Floor Statements

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 451, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 95 Joseph Kent, of Washington, to be Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 452, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 95, Joseph Kent, of Washington, to be Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 454, On the Motion to Discharge, Motion to Discharge S.J. Res. 41. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 455, On the Motion to Discharge, Motion to Discharge S.J. Res. 34. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 457, On the Cloture Motion, Motion to Invoke Cloture: Matthew Kozma to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 458, On the Motion to Invoke Cloture, Cheryl Mason to be Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 461, On the Nomination, Confirmation: Cheryl Mason, of North Carolina, to be Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 463, On the Nomination, Confirmation: Matthew Kozma, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 471, On the Cloture Motion, Motion to Invoke Cloture: Luigi Rinaldi to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 482, On the Nomination, Confirmation: Luigi Rinaldi, of New York, to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 485, On the Cloture Motion, Motion to Invoke Cloture: Andrew Puzder to be Representative of the United States of America to the European Union with the rank of Ambassador. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 486, On the Nomination, Confirmation: Andrew Puzder, of Tennessee, to be Representative of the United States of America to the European Union with the rank of Ambassador. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 487, On the Cloture Motion, Motion to Invoke Cloture: Brian Burch to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 488, On the Nomination, Confirmation: Brian Burch, of Illinois, to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See. I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 496, On the Nomination, Confirmation: John Arrigo, of Florida, to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Portuguese Republic.

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

Mr. President, Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. She was a traitor to this country. She was part of the violent mob that tried to overthrow our democracy. I was there on January 6, as so many of my colleagues in the House and Senate were. I remember hearing the pounding on the doors of the House Chamber and seeing my colleagues barricading the doors, with furniture, to stop the insurrectionists from breaking in and disturbing and stopping democracy's day. I remember looking around, thinking about my family, and seeing the mob and what they were willing to do.

Ashli was leading the pack. She carried a ParaForce knife, a weapon. She pushed to the front of the crowd, ignored repeated orders from Capitol Police to stop, and she pushed through a locked door and barricaded door. She was part of the mob that smashed through the windows into the Speaker's lobby, and then she tried to even force her way in.

She didn't die protecting our country; she died trying to tear it down.

Military honors are sacred. They are reserved for the men and women who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law and actually lived up to it. To give them to Babbitt would be a spit in the face to all of them and to every veteran who died defending this country.

I took that very same oath 25 years ago when I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. I saw what real service and dedication and sacrifice looked like in Iraq. I saw marines dying holding the line so others may have a chance to live. And I buried brothers--brothers--who gave everything to protect others, to protect this Nation.

To pretend that Ashli Babbitt deserves the same honors is not only a betrayal of their service, of the oath that they made, but it is also a betrayal of all the oaths that we have all sworn. And it is a desecration of the sacrifices our fallen servicemembers have made.

Those who served are expected to uphold our oath and military standards, even after we are done with our service. If you violate the law and betray the oath, you forfeit honors.

Ashli Babbitt knew what she was doing when she stormed the Capitol, and she knew it was illegal. She wasn't a martyr; she was and is a traitor. She voluntarily broke into the Capitol, armed with a weapon. That is a clear violation of the law and the oath she swore to uphold during and after service.

If we equate the January 6 insurrection with genuine sacrifice, then we cheapen everything our servicemembers have fought and died for. We tell people that trying to kill fellow Americans inside the Capitol is no different than dying on the battlefield protecting them. We erode the trust Americans have in our military, and we feed the lie that January 6 was anything more than an act of treason.

That is why I am outraged that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the traitor. She did not die protecting Americans; she died betraying the Constitution of the United States.

Her actions disqualify her from receiving military honors, and this Senate should go on record making that clear. So let any Republican come down here and explain why someone who stormed the Capitol and tried to overturn our democracy deserves the same honors as those who have fought and died to defend it because I will tell you the truth, she doesn't. She is a traitor, and we all know it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 382, submitted earlier today; further, 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 or debate.

Mr. President, today, we had a chance to stand with the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country in uniform. Ashli Babbitt is not that. She is a traitor; she will be a traitor; and

she died a traitor. And let the Halls remember that here.

My colleague from across the aisle refused to do that. Instead, he stands with the traitors of January 6. He is trying to say that an insurrectionist who broke into the Capitol with a knife deserves the same honor with the men and women who gave their lives for this country on the battlefield.

It doesn't matter how many times she went. It doesn't matter how many times she was deployed. Benedict Arnold was one of the best generals we had until he betrayed us during the American Revolutionary War. He was still a traitor. Ashli Babbitt is a traitor.

Ashli Babbitt's actions on January 6 are about as dishonorable as it gets. Giving her honors undermines the Constitution, and it undermines the real sacrifices of millions of veterans who defended our country.

My colleague just set a dangerous precedent today. He is standing with the traitors of January 6. You do not deserve that, America. The veterans of this country do not deserve that.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 450, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 182 Thomas Gaiser, of Ohio, to be an Assistant Attorney General.

I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 489, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 151 Jason Reding Quinones, of Florida, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida for the term of four years.

I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 490, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 151 Jason Reding Quinones, of Florida, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida for the term of four years.

I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 491, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 322 Jeanine Pirro, of New York, to be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for the term of four years.

I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 492, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 322 Jeanine Pirro, of New York, to be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for the term of four years.

I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted yes on rollcall vote No. 497, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 266 Sean Cairncross, of Minnesota, to be National Cyber Director.

Madam President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 439, confirmation of David Wright, of South Carolina, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 440, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 110, Earl Matthews to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall Vote No. 426, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 91, Arielle Roth, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.

I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall Vote No. 437, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 292, Emil J. Bove III of Pennsylvania, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit.

Mr. President, last week, I stood here and introduced a simple resolution calling on the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, but a Republican Senator blocked it.

In the week since, even more damning information has come out, and now we know exactly why Trump is bending over backwards to keep these files hidden.

We know that Epstein was at Trump's wedding. We know that Epstein once called Trump his ``closest friend for 10 years.'' And we have seen that Trump wrote Epstein a birthday card and said:

``Happy Birthday--and may every day be another wonderful secret.''

And the real kicker, we learned yesterday that Trump is in the Epstein files, and he knows it. The truth is coming out, and the coverup is crumbling. So I am here again, and my request is very simple. The Senate should go on record supporting the release of the Epstein files. Any effort to block their release is simply continued coverup for our Nation's elites.

While I stand here on the Senate floor demanding answers, House Republicans have run for the exit, ended their term early, skipping town early to avoid taking up any more discussion about Epstein and the files. They didn't just punt accountability; they literally fled Washington, DC.

While everyday Americans are struggling to afford their groceries and their healthcare, we have a President in the White House focused on protecting the most powerful men and women who preyed on children. This is who Donald Trump really is. He campaigned as a man of the people. When it comes down to it, he is a servant of the powerful and the elite. He built a movement claiming to fight those same elites, and now he is protecting them every way possible.

The American people are seeing right through it. They spent years listening to Trump promise--promise--that he was going to release the Epstein files, and now he is mocking them every day for even believing him and all his lies. But the American people are not stupid. They know something is off. They smell it.

If Donald Trump really wants these files released, they would be out already. Instead, he is orchestrating a coverup, and he is not acting alone. The entire Republican Party, the FBI Director, the intelligence community, and the Justice Department are backing him up to bury the truth. They are doing everything they can to keep the truth buried because they know who is in those documents, and they want to protect them and his friends.

So, today, I am calling on my colleagues to stand with me and stand on the side of the American people--not the pedophile elites that they are trying to protect--and call on the Justice Department to release these files. It is that simple. If there is nothing to hide, then come out and prove it.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 325; further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, in response to the Senator from Oklahoma, the reason we are here, the reason why there is a request of this nature is because there is one and only one administration and one campaign that ran more than 8 years that vilified--

vilified--DOJ employees that were consistently trying to do their best job and started a conspiracy theory that has affected hundreds of people across this country, a conspiracy theory that caused people to start doing shootings at pizza places, that accused other people and other politicians of being pedophiles and then said and campaigned that ``If you elect me, I will release the files.'' That was only one campaign, and that was the Trump campaign.

So now, as he is in power, as he has gotten power, he has specifically said he would release it in campaign. He had an Attorney General that said: I have the files on my desk right now, and I will be releasing it.

As soon as we heard--first from Elon Musk--that Trump himself was in the files, all of a sudden, we started seeing the coverup starting. First he wasn't. Then he was. Then it was created by somebody else. Then it is coming after him.

This is all because the President has to answer to the American public.

Did you lie for those 8 years and put all these employees, all these innocent people at risk to cover up for your elite friends? Or is there something in the file you are trying to hide to protect your friends?

This whole issue started because of only one person, and one campaign has made this a campaign issue. That is why the American public is demanding this. That is why the Republican House of Representatives has fled Washington, DC--Washington, DC. I have not seen, have not heard of the House of Representatives leaving Washington, DC, since we had to get away from the redcoats, but that is what happened because this President wants to avoid accountability, and this President wants to continue to cover up for his elite friends.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me explain to the American people what just happened. My colleague from Oklahoma refused to join me in calling on the DOJ to release all the Epstein files. Instead, he offered his own resolution calling on the courts to unseal the records.

When asked if it did both, which I am asking to do both--I want to call for transparency, and, of course, we could ask the Justice Department and the courts--he is also going to object.

Republicans are demanding that the courts be transparent but aren't willing to ask the same thing of the Trump DOJ. This is the height of hypocrisy. They want to tell the courts to be transparent but aren't willing for themselves to be transparent.

This is the second time in 1 week the Senate had the chance to demand transparency and stand up for the truth. Instead, my colleagues chose to protect, again, the powerful elites.

If there is truly nothing to hide in those files, then what are they so afraid of? What are they hiding? Why the panic? Why the backpedaling? Why all the objections?

Congress should work for the people, not the powerful elites and definitely not for one man or one administration. Today's resolution should have made that clear.

Therefore, I ask that the unanimous consent request be modified such that my resolution, S. Res. 325, be discharged from the Committee on the Judiciary; further, that the Senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of S. Res. 335 and S. Res. 325; and that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, all en bloc.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let's just understand why we are here. The political theater was started more than 8 years ago--the political theater started just 5 months ago when the President said, after appointing his Attorney General, that they are going to release the Epstein files; when the Attorney General said ``I have those files right here; I am going to show them to you,'' and then, all of a sudden, the shenanigans started. All of a sudden, the files are gone; they are not there; they were made up by somebody else. That is where this political theater is coming from.

The American public wants to know why. Why, after 8 years of this President promising that ``I will release the files''; why after 8 years, getting into the office and then appointing his Attorney General and then directing the Attorney General to go look for those Epstein files and that Attorney General saying they are going to release the Epstein files and then poof--all of a sudden, there is an issue. All of a sudden, there is backpedaling.

This is what stinks for the American public. This is what smells like an elite coverup. That is what we are trying to get to.

If my good colleague from Oklahoma agreed with me, then we would do both because that is what is being demanded by the American public, because the first promise was made by this President that they were going to release the files. That is where this political theater started.

With that, Mr. President, I object to the good Senator from Oklahoma's motion, and I yield back.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I

been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 378, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 58, William Briggs, of Texas, to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 416, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 91, Arielle Roth, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted yes on rollcall vote No. 306, motion to discharge S.J. Res. 53, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar of certain defense articles and services.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted yes on rollcall vote No. 307 motion to discharge S.J. Res. 54, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of certain defense articles and services.

Mr. President, I am introducing this resolution to require

the Department of Justice to release its files related to Jeffery Epstein.

For years, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have railed on about the Epstein files. They have told the American people they are going to release the files and expose the elites. Pam Bondi has said she has the files on her desk, and they are ready to go public.

The names of these shady elites who have abused children were just sitting there, and she was ready for it to be released.

But now a complete reversal.

Trump is straight up gaslighting the American public. Does he think the American people are that dumb? Did he really think the American people would not forget what he had said for years on the campaign trail?

Just yesterday, we learned that the Trump administration abruptly fired one of the lead prosecutors in the Epstein case--no explanation. No warning. Just gone.

So what happened? It is really easy to run a campaign and rile up people, but when it is Trump's turn to actually expose the elites, Trump has chickened out. And it is because he is one of those elites, and he is taking care of his own.

It is all connected. Just look at his legislative agenda: tax breaks for his rich buddies; subsidizing private jet purchases. Again and again, he rigs the system against everyday Americans. And that is what this resolution is about, to show the American people they deserve the truth.

No more shady coverups. If there is any evidence of a coverup in the Epstein case, the public has a right to know. If there is a list, the public deserves to see it. Americans deserve to see the truth, even if it is not what Donald Trump and his elite friends want.

If the Department of Justice has these files and there is nothing to hide, then release them and prove it. Trump's own people have told us a million times that they have it and that they promised to make it public. So bring it out. It doesn't matter who is implicated in that.

The American people are done with these games, these lies, and the two systems of justice: one for the elites and one for everyone else.

Enough with the secrets. The American people deserve the truth. So I am calling on my fellow Senators to join me in demanding the Department of Justice release the Epstein files to restore public trust, affirm institutional accountability, and to prevent the politicization of justice.

With that, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 325, submitted earlier today; further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, the Senate just had the chance to demand transparency and stand up for the truth. Instead, my colleagues chose to protect the powerful and perpetuate years of misinformation.

Transparency is the foundation of accountability. When people are told again and again that the evidence exists, and then, suddenly, they're told it doesn't, that undermines the faith in our entire system, and it's an insult to the intelligence of every single American paying attention.

You don't rebuild public trust by hiding the truth Mr. President; you do it by proving you have nothing to hide. So I'll ask again, if there's nothing to hide in the Epstein case, then what are you so afraid of? What are they hiding? Why did the Trump administration abruptly fire the prosecutor leading the case? Why the silence? Why the backpedaling? Why the objection?

The Department of Justice should work for the people, not the powerful elites.

Today's resolution should have made that clear.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted yes on rollcall vote No. 415, Motion to Invoke Cloture on Executive Calendar No. 108, Bradley Hansell, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

Mr. President, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I ask that further reading be dispensed with.

Mr. President, cutting funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would devastate local public media, especially rural and Tribal areas where CPB funds make up the majority of their budgets.

In Arizona, stations like Whiteriver and Tuba City rely on CPB for about three-quarters of their funding. That is

especially important since nearly 80 percent of children in Arizona don't have access to formal preschool, meaning that for many families, public television is one of their only early childhood education tools. We shouldn't be pulling the rug out from under these children, especially from these communities that are desperately in need.

At the same time Republicans are proposing these cuts, they are handing out tax breaks for billionaires and other corporations. They are sending a clear message that Tribal and rural communities matter less than the filthy rich that do not need more and more tax cuts. That is why I move to limit the damage of cutting funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and to protect stations in rural and Tribal communities.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 316, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 145, Gary Andres, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Mr. President, when the Senate considers the rescissions bill, H.R. 4, it is my intention to make the following motion to recommit the bill:

A motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on

Appropriations to modify the proposed rescission of funds

from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to exclude

amounts designated to support public radio or television

stations that are licensed to or primarily serve rural areas

or Tribal communities.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 301, confirmation of Stephen Vaden, of Tennessee, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 375, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 106, Preston Griffith, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Energy.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 376, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 81, Scott Kupor, of California, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management for a term of four years.

Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 377, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 197, Bryan Bedford, of Indiana, to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for the term of five years.

Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the motion be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I rise today to offer a motion to strike provisions that cut Medicaid funding for substance abuse disorder treatments.

Families across the country are facing the heartbreaking reality of loved ones battling substance abuse disorders. For many, Medicaid is the only way to afford the treatment they need. Republican efforts to cut Medicaid funding for substance abuse treatment is cruel. It hurts those who have shown the bravery to seek help, and it undermines our Nation's efforts to combat public health crises, such as the fentanyl epidemic.

At the same time, this Republican bill will give the wealthiest Americans and large corporations tax cuts and loopholes that will only benefit the elite.

We can continue to fund substance abuse disorder treatment by finally making corporations and the ultrawealthy pay their fair share in taxes. I urge my colleagues to support this motion to protect those who are seeking treatment and to finally make corporations and the ultrawealthy pay their fair share.

I ask for the yeas and nays.