Floor Statements

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 9.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 10.

I move to proceed to legislative session.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume Executive Calendar No. 6, Sean Duffy, under the order of January 25; further, that the Senate recess following disposition of the Duffy nomination until 2 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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 with respect to the Noem nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; and, further, that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Bessent nomination be waived.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Monday, January 27; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Executive Calendar No. 5, Scott Bessent, postcloture; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Monday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

We are also considering the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. A veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Hegseth will bring a warrior's perspective to the role of Defense Secretary and will provide much needed fresh air at the Pentagon. Gone will be the days of woke distractions. The Pentagon's focus will be on warfighting. Mr. Hegseth will concentrate on restoring American strength and repairing the deficiencies in our readiness.

As our first President said more than 200 years ago, ``To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.'' In a world that has grown increasingly unstable over the past few years, our priority has to be ensuring that the U.S. military is prepared to meet and defeat any threat.

I will continue to ensure that the Senate works as quickly as possible to get President Trump's team in place.