Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4854.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

I know of no further debate on the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 654, submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 655, submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 625 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Thursday, September 27; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session under the previous order.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the majority leader be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions on Thursday, September 27.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I have 11 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

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

committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Fintech: Examining Digitization, Data, and Technology''.

committee on environment and public works

The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 9:55 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.

committee on finance

The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, during votes to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Michael Faulkender, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Elizabeth Darling, of Texas, to be Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

committee on foreign relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on foreign relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Status of U.S.-Russia Arms Control Efforts.''

committee on health, education, labor, and pensions

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Reducing Healthcare Costs: Examining how transparency can lower spending and empower patients.''

committee on homeland security and governmental affairs

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security and Illegal Immigrations incentives.''

committee on veterans' affairs

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, during votes to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Tamara Bonzanto, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Secretary (Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection), and James Paul Gfrerer, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary (Information and Technology), both of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

select committee on intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a closed hearing.

subcommittee on cybersecurity

The Subcommittee on Cybersecurity of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a closed hearing.

subcommittee on oceans, atmosphere, fisheries, and coast guard

The Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Fish Fights: An examination of conflicts over ocean resources.''

Mr. President, in the annals of ``President's Say the Darndest Things,'' last week's Twitter outburst will stand out, at least for me, because the President attacked the Attorney General of the United States for simply doing the job he swore an oath to do.

Of course, it wasn't the first time the President has so diminished himself, but this particular slander was leveled at the Attorney General for having the temerity to prosecute public corruption by Members of Congress who also happen to belong to the President's political party.

That is right. The President attacked Mr. Sessions by name for refusing to cover up allegations of Republican misconduct. The President's concern was not for justice but for the political fortunes of the accused, because their congressional seats might now be at risk of falling to Democrats. In doing this, the President is projecting a vision onto the system of American justice that is both bizarre and, more importantly, destructive.

Of course, the only truly shocking thing about this statement from the President is that, given what all of us have become accustomed to during this Presidency--or, even worse, have become numb to--this Twitter eruption was not at all surprising. This numb acceptance is an appalling statement on the very real threat to our democratic institutions.

At this point, it might be too late for tutorials on the American justice system, but it certainly bears repeating that in order for justice to truly be served, justice must be based in empirical truth and must be absolutely carried out independent of politics, period.

No President--any President--administers the justice system in America, any more than he or she decrees what is objective truth. In this country, justice and truth operate quite independent of the dictates of even the most powerful of offices.

The reasons for this point are obvious to most, but we know by now that this particular President seems to have a profound unease with both justice and truth and so has been at unrelenting war with both, virtually since the moment he swore the oath--not because there is any deficiency in justice or truth that requires his intervention, mind you, but for other less noble reasons. The President seems to think that the office confers on him the ability to decide who and what gets investigated in the United States and who and what does not.

Weekly, it seems, this President has been threatening to ``get involved'' in the function of the Justice Department--sometimes intimidating, sometimes plainly threatening to corrupt the independence of justice in America.

He has overtly expressed a desire for his political opponents to be investigated, and almost 2 years into his Presidency, he presides over boisterous rallies where the last election is relitigated and chants of ``lock her up'' fill the halls.

None of this is normal or acceptable, but his is not mere recklessness. It seems to be a deliberate program, by which he intends to weaken the institution of American justice, threaten its independence, and perhaps set the stage for some future assault on it-- the firing of the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, and perhaps even the special counsel.

It has been said that the President deserves to have an attorney general of his choice, a top lawyer with whom he is compatible. This is true. The President's appointment powers are clear, and all of his appointees serve at the pleasure of the President. But what no President deserves is a top lawyer who is simply there to do his bidding. The Attorney General is not the President's personal lawyer, and his job is not to protect the President from damaging facts or to turn the power of American justice onto the President's enemies or to direct Justice Department investigations in any particular way that is either politically motivated or presupposes guilt or innocence or favors any outcome whatsoever, other than that which is supported by the evidence and truth. The Attorney General's job description, as tweeted last week by the President, bears scant resemblance to the Attorney General's job in a constitutional democracy.

So I rise today because the Founders gave us the article I branch of this government that they conceived and the responsibility to curb such reckless behavior.

Thus far, I believe we have all been so incredulous at the daily excess and ever hopeful--hopeful beyond any reason--that this President would at last begin to inhabit the office in a more responsible fashion that we have been somewhat uncertain what to do.

First and foremost, we must speak out. We cannot be quiet when the moment requires us to defend the democratic norms under which this system functions, and without which our system ceases to function. The President has repeatedly and over time heedlessly breached these norms. If we say nothing, then, we become accomplices in the destruction of these democratic norms.

The Senate is not the place to come for deniability. We must do what we can to curb the destructive impulses of this White House. We must encourage the administration of justice. That means voicing our support for Mr. Mueller and his team. We have passed bipartisan legislation out of the Senate Judiciary Committee--legislation to protect the special counsel. I call on the majority leader to bring this legislation to the Senate floor.

We must also say in no uncertain terms that to call this investigation a ``witch hunt'' is wrong. To call Mr. Mueller's team ``thugs'' is wrong. Relentlessly slandering the Attorney General of the United States is wrong. It is a travesty, and it is unbecoming of the Office of the Presidency.

I would say to the Attorney General: Stand firm. You spent your life in public service, in the service of your country. At the risk of being presumptuous, I will say that these days of your service, right now, during this crucial period in which we have a President who in a malign fashion is actively testing the limits of his power and the independence of American justice, your determination to safeguard the independence of the Justice Department at the same time that you have been under assault by the President has verged on heroic. In your long career, you will render no more consequential service to your country. Stand firm, Attorney General Sessions.

I appeal to the leadership of this body to speak out. You don't have to speak out at every Twitter outburst, but when the President so blatantly calls for the Department of Justice to act as an arm of the Republican Party, then, the leaders of the Republican Party in this body need to stand and say that the President is out of bounds.

We all have our pulls to conscience. Most recently for me, I hear the whisper so well described a few weeks ago--the whisper over my shoulder that says: We are better than this. America is better than this. In a time of rank tribalism, we need to remember that we are all Americans. That is our only tribe. It is to the rule of law and the ideals of our founding that we owe our allegiance.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of the following nominations: Executive Calendar Nos. 933, 934.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1050 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the Duckworth amendment which is at the desk be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill, as amended.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 576 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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