Floor Statements

Mr. President, in a podcast interview released yesterday, Donald Trump called for Republicans to ``take over voting in 15 States in the country.'' Trump said:

The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We [want

to] take [things] over. Republicans ought to nationalize the

voting.

Let me say that again because it is hard to believe that a President of the United States--anyone who believes in democracy, anyone who believes in the Constitution, anyone who believes in this Country-- would say it, but Trump said it. Trump said:

Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.

This is more dangerous, autocratic poison from Donald Trump. What does Donald Trump think he ran for--a dictatorship, President for life in a single-party state, where one party runs the elections, like in every other tin-pot dictatorship?

This President clearly doesn't believe in democracy at all. Never in American history have we had a President so hostile to democratic traditions. Even worse, never have we had a President who breaks the norms that have made this country strong and held it together for centuries, and he just slashes them. And people on the other side of the aisle just shrug their shoulders. It is incredible.

Democracy is at risk here from the President of the United States, and the people who might have the most say over him, the Republican Senators, are silent, quaking in their boots that they can never criticize Donald Trump, no matter how outrageous what he says is.

What Donald Trump wants is a one-party MAGA dictatorship. Do you want your kids to grow up in that autocracy? Do you want your kids to grow up in a one-party MAGA dictatorship, which is what Trump is calling for? He wants MAGA to call the shots and MAGA to control the elections.

Democracy trusts the people, but Donald Trump fears the people. He wants to make sure those who disagree with him don't have a voice. He can't stand criticism. Republicans ought to fiercely condemn Donald Trump's vicious attacks against our democratic systems. They are not only vicious; they are dangerous.

Republicans seem to have no problem criticizing Democrats who are trying to make it easier to vote, saying we are trying to nationalize elections. Yet when Donald Trump actually wants the Federal Government to control how elections are run in the States, the Republican Senate is silent as mice.

It is not just Donald Trump's words. If it were just his words, you might shrug your shoulders. It is his actions. He carries these things out--FBI agents raiding election offices in Georgia; Trump ordering his goons to dig up fake evidence of stolen elections and people voting illegally; demanding that States turn over voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which is his own attack dog; threatening to use the Insurrection Act against States he doesn't like.

We know why Donald Trump is doing this. He is losing support of the American people, and he knows it. So he doesn't want them to vote. He doesn't want them to have power.

The American people are sending his candidates packing at the polls in State after State, most recently in Texas. They are losing elections by dramatic amounts because the people are repudiating Donald Trump.

What is his answer? To try and lower people's costs, to try and reduce the chaos in our cities? Oh, no. Take away people's right to vote. Let Donald Trump and his MAGA goons run the elections.

Democracy, the roots of which tunnel deep into the soil of this great country, has turned against Donald Trump in a truly profound way. We haven't seen anything quite like this, the dramatic drops in the President's popularity and poll numbers. So, of course, what is his answer? What is Trump's answer? Undo democracy itself.

That is the oldest trick in the book of dictators. Just say the elections are fake. Say certain people's votes don't count; your side should control the elections for some made-up reason or another.

Well, we have seen this, again and again, in countries around the world but never in the United States of America, until now. That is what makes Donald Trump's agenda such a danger to the grand American tradition of democracy, because it is only about him and the power he can grab. He doesn't have a single democratic fiber in his being. It is all about Donald Trump, his ego, his power, his self-aggrandizement. That is it. Democracy doesn't matter. The American people don't matter.

I ask my Republican colleagues: When the hell will you find your voice? When he says that we should nationalize the elections and Republicans should take over, and you don't make a peep? What is going on here? You are just so afraid?

This is the path that has ruined many a democracy.

Now, our democracy is deep and strong, but it requires and allows resistance to these things--verbal resistance, electoral resistance. Where are you? When are Republican colleagues going to speak against such brutish autocratic drivel from Trump?

His drive to autocracy is so obvious that any sixth-grade social studies student would recognize what Donald Trump is doing and tell you it is totally against what America is all about.

Republicans, if they think they are going to get the crumbs from Donald Trump's table when he gets his way, they are sadly mistaken. Donald Trump's autocratic instincts will consume everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike.

Republicans must reject Trump's call to nationalize elections, the very pillars of our grand democracy, our grand national experiment. Democracy must prevail over the cult of arrogant, autocratic, egotistical personality.

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

Mr. President, so last week, the Senate did its job to fund 96 percent of the government, while splitting the DHS bill from the rest of the funding package so we can rein in ICE and end the violence. Now, it is the House's turn to do its job, but a band of MAGA radicals want to highjack government funding to push an outlandishly toxic bill called the SAVE Act that would disenfranchise millions of American citizens.

Just a few hours ago, Donald Trump said he wants to nationalize elections around the country. That is what Trump said--you think he believes in democracy? He said, ``We want to take over . . . the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.''

Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying is outlandishly illegal. Once again, the President is talking no differently than a dictator who wants elections in America to be as legitimate as elections in countries like Venezuela.

And make no mistake, one of the tools to nationalize elections is precisely the SAVE Act that some Republicans are pushing in the House. I want to be very clear: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate, and every single Senate Democrat will vote against any bill--any bill-- that contains it.

It is outrageous that House Republicans would even consider putting in the SAVE Act in legislation to fund the government.

Democrats have been clear for months. We will never in a million years consider this deeply restrictive and overreaching piece of legislation. Republicans who are pushing for the SAVE Act are trying to kill the funding bill and prolong this shutdown. That is all they want. They want to kill the bill, kill the funding bill, and have a prolonged shutdown.

Speaker Johnson should tell these SAVE Act Republicans to stand down, or else this shutdown is on the Republicans' shoulders.

Now, as for the SAVE Act itself, it has nothing to do with protecting our elections and everything to do with federalizing voter suppression. The SAVE Act is nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0. If the SAVE Act were to become law, online registration, registration by mail, and registration drives become a thing of the past. If you are one of tens of millions of Americans who does not have access to your birth certificate or if you are one of the 50 percent of Americans who don't have a passport, the SAVE Act could make it impossible for you to participate in elections. It would lead to massive purges that inevitably remove legitimate American citizens who have a right to vote from voter rolls. And even married couples aren't spared from the SAVE Act. If you get married and you change your last name, you too would be at risk under the SAVE Act of getting booted off the voter rolls.

This is just an outrageous piece of legislation. It is turning the clock back 100 years. It comes out of some rightwing brain that believes that certain people really shouldn't vote, that some citizens are more valuable than others.

So let me be clear as I can: The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate.

Hear that, House rightwingers? It ain't happening. Anyone who is trying to push the SAVE Act as part of the government funding is pining for a shutdown.

Mr. President, now as for reining in ICE, right now Americans from all walks of life--left, right, and center--agree that the status quo with ICE cannot continue and Congress needs to make a change. What is happening in Minneapolis and other cities around the country is not law and order. It is thuggery--thuggery.

Here is what former border control head Greg Bovino said recently in a video that circulated online:

Arrest as many people [who] touch you as you want to. Those

are general orders, all the way to the very top.

That is the rhetoric of police states. That is precisely the abuse that Congress needs to stop. That is why we were so intent on splitting off the Homeland Security bill from the rest of the funding bills, so we could focus on it, so we could rein it in--rein in ICE--and end the violence.

Republicans need to take a good look at what is happening around the country and realize, too, that it is time to rein in ICE's abuses. We should be going after ``the worst of the worst,'' as the administration says, instead of unleashing fear and chaos on everybody else.

What Democrats want is exceedingly reasonable. We need to end roving patrols. That means arrest warrants and ending racial profiling.

Second, we need real accountability, having ICE abide by the same rules as local police do, including independent investigations of ICE.

And, third, masks need to come off. Cameras need to stay on. Officers need visible ID. No secret police.

These changes are as common sense as it gets. There is nothing insane, as some Republicans think, asking Federal agents to respect the Fourth Amendment. It does not criminalize law enforcement to ask them to identify themselves and follow the same basic code as other law enforcement.

This idea that Johnson has that ICE people should be able to wear masks--police officers don't wear masks all across the country. And if anyone needs to be identified, it is these abusive thugs who are in the Border Patrol, who are in ICE.

If Republicans can't come to the table on these very sensible changes, then the violence we see happening around the country is going to continue.

Mr. President, finally, on Epstein, the only real conclusion we can make about the latest release of the Epstein files is this: The DOJ cares more about protecting Donald Trump than it cares about protecting Epstein's victims.

These new releases expose the identity of nearly 100 victims in over 1,000 instances. This is not mere sloppiness. This is wanton negligence that puts the safety of these victims at risk. It is one thing for DOJ to miss a couple of redactions here or there--and that is still bad-- but to fail thousands of times to protect people's identities begs the question of whether this was intentional.

And, look, the DOJ's failure to protect the identities of the victims is bad enough, but what makes it even more heinous is how far the DOJ went to protect Donald Trump during these releases. The DOJ took down pages and pages of documents that were full of vulgar accusations against the President. And when they got caught, they put the documents back up without redacting the information of the victims.

If DOJ cared half as much about protecting Epstein's victims as they cared about shielding Donald Trump, then maybe the public would trust them more. But right now, there is zero trust that the DOJ is being on the level.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, as the Senate gavels into session, Members are working on moving forward on a deal to fund the government and working on legislation desperately needed to rein in ICE's abuses.

If Republicans are serious about the very reasonable demands Democrats have put forward on ICE, then there is no good reason we can't come together very quickly to produce legislation. It should take less than 2 weeks because what we are asking for is very simple, and our Republican colleagues know that we need to make changes. Now, time is of the essence.

Senate Democrats are very clear on what the Nation needs right now. First, we need to rein in ICE and end the violence. That means ending roving patrols. It means requiring rules, oversight, and judicial warrants. Second, we need real accountability over ICE and Border Patrol. And, third, masks need to come off, cameras need to stay on, and officers need visible identification--no secret police.

These are not radical demands. They are basic standards the American people already expect from law enforcement. I hope we can get voting quickly here in the Senate, today, so we can move forward on the important work of reining in ICE. The clock is ticking, the Nation is waiting, and the abuses of ICE must come to an end.

Don Lemon

Mr. President, on another issue, last night, Federal agents arrested journalist Don Lemon in Los Angeles after he recently covered protest activities in Minnesota.

Once again, the administration is behaving no differently from the police states and authoritarian regimes across history. They arrested a journalist for the crime of doing his job.

Let's be very clear. This arrest is not just about one journalist and one incident. The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: If you dare criticize this administration, watch your back.

That is not a democracy. That is a police state, and that is pure authoritarian bile. Democracy will suffer if the government chokes our civil liberties.

Under this administration, the Department of Justice has, all too often, become the ``Department of Vengeance.''

Don Lemon should be released at once, and the frivolous charges against him dropped.

Federal Reserve

Mr. President, on the Fed, this morning, President Trump announced he has chosen Kevin Warsh to serve as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve. This announcement comes as a dark cloud hangs over the Fed.

Over the last year, Donald Trump has gone to lengths no President has gone to before to harass, intimidate, and coerce the Fed to serve his own political interests, instead of what is good for the U.S. economy.

His administration has pushed frivolous attacks against Lisa Cook. They have pushed bogus accusations and investigations against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. These attacks undermine the independence of one of the most important entities in the world economy.

So I would simply say this about Mr. Warsh: Donald Trump is trying to cannibalize the Federal Reserve to eliminate its independence, and Mr. Warsh has an obligation to ensure that does not happen. He must make clear that he would keep the Fed independent and free from Donald Trump's bullying, or else, he must not be confirmed.

And if Donald Trump won't drop his vendetta against the Fed, weaponizing the Justice Department to go after Powell and Cook, Republicans must not move Mr. Warsh's nomination forward.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, now, this morning, we got news that another tranche of Epstein files was released by the DOJ, but these releases raise far more questions than answers. There is a lot here that does not add up.

First, the DOJ says all the documents were released. Well, does that include all the coconspirator memos? all the corporate protection memos? the original Palm Beach Police Department reports?

We need answers to that, those and other areas that may not have been included, and we just don't know those answers.

Second, has all the relevant information been released on each of the 10 Epstein coconspirators?

There are 10 coconspirators. In this new tranche of documents, is every one of those 10 included? And if not, why not?

Third, the DOJ numbers keep changing. They say they collected 6 million pages, but they are only releasing 3. What happened to the other 3 million? What is in them?

And, finally, has every document that mentions the word ``Trump'' been released? Yes or no?

We need answers. It is now 42 days and counting that the administration has violated the law by failing to release all the files. Every Member of this body voted that all the Epstein files should be released, and we are not

satisfied that the law is being complied with. We believe it is not.

The American people need answers, above all. The American people are asking about this. Pressure from the American people got just about every Member of the House and Senate to vote to release the files. Why hasn't the whole thing been released? And why are there so many holes, missing pieces, unanswered questions when it comes to the release of the Epstein files?

The longer Pam Bondi hides the truth from the American people, the more the American people ask: What are they trying to hide?

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.

Mr. President, this is a moment of truth for the United States of America. What the Nation witnessed on Saturday in the streets of Minneapolis was a moral abomination. Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an American citizen, in broad daylight.

It was the second time that agents killed a U.S. citizen in 2 weeks after the tragic killing also of Renee Good.

Enough is enough.

What ICE is doing outside the law is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. It is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. Congress has the authority and the moral obligation to act.

This morning in Minneapolis, Tom Homan, Donald Trump's border czar, held a press conference. He didn't say much of significance, but he did say one thing that was important. Here is what Homan said:

For the people out there who don't like what ICE is doing,

if you want certain laws reformed, then take it up with

Congress.

For the people out there--

Homan said,

--who don't like what ICE is doing, if you want certain laws

reformed, then take it up with Congress.

I don't agree very much with Mr. Homan, and he is certainly not my choice for someone to lower the temperature in Minneapolis, but he is right in saying the epicenter of change has to be Congress--not the executive branch.

And change is desperately needed because the images of masked men beating up people in the streets and shooting American citizens in broad daylight have shocked the conscious.

Alex was holding his hand up. He had one hand up and another hand holding, I believe it was, a radio, and they shot him many times. It made every American recoil to see that our law enforcement is doing that to our citizens.

It is confounding. It does not look like America in these pictures. Oh, no. And it has been unleashed by Donald Trump and the people under him--Noem, who should be out of there. Thank God they got rid of Bovino. His face, when you saw, it looked like he was grimacing like a thug.

This has got to stop.

Congress must step up to the plate. The Republican majority must step up

to the plate. Republicans in Congress cannot allow this violent status quo to continue. They must work with Democrats on legislation--real legislation, strong legislation--to rein ICE in.

Let me be clear: Democrats are ready to pass five bipartisan funding bills in the Senate. We are ready to pass them today. We are ready to fund 96 percent of the Federal Government today, but the DHS bill still needs a lot of work.

So after meeting yesterday as a caucus, Senate Democrats are united on three main goals that will rein in ICE and end the violence--rein in ICE and end the violence: first, end the roving patrols; second, enforce accountability; third, masks off; body cameras on. Each officer must have visible--visible--ID.

Now, no one thinks we are going to solve every single problem in one fell swoop. But the American people are demanding that something gets done. And, of course, to pass legislation and enshrine this into law, we need our Republican colleagues to come along with us.

So, again, first, we need to end ICE's indiscriminate patrols. We need to tighten the rules governing the use of warrants. ICE needs to stop the mass chaotic patrols. They need to work with State law enforcement, local law enforcement--not against them.

That means no more ICE agents barging into people's homes without a judicial warrant. When does that ever happen in America? It is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment.

It also means stopping the dragnet harassment of American communities.

Second, we need accountability. ICE needs to be held to the same basic standards as any law enforcement agency in the country. We need a uniform code of conduct for ICE and all Federal agents, just like State and local law enforcement have. If they violate these standards--like in the instances of Renee Good and Alex Pretti--they must be held fully accountable.

And we need independent investigations, not ICE investigating itself--ICE, the leadership of which is a bunch of liars. We don't trust them to do the investigation.

Most Americans might be shocked to learn that these basic rules do not apply right now to Federal agents like ICE. It is the kind of thing most people would just assume is already in place because it is so obvious, but that is not true when it comes to ICE. They are operating effectively outside the law, and a small glimpse of a video taken by a bystanding citizen shows it every day, every minute. You see these videos. Again, you recoil. It is not America. It is thugs roaming our streets.

Third, we need the masks to come off, and we need the body cameras to stay on. No more secret police. Masks must come off, and body cameras must stay on. Agents need to carry clear identification. The public deserves transparency as it always has asked for with law enforcement.

These three--ending roving patrols; enforcing accountability; masks off, cameras on--are commonsense reforms. They are reforms that Americans already expect from law enforcement.

Now, the onus now is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to turn these goals into legislation. They are in the majority--the Republicans are. They are the ones who have responsibility to govern, and Democrats are ready to come to the table.

If Republicans refuse to work with us to rein in ICE and to end the violence, they are telling the American people they are choosing to protect ICE over choosing to protect people's safety.

Americans, by and large, support law enforcement. I do. And most people support border security. I do as well. But Americans do not support ICE terrorizing our streets, operating outside the law, killing American citizens.

The madness and violence must end. Congress must act to rein in ICE and end the violence--rein in ICE and end the violence.

The American people deserve nothing--nothing--less.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, it has been 4 days since Alex Pretti was murdered in broad daylight by Federal agents in Minneapolis, and there has been zero accountability from Donald Trump for this horrendous act. Donald Trump said yesterday he wants to deescalate things in Minneapolis. But as of today, the Trump administration has taken zero meaningful action to make that happen--zero.

As of this morning, ICE is still roaming the streets in Minneapolis with little restraint. Operation Metro Surge, which is what ICE and Border Patrol call their surge in the city, is not slowing down at all. In fact, let me read a statement that came out yesterday from Acting Assistant Chief of the Border Patrol. Here is what the Acting Assistant Chief of the Border Patrol said:

As of this report, Metro Surge is steady-state and expected

to continue as planned.

Translation: ``Stand back and stand by.''

Trump is not deescalating things in Minneapolis as he claims. On the contrary, his administration is telling ICE and Border Patrol to ``stand back and stand by.'' That is dangerous. ICE needs to leave Minneapolis at once before another tragedy happens. It is the right thing to do, both for the residents of Minneapolis and for law enforcement. But that is just one step of many.

Donald Trump has likewise failed to call out the vicious lies that his own administration told in the aftermath of Alex Pretti's murder. Yesterday on FOX News, a DHS spokesperson refused to deny the characterizations that Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist--refused to deny those characterizations. It is absurd. A simple answer for the DHS spokesman would have been: No, he is not a domestic terrorist. We were wrong, and it won't happen again.

That is what normal people with normal discourse--Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative--would do. But in this administration, where lying is their trademark and it spreads from the top down, lying is OK. It is too much to ask of this administration to reject and retract this vicious lie about the late Mr. Pretti. It is a disgrace.

And as for President Trump, it is not enough for Donald Trump to meekly suggest he disagrees with the words of Stephen Miller calling Pretti an assassin. Donald Trump is the President, and he needs to act like it. He needs to send a message and make an example of his deputies who deliberately lie to the country in moments of crisis.

But you can see, again, Donald Trump lies all the time. We see it every night on the news, and so all the people below him believe it is OK to lie, too, even vicious lies like the one cast at Mr. Pretti. Instead of holding his own administration accountable for lying about Alex Pretti, Donald Trump continues to blame Alex Pretti for his own death. He said yesterday Pretti should not have been carrying a gun.

The President seems to have forgotten the words of the Second Amendment, ``the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'' Apparently for Donald Trump, if you are a Trump supporter, it is OK to be a lawful gun owner, but if you are against Donald Trump, it is not. You don't have that right.

Finally, it is outrageous that Kristi Noem still has a job in the administration after Federal officers murdered two American citizens in just 2 weeks. And it is even more disgusting that on each occasion, Kristi Noem lied about what took place.

For the good of the country, Donald Trump needs to fire Kristi Noem at once. Noem is a liar. Noem is incompetent at her job, and she must go.

Many Republicans here in Congress agree that Kristi Noem has lost the trust of the American people. Donald Trump needs to recognize that the tide has turned against her and that her presence does far more harm than good at this point. Donald Trump needs to show Kristi Noem the door and send her packing.

Government Funding

Mr. President, now let's turn to the Senate. Tomorrow, the Senate is scheduled to take the first procedural vote on a six-bill funding package. The right way forward is simple: Five of these bills are ready to go, and the Senate should pass them as soon as possible. If Leader Thune agrees to split these bills, just as Johnson did in the House, Senate Democrats are ready to join Republicans in passing them and funding 96 percent of the Federal Government.

But the DHS bill, the sixth bill, needs more work in the aftermath of Pretti's death, Good's death, and the awful abuses we have seen from ICE across the country.

Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate. Let me say that again so the White House hears it. Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate.

Now, Leader Thune knows that, and so I urge Leader Thune not to put all six bills, including DHS, on the floor but rather split them so we can focus on what we can pass right now. Time is short. We shouldn't waste time on failed votes right now or else the government will shut down.

I know both sides recognize we need to act in response to the awful tragedies that have taken place in Minneapolis, and Senators--Democrat and Republican--are talking and sharing ideas.

But given how little time we have left before the funding deadline, the first right step for the Senate is for

Leader Thune to split the funding bills and put the five bills on the floor--96 percent of Federal funding--that can pass. It is the right and expedient thing to do to ensure that most of the government is funded in time. And if Thune doesn't do it, the shutdown of the government is on his back. If he does it, if he puts those five bills on the floor and leaves DHS out, then we can have the necessary negotiation to rework the DHS bill and add commonsense safeguards to rein in ICE's very real and very dangerous abuses.

The bottom line is simple: The American people support law enforcement. They support border security, but they did not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens.

ICE needs to be held to the same basic standards that any law enforcement agency is asked to follow.

Republicans must work with Democrats on legislative fixes to ensure ICE is reined in and overhauled to protect public safety.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Senate gavels into session with the conscience of this Nation shaken to its core. Last Saturday, in the Eat Street district of Minneapolis, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent after he was trying to help a woman thrown to the ground by Federal officers.

The many videos of Alex's death circulating online are grisly. They are horrifying. They appear to show Alex was shot 10 times in less than 5 seconds. They show he held nothing more than a cell phone in his hand. If we trust our own eyes and ears, instead of Trump administration propaganda, it is pretty clear that Alex was murdered in broad daylight.

The grief and anger his parents must feel right now must be staggering. He was a decent young man, an intensive care nurse at the VA, who dedicated his life to helping others.

In fact, the morning after Alex Pretti was killed, I was at a doctor's appointment, and, as it turned out, my doctor's assistant was from Minneapolis. She knew Alex Pretti. She said he was just the kindest, gentlest soul you would ever meet, not a bad bone in his body.

Alex Pretti did not deserve to die; nor did Renee Good deserve to die 2 weeks ago, shot in her own car, mere minutes after dropping her kid off at school.

Enough is enough, and that is what America is saying from one end of this country to the other.

What ICE and CBP are doing in Minneapolis and other cities around the country is not border security and certainly not law and order. What ICE is doing is lawless disorder. What ICE is doing is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must be stopped.

ICE must leave Minnesota today--not tomorrow, not next week, but today.

There were reports that the President is thinking about a reduction in force. A reduction isn't good enough. President Trump should act now to completely withdraw ICE and immediately turn down the temperature.

Americans support law enforcement. Americans support commonsense border security. But America does not support ICE terrorizing our communities.

Look at this picture. This is the kind of picture we are seeing more and more in American cities when ICE descends upon them: Federal agents shooting at and threatening protesters, black ICE SUVs roaming the streets, and agents barging into homes without warrants; ICE encircling schools with riot gear and using kids as bait and terrorizing our communities to the point that people are afraid to go to work, to church, to shop for groceries.

This madness, this terror must stop. The American people--Democrat, Republican, Independent--demand that the chaos and lawlessness of ICE be severely reined in. This week, the Senate will step into the breach.

In a few days, the Senate will consider a package of six funding bills sent to us recently by the House, and five of those bills are ready to go and should quickly pass. I will say more about that in a moment.

But in the wake of ICE's abuses and the administration's recklessness, the Senate must not pass the DHS budget as currently written, and it must be reworked to rein in and overhaul ICE to ensure the public's safety.

The fix should come from Congress. The public can't trust the administration to do the right thing on its own, and Republicans and Democrats must work together to make that happen.

In the meantime, I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled, and Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue.

ICE should meet the same basic standards of accountability and due process that any law enforcement Agency is asked to meet.

Now, separately, to finish the appropriations process, Leader Thune should split the funding bills and move forward with the five that already have broad support from both parties. If Leader Thune agrees to split the bills, just as Speaker Johnson split them in the House, and puts the five on the floor, I am confident they will sail--sail-- through the Chamber, and we will have funded 96 percent of the Federal Government.

But if Leader Thune insists on holding a vote on DHS legislation that he knows will not pass, then he will guarantee another unnecessary government shutdown this Friday, and the shutdown will be on Leader Thune's shoulders.

Leader Thune's choice is very simple: Move the five bills that are ready and fund 96 percent of the government, while we work to improve the DHS bill--the Homeland Security bill--or Thune can trigger a shutdown by forcing a vote on a bill everyone knows cannot pass at this moment, the combined bill that contains DHS. The ball is in Leader Thune's court. He must quickly move to prevent a shutdown.

Now, in the meantime--in the meantime--the heads of ICE, CBP, and USCIS should all testify before the Senate as soon as possible. We must not wait for hearings weeks from now. The American people demand truth and accountability right now. I am glad that Republicans like Senator Paul have said likewise.

But we must also be candid: It is bone-chilling that, in the aftermath of the killings in Minneapolis, some of the Trump administration's top officials have chosen to blatantly lie to the American people, like full-fledged authoritarians.

Stephen Miller raced to Twitter to call Alex Pretti a ``would-be assassin'' who ``tried to murder federal law enforcement.'' If you watched footage of the killing, you would know this is an outlandish, shocking, and totally dishonest and despicable thing to say.

Meanwhile, Gregory Bovino, Donald Trump's top Border Patrol officer, also claimed, without a shred of evidence, that Pretti ``wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.''

And then, of course, there is Kristi Noem. Merely hours after Pretti's death, Noem claimed--again, without so much as a morsel of evidence--that he had committed ``an act of domestic terrorism'' and wanted to ``perpetuate violence.''

Do you know what the reaction of these Trump officials--too many of them--seems to be when something terrible happens? To lie about it-- that is their immediate reaction--not to find the truth, not to express any sympathy to those who are dead, but to lie, lie, lie. It is despicable. It is so un-American. It is so different than what we have seen in so many previous administrations. Lies, all of it, just blatant, sickening lies--and that is what these administration officials almost automatically turn to when there is difficulty and there is trouble.

Kristi Noem is a liar. She is vicious. She is also incompetent. Donald Trump must fire her at once before another American is killed under her watch.

So I will say it again: It is bone-chilling that Donald Trump's goons will so eagerly and almost lazily lie right to the public's face--right to the public's face.

And where is the accountability from Donald Trump? He said nothing to call out the nastiness and lies from Noem and Miller. It seems he almost prefers to have serial liars in his administration than honest people.

The kind of dishonesty we see from Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller is the bread and butter of authoritarian regimes, and it is dangerous, dangerous territory for our country. When a government tells its people, ``Ignore what your eyes see, and forget what your ears hear; just listen to us instead,'' then, for all practical purposes, it is not trying to act like a government in a democracy. This is how dictatorships operate, and we are seeing the signs right in front of us, here in America.

The right answer, of course, is to meet the lies with truth. Here in the Senate, the American people deserve to hear that truth under oath when Kristi Noem and other administration officials testify as soon as possible.

And across America, the people must keep defending the truth. They should keep showing up lawfully and documenting abuses by ICE. They must continue to protest peacefully and nonviolently, to exercise their rights to free speech and free assembly, to protect their communities from the abuses of this thuggish government.

It may feel to many like the flame of democracy is flickering into extinction before our eyes, and there is no way to fight back. That is wrong. The good people of Minneapolis--and of so many cities around the country--have shown the answer to authoritarianism: Hold firm, tell the truth, look out for one another, organize, protest. And when the time comes, exercise your greatest power of all: Go to the ballot box and vote. Vote, and vote out the liars.

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.

Mr. President, I just got back from an event at the Center for American Progress. I joined with Senator Duckworth and Senator Schatz to roll out Senate Democrats' new vision to tackle the housing crisis, lowering housing costs for every single American. We call our housing agenda: Opportunity Starts at Home--Opportunity Starts at Home.

Democrats are going to focus on costs like a laser in 2026 and beyond. We are going to lay out, over the next few weeks and months, detailed platforms and plans on many issues related to costs.

In a few weeks, it will be groceries; then, a few weeks later, issues like childcare; then, energy costs, healthcare, and more. We talked about these issues in depth this morning, and I will get to that in a moment.

But, first, I just want to respond to an outrageous thing that happened with the Trump administration yesterday, showing how much of a clueless bubble these people are in. Hold on to your seats. It is hard to believe that

Donald Trump's Secretary Of Agriculture said this--oh yes, a very bold solution to the grocery costs.

She said, basically: Just eat less and spend less. Can you imagine the solution to higher grocery costs, eat less and spend less?

Now, it is hard for people to believe she said it. So let me read the quote.

We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a

meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn

tortilla, and one other thing.

Do you hear that, America? This is what Donald Trump's golden age looks like: a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a tortilla, and something else that the Secretary of Agriculture forgot.

The people who run this administration are just not serious. This is an insulting way to talk to the American people, telling them: Just get by with less, and stop complaining about affordability.

The American people have had enough of this. So as I just said, Democrats--every day, every week, every month this year--are going to put costs front and center in our agenda. This spring and over the next few months and throughout 2026, Democrats will talk about precisely how a Democratic majority would lower costs for everyday Americans.

We are going to go issue by issue, spending weeks at a time rolling out a plan to lower grocery costs. Then a few weeks later, we will unveil a vision for electricity and energy costs. We will roll out a plan to help people afford childcare and healthcare.

Lower costs is going to be the North Star now and throughout all of 2026. And when it comes to costs, it is important to begin with housing because it quite literally is the closest to home for most people.

For millions of Americans, owning a home is the most important part of the American dream. Young families, when they own a home, know they are building equity and they are building a future, knowing they have something they can give to their kids.

But as we all know, over the last few decades, the American dream of finding a home has become more of a mirage. The median price of a home is up 55 percent since COVID--55 percent. Rent is up by a third.

Listen to this horrifying statistic. This should shake every legislator in their boots because, it is so awful, we have to work to change it. The average first-time home buyer is now 40 years old. That is a record high.

And, again, what has Donald Trump done about all of this? Well, his tariffs have raised housing construction costs by $17,000 per home. He is launching a criminal investigation against the Chair of the Federal Reserve. And when there is chaos and politicization at the Fed, interest rates are more likely to go higher and stay higher because lending institutions, when they are not sure of the future, keep rates high to avoid any sudden downside.

Then, Donald Trump, of all things, proposed 50-year mortgages, an idea so inane and unserious it was ridiculed by the right, left, and center, right after he issued it.

Ironically, the only decent idea Donald Trump has floated recently on housing is one he stole from Democrats, calling for an end to institutional investors gobbling up homes and crowding out individual families.

Democrats tried to get it done last year. Every Democrat voted for it, but the Republicans in Congress voted against it, and we didn't get it passed.

The American people have had enough. What they want isn't rocket science. They simply want lower costs. They want opportunity. And Democrats believe that when it comes to creating opportunity, opportunity must start at home. So that is what I am calling our housing agenda: Opportunity Starts at Home.

The Democratic majority will tackle the housing affordability crisis by working to reduce rent, boost home ownership, stop predatory corporations, supercharge construction, and provide housing security for all Americans. We spoke about these proposals and other things earlier this morning, like passing the ROAD to Housing Act, which Senator Warren put together with great mastery, and it passed the Senate by unanimous consent--unanimously. In her bill, there are many things that Senate Democrats have fought for, many bills that other Members have introduced.

Democrats also want to expand downpayment assistance. We want to encourage local zoning reform by providing new incentives and disincentives--carrots and sticks--to localities to reform outdated rules that stand in the way of building housing. We want to stop institutional investors from gobbling up entire neighborhoods for profit.

We want to empower HUD to invoke the Defense Production Act, something Senator Duckworth has emphasized, guaranteeing the purchase of housing materials in short supply and scaling production of modular and manufactured housing. And we want to create an ARPA Home to bring down housing costs. Just as DARPA was able to lower defense costs, we need an ARPA for housing. It is a national crisis, just as important as defense. So let's get an ARPA for housing.

And this isn't just talk. Democrats have delivered on housing relief when we had the majority. When I was majority leader, we delivered the largest rental relief package ever, and we expanded rental assistance and emergency housing vouchers. We saved millions from eviction in the depths of the COVID crisis.

Now, we need expanded rental relief to help during the housing crisis faced by so many Americans. It is not COVID. It is not happening all at once every place, but it is happening in so many places throughout America. We need the same kind of large rental relief package.

In the weeks and months to come, the American people will also hear from Democrats on other areas where we are fighting to lower costs. As I mentioned, food costs, energy costs, groceries, healthcare, childcare, and so many other things Americans pay for every day.

Democrats are ready to get to work, and as I said, cost--the high cost of living--and the affordability crisis will be our focus throughout 2026 because that is what the American people are demanding. And we will show that the Trump administration and Republicans have made costs even worse, and what Democrats will do, when we get power, to reduce those costs in a very significant way that will affect every single American.

Verizon Outage

Mr. President, now, on the Verizon outage, yesterday, more than 100,000 Verizon users experienced outages and disruptions to their cell service for roughly 10 hours. Obviously, this caused real confusion and disruption for many Americans relying on service for work or emergencies. It is encouraging that Verizon said it will give account credits to customers affected by the outage, but this raises a very serious point.

At a time of high costs, consumers must always be automatically compensated for service disruptions, fully and completely. Last month, I led Senate Democrats in urging Chairman Carr of the FCC to ensure that when outages happen, customers are automatically compensated.

Full compensation to customers for service disruption should be mandated, not just a courtesy, not just a suggestion, not just when the company decides to do it, it is OK, and when they decide not to do it, it is OK, too, because that is wrong.

And, again, at a time when Americans want lower costs, automatic refunds when disruptions occur should be the norm for all telecommunication companies, and the FCC has a responsibility to require just that. Americans already facing high costs shouldn't be the ones paying the price for service disruptions, and the FCC must ensure that.

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.

Mr. President, launching a criminal investigation to coerce the Federal Reserve is a dangerous crossing of the Rubicon--even for Donald Trump, who has crossed many Rubicons already, to his detriment and to the country's detriment.

America's economic stability depends on impartial, stable monetary policy. Our central bank must always operate free of coercion, free of intimidation, and free from short-term political calculation. But what Donald Trump is doing is the MAGA-fication of monetary policy--one of the last places we should have any kind of MAGA influence.

Anyone with two eyes and half a brain can see what this probe is--a brazen attempt to cannibalize the Fed's influence. It is monetary mob- boss thuggery.

If you are an American worried about costs--housing costs, car loan costs, any interest rate costs--what Donald Trump is doing should alarm you. If you are worried about bringing your mortgage rate down if you have a variable-rate mortgage, if you want to keep the mortgage down, if you are a new home buyer and want a lower mortgage, Donald Trump's assault on the Fed should alarm you because when there is chaos in the Fed, interest rates go up.

The banks and financial institutions, when they say ``chaos,'' they grab on tightly and say ``We better not lower anything. We better keep things high because we are not exactly sure what is going to happen'' because when there is chaos in the Fed, there is chaos across the economy, and rates go up.

That is what financial institutions do in times of uncertainty. They rachet rates up to avoid a pitfall of some kind of downward decline that chaos often brings. It becomes more expensive for people to borrow. It makes it harder to own a home. It makes it harder to build more homes. It raises car payments and credit card payments. It raises the price of almost anything.

So if Donald Trump is serious about bringing costs down, about fighting inflation, about showing the American people he cares about them, the last thing he needs to be doing is launching criminal investigations against members of the Federal Reserve Board. Congress should not--cannot--be silent in the face of such naked political attacks.

Now Republicans are whispering in the hallways to one another that they are troubled about what the DOJ is doing against the Federal Reserve, but actions speak louder than words. It is not enough for Republicans to whisper their worry; Senate Republicans should act like they are in the majority and use their oversight powers to bring the DOJ to heel.

We must bring Department of Justice officials here to the Senate to testify in committee under oath and answer for their reckless conduct. We must hold the line against any Federal Reserve nominee from Donald Trump so long as this dark cloud hangs over the Fed.

If Senate Republicans are truly worried about the Fed's independence, if they are worried about what chaos at the Fed means for rising housing costs, rising borrowing costs, rising inflation, then they ought to conduct some oversight. Otherwise, their concerns are little more than hot air.

Populism

Mr. President, now on Donald Trump's fake populism, yesterday, in Michigan, Donald Trump once again tried to gaslight the American people about the affordability crisis in another rambling speech meant to prove he cares about the struggles of ordinary Americans. He mocked the word ``affordability'' once again. He called it a fake.

Maybe to Donald Trump, affordability is a fake because he is a billionaire. He doesn't have to go out and buy the groceries, by a car, sign up for a healthcare proposal that doesn't meet your family's needs. Donald Trump doesn't need to do those things; he doesn't have to worry. But tell that to a teacher, to a truckdriver, to a bartender, to a nurse, that affordability is fake. Tell it to anyone who actually has to work for a living. Affordability isn't fake; it is a very real nightmare. I am sure that last night, probably tens of millions of families gathered to decide which bills they could afford to pay and which bills they couldn't for necessities they need.

Like many Presidents before him, Donald Trump is falling into a classic trap. When times are tough, he ignores reality and tries to convince people that everything is actually going great. This has never worked, and it is not going to work now.

A year ago, Donald Trump stormed into office on the promise to lower costs, to fight for ordinary Americans, to unrig a rigged system. He ran, in other words, as a populist who promised to drain the swamp and end inflation.

But Donald Trump is not a populist; he is a posturer. He throws out these populist ideas to try to persuade people he is on their side, but he never does anything to get them done. He never lifts a finger or a phone. And the American people see that he talks a good game but never does anything to accomplish what he wants to do when it comes to lowering their costs. And the situation of the American people only gets worse.

To Donald Trump: Your posturing, your throwing out these ideas that people like and then doing nothing to actually make them happen, ain't gonna work, Donald Trump. Your posturing ain't gonna work when it comes to costs, when it comes to populism. You have to solve the problem.

What is Donald Trump doing now? He is throwing spaghetti at the wall. He throws a slew of half-baked proposals that are thin on substance-- throws those out--in a desperate attempt to show Americans he cares about rising costs.

In the last week, he has talked about housing, credit cards, the price of beef, trade, and done nothing on any of them, and costs keep rising. The American people don't want a bunch of words that have nothing of substance behind them. They don't want pandering. They don't want posturing. They want Donald Trump to take action.

This is exactly Donald Trump's Achilles heel when it comes to costs and so much else. He talks about a lot of things that may sound nice, but he never follows through or delivers on any of his promises. Whether it is costs or Epstein or ending forever wars, the pattern is the same. Donald Trump talks about credit cards one day, food prices the next, housing the day after, but never actually follows through on getting his Republican colleagues to act.

So here is the reality for you, Donald Trump: It is not enough for you, Donald Trump, to just talk about a bunch of ideas to lower costs. You need to get your Republican colleagues to actually pass legislation, much of which we Democrats have stood for, for a long time.

Otherwise, what Trump is doing is not populism; it is simply posturing.

Actions speak louder than words. If Donald Trump is serious about costs, he needs to put in the work to get Republicans to pass legislation that actually will lower costs for America.

Healthcare

Mr. President, finally, on ACA legislation, when it comes to lowering costs, Americans don't want nice-sounding statements; they want action.

Today, the Senate has a chance to take action to lower the cost of healthcare. In a few hours, I will come to the floor to seek unanimous passage of legislation passed by the House last week to extend ACA premium tax credits for 3 years.

Senate Democrats unanimously supported extending these credits last year. Some Republicans even joined us. But Leader Thune led the way to block this legislation, and it ensured that people's premiums are now skyrocketing.

Well, we have another chance to deliver relief for the American people, Republicans, by passing the same bill the House approved last week with bipartisan support. Time is of the essence.

The New York Times reported that nearly 1.5 million Americans already have lost coverage. Americans are in the middle of a healthcare emergency, all because the tax credits are not being extended.

The best, quickest, simplest thing Congress can do to lower premiums is to pass a clean restoration of the credits that expired last year.

So to my Republican colleagues: Do not block this legislation. Do not get in the way. The American people demand relief, and today, you have a chance to deliver it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, Americans across the country--they could be Democrats; they could be Independents; they could be Republicans; they could live in the north, the south, the east, or the west--agree on one thing: The cost of healthcare is at crisis levels, and families are struggling to pay for healthcare, such a necessity for their families and themselves.

Now, on January 1, as just about everybody knows, the ACA premium tax credits that lowered premiums for millions of Americans expired because Republicans chose to let them die. Republicans knew the crisis was coming; they knew the consequences, and they deliberately blocked relief from the American people.

Already because of the callous actions of our Republican colleagues, ACA enrollment has already dropped by nearly a million and a half people. The average American with an ACA plan has seen their premiums double, and many have seen them much worse than that. It is outrageous; it is wrong, and Republicans know it.

There is a demand from one end of the country to the other to undo the crisis by very simple--there is a very simple way to do it. All Republicans have to do is join Democrats in voting for legislation that expands the credits by 3 years. It will be done. It passed the House. But mark my words, if Republicans don't do it, America will know, and the political price they pay will be severe.

And so to rectify this injustice, to rectify the fact that families are deciding whether to even have healthcare or not or to cut back on something else very important to pay for the increased costs of healthcare, families are deciding that right now.

Every night, millions of American families are talking about what to do with these new healthcare bills that have come through, which have doubled or tripled what they have to pay each month, which will cut back in so many instances on the kind of healthcare they get--make them switch hospitals, switch doctors, not afford the prescription drug that is desperately needed by their child who has cancer.

Every night, Americans are grappling with this horrible problem because there is nothing more important to a family than the health of its members; yet Republicans blocked it. But my fellow Americans, the fight to lower healthcare costs is not over. Today I bring to the floor a very simple request, that when this Chamber receives the bipartisan legislation that passed the House last week, providing a simple 3-year reinstatement of the ACA premium tax credits, that it be immediately agreed to in the Senate.

The Republican leader of the Senate could put this on the floor, and it would pass in the blink of an eye. Most Republicans would vote for it because they know how much the public wants to renew these credits. So there is no reason under Heaven for us to delay. The House passed this bill last week by 230 to 196, and 17 Republicans joined Democrats. That is not a fluke. That is a glaring signal to Republicans that Americans are demanding relief.

Fifty percent--55 percent of Trump voters want the tax credits extended, but the Republican Senate is blind, is in a bubble, is not even understanding the anguish of America about these increased healthcare costs. And they sit there and come up with one excuse after the other why they shouldn't do this. The House, fortunately, listened to the American people and acted, and the Senate should now do the same.

Leader Thune knows that people back home are suffering. He knows that he can fix the problem by just putting the bill on the floor because it will pass. There is a lot to discuss and debate when it comes to fixing our

healthcare system, but right now, there is an immediate concern. Premiums are spiking across the country, so the most immediate thing we can do to lower healthcare costs for the American people is pass a clean restoration of these credits.

We offered the Republicans the chance during the so-called Big Beautiful Bill; they rejected it three times unanimously. But they went home over the summer and the fall and now into the winter and they hear their constituents clamoring for relief. Open your ears, open your minds, Republicans, listen to the American people. There is no doubt, you know it, that the majority of Americans, the overwhelming majority of Americans, even the majority of Republicans and Trump voters, want us to do this.

And frankly, to Americans back home, it is not a Democratic or a Republican issue. The only thing they care about is getting those costs lower. And they want to know who is going to step up and bring premiums down. Who is going to lower costs?

Senate Democrats say in one voice to Americans: We hear you. We have a plan to bring your premiums down. We can pass it through the Senate today, right now, if only the Republicans get out of the way.

We are going to keep at this. This issue isn't going away. We are going to fight and fight and fight until we achieve this for the American people because it is so important. There are other issues Republicans have out there. Some want to block it because they want to extend provisions that hurt women on the issue of abortion. Some want to block it because they want to privatize the system, which would only make it worse. But it doesn't matter; we can debate all those things down the road. The opportunity is now, right now, to allow this body to unanimously pass this much-needed proposal to extend the credits by 3 years.

I urge my Republican colleagues, let this bill pass. Let's give the American people what they so fiercely and rightfully demand. Most of all, let's give millions of Americans relief from the sky-high price of these premiums now that the 3-year extension has expired.

Americans need it. Americans want it. Americans demand it. It is the only humane and right thing to do. This is another chance for my colleagues across the aisle to rectify their mistake and help the American people with an issue that is at the top of the list for them.

And so I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives H.R. 1834 as passed by the House on January 8, 2026, that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read three times and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, the need for this resolution is simple. It is clear. The American people do not support another forever war with Venezuela. The American people don't want Donald Trump sending our troops into harm's way without so much as a debate in Congress.

Today, the Senate has a chance to move forward on asserting Congress's constitutional authority on matters of war and peace. We can tell Donald Trump: Enough with foreign adventures. It is time to focus on lowering costs here at home. That is what the American people want.

This resolution is necessary right now because Donald Trump has made clear that what happened in Venezuela is not a one-and-done operation-- not at all.

Last week, the New York Times asked him: Are we going to be there a month? 6 months? a year?

Do you know what his answer was? Donald Trump said:

I would say much longer.

He said: We want to give money to Venezuela.

Here we are. People don't have enough money for healthcare, for housing, for so many other things, and we want to give money to Venezuela? How is that ``America first?''

Trump threatened further military action if the current government doesn't cooperate with the United States. The administration is trying to concoct an argument that we are not engaged in hostilities, but that is absurd. You don't have to be a great expert on military affairs to know that

we are heavily engaged. Donald Trump says we are not engaged in hostilities? Tell that to the 16,000 U.S. servicemembers currently deployed in the Caribbean. Tell that to our servicemembers on the Ford Carrier Strike Group. Look at the Marine Expeditionary Unit operating in the region.

Donald Trump is turning the Caribbean into a dangerous powder keg, and Congress must rein him in before one mistake ignites a larger, more unstable conflict.

So the Senate needs to exert its constitutional role when it comes to the use of military force.

I know that there are Senate Republicans acting in good faith who are worried about Venezuela getting out of hand. I urge them to reject this point of order, to provide a necessary backstop, a necessary check, a necessary guardrail on Executive power. It is the right thing to do for the American people. That means no more forever wars, no more military escapades without congressional authorization, no more tens of billions to prop up foreign regimes while American families struggle right here at home.

I want to thank Senator Kaine, I want to thank Senator Schiff, and I want to thank Senator Paul for joining with me in this very necessary resolution. Of course, I thank our great ranking member of the Armed Services Committee for his good work as well.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, last night, the New York Times reported that a criminal investigation has been opened into Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Anyone with two eyes and half a brain knows exactly what this criminal probe represents: a brazen attempt by Donald Trump to cannibalize the Fed's independence.

The allegations behind this probe are clearly bogus. This has nothing to do with building renovations, of all things; it has everything to do with Donald Trump weaponizing the DOJ into his attack dog and bullying America's central bank into submission on something unrelated to what they do.

This is another ominous, troubling step toward the MAGA-fication of America's monetary policy, which is the bedrock of the global economy and essential for stability in the markets.

So the American people should beware: If you are worried about making sure mortgage rates come down, making it easier to buy a home, Donald Trump's attack on the Fed should trouble you deeply. If you are worried about what the economy is going to look like in the next 6 months, 12 months, and beyond, Donald Trump's attack on the Fed should alarm you.

If you are a Senate Republican in this Chamber who has at any point spoken out about the Fed's independence, about the need to bring inflation down, about the importance of law and order, now is the time to find your voice and to take a stand.

The bogus criminal probe conducted by the DOJ screams for congressional oversight. We need to bring DOJ officials to testify before the Senate and explain this outrageous criminal probe, and the Senate must reject any future Trump nominee to the Fed so long as this dark cloud continues to hang over the central bank--because if Donald Trump can use the threat of criminal investigation to influence monetary policy, then we will have no independent Fed to speak of, and, again, interest rates will go up, mortgage rates will go up, car loan rates will go up, credit card rates will go up, and the American consumer will pay more.

The American consumer is already worried, troubled, and devastated by the lack of affordability, and what Trump is doing will make things even more unaffordable. You would say: What the heck does one have to do with the other? But when the markets feel there is no steadiness, no stability in the Fed, they charge more, they get worried, they clamp down.

And, look, Donald Trump is clearly angry that his own Presidency has been a disaster for our economy so is looking for a scapegoat, and he thinks Jerome Powell can be one. He has made a big mistake. No one is going to fall for that bull.

Everyone knows Jay Powell and the Fed aren't the reason Donald Trump's poll numbers and our economy are in the garbage. If he wants someone to blame, Donald Trump should simply look in the mirror, not at Jerome Powell.

Venezuela

Mr. President, on Venezuela, last night, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a ridiculous screen shot of a fake Wikipedia page that called him the acting President of Venezuela. Donald Trump calling himself the acting President of Venezuela is stupid, but it is a very useful illustration of where his head is at right now. He is totally focused on military adventures and completely ignoring the affordability crisis here at home.

To those Republicans who hemmed and hawed last week saying the U.S. involvement in Venezuela was a one-and-done, those views have now aged like spoiled milk. Last week, Donald Trump was asked if we are staying in Venezuela for a month, 6 months, a year, or longer. He answered:

I would say much longer.

And he says this with a smile on his face.

What does he think the American people are thinking--that we want another endless war, this time in Venezuela; that we want to stay for years and waste treasure and possibly lives on this adventure in Venezuela? The American people don't want that.

Then he says:

We are going to [give the] money to Venezuela.

Do you think the American people want that--a foreign adventure so we can give money to Venezuela?

Just yesterday, Energy Secretary Wright said the United States will be in Venezuela for maybe a year, maybe 2 years, and maybe more. The American people didn't vote for Donald Trump to be acting President of Venezuela for a year, 2 years, 3 years--even for a day; they voted for him to put America first and bring down the cost of living.

The more people learn about what is going on in Venezuela, the more people hear that U.S. involvement could last years, the more they will demand that Congress act.

Now, the good news is that this week, the Senate has a chance to halt Trump's military follies, to halt his focus on foreign adventurism rather than bringing down their prices.

Last week, a strong bipartisan group of Senators moved forward with a War Powers Resolution I championed with Senators Kaine, Schiff, and Paul. The Senate will vote this week to pass this resolution and affirm the Congress's constitutional authority on matters of war and peace.

I say to my Republican colleagues who don't yet support this resolution: Join us to prevent another forever war.

The pressure will be on Senate Republicans this week to make a choice: Stand with the majority of Americans who don't want us in Venezuela or enable Donald Trump and risk entangling us in another forever war.

The American people will be watching what we do this week. Americans don't want another round of endless wars. They don't support propping up foreign nations and regimes.

The vote this week will tell all, and the American people will be watching.

Tariffs

Mr. President, finally, on tariffs, as soon as this week, the U.S. Supreme Court may rule on whether or not Donald Trump's chaotic tariff policies are constitutional.

I have long been very clear that the Supreme Court should strike Donald Trump's tariffs down. The President's tariffs are an unlawful usurping of Congress's authority over trade, and I have seen firsthand in New York how they have raised prices for families and shut down so many small businesses.

Congress may not have a say on whether or how the Supreme Court will rule, but we absolutely have a say on future legislation on the President's tariff authority. The Senate has already voted four times on a bipartisan basis to reject Trump's illegal trade war.

If the Supreme Court strikes down all or some of Donald Trump's tariffs, we know he will come to Congress and demand another blank check. Republicans must be ready to buck up and tell him no.

Senate Democrats will not support any legislation that hands the President a free pass to slap tariffs on whoever he likes, the consequences for our economy be damned, in his eyes.

No blank checks for an endless trade war. No blank checks for Donald Trump to issue tariffs whenever he likes against whomever he likes, regardless of the consequences--particularly the American people, as he raises and raises and raises their cost of living.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, first, I want to thank Senator Kaine for his great leadership on this issue, Senator Schiff, and Senator Paul for working with me on this resolution.

If there was ever a moment for the Senate to find its voice, it is now. The Senate must act to stop Donald Trump's folly.

Today, the Senate must assert the authority given to it in the Constitution on matters of war and peace. We must send Donald Trump a clear message on behalf of the American people: No more endless wars.

If any of my colleagues--if any of the American people--doubted what Trump was up to, here is what he said last night to the New York Times.

They asked him: How long are we going to stay in Venezuela--a month, 6 months, a year?

Donald Trump said:

I would say much longer.

Donald Trump is ready for an endless war in Venezuela and Lord knows where else. The American people are not. The American people want us to focus on the No. 1 issue they face: rising costs. They can't afford the things they need--the affordability crisis.

And, instead, Donald Trump and too many of our Republican colleagues are saying: Let us spend our treasure and maybe even American lives on Venezuela and other areas far afield.

How can the American people watch this and not just groan and grimace and ache and fear? When America has tried to do this kind of nation building, these kinds of regime replacements in the past, it has led to the American people paying the price in treasure and in blood.

So now we have the opportunity to stop. We are very close. We urge our Republican colleagues to join us. Tell the American people you want to focus on what they care about: the cost of groceries, the cost of healthcare, the cost of electricity and other goods.

The contrast between what is happening in the House and Senate today is glaring. In the House, there will be, from what I am told, a good number of Republicans who will join in saying: Extend the tax credits for 3 years.

Leader Thune has even refused to put that on the floor.

But what is happening here? The ability, the strength, the constitutional authority of the Congress to say: No. No endless wars. No sending all our money down to Venezuela and Lord knows what other countries.

Again, just look at this, my Republican colleagues. Here is what Trump said on oversight of Venezuela.

They asked him:

A year? Longer?

He says:

I would say much longer.

How many of you want to see us bogged down in Venezuela for a whole bunch of years? If you don't want to see that, if you want to see us focused on the costs the American people are facing and reduce them, vote with us.

Vote yes on this very important resolution.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I just got back from an all-Senators briefing with senior administration officials about what is going on in Venezuela. Again, another briefing. Again, no answers.

As before, we walked out of the room with far more questions than answers. It is not just the Senators and Congressmen in the SCIF, a classified room, who deserve answers, it is the American people who deserve answers.

The American people want to know: How much is this going to cost us at a time when we are seeing our costs rise for things like housing and groceries and healthcare? They want to know what kind of troops--how many troops are going to be needed there?

It is clear that the leadership's succession plan that the administration envisions now that Maduro--the awful person that he is-- is gone, the people who are replacing him are just as untrustworthy, just as corrupt, just as bad as he is.

How is Trump going to run the country with these people as his underlings?

So the public deserves answers at this crucial moment because the American people are asking: What the hell is going on in Venezuela? And why is this President, who campaigned on ``America First,'' now spending all his time and energy on escapades overseas?

What is going to happen next? The public is totally in the dark.

We need to know how long an involvement in Venezuela is going to last. Trump has said it is going to take some time. What does that mean? Iraq was more than a decade.

How many troops are we talking about?

How much money and what guardrails are in place?

The American people want to know, is there a place where you say no more? Nobody knows. On something as risky and as different as this-- differently bad as this--people need real answers. That is how our system is set up, but this administration is totally--totally--opaque and, frankly, dishonest with the American people when it comes to Venezuela.

We discussed so many things in the room. And in the room, there was a bipartisan sense of concern with America simply plunging into other countries. I did not get adequate answers.

Are we planning on going into Greenland? Are we planning on going into Colombia? Mexico?

The answers were very unsatisfying.

So this escapade is fraught with huge peril that history teaches us we should avoid. There is chaos in the streets of Caracas right now. Organized gangs are patrolling the streets, oppressing the rights of citizens. At any moment, the interim government's grip on power could deteriorate. The Vice President--former Vice President under Maduro, who is now the President--is totally unreliable, is corrupt, and hates America. That is whom we are relying on. What kind of plan is this?

Again, it is not enough for Senators to walk into a classified briefing and hear the administration's sales pitch. The public has to hear it. I am certain that the public, once they hear it, is going to be as angry, as skeptical, as unconvinced as we are.

The American people need answers and facts presented in public.

My Republican colleagues: Don't you have an obligation to hold hearings--public hearings--and bring Hegseth and Rubio before you and ask these tough questions, not in the closed quarters of a SCIF, where no one is allowed to repeat what they say, but in public?

Where are our chairs of the relevant committees? Not to hold a hearing on something as momentous and potentially destructive as this-- where are our Republican colleagues?

We need administration officials to come testify and to answer the tough questions in public. That is what this Republic is all about. That is why we have three branches of government. That is why the Founding Fathers said the war power, as important a decision as going to war is, should be in the hands of the Congress, a public institution, not in the hands of just an Executive.

And yet, right now, it is in the hands of an Executive because our Republican colleagues are supine. They just aren't demanding hearings, aren't demanding that the President come clean in terms of talking to the American people.

Looming over all of this, the American people are asking: What the heck does this have to do with ``America First?'' How does spending years and potentially billions of taxpayer dollars in Venezuela help families pay their rent, their mortgages, their grocery bills, their electric bills, their healthcare bills?

It has nothing to do with it. In fact, it takes money; it takes attention away; it diverts attention away from the No. 1 thing the American people care about: affordability, costs of living, being able to pay the bills of things you very much need.

Bombing Caracas and bragging about oilfields are not going to lower people's rents. Even in this cockamamie plan they have, the money would go back to Venezuela. The American people are saying: That is ``America First?'' Spend all this time, effort, and dollars getting rid of Maduro and then sending all this oil money back to Venezuela when America needs help?

Threatening Greenland is not going to make groceries cheaper. Military threats against NATO are not going to help families pay the bills. The American people did not sign up for this kind of military adventurism when they voted for Donald Trump, and Republicans who go along will be betraying the American people.

Donald Trump doesn't realize any of this. Why? He is focused on his Big Oil buddies and personal vanity projects like renaming the Kennedy Center and choosing which marble armrests to install.

Just listen to what Donald Trump said yesterday at the Kennedy Center to House Republicans. Once again, he showed everyone he is trapped in a billionaire's bubble. Donald Trump told Republicans, ``I wish you could explain to me what the hell is going on with the mind of the public,'' because he can't understand why people are souring on his agenda. He can't understand that when you can't pay the groceries or your car breaks down and you can't afford to get it fixed and you can't get to work, that troubles people? He can't understand that?

He doesn't have a clue. He talks to his limited circle of rich friends. They don't have to worry about the things 95 percent of Americans worry about. He is in a bubble, and when Presidents are in bubbles, it is the American people who get hurt.

He cannot wrap his mind around the fact that his very own policies have made life worse for ordinary people. But the average citizen knows it. That is why his numbers are plummeting.

Again, yesterday morning, he slammed ``affordability'' as a buzzword and said no one knows what it means. Well, he doesn't know what it means because he has enough money to pay for all the things he needs.

Donald Trump, ``affordability'' is not a buzzword. It is not a con job, and it is not a mystery concept to most people. ``Affordability'' means you can afford to make trips to the doctor when you or your child is sick. It means you can go to the grocery store and not have to worry: Well, should I buy eggs or cheese or milk? I can't afford all of them.

It means you can pay the rent, pay your mortgage.

What ``affordability'' doesn't mean is sending helicopters over Caracas and saying we have the right to attack NATO allies. It doesn't mean bailing out Argentine farmers. It doesn't mean giving away critical chips to China so that they can use them against us.

Now, if Donald Trump and Republicans won't focus on lowering the cost of living, Democrats are happy to do it for them. Later today, I am joining with Senators Warren, Smith, and Klobuchar and housing experts from around the country to talk about this horrible housing crisis, one of the worst manifestations of rising costs.

Today's housing roundtable is a kickoff event for our Senate Democrats and our cost initiative, which will be our North Star for the year and beyond. We are going to be focused like a laser on the increased costs Americans face to pay the necessary bills that they must pay to live a decent life.

And just as we talked about for months, about helping people to afford healthcare, we are going to continue to focus on helping people pay the rent, keep up with their mortgage, and be able to afford a home for the first time.

In the coming weeks, Senate Democrats are going to lay out the many things Congress could do right now, if only the Republicans were serious about lowering costs, when it comes to food, childcare, energy, home ownership, healthcare, childcare, and more. These are things the American people care about: paying the bills, buying a new car, going on one vacation a year with your family--not invading Venezuela, not invading Colombia, not thinking about invading Greenland.

Donald Trump doesn't get it. He admits he doesn't get it. He doesn't understand why the American people are mad at him when it is as plain as could be.

But Democrats get it. We are going to focus like a laser on costs today, next week, next month, and all year long. The Republicans and Donald Trump will be hearing plenty more from us.

I yield the floor.

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