Floor Statements

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to mark an important milestone in this new administration. Senate Republicans have now confirmed more than 100 nominees in President Trump's second term.

This is significant progress in filling critical government positions. It took relentless procedural battles to accomplish this. It included full days and long nights. Why? Because Democrats are waging a coordinated campaign of obstruction.

Under the Constitution, the Senate is meant to provide advice and consent. We do it on Presidential nominations. We do it on a number of things. Specifically, with regard to nominations, this means an honest evaluation of qualifications, and it means a vote in the U.S. Senate. Now, for more than 6 months, Senate Democrats have turned advice and consent into automatic opposition. It doesn't just delay President Trump; it damages the country.

Democrats have filibustered all but one of President Trump's nominees, and he was the very first nominee, Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State. He was confirmed on day one of the administration. Since then, it has been a wall of obstruction. Democrats have filibustered positions requiring confirmation that have never before even had a rollcall vote in the U.S. Senate; they have gone by unanimous consent. Democrats filibustered the Chief of Protocol for the State Department--the Chief of Protocol. Democrats filibustered the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security. They filibustered the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Today, 138 nominees who have already been approved by a full vote in the Senate committees are caught here--in Senate floor purgatory.

Democrats in the Senate seem to have a new litmus test: If President Trump nominates you, Democrats are against you--period, end of story. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed four nominees: the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, the Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, a district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Assistant Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency--all qualified, all vetted, all experienced. Each and every one was filibustered. The Democrats forced the Senate to burn every minute of available time before the Senate was permitted to vote.

When Democrats delay nominations and nominees--people specifically

charged to fight drug trafficking, to protect the environment, to track terrorists--it delays justice, and it makes our Nation weaker and less safe. It tells Americans that Democrats care more about politics than they do about problem-solving.

Now Democrats are targeting President Trump's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. We just heard the Senate minority leader talk about that nominee. By any objective measure, Mr. Bove is qualified--Georgetown law, in the top 5 percent of his class, a decorated former prosecutor, someone who took on and took down violent criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorists--but because he worked for President Trump, he is now a target--a target of a politically motivated hit job.

During his confirmation, he said this under oath:

I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to

violate a court order.

The facts support his testimony.

So, today, Senator Schumer came to the floor and said of Mr. Bove that he was ``as extreme as anyone we have considered in this Chamber.'' Let me recall for the body some of the people who were nominated under the Biden administration and were supported by Chuck Schumer when he makes an attack on such a qualified nominee as we are debating and discussing and voting on today.

The Democrats confirmed as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts someone who released a list of charges that she would refuse to prosecute if she were confirmed. She said: I refuse to prosecute shoplifting and drug possession with an intent to distribute--which was OK under the Democrats. They wanted her confirmed as a U.S. attorney, and they did that for Massachusetts.

They also confirmed in 2021, under Joe Biden, an Assistant Attorney General who supported efforts to ``defund the police''--an Attorney General wanting to defund the police.

Then they supported and nominated and confirmed a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, a judge who worked for a leftwing organization who--listen to this, Democrats--repeatedly called for a complete reimagining of policing in this country.

That is what they are for. That is who they are. That is the Democrats today.

The kicker of all of this is that the Democrats' radical nominee for the Third Circuit in 2024--this same position opposed by more than 20 police groups--20 police groups--served on the board of advisers of a group that called cop killers freedom fighters. The Democrats came to support a nominee by then-President Joe Biden who was a member of a board of advisers for a group that called cop killers freedom fighters and advocated for their release. Nevertheless, Democrats strongly supported the confirmation. They relented only after President Trump won the election.

Republicans are working hard to get America back on track.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt).

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about something critical to our Nation, and that is our Nation's security. And for me, national security demands and starts with border security.

We were through 4 years of open borders, high prices, pain for the American people. Well, with the signing of this Big Beautiful Bill into law, we are securing the border, we are finishing the wall, and we are supporting Federal law enforcement officers.

You know, we also passed, and President Trump signed into law, the HALT Fentanyl Act. It is now the law of the land, and, today, law enforcement finally has the tools that they need to crack down on drug traffickers. These policies are what will save lives here in America. These policies will make our Nation safer.

For 4 long years, Joe Biden and the Democrats flung open the border walls, and over 10 million illegal immigrants flooded into our country as a result of their irresponsible behavior. This invasion raised costs for American families. People saw it all throughout their lives. They saw it when they went to the doctor's office. They found it at the grocery store, and they found it in the housing market.

This invasion made our communities less safe. Innocent Americans are still suffering the consequences. Just this week, in New York City, an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer was ambushed--ambushed-- by two illegal immigrant criminals. They shot him in the throat.

Both of these illegal immigrant criminals had long criminal records. You say: How can that be, in America, that somebody with a long criminal record is out there on the street, shooting an officer of the law?

Well, both of these illegal immigrant criminals entered the country illegally under Joe Biden. They were arrested multiple times in New York City, the minority leader's home city--arrested multiple times. Immigration judges ordered deportations, but what happens in New York City, in the minority leader's home city? They were released due to sanctuary city policies in his hometown.

President Trump and Republicans have now made it a priority to enforce the law. Since taking office, President Trump has deported hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant criminals. ICE arrests in my home State of Wyoming as well as my neighboring State of Colorado are now five times higher than they were during the same time period under Joe Biden.

A July poll by Harvard-Harris shows that three out of four Americans support President Trump's efforts to deport illegal immigrant criminals. The message is clear: Keep making our communities safer.

Illegal border crossings are now at their lowest level ever recorded. Zero--zero--illegal immigrants were released into our country over the past 2 months. Hard to believe but true--the number is zero. President Trump has successfully ended catch-and-release. By contrast, under Joe Biden and the Democrats, 10,000 illegal immigrants crossed our southern border on a daily basis.

Republicans promised the American people we would secure the border, and we are keeping our word.

The law we passed finishes the wall. It provides $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That gives our agents the resources they need to continue deporting illegal immigrant criminals. Our law allows and helps them hire, train, and retain Border Patrol agents. It even gives the agents a bonus. That is what we need to do to enforce the law.

Republicans are committed to help fight back against child trafficking. This is why our law funds $300 million to vet those who sponsor children who show up at the border without an adult. And we know it happened routinely during the Biden administration. I was there on the border during the night as children would show up without an adult.

A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is clarifying to all of us who have read it. It is disturbing, and it is frightening. The report found that the Biden administration lost track of hundreds of thousands of these unaccompanied children. In over 80 percent of the cases, the report says, the Biden administration didn't even have accurate contact information for the sponsors.

In all, our new law is the most comprehensive border security investment in American history. It has invested in immigration enforcement and border security. Not a single Democrat supported these policies.

Democrats continue today to be the party of open borders and unsafe communities. They made our country weaker, they made our country poorer, and they made our country less safe. Things have changed now. Across the country, ICE agents are doing excellent work enforcing the law and keeping our communities safe.

Earlier this month, ICE conducted a lawful raid of a Los Angeles facility that produces marijuana. Federal officers arrested 361 criminal illegal immigrants. Many were convicted rapists, kidnappers, and child predators. Federal agents also rescued 10 children from forced labor at that marijuana production facility. Eight of them were unaccompanied minors who had been trafficked into our country and exploited.

Last month, ICE arrested 1,361 illegal immigrant criminals in Houston, TX. Those criminals were in our communities because of Democrats' open border policies. Now they are off the streets thanks to an administration that is committed to our Nation's security.

As law enforcement does its job, they are increasingly under attack. They are under attack, amazingly, from criminals, and they are under attack from the radical left. ICE agents have been demonized, doxed, and demoralized. Attacks against ICE agents have soared over 800 percent in the last year.

In California, as ICE agents rescued children from forced labor, a violent mob of leftwing activists threw rocks and even opened fire on them. Now, some Democrats in Congress downplayed it; they dismissed it; they defended the violence, as the Democrats tend to do. One Democrat even said the operation was, in their words, a ``misuse of federal resources.''

Let me be clear. Rescuing trafficked children is not a misuse--never a misuse--of taxpayer money. If the Democrats believe otherwise, they have truly lost their moral compass.

Law enforcement deserves our support, especially as they are protecting children and when they are getting dangerous criminals off the street. This is common sense. It is exactly what Immigration and Customs agents are doing, and they are doing it very well.

The American people have been clear. They want secure borders. They want safer communities. And that is what Republicans are delivering.

Mr. President, I will assure you, Republicans will continue to protect our children, protect our communities, and protect our country.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. President, I notice no further debate on the nomination. I request we move to the vote.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``yea.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Alabama (Mrs. Britt), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).