Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, earlier this morning, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court took another step toward resurrecting the Jim Crow South.

In a decision that for all practical purposes upends half a century of precedent, defies the spirit of the American Civil Rights Movement, and reverses generations of progress toward racial justice, the rightwing Court today essentially declared it valid and appropriate for States to discriminate against racial minorities in drawing districts.

The Voting Rights Act--a law written in the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of Americans who marched, who fought, and died for the right to vote and to prevent racial discrimination--has been diminished once again.

The consequence of this decision is as clear as it is dangerous: fewer protections for voters, more power for politicians to draw maps that silence them--particularly historically disenfranchised voters.

The conservative Court has tried to make it seem like its decision today was narrow and tailored. But let's be very clear. In the words of Justice Kagan, this decision is a ``demolition''--a ``demolition''--of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It opens the floodgates for States across the South to redraw their congressional districts and make voters of color essentially invisible in our democracy. By some estimates, this decision could lead conservative State legislatures to draw as many as 19 additional seats that favor Republicans in the House.

So, far from being a narrow decision, this MAGA Court is trying to give Republicans a leg up--an illegitimate leg up--in future elections.

Let me say it again: This case is the MAGA Court trying to give Republicans a leg up in future elections.

It is a knife to the heart of some of the most important civil rights legislation that past generations marched for, organized for, and bled for. It will bring back the old, sinister practices long discarded to the dustbin of history: State legislatures diluting, erasing, and overpowering voters of color.

Shame on the High Court. Shame on the MAGA Justices for rigging our elections.

This did not happen all at once. For years, this Court--beginning with the Roberts decision in the awful Shelby County decision--has chipped away at the Voting Rights Act, decision by decision. Chief Justice Roberts bears a lot of the blame for this awful decision.

The commitment of equal representation has been broken before, but every time, Americans have forced it back into the law. Senate Democrats will fight it, once again, to reverse this awful, awful decision.

Even before this wretched decision, we knew the MAGA far right was hell-bent in trying to undermine our democracy.

Mr. President, we know that the MAGA right is trying to rig our democracy. We knew it long before this decision. Donald Trump knows and his party knows that they are going to lose this election in 2026, which is why they are working around the clock to tilt the scales unfairly in their favor.

Trump issued another Executive order, a month ago, to subvert our elections. Last week, they took aim at the Southern Poverty Law Center to chill speech and suppress actions from organizations that protect democracy. Trump continues to push for his SAVE Act to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans, and he stacked his administration with election deniers.

So, today, I am launching the Democratic Party's most expansive effort, to date, to protect the 2026 midterm elections and to shield them from the direct threats posed by Trump and MAGA Republicans.

This afternoon, a group of Senators and I will meet with former Attorney General Eric Holder, Mark Elias, and some of the country's top election experts to talk about how we can be ready for any and all threats that might come against our elections this fall.

I want to thank my Senate Democratic colleagues for joining in today's meeting.

We know that some on the extreme right will try to rig the system. Donald Trump said it. He said he can't win the election except by rigging it. That is more or less what he said. Donald Trump's Justice Department sought to seize States' voter rolls. Rightwingers raided election offices in Georgia. They pressed election officials in Arizona to turn over documents. Online radicals are threatening poll workers and are spreading lies about voter fraud. And, here in Congress, hard- right Republicans are trying to pass Jim Crow 2.0 in the SAVE Act.

These threats are only going to intensify the closer we get to election day. So our election fraud task force represents the most aggressive and coordinated effort to date to make sure our elections this fall are protected. The goal of our task force is to ensure that every vote counts and every American can participate in our democracy without coercion, intimidation, or threats from Trump or anyone else.

Now, Mr. President, on DHS--a lot is happening today-- last night, Donald Trump confirmed what I have been saying for weeks: Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They are holding it up--the Republicans, not Democrats. The White House said it, in effect. The White House put out a memo urging House Republicans to stop dithering and pass the DHS bill that every Democrat and every Republican in the Senate passed unanimously not once but twice.

For weeks, Republicans have tried to pin the blame for their shutdown on Democrats. The Trump administration just exposed how preposterous that lie is.

Republican dysfunction is endangering our national security. House Republicans have been so busy fighting one another in the House that FISA may expire.

Republicans, get your act together. Our national security depends on it.

While Democrats have been trying to fund the Secret Service, the TSA, the Coast Guard, CISA, FEMA, and other crucial Agencies, Republicans have been trying to jam through as much as another $140 billion for Trump's rogue Agencies. And while Democrats have been working diligently and assiduously to try and lower Americans' costs, Republicans want to splurge on a $400 million gold-plated ballroom for the President. The last thing Americans want us spending their tax dollars on is a gilded palace for Donald Trump.

What will Trump ask Americans to pay for next--a moat?

What else could $400 million get Americans? A year of childcare for 30,000 families; skills for training 50,000 new electricians, plumbers, and welders; disaster loans for 10,000 households; and so much more.

Keep in mind that, just 1 month ago today, Donald Trump said:

There's not one dime of government money going into the

ballroom.

Then put your money where your mouth is, President Trump. Stop trying to waste Americans' hard-earned tax dollars on this extravagance, and get your party to work with Democrats to keep the American people safe.

Finally, Mr. President, on Iran and gas prices--as I said, there is a lot going on--just hours ago, Pentagon officials told Congress that Trump's disastrous war has cost taxpayers $25 billion. Can you believe it? At least $25 billion and we are less than 2 months into this war. And $25 billion is just the sticker price.

Americans are also paying for this war at the pump. This morning, average gas prices in America hit $4.23 a gallon. That is a record high since the start of the war.

Let me repeat: U.S. gas prices are at their highest level since the beginning of the war in Iran. It is now $4.23--up 40 percent since Trump started his costly war with Iran.

The price of gas is the highest it has been in 4 years. There is only one person to blame--Donald J. Trump.

Trump says he is bleeding Iran economically. But he is draining the pockets of American families. And for what? The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The Iranian regime is still radical. Our servicemembers are still in harm's way. Trump still has no idea how to end this blunder.

Instead, we hear reports that Trump is telling his aides to prepare for a protracted blockade. This morning, Trump warned that Iran better get smart soon.

Well, it is Donald Trump who had better get smart soon and end this war unless he wants Americans to continue paying $4.23 at the pump.

This week, Democrats will force a vote on our War Powers Resolution for the sixth time. We will continue to force votes every week as this war rages on.

I urge my Republican friends to help bail Donald Trump out of his mess. Vote with us to end this war, or you, Republican Senators, will continue to face the outrage of the American people.

This Friday marks 60 days since Trump officially notified Congress that he had launched this reckless war. Under the War Powers Act, Trump must seek authorization for his war to continue beyond 60 days. After that deadline, Republicans will have no place to hide and no more hollow excuses to let this fighting continue. Republicans know Trump's handling of this war has been a disaster. They see how much the American people are hurting right now.

How many War Powers Resolutions do Democrats need to put before Senate Republicans until they do what is right?

How many Americans will have to go bankrupt?

How many days do our service members have to spend apart from their families?

How many people will have to die before Trump realizes that this war must end?

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, as our Nation wages Donald Trump's reckless war with a dangerous and erratic enemy and as the Department of Homeland Security is still not funded because of the high jinks within the

President's own party, Donald Trump has decided to focus on a taxpayer- funded, gold-plated ballroom instead of focusing on these important national security issues: the war in Iran--dangerous for the United States; the fact that we haven't funded Homeland Security--dangerous for the United States. Does Donald Trump roll up his sleeves and say ``Let's solve these problems''? No. He is focused on this ballroom--his gilded, gold-plated, taxpayer-funded ballroom--instead of focusing on the important national security issues facing the country.

Trump's values are perverse--just perverse. If the President and House Republicans truly care about our national security, fund DHS, fund the Secret Service, fund CISA, fund the Coast Guard, fund all the crucial, law-abiding Agencies that every Democrat and every Republican in the Senate unanimously voted to fund not once but twice.

Now House Republicans say they are tinkering with technical changes to our legislation.

Speaker Johnson, our bill--our bipartisan bill--doesn't need any changes. Just pass the damn thing. Pass the damn thing. We desperately need it.

Democrats chose to fund national security and keep Americans safe. For 32 days, House Republicans have blocked the funding for DHS. Donald Trump and Republicans' fixation on the ballroom just shows how out of touch--how very out of touch--they are.

Let us not forget that last year, Karoline Leavitt said Trump's gilded ballroom ``is not going to cost the taxpayers a dime.'' Well, rewind. Instead, the ballroom is going to cost the taxpayers a pretty penny, to the tune of $400 million. Let me repeat: $400 million for Trump's walled palace--that is how much his acolyte Senator Graham wants to authorize for the project in this new bill. He has also floated potentially forcing through ballroom funding with Republicans' partisan reconciliation process. Rush it through without debate and without amendment--$400 million for a ballroom? Seriously? Apparently, Donald Trump wasn't satisfied with forcing Americans to foot the bill for a war they do not want and $1 trillion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires that Americans eschew. It is absolute absurdity.

What happened to funding the ballroom with tens of millions of dollars in shady donations Trump received from billionaires and corporations or with the billions his family has made off the Presidency? What happened to that--ignoble as that was?

Instead of spending $400 million to build a walled palace for Donald Trump, Republicans should use that money to lower housing, food, gas, and healthcare costs for the American people. I am putting out a framework today on how to bring down healthcare costs. Republicans ought to follow it--helping the American people for once.

Unfortunately, holding up DHS funding isn't the only way Republican infighting is threatening America's national security.

Speaker Johnson, Donald Trump, and national Republicans: America's national security is at stake. Get your act together on FISA. America cannot afford for you to continue dithering on FISA.

Get your act together, Speaker Johnson. Run the House of Representatives like it should be run--dealing with the problems America faces.

Now, Mr. President, on Cuba, since launching his disastrous war with Iran, Donald Trump has said that ``Cuba's going to be next'' and that ``we may stop by Cuba'' after we are finished.

The last thing working Americans need right now is another war, let alone one that is 90 miles south of the United States.

Republicans must get out in front of the looming catastrophe in Cuba before it gets even worse, as they should have done with Trump's war in Iran.

Today, Senate Democrats will advance a War Powers Resolution to give Republicans an opportunity to stop a looming catastrophe in Cuba.

Republicans, do Trump a favor: Support our War Powers Resolution so he doesn't get messed up in another foreign adventure that hurts America.

Mr. President, on King Charles, today is a great honor for both the House and Senate to welcome His Majesty King Charles III to address a joint meeting of Congress.

It has been 35 years since a British monarch addressed the elected representatives of the American people. In that time, the world has changed dramatically, but in many ways, the same tests remain before us. Conflict still grips regions across the globe, Russia grows more aggressive, the Middle East remains unstable, and the future of the transatlantic alliance hangs in the balance.

Today, the visit of King Charles III should serve as a reminder to the President of the United States and to every elected official in this country: Friends and allies matter, and most of all, for the security of Europe, NATO matters.

I encourage His Majesty to impress upon the President the absolute importance of NATO. I hope he is able to get Trump to listen and understand the stakes. NATO must endure. It must stay strong. Our national security depends on it. The security of much of the world depends on it. To walk away from NATO would be a terrible mistake that will reverberate for generations and make Americans far less safe. Trump must listen and understand the stakes.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Well, Mr. President, I and we all are relieved that no one was seriously injured in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. No matter the perpetrator, no matter the motive, political violence endangers our democracy.

I denounce political violence in all its forms, as I always have and always will.

I commend law enforcement's swift response to apprehend the gunman, which undoubtedly saved many lives, and that includes the Secret Service.

Mr. President, now on the need to fund the Secret Service, I just heard Leader Thune lashing out. I sympathize with him. He is in a real pickle. He is fighting with his own Republican Party Speaker in the House. His caucus here is factionalized as to what to do, as to how we fund both ICE and CBP and even DHS. They are in a mess.

So what does the Republican leader do? He points fingers at Democrats. That is absurd. The idea that Democrats are somehow to blame for this Republican shutdown of DHS is just ridiculous, and Thune and his Republican leadership ought to act like adults and help us solve this problem during serious--serious--times like these, instead of pointing fingers in another direction.

At this very moment, funding for Secret Service and so many other Agencies is sitting idly in the House of Representatives, not waiting for Democrats--we don't run the House--waiting

for Republicans. And Republicans somehow, especially the rightwing propaganda, just blames Democrats with no logic, no rationale.

What Republican rightwing propaganda is saying couldn't be further from the truth. Democrats wanted to fund all of the law-abiding Agencies at DHS, and we worked with Republicans, Leader Thune, here in the House to do it--here in the Senate to do it.

Democrats looked to compromise with Republicans as we pushed for commonsense reforms for ICE and other Agencies, and twice Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would fund all of the Agencies within DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol, which are already funded.

Let me say that again. Democrats unanimously--unanimously--supported funding the vast majority of DHS, including Secret Service, not once but twice. We passed it in the Senate, not once but twice.

It was House Republicans, not Democrats, who blocked funding for Secret Service, TSA, CISA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and other Agencies that we all agree should be funded.

House Republicans could and should fund the Secret Service today, but, instead, they are holding it up. So Leader Thune--if he wants to be constructive, if he wants to get something done--should stop pointing fingers in this direction and start looking in the mirror. At least look down the hall and start talking some sense into the House Republicans, who seem to be tied in a knot because the rightwing MAGA few refuse to go forward.

Republicans ought to start standing up to Speaker Johnson and the House Freedom Caucus and say: We must fund this. And that applies to the Republican leader, who has a greater responsibility than just inanely pointing fingers to the other side of the aisle.

To the Republicans--House and Senate--stop with the partisan games. Advance the bipartisan bill that we all passed unanimously in the Senate, and we could get the funding for the Secret Service and other Agencies done.

Mr. President, on the budget resolution, last week, the Nation saw what Republicans are prioritizing. Instead of lowering Americans' costs and funding Agencies like the Secret Service, on amendment after amendment and vote after vote, Democrats held Republicans accountable in last week's vote-arama for trying to give ICE and Border Patrol up to $140 billion but zero dollars--zero--to lower Americans' costs.

Democrats gave Republicans opportunities to join us in lowering out- of-pocket healthcare costs and reducing childcare costs and stopping insurance company delays and protecting school meals. Republicans said no over and over again simply to take $140 billion and put it into ICE and Border Patrol.

Can you believe it?

Can you believe it, America?

At a time when Americans are crying out for relief, Republicans are tying this Senate in knots--all to cut Trump's rogue Agencies a blank check, with no significant reform--reform that the American people want.

If Republicans think they are finished taking these difficult votes, they have got another thing coming. Democrats will make sure Republicans face more votes on affordability when reconciliation comes back up in a few weeks because it is so important to the American people. We will continue to expose Republicans' economic agenda for what it is: an utter disaster for working Americans. It is no wonder Trump's numbers are lower than they have ever been. He is not addressing what the American people want, and Republicans in the House and Senate just follow him blindly. The GOP has completely lost sight of the needs of the American people right now.

Trump wants to seclude himself in a walled palace--literally. His party is now trying to use their reconciliation process to pave the way for Donald Trump's gilded ballroom. If Republicans truly want to improve security, they should join Democrats in funding the Secret Service, not Donald Trump's luxury ballroom. Americans want us to help them put food on their tables and gas in their tanks, not to help Donald Trump put more gold on his walls.

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

Mr. President, yesterday, Senate Republicans put forward their budget resolution for its first procedural vote. The contents of their budget resolution are astounding.

Mr. President, $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol, zero dollars to lower Americans' costs. This will be a reconciliation of contrasts: Republicans want to shell out billions of dollars to Donald Trump's private army without any commonsense reforms or restraints.

Democrats want to put money in Americans' pockets by lowering the costs of healthcare and gas and groceries, housing, and so much else.

Republicans are bending the knee to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Democrats are standing up for the American people. Republicans want to keep shutting down TSA, FEMA, CISA, Coast Guard, and other crucial DHS Agencies. Democrats want to reopen all the law-abiding Agencies in the Department of Homeland Security.

Republicans are at each other's throats, tying their party up in knots. Democrats stand united, and we stand firm. So this is a reconciliation of contrasts.

Senate Democrats will make these contrasts abundantly clear, vote after vote, amendment after amendment, during the upcoming vote-arama. We are also making the contrast apparent off the floor. This week, we Democrats are releasing another ``Broken Promises'' report on how Republicans have taken a trillion dollars out of the healthcare system and ripped healthcare away from 15 million Americans all to give tax breaks to the billionaires.

Republicans are about to learn the hard way that when they refuse to reduce costs, they lose. Republicans will find they cannot reconcile their deeply partisan, unpopular, and costly policies with the frustration Americans feel today.

This will be a reconciliation of reckoning for Senate Republicans--a reconciliation of reckoning.

Iran

Mr. President, every day this disastrous war continues, Donald Trump digs himself deeper and deeper and deeper into a hole.

The longer Trump takes to extricate himself from Iran, the deeper the hole gets and the harder it will be for him to get out.

The Iranian regime that the United States is trying to negotiate with is even more hardline than when Trump began the war.

Iran's hold over Hormuz has gotten even stronger. Iran maintains its economic stranglehold on the world, firing on more merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today.

So it is amazing. Before the war, the regime in Iran, bad as it was, was not as dug in as this one is, making it even harder to negotiate. Before the war, oil was flowing freely out of the Strait of Hormuz. Now it is all clogged up.

Everything Trump did with this war has made things worse, and he keeps digging himself into this hole--deeper and deeper. The American people are fed up, seeing this war as reckless, as harmful, and as costly a misadventure as there has ever been.

Trump's continued enthusiasm for the war makes me wonder: Has he somehow mixed up the graphs showing his crumbling approval ratings with those showing the soaring price of oil and gas? Let's sort it out for him.

Trump's approval rating is at an alltime low. Only 33 percent approve of him in the most recent polls. Trump's approval on the economy is even lower, at 30 percent, in part because the price of oil and gas has gone up and up and up. Trump's standing in the eyes of the American people craters every day that this war continues.

Meanwhile, gas has been over $4 a gallon for weeks, the highest it has been in years. Americans are going to pay at least $740 more this year to fill

up their tanks because of Trump's war. That is money that could have gone to other things: more groceries, furniture. Who knows? But it is now going into the hands of the oil merchants.

Every day, we hear new promises from the Trump administration that victory has been achieved. Victory is just around the corner, he keeps saying. But when you look around the corner, that hasn't happened. Trump says peace is at hand; costs are starting to come down--both lies. And every day, we see the opposite.

Trump can talk all he wants, but nothing will change--nothing--until he realizes his war has to end.

While I am relieved that the cease-fire deadline has been extended, Congress needs to seize this opportunity to stop this blunder before the fighting resumes.

I urge Senate Republicans to vote for our War Powers Resolution later today. That is their fifth opportunity to do so.

Republicans, if Trump won't dig himself out of the hole he has dug, you, Republicans, should pull him out by voting for our War Powers Resolution today. If not, you, Republicans in the Senate, are going to fall into the same hole. You are already falling into it. But if you don't dig him out of the hole, you are going to fall into this hole, deeper and deeper, alongside him.

I thank Senator Baldwin for her work on this resolution. Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolution every week, until Republicans see reason and help us end this war.

They would be doing Donald Trump a favor. Republican Senators would be doing Donald Trump a favor by supporting this resolution. And every week Republicans wait to do so will cost their party politically and the American people financially.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Mr. President, on the Southern Poverty Law Center, I just want to say a quick word about the deeply disturbing charges the Justice Department has brought against the Southern Poverty Law Center.

These charges should send a chill down the spine of every American who cares about free expression and the rule of law in the Justice Department. It should send a chill down the spine of every American who cares about civil liberties and the fight against violence and extremism.

Let's be clear what this case is really about. It has nothing to do with alleged wire fraud or the Southern Poverty Law Center somehow working in coordination with the KKK. That is ridiculous on its face. It doesn't pass the laugh test. It is about Donald Trump turning the Department of Justice into the ``Department of Vengeance,'' his own attack dog. He has done it time and time and time again. And when you think it can't get worse, it does: To attack the Southern Poverty Law Center of collaboration and accuse it of collaboration with their known enemy, the KKK?

Weaponizing the DOJ to indict civil rights groups is not law and order. It is a message. If you defend voting rights, if you fight White supremacy, you are next. Donald Trump will use the Federal Government to go after any group that dares to speak out against him.

This is amazing. In 1983, the Ku Klux Klan tried to burn down the Southern Poverty Law Center for daring to expose its hatred. More than four decades later, the Trump administration is trying to do the same thing in the courtroom. It is an absolute disgrace how far this administration goes down, turning what America is all about inside out.

Kash Patel

Mr. President, on Patel, every day Kash Patel remains in this job is another day that undermines the FBI and its mission.

Take yesterday's press conference. The head of the FBI, the Nation's top law enforcement officer, spent the entire time getting into fights with reporters about his alleged drunken behavior, his partying, his overall fitness for the job. This has become a dangerous, unacceptable distraction for the FBI, which has so much important work to do.

Donald Trump has led us to war right now against Iran, a nation known for sophisticated cyber attacks. Why is Kash Patel not focused on that? Why is Kash Patel not focused on the serious threats facing this country?

Every day that these stories of misconduct persist, they undermine the mission of the FBI. Every day that these questions about Patel, his behavior, his character linger, they weaken confidence in the leadership of one of the most important law enforcement agencies in the world.

Kash Patel must resign immediately. He is not a serious person. He has not shown that he has the skills required for the job. And the last few days have shown he does not have the judgment to lead an Agency like the FBI.

This is what happens when Trump just chooses acolytes--people who suck up to him--for important jobs. That shouldn't be any criteria in choosing the head of the FBI. But, instead, it seems to be Trump's only criteria, and it puts him in trouble. It puts him in the hot seat, in the frying pan, over and over again, by choosing people whose only criteria is loyalty to him.

Americans deserve steady, sober leadership from their FBI Director, especially during a time of war. Kash Patel is not it. And if Kash Patel wants to keep partying, he can do it somewhere else, without putting the safety of the American people on the line.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, first let me thank Senator Baldwin for her outstanding leadership, not only on this resolution but on so many other issues related to Iran as well.

Now, let me say this: Every day this disastrous war continues, Donald Trump digs himself deeper and deeper into a hole. The longer Trump waits to extricate the United States from this war, the deeper the hole gets and the harder it will be for him to get out.

Republican Senators should do Donald Trump a favor and pull him out of the hole he has dug by voting for a War Powers Resolution today. If not, they will sink even further into that same hole themselves.

So I urge Senate Republicans to vote for Senator Baldwin's War Powers Resolution--their fifth opportunity to vote for a War Powers Resolution, and I was proud to be actively involved to sponsor so many of them.

Iran's leadership has become even more militant than before the war. Iran's hold over Hormuz has gotten even stronger. Iran maintains its economic stranglehold on the world, firing on more merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today.

Meanwhile, gas has been over $4 a gallon for weeks, and that is the highest it has been in years. Americans are going to pay $740 more this year to fill up their tanks, on average, because of Trump's war.

Every day we hear new promises from the Trump administration that victory has been achieved; that peace is at hand; that the costs are starting to come down; and every day, we see the opposite. Trump can talk all he wants, but nothing will change until he realizes this war needs to end.

And if Donald Trump won't dig us out of this hole, Congress must step into the breach and exercise its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace. Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolutions every week until Senate Republicans see reason.

Again, I thank Senator Baldwin for her work. I urge colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes.

I yield the floor.