Floor Statements

Madam President, if the motion for the Senate to adjourn with pro forma sessions scheduled until September 14 would have been a recorded rollcall vote, I would have voted no.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I would like to ask unanimous consent for the previously scheduled vote to begin now.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Yes, there is, Mr. President.

Reserving the right to object, the President made clear that he would not seek any compensation from the anti-weaponization fund, and, for my own part, I have made it clear that I won't seek any compensation from the anti-weaponization fund.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, under oath, has said:

We are not moving forward with the fund, period.

Why is that not enough for my colleagues from across the aisle? Because they have a deeper and much darker motive. They want to erase the Biden Justice Department's unprecedented weaponization by abolishing every means of holding it accountable. I am not going to stand for it.

Has there ever been a more systematic effort to surveil and oppress the political operation of a sitting President's opponents than under Joe Biden?

We all know the answer. In fact, my esteemed colleague from Iowa Chairman Grassley has called it ``arguably worse than Watergate.''

The Biden DOJ's Arctic Frost Operation involved a taxpayer-funded army of lawyers obtaining financial information on over 400 individuals and groups that happened to support President Trump in the 2020 election.

Yet, despite serious internal concerns and objections that were raised within the DOJ that this wasn't a proper basis for a search, President Trump's home was raided, at Mar-a-Lago, in a made-for-TV operation.

This witch hunt extended even to the halls of the U.S. Senate. By now, everyone is familiar with how the Biden DOJ subpoenaed the records of eight Republican Senators--myself included--specifically because of conversations that we had in anticipation of a vote that was coming up on this matter.

That is a serious affront to congressional privileges, and it was a clear violation of the Constitution's speech or debate clause.

Did the Constitution matter to the Biden DOJ or to their allies at Verizon? It seems not. The Biden DOJ and Verizon violated the constitutional rights of numerous Republican Senators.

Several of my staff were among those with the temerity to serve in the Trump administration. Without any reason to think they were involved in any wrongdoing, members of my staff were subpoenaed, they were forced to hire counsel, and they were subjected to depositions. The costs can be ruinous.

As my staff was tortured, I saw firsthand how the process was the punishment. Think about it. If you could ruin someone's financial future, there is no need to prove them guilty. If you can set an example that working in a Republican administration will get you put on a ``do not hire'' list by left-leaning law firms or make you the target of taxpayer-funded investigations by a Democrat-controlled and weaponized DOJ, then you achieve another chilling objective--that is suppression.

Democrats in the last administration weren't satisfied with targeting Republican officials and staffers; they went even further. To take just one example, the DOJ under President Biden brought its enormous power to bear on the groups it hates the most. In my home State, that was pro-life demonstrators. Yes, that is right. When violent crime had skyrocketed in American cities across the Nation, the Biden DOJ devoted precious resources to criminally prosecuting peaceful pro-life demonstrators in my home State of Nashville, TN. They were letting go criminal illegal aliens, who would strike again, just so they could prosecute those whose politics they disagreed with. What a disgrace.

My colleagues across the aisle are simply trying to cover up and sweep under the rug the fact that the Department of Justice under President Biden became a tool to destroy his political opponents.

Just so there is no mistake, this is far from the first political controversy involving the DOJ's settlement authority. I won't recount all of the instances in which the Biden or Obama administration used DOJ settlement funds to funnel billions of dollars to their pet projects. Needless to say, my Democrat colleagues apparently saw no problem with that. Indeed, not a single Democrat ever cosponsored the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act in the 114th Congress, in the 115th Congress, nor in the 117th or the 118th Congress. Yet now, when any victim of the Biden DOJ's weaponization might actually receive some recompense--well, now, they have found religion. And even that is an overstatement.

Today's bill is different in the worst way from Republicans' previous efforts to constrain the DOJ's settlement authority. This proposal by the minority leader isn't an evenhanded proposal that would constrain Presidents of both parties moving forward; it would solely invalidate a single settlement agreement involving specific parties. This treads dangerously close to the Constitution's prohibitions against ex post facto laws and retroactive legislation, and I have serious concerns that it violates the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.

I can't stand for this unconstitutional, hypocritical bill; therefore, I object.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak before the previously scheduled recess.

Mr. President, I find it quite interesting that my Democratic colleagues are now seeking to somehow block some of the funds of the Department of Justice when they would never do this before. I mentioned earlier that Republicans put forward the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act. In four previous Congresses, not a single Democrat was willing to join; not a single Democrat was willing to help us rein in the Department of Justice. Yet, when we find abject weaponization of the Department of Justice, when we have my own staff-- and I would ask any of the staff in this room to think about it, put themselves in their shoes. If you happen to work in the White House under a Republican administration, then you can find yourself, under a weaponized DOJ, subject to subpoena, subject to depositions, and your parents are putting $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 of their life savings at stake to protect and defend their children. This is exactly the conversation I had with my staff and their parents. It is heartbreaking. It needs to stop, and there needs to be accountability so this never happens again.

I am not about to stand here and just sweep this under the rug and act like the weaponization of the Biden DOJ never happened. Not in history has anything happened like this before, where a sitting President goes after his opponent and all of his opponent's allies-- subpoenaing U.S. Senators' phone records, like they did mine; having a corrupt operation with--it appears Verizon and the DOJ colluded. Maybe Verizon had a particular transaction like the Frontier acquisition that they wanted to curry favor with DOJ to achieve and therefore just violated the Constitution and handed my records over, along with other U.S. Senators'.

This should not be allowed to happen. We can't, as Americans, act like it never did, and to accept Senator Schumer and my colleague Senator Padilla's recommendation would somehow give credence that nothing ever did happen. Indeed, the worst weaponization of government that we have ever seen in our lifetime did happen under the Biden administration.

I will not stand for it.

Mr. President, I have three requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, we have gone 110 days with Border Patrol and ICE being defunded by the Democrats. The question I ask is, What do they want? Do they want to see more deaths?

In 2025 alone, in my home State, 41 Tennesseans died at the hands of illegal immigrants.

More fentanyl overdoses, is that what you want? I took a call from a father whose son didn't wake up on Thanksgiving morning because he got fentanyl into his system. I don't want to ever take a call like that again.

And do you want more national security risks? Think about it. Under the Biden administration, 1,500 Iranians were apprehended at the southern border, and 700 of them were admitted into the United States. We don't know where they are. And 24,000 Chinese nationals in 1 year were encountered at the southern border under Joe Biden. Is that what you want?

No. Here is what they want: They want to distract us from the fact that every Democrat is about to go out and vote to defund ICE, to defund law enforcement, and to keep our border unsecured.

Point of Order

Therefore, the pending amendment contains matters not within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee and thus is extraneous. Therefore, I raise a point of order under section 313(b)(1)(C) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the President of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join with a like committee on the part of the House of Representatives to escort His Majesty Charles III into the House Chamber for the joint meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the postcloture time with respect to Executive Calendar No. 670 be expired and at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than tomorrow, the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on confirmation of the nomination; finally, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I send an executive resolution to the desk for the consideration of certain nominations en bloc and ask for its immediate consideration.

In order to place the executive resolution on the calendar, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 689, which is at the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings and joint address.

For the information of my colleagues, Senators are asked to gather in the Chamber at 2:20 p.m. tomorrow to proceed as a body to the Hall of the House of Representatives for the joint address.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and congratulate my friend and an outstanding community leader in Memphis, TN, Cato Johnson, on the occasion of his retirement.

Cato currently serves as chief of staff at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, where he has dedicated over 40 years of extraordinary service. Cato has also served Tennesseans in many ways, including on the TennCare Medical Advisory Committee, the Governor's TennCare Roundtable, and the State Health Planning Advisory Board.

His leadership, however, extends far beyond healthcare. Cato was a founding member of the University of Memphis Board of Trustees and served as chair of the board between March 2024 and March 2026. During his time as chair, the university accomplished much, including the creation and naming of Victory Park student housing; the creation of new U of M foundations; a new independent school district; University Schools; and a new University Schools elementary school; Campus School Kimball.

Cato is also the former chair of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, former member of the Tennessee State School Board, and has served on the executive committee of the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority.

Cato has chaired my own Memphis ``Kitchen Cabinet'' and has provided pivotal advice over the past 5 years. The advice and counsel of our Memphis Kitchen Cabinet was critical to the initiation and ongoing success of the Memphis Safe Task Force.

Cato is a champion for healthcare, education, athletics, and the Memphis community. In fact, Ford Blue Oval has established the Cato Johnson Scholarship and the local YMCA on Elvis Presley Boulevard is named after Cato and his wife, the Georgette and Cato Johnson YMCA.

Cato is a trusted leader, partner, and friend to all who know him; I am pleased to be among those fortunate to be so close. I want to thank Cato for his remarkable legacy in Tennessee. I congratulate him on his well-earned retirement and wish him a lifetime of happiness with his family and many friends.