famously but now pam bondi acting and incidentally enough, a lobbyist for the governor. this is what the coming of the rule of law in real time the founder of the nation, and i get it they don't want us to stop talking. away from the patriotism.

but is what makes america america. why do we get elected attorneys to defend the law without. anyone else here to tell you those executive orders the quality of writing is about the same, too. [laughter] those arms are home buyers, they know how to throw a punch. they fight back, some did they come to court and one in every case.

[applause] some of the biggest firms, you know the ones i'm talking about. firms let donald trump johnson, a locker room and other at his beck and call to do his dirty work. it is cowardly and that doesn't even begin to describe it. his lawyers the one you are all about to take. the little fall from the or high water. asking you to take that responsibility fiercely. that means letting the firm's no a screwed up by refusing to work for the or with them. [chanting] meets demanding your lawyer

whoever case of principle, be there to stand in that, screaming at the top of the opponents, especially the elected officials. make or break moment, it's not should do, it's something lawyer or leader is compelled to do if you don't, who is? is something, sometimes you. trust me, i know something about. losing on the big stage under the brightest light the highest of the most important time as a way of speaking your head, but the one thing about family, of course, you need to figure out what's next. my wife and i walked along the deciding what we do now we have that conversation about how we

see it, we got two choices. on the one hand majority of the country told us to kick rocks. on the other hand, the guy who want was planning to destroy everything we care about and i was lives on the line. he lost to bring in a landslide. thank god minnesota voted the right way by the way. today, his later died in a plane crash two weeks.

strengthening ties to japan and advised biden administration shaping the future teaching right here. he never complained, he just found a way to her. look at the walk short called the team up and we got to work saying how do we reserve let's i have also had taken an oath trump and his folks want to come for minnesotans, who want to make sure there's a firewall, they have to come through. i know i'm one of the last things your lunch and everything so i will close it. when you walk off campus today, there's going to be some tears.

were heading in different directions. my is, i hope a bunch of people in the public's doctor defendant. some of you will go to pittsburgh but wherever you go you will come to the crusher eventually. i would say, especially when the victory is, there's no chance of failing so don't let your failure prevent you. if you lose about a fight, and another way to serve. there is no savior coming. i am an eternal optimist. i mentioned earlier i served in the lunchroom, you've got to be an optimist to survive that. [laughter] you are all brilliant, your

dedicated and you are ready. but by that battle cry so stay with me. i wish you all the best. go out and fight the good fight, take what you've learned here to protect those who don't have a voice. stand up for the rule of law and know that someday there are going to be stories written names who stood up in a moment of challenge for this nation and turned this around and preserved what is truly the best in america. everybody belongs and everybody is equal. thank you. [cheering and applauding] model for others.