Floor Statements

Mr. President, on China, we are just a day into Trump's trip to China, and he hasn't done anything to ease concerns that he might sell out America. He arrived with a posse of billionaires in tow, including his own son, who oversees the family business.

This kind of stuff is just incredible.

So much for fighting against how China is hurting American workers and poisoning our communities with fentanyl. That would get in the way of Donald Trump and his family profiting off of doing business with the Chinese Communist Party--just hours in, and Xi Jinping has already threatened to ``collide or even clash'' with the United States if we continue our support for Taiwan. Trump, apparently, didn't say anything in response. He was just mute.

For the sake of democracy and the stability of the global economy, Trump must not sell out Taiwan.

Trump must also safeguard the interests of American workers, families, and businesses.

Trump is continuing to roll forward on selling AI chips to Chinese companies that are linked to the Chinese military. Giving China access to this premiere American technology--something we developed with our know-how, our entrepreneurship, our ingenuity--and just giving it away to China? That is dangerous and threatens the United States' lead in the AI race that is going to shape the global economy for decades.

And chips aren't the only way Trump is selling out America. Trump is undermining American autoworkers by letting Chinese vehicles flood the market, and that is something he is very much considering.

Communities across this country continue to suffer as Trump fails to secure real meaningful action from Xi to stem the tide of fentanyl that is flowing into our country from China.

If Xi outnegotiates Trump--and that has happened almost every time he has negotiated with him in the past--it will undercut American manufacturers and workers who have long been hurt by the CCP's predatory trade practices.

When Trump does these negotiations, the only thing he is looking for is a headline so he can see himself on the front page of the newspaper. He doesn't think of what will happen a day after, and it hurts America every time.

If Xi outnegotiates Trump and if America emerges from these negotiations weaker than it was before, there will be only one person to blame: Donald Trump.

Mr. President, on Iran, every day the costs of Trump's disastrous handling of his illegal war with Iran mount up. The most dire cost is human: 13 American servicemembers killed, nearly 400 wounded. They served with valor. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to them, their families, and their brothers and sisters in arms who remain in harm's way.

But that is not the only way the war has cost us, as bad as that is. Trump's war has cost the American taxpayer at least--at least--$29 billion--billion dollars. The war with Iran has cost American families financially, causing inflation to spiral out of control, gas prices to skyrocket, grocery costs to climb.

Trump's reckless war has also cost America strategically. Hundreds of installations in the region have been damaged. America's reputation on the world stage has been further tarnished. American munitions stockpiles are shrinking at a time when we need them to deter other aggressors around the world.

All for what? What is his goal here? He hasn't achieved any of them.

Americans have paid dearly for Trump's blunder in Iran in exchange for little or no gain. The American people may not be benefitting from Trump's war, but our competitors, our rivals across the globe, certainly are. Vladimir Putin couldn't be happier with the Iran war, as Russia rakes in record profits from its energy exports,

and the Americans use up munitions that could go to Ukraine.

As Trump drags America's reputation through the mud, China now presents itself as a source of stability and reason on the world stage. According to press reports, the Chinese have planned secret arms sales to Iran and now look to Taiwan with greater eagerness, since America has devoted so many of our military resources to Iran.

If we want to make sure America stays on top, we need to end Trump's illegal war as soon as possible.

Mr. President, finally, on the shooting anniversary of 4 years in Buffalo, before I close today, I want to say that my heart is with Buffalo as we mark 4 years since the horrific, mass racist shootings that took place at Tops supermarket in 2022. In an instant, 10 beautiful, innocent lives were cut short, and 3 were wounded. They were grandparents and sons and daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, people who deeply loved their community and whose absence we feel every single day.

But in the face of hatred and tragedy, Buffalo lived up to its reputation as the city of good neighbors. The families of the victims and the whole community pushed Congress to come together in a way it hadn't for decades, beating back the dark forces of the NRA and passing the first major gun safety bill in more than a quarter century.

I worked hand in hand with the families of those we lost in Buffalo to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and their work has undoubtedly saved many lives. We owe it to the victims to not just remember their names but to build a future where no community has to endure the kind of tragedy that Buffalo did back then in 2022.

So may God bless the families and all of Buffalo as we remember those we lost 4 years ago today: Ruth Whitfield; Roberta Drury; Aaron Salter, Jr.; Heyward Patterson; Pearl Young; Geraldine Talley; Celestine Chaney; Kat Massey; Margus Morrison; and Andre Mackneil.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, yesterday, Donald Trump told a reporter: ``I don't think about Americans' financial situations.'' I don't think of anyone.

I repeat: Donald Trump actually said this. He said:

``I don't think about Americans' financial situations.''

Can you believe it? You wouldn't believe it coming from any other President. But, sadly, from this President, it smacks of reality. He says almost anything, and he doesn't care.

Clearly, Donald Trump doesn't care about Americans' financial situations, considering that, just this morning, we saw wholesale inflation skyrocket to 6 percent, the highest it has been since December of 2022--wholesale inflation, 6 percent. As those costs trickle down to Americans, Americans are going to be paying more and more and more, and they hate it.

Now, what is Donald Trump thinking about instead? Himself, especially his new ballroom, at a time when 77 percent--that is 77 percent--of Americans say that Donald Trump's policies have increased their cost of living.

Trump and the Senate GOP try to force through a bill that would spend $1 billion taxpayer dollars on a gilded ballroom and not one penny on bringing down American costs. Trump may be trying to build a ballroom, but, clearly, he is living in the theater of the absurd.

Really? Do Americans want a ballroom when wholesale inflation just hit 6 percent--the highest level in 4 years? Do Americans want a ballroom when food prices just went up more in April than in any month in nearly 40 years? Do Americans want a ballroom when the cost of a gallon of gas has increased a dollar and a half since March?

Of course not.

I would say Trump has completely lost touch with the American people, but that would assume that Trump was ever in touch with the American people to begin with. And on this issue, he sure as heck isn't.

Iran

Mr. President, on Iran, Trump was talking about his disastrous Iran war when he said:

I don't think about Americans' financial situations.

Trump launched this war without a plan, without a clear objective, and without any thought to how it might affect the American people.

When Hegseth and other Pentagon officials came to testify, at the end of April, they said this war cost American taxpayers $25 billion. Well, yesterday, they revised that figure to $29 billion. Trump has forced American taxpayers to sink at least $29 billion into a war that still has no end game.

And $29 billion is just the sticker price and doesn't include the hundreds of additional dollars American families will have to pay this year just to fill up their tanks. Americans are paying over $4\1/2\ a gallon at the pump--more than a dollar and a half above what it was when Trump started this war.

If Senate Republicans care about Americans' financial situations, which they should, they need to vote for our War Powers Resolution today to limit Trump's ability to continue this war without authorization. Senator Merkley will be introducing that War Powers Resolution, which I am proud to cosponsor, in a little while.

Today's vote will be the Republicans' seventh--seventh--opportunity to support our resolution to withdraw our troops from hostilities with Iran and stop the economic fallout from this historic blunder.

Americans' financial situation is dire, and Republicans don't think about anyone other than Donald Trump.

China

Mr. President, on China, Donald Trump may have no interest in helping the American people get ahead, but he certainly seems willing to give China a leg up. We all ought to fear what Donald Trump may concede to China just so he can claim a headline. Trump has fantasized about $1 trillion in Chinese investments in America that would give the Chinese a stranglehold on our economy, threaten our supply chains, our economic independence, and our national security.

This is Trump empowering Xi's ``Made in China'' ambitions--selling out American manufacturers and workers, giving CCP businesses an edge in undermining America building the industries of the future here at home.

He is opening the door. He is saying: China, you come here. Use all American innovation and technology and everything else; and then send it back to China, and let China take the lead over America on industry over industry.

What a disgrace. The American people--American businesses--aren't going to fall for this bunk.

And then there are many other things we all worry about that Trump would or could do to weaken American workers, families, and businesses when he gets outnegotiated by Xi. And that has happened time and time again.

Here are some of the things that Donald Trump could do that we all worry about--American workers, American families, American people, American companies worry about.

Donald Trump could sell out American autoworkers by allowing Chinese EVs to flood our markets and crowd out domestic manufacturing.

Donald Trump could sell out America on chips and AI, allowing the sale of our AI chips and semiconductor equipment to China so they can catch up in the technology race that will define the global economy for the next decade. This is a clear and present threat, not just to American jobs but to our national security.

Donald Trump could sell out on fentanyl, failing to use American leverage to extract real and meaningful concessions from the Chinese Communist Party to prevent the deadly flow of fentanyl poisoning our communities. This is an issue I brought up directly with Xi years ago. We were making some progress. Will Donald Trump sell it out? We all worry about it.

Donald Trump could sell out Taiwan, whose people want to continue living in freedom, instead of under the jackboot of the Chinese Communist Party. Any threat Trump allows Xi Jinping to

make against the Taiwanese is a threat to the global democracy. It is also a threat to the global economy, given how many semiconductor chips are made in Taiwan.

So in all of these things, forget the ``Art of the Deal.'' Trump is practicing the ``art of the duped.''

Forget the ``art of the deal.'' Donald Trump is practicing the ``art of the duped.''

Nomination of Kevin Warsh

Mr. President, on Mr. Warsh, Donald Trump has made it clear he will stop at nothing--nothing--to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve at the expense of the American economy and the American people. As the Senate prepares to vote on Kevin Warsh's confirmation as Fed chair, Donald Trump has shown no sign he intends to stop his crusade against an independent Fed.

Trump undermined the central bank with his attempt to oust Lisa Cook and his sham investigation against Chairman Powell. Those attacks on the Fed ought to concern everyone who is worried about the cost of living and interest rates going up.

The more Donald Trump interferes with an independent Fed, the more chaos he injects into the markets. And the more chaos he injects into the markets, the more the interest rates go up.

Markets like certainty. Donald Trump doesn't offer that.

With this administration's disastrous war and failed economic agenda driving up costs, Donald Trump will only seek to exert more pressure on the Fed to manipulate interest rates to his own political advantage. Appointing a new Fed Chair amid this chaos and coercion could further undermine the independence of the Fed.

I urge Senate Republicans to join Democrats in protecting the Fed and restoring some stability to our economy.

Congressional Review Act

Mr. President, on CRAs, later today, the Senate will have a series of votes on the Trump administration's undermining of key protections for the American consumer against predatory corporate practices that raise costs and limit opportunity.

The CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has played a critical role on the side of people to help them avoid junk fees, predatory medical debt, and payday lenders who take advantage of people in need, including military servicemembers.

The Trump administration has chosen to prioritize undermining these critical protections, and, today, Senate Democrats stand up and say ``enough.''

As someone who helped authorize the CFPB, years ago, I feel strongly that we cannot let Trump undermine and constrain this vital Agency. So I thank Senator Warren and so many of my Democratic colleagues for leading these joint resolutions of disapproval to fight on behalf of the American people, of the American consumer.

The joint resolution of disapproval that I am leading is against the Trump administration's decision to reverse CFPB protections on mortgage lending called ``contract for deed'' transactions, that without the proper guardrails can be predatory to people trying to live the American dream in purchasing a home.

For millions of Americans who can't access a traditional mortgage, a contract for deed can seem like a lifeline, but all too often these arrangements are traps. The buyer takes on every obligation of home ownership immediately--taxes, repairs, risk--but doesn't receive the deed until they have paid every last dollar. You miss a single payment, and you can lose everything--no equity, no recourse, evicted like a tenant.

Over 200,000 New Yorkers are in these arrangements right now.

The CFPB has heard reports of many unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices in ``contract for deed'' transactions and took action in 2024 to crack down on these practices by applying the same lending protections to these loans as other consumer and mortgage loans.

What does Trump want to do? Of course, he wants to give a green light to the bad actors, that they are free to exploit American potential homeowners in this way by eliminating the protections of CFPB.

Apparently, Trump wasn't paying attention during the 2008 financial crisis. Giving these predatory lenders free rein only hurts the American people and the American economy.

I call on all of my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans alike--to join me in protecting Americans who just want a fair shot at the American dream.

I yield the floor.

I move to proceed to Calendar No. 396, S.J. Res. 149.

Mr. President, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--CFPB--has played a critical role on the side of people to help them avoid junk fees, predatory medical debt, payday lenders who take advantage of people in need, including so many of our military servicemembers.

So it should come as no surprise that Donald Trump is no fan of the CFPB--he has always sided with big special interests over average folks--and he has undermined its protections for the American people.

Senate Democrats have made clear time and time again: Donald Trump's policies are one big broken promise in lowering costs to the American people.

Trump undermining consumer protections is just another example of Trump's betrayal--betrayal--of working people.

So today I am defending the CFPB for the same reason I helped authorize it years ago: American consumers need to have someone-- someone--in their corner. This is a critical tool to reducing people's everyday costs from healthcare and banking to housing.

So I am heading up this joint resolution of disapproval with many of my colleagues against the Trump administration's decision to reverse CFPB protections on mortgage lending called contract for deed transactions that without the proper guardrails can devolve into predatory practices against Americans trying to buy a home.

For millions of Americans who can't access a traditional mortgage, a contract for deed can seem like a lifeline, but too often, these arrangements are simply traps.

The buyer takes on every obligation of home ownership immediately-- the taxes, the repairs, the risks--but doesn't receive the deed until they pay every last dollar.

This is a formula for failure. Miss a single payment, and you can lose everything--no equity, no recourse, evicted like a tenant. Mr. President, 200,000 New Yorkers are in this position. We must stop it, and I urge a yes vote.

I yield the floor.

Vote on Motion to Proceed

Mr. President, first, on inflation and the inflation ballroom, inflation is skyrocketing at the fastest pace in 3 years. The American people are hurting, and Donald Trump is to blame. Inflation rose to 3.8 percent in April because of Donald Trump's costly tariffs, his disastrous war with Iran, and failed economic agenda.

So much for Trump's promise to bring down costs on day one--3.8 percent, the highest in 3 years. And, again, it is all because of Trump's tariffs, his war with Iran, his failed economic agenda.

The American people are furious about how Donald Trump and his MAGA majorities in Congress have turned a blind eye to the No. 1 issue facing the American people: their rising costs.

A CNN poll this morning found that 77 percent of Americans say that Trump's policies have raised costs in their community, and that includes a majority of Republicans. Seventy-seven percent, including a majority of Republicans, blame Trump for their higher costs. Only 30 percent of Americans approve of his handling of the economy. That is a record low.

Among the most common words the poll's respondents used to describe their economic situation right now were: uncertainty, stress, dread.

Donald Trump, are you hearing that? The American people look at your economic policies and describe them as filled with uncertainty, fill them with stress, fill them with dread. That is a pretty strong word.

Instead of listening to the American people, Donald Trump and the GOP put forward a reconciliation bill that will

force Americans to pay for Trump's billion-dollar ballroom and tens of billions more for Trump's masked agents, while including zero--zero dollars--to bring down American costs. Ask Americans how many people want to see a billion dollars for a ballroom and no money to help reduce the cost of food, the cost of electricity, the cost of housing, the cost of childcare. When will Republicans take the hint? When will they realize that Americans want lower costs, not a gold-plated ballroom for our billionaire President.

It seems all the President is concerned with these days are vanity projects, not things that make the American people's lives better.

Democrats will fight Republicans' ballroom bill tooth and nail. And Republicans here in the Senate should do the same, if they have any sense.

Can you believe it? You guys are walking off a cliff. Funding a billion-dollar ballroom when people are hurting? It makes no sense. No sense at all.

Mr. President, now, on Iran and the gas tax, Trump recently signaled to American motorists to buckle up, saying that the cease-fire with Iran is ``on life support.'' The American economy is also on life support because of Trump's mishandling of his illegal war.

Americans are paying over $4\1/2\ for a gallon of gas because Donald Trump refuses to end this war--a dollar and a half more than when this war started.

Americans need every cent they can get right now, and Senate Democrats will work with whomever it takes to bring down costs. But Republicans need to realize that Donald Trump's proposal to suspend the gas tax is simply not enough. Eighteen cents of gas tax relief a gallon doesn't even come close to the buck-50 gas price increase from this war, and Republicans need to stop pretending that it does. Offering Americans literal pennies on the dollar to cope with skyrocketing gas prices just won't cut it. Mr. President, $0.18 is not $1.50.

If Republicans want to get serious about lowering costs, they will support Democrat's War Powers Resolution, coming up once again this week, to withdraw American troops from hostilities with Iran. This week, Republicans will have their seventh opportunity to vote for our War Powers Resolution, get our servicemembers out of harm's way, and rein in these skyrocketing costs. I urge Republicans to join Democrats and the American people by supporting the resolution.

Americans can't afford for their economy to be left on life support, which is why we need to end this war and get our economy back on track.

Mr. President, on Trump going to China, there is an old saying that only Nixon could go to China, but soon they will say: Only Trump could sell out to China. Xi Jinping has Donald Trump salivating at the prospect of a trillion-dollar Chinese investment deal in America that would threaten America's supply chains, threaten economic independence, threaten national security. Strength in China at the expense of American strength.

Donald Trump wants a deal with China so badly, he could sell out our American manufacturing. He could sell out on chips. He could sell out on Taiwan, which produces many of these chips. He could sell out on AI and on any number of grave issues that will determine who dominates the 21st century.

Right now, again, to get his photo in the newspapers and try--won't work--to raise his very low poll numbers, he is going to sell out to China.

We can't let Trump willingly give China our superior American technology or allow him to serve Taiwan to the Chinese Communist Party on a silver platter, just so he can get the satisfaction of saying he made a deal.

For decades, Trump has complained about how China has cheated America. If Donald Trump wants America to outcompete China, he cannot let Xi Jinping take him for a ride.

Mr. President, if you want to understand Republicans' priorities right now, just look at the $72 billion reconciliation bill they revealed last week. The Republican bill would pump tens of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol without any guardrails to prevent these rogue Agencies from continuing to unleash violence on American streets.

But that is not all. To add insult to injury, the Republican bill charges American taxpayers $1 billion to build Trump's gilded ballroom, while including zero dollars to help Americans with rising costs.

Their billion-dollar bill has zero dollars to help Americans deal with groceries, and their prices are going up. Gas prices are going up. Zero dollars to bring down Americans' healthcare, housing, and electricity bills.

At a time when Americans are struggling to put food on the table, Republicans say, ``Let them eat cake,'' and demand American taxpayers build Trump a palace, while they are at it.

Keep in mind, Donald Trump said, just a few months ago, that ``not one penny is being used from the Federal Government'' for the ballroom--``not one penny,'' said Trump.

Well, give me a break. He has put a billion dollars in the budget for it. This staggering waste of taxpayer dollars has nothing--nothing--to do with security and everything to do with Trump's ego.

How long before Trump asks for his name to be emblazoned in gold on the side of the ballroom?

The American people are calling out for help, but these ballroom Republicans have a constituency of one: Donald Trump's ego. That is a disgrace.

Democrats will use every tool in our arsenal to fight this bill. We will bring challenges. We will bring challenges under the Byrd rule. We will offer floor amendments. We will force Republicans to take vote after vote, showing that instead of helping working families, Republicans are forcing Americans to pay for Trump's billionaire ballroom.

Americans don't want this ballroom blitz. They want Congress to bring down costs.

Mr. President, on the hantavirus, earlier today, 17 Americans--including 3 New Yorkers--who were on the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak arrived in Nebraska, where they remained in quarantine. One has since tested positive for hantavirus.

They should know that all of us here in the Senate are thinking of them and praying for their health. No one should have to go through such an ordeal.

The hantavirus outbreak reminds us of what happened during COVID-19. We need to invest in public health and pandemic preparedness. Sadly, the Trump administration has not learned that lesson. The Trump administration gutted our public health defenses. The public may not know it, but Trump fired the workers whose job it is to protect us from outbreaks like hanta.

Donald Trump, Russell Vought, and now Elon Musk purged hundreds of Federal workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Health and Human Services including--here is who Trump fired--cruise ship inspectors, port health station staff, disease detectives, and others. He cut all those, and now we have the hantavirus. They were there for a purpose.

Blindly swinging their DOGE chainsaw through the Federal Government, Trump, Vought, and Musk also hamstrung the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program--a program that didn't cost the taxpayers any money. The cruise ships paid for it, but, of course, they didn't care.

The solution is a simple one. I put out a plan that calls on the Trump administration to rehire these fired outbreak-response experts, to restore funding to protect Americans from infectious diseases, and to rejoin the World Health Organization and other groups that track outbreaks and provide early warning.

Rehire, restore, rejoin--that is how we keep the American people healthy and safe.

Diseases like hantavirus and COVID don't care what your politics are. They threaten everyone. Donald Trump needs to stop politicizing public health and start investing in it.

On Iran, Donald Trump and members of his administration have referred to the fighting in Iran as a ``skirmish,'' a ``mini- war'', a ``little excursion,'' a ``blip'' and most recently ``a love tap.'' Let's call the ongoing hostilities with Iran for what they are-- a war.

Let me repeat: Donald Trump dragged America into a war--an illegal, costly war--without any goals, without any endgame.

It has been over a week since we hit the 60-day threshold under the War Powers Act, which means the hostilities must cease unless Trump gets authorization from Congress.

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth tried to skirt the deadline when they told us the timer had stopped because the fighting was over.

Tell that to the American servicemembers who were dodging Iranian drones and missiles in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

Tell that to the American people who just saw headlines the other day about Trump saying we are getting ready for a protracted blockade.

The war is over? Bunk, poppycock, craziness to even say it, but Trump says anything that enters his head which he thinks will please him in the moment--even if he gets himself in trouble by the end of the day.

And to this war, there is still no end in sight. Just today, the most recent round of negotiations with Iran fell apart. Trump keeps digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole.

Meanwhile, Americans are now paying over $4.50 for a gallon of gas. Families need real relief at the pump, and Senate Democrats will support real action to lower costs, but let's not pretend $0.18 of gas tax relief per gallon makes up for the damage Trump created with this war. Mr. President, $0.18 cents isn't $1.50, which is how much the price of gas has gone up since this war started.

Trump wants credit for handing the American people a glass of water to put out the fire he started--the massive fire he started--when he launched this war.

Americans don't need just a few cents back--they need an end to the chaos that sent gas prices soaring in the first place.

The best way to lower costs is to end this illegal war. Trump could end this war tomorrow and prices would plummet by far more than $0.18 a gallon.

And Republicans know that this blunder didn't magically end when the 60-day clock ran out. It is time to do something about it, so Democrats are forcing a seventh vote on our War Powers Resolution this week to withdraw United States troops from hostilities with Iran.

If Republicans care about preserving our War Powers, keeping our servicemembers safe, lowering Americans' costs, they need to support the War Powers Resolution and end this war.

If Republicans vote against our resolution, they will continue to bear the blame for Trump's war. Not a skirmish, not a blip, not an excursion--it is a war.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, this morning, America received another gut punch about the rising costs that they have to pay because we learned that inflation rose to 3.5 percent in March--the highest rate in almost 3 years. Do you know what that means? A 3.5-percent increase in inflation means Americans are paying more and more and more; and it means, at a time of rising costs that people hate, Donald Trump is making things worse, not better.

The historic blunder in Iran is compounding the increase in prices. There was an increase in prices before this bad war that Trump never should have called to begin with. Prices were going up for groceries. Prices were going up for electric rates. Prices were going up for healthcare. Prices were going up for childcare. Prices were going up because of tariffs--and then the war. Gasoline is over $4 a gallon, higher than it has been. The price of crude oil is higher than it has been in a very long time, all because of a war where Trump seems to have no direction, no aim, no purpose, no conclusion.

Let me repeat: Inflation rose 3.5 percent. There are higher costs on everything. There are higher costs on groceries, on household essentials, on everything Americans need just to get by. When oil costs go up, so does fertilizer, so does food, so does anything that travels by truck or train. So these costs are hurting everybody, and it is getting worse.

Donald Trump, do you see what the inflation number means? Costs are getting worse. Affordability is getting tougher. People are paying more, all because of you, Donald Trump.

Trump said he would bring costs down on day one. Well, here we are-- 15 months after Trump took office--and costs are skyrocketing so fast they are breaking records. As to the war, which is compounding the increases in inflation, Trump has no plan to show us how to get out of this quagmire just as he had no plan when he got us into this mess.

After weeks of leaving Congress in the dark about the state of Trump's disastrous war, Hegseth came to the Capitol to testify yesterday. What he said was disgraceful.

Here is what he said:

The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at

this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of

congressional Democrats and some Republicans.

Give me a break. You caused the war and your boss Donald Trump. You got us into this mess, and you can't get us out of this mess, so you try to point a finger. People don't buy that. Maybe a few MAGA listeners of FOX News do but not anybody else.

So I say to Hegseth, take a look in the mirror.

Our greatest challenge in Iran is Donald Trump and Secretary Hegseth, and Americans know it. The war is unpopular. They blame Trump for it, of course. The greatest obstacle to peace is the incompetence of the Secretary of Defense and of the President of the United States.

Hegseth said the war has been an astounding victory and that the American people support it.

Your intel is off, Secretary Hegseth. Fewer than one in four Americans thinks this war has been worthwhile. Let me repeat that to you: Fewer than one in four Americans thinks this war has been worthwhile, and a huge number of Republicans and Independents, not just Democrats, agrees. So stop being partisan. Stop pointing fingers. Roll up your sleeves and come to an end with this mess, this quagmire.

As for an astounding victory, of course, our servicemembers perform impressively--they always do--but they are saddled with the bad decision making of this President and his Cabinet, as 13 American servicemembers have been killed, nearly 400 have been wounded, and the Pentagon says it has spent at least $25 billion on this war so far. Meanwhile, American families are hurting every time they go to the gas station or grocery store, all with no strategic aim.

Is that what Pete Hegseth thinks is an astounding victory?

Are you going to take out a brass band and salute that inflation is up 3.5 percent? salute that the Strait of Hormuz is still closed? salute that we still haven't found the nuclear facilities and potential weaponry that Iran has?

None of that has been advanced. So this is not an astounding victory.

It is past time that Senate Republicans joined Democrats on our War Powers Resolution. We have forced votes on our resolutions five times and we are going to force it a sixth time today and it is going to come back week after week.

Republican Senators, you can't escape this. You are culpable. You are preventing an end to this war, and Americans want to see an end to the war.

Tomorrow marks 60 days since Donald Trump officially notified Congress about his attack on Iran. After we cross that 60-day threshold, there can be no more doubt that he is violating the War Powers Act. Republicans are out of hollow excuses. They are out of hiding places.

End this war, Republicans. Bring our troops home. Stop bleeding taxpayers dry. Support our War Powers Resolution.

Mr. President, on the noms package, this is another incredible thing as to the new lows that this administration goes to. Every day, there is a newer one. It is amazing. It is no surprise that Donald Trump's popularity ratings are in the midthirties. He does such profoundly crazy things, bad things, almost evil things. To pick somebody for the Federal court who was there on January 6, that is evil. That is not just supporting insurrection, that is elevating insurrection. But that is what is happening here. Republicans continue to force through some of the shadiest, most unqualified nominees I have ever seen. The loyalists--the Trump loyalists--in today's package are awful.

Darin Smith--Trump's pick for the district court of Wyoming--has no criminal or Federal court experience, opposes same-sex marriage, and supports teaching creationism in the public schools, but that is not the No. 1 thing against him. Smith was present at the Capitol on January 6, and now Trump wants him to uphold law and order. What hypocrisy. What fakery. How disgusting.

Donald Trump, you reach a new low every day--a new low every day--to make those who tried to take over the Capitol and create an insurrection heroes and elevate them to judgeships. That is why you are so unpopular, Donald Trump. You are in this bubble, and you have too many people in this

Chamber who shrug their shoulders and go along and support you.

Another nominee, Phillip Williams, the nominee for the Northern District of Alabama, has a dearth of criminal and Federal court experience and compared the prosecution of the January 6 insurrectionists to the Salem Witch Trials--the Salem Witch Trials. He also called abortion ``nothing more than industrialized slaughter.''

For the Middle District of North Carolina, Trump nominated Dan Bishop, Russell Vought's former top lieutenant at the OMB. He helped orchestrate the Trump administration's crusade to cut crucial services to the American people. People hate Vought. They hate what he has done. Yet here we are, elevating one of the chief henchmen of Russell Vought. Bishop also said he disagreed with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage and supported national abortion bans on multiple occasions as a legislator.

Finally, I want to say a word about Richard Kloster, nominated to serve on the Surface Transportation Board. Kloster has shown a troubling lack of basic understanding of what the Board does. He is, however, a die-hard MAGA loyalist--good enough in Trump's eyes.

Kloster's nomination comes as Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are set to refile today their $85 billion--$85 billion--merger application with the Surface Transportation Board. If Kloster helps clear the deal, it will mean higher costs for the American people.

Hear that, Americans? Trump is putting people on the Board who are so, so obeisant to industry that he is going to raise your costs. The more the railroads merge, the less competition, the more the consumer-- the more the American people--pays. And if Kloster is on the Board, we are kidding ourselves to think he would side with workers and consumers over the interests of Wall Street-backed railroad oligarchs.

I could go on and on, but Americans get the picture: Trump wants to stack the Boards of his administration with MAGA loyalists who are hell-bent on threatening our freedoms, our economy, and our democracy. And Republicans--even worse--don't even want to put each of these up for a vote. They can lump them all together because they are embarrassed to vote for some of these people, I am sure.

Mr. President, first, I appreciate what the Senator from Ohio has done. It is a good thing that the Senate is moving swiftly to prohibit Senators and staff from playing around in prediction markets.

Since this is a resolution, it is immediately going into effect for Senators. That is a great thing. Speaker Johnson should immediately do the same thing in the House and prohibit House Members from playing around in prediction markets as well.

We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where Members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises or elections. That would destroy the very principle of representative government. Just the possibility that Members could have their votes influenced because of betting is reason enough to prohibit Members from meddling in the prediction markets.

Of all the issues we debate in Washington, this falls squarely in the category of a no-brainer. Then we should go further. This is a good start but not enough. The administration and its employees must apply these very same rules too--particularly this administration, which shows such a troubling affinity to corruption and self-dealing.

When we come back in May, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the administration can't get rich off betting markets. But today's resolution is a very good first step, and I thank my colleague the Senator from Ohio and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working quickly to approve this legislation, which I am proud to support.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in just a few hours, it will be 60 days since Donald Trump officially notified Congress he was dragging us into one of the most foolish foreign misadventures in American history. Pete Hegseth can't just hit the pause button on that countdown, not when American troops are in harm's way.

For 60 days, Trump has blundered, stumbled, and straggled through this mess of his own making. For 60 days, prices on everything from gas to groceries have soared at a rate not seen in years. For 60 days, military families have stayed up at night, praying their loved ones won't join the ranks of the brave 13 American servicemembers killed and nearly 400 wounded. And after 60 days, Republicans have sat idle.

Well, I say to my colleagues: Time is up. Republicans, stop sitting out. Start speaking up. The American people have had enough. They have been calling for peace for weeks. Americans literally cannot afford this war to drag on, not when gas costs $4.30 a gallon--$4.30 a gallon--and inflation just hit a record for over 3 years for 3.5 percent, higher inflation than we have had in a long time. And that means people pay more for just about everything.

This sixth vote on the Democrats' War Powers Act is different than the first five. The 60-day threshold for war powers is upon us. No more dodging. No more hiding. No more shirking. Republicans need to help us end this illegal, costly war. They should have done it long ago. The most important vote a Senator can take is on matters of war and peace.

I hold our Republican colleagues to show an ounce of courage our brave members are showing in the field every day as this war continues and to do what is right. Do your duty.

I yield the floor.