been? in your history of law enforcement, and then two, the feeling that the federal government has abandoned you and the men and women who serve under your command? >> absolutely it is far, far worse than it's ever been for us at edition of the opinion that the federal government has abandoned us. we have no light of communication outside of arizona, and we feel they have turned their back and that only the border patrol agents but if sent a clear message to us in law enforcement they are not interested in solving this. every effort that states like arizona and texas make to try to fix this problem on their in because the federal government is failing, they tried -- >> we are going to leave this hearing on immigration and border security for our 40+ year commitment to covering congress. you can watch the rest on c-span.org. senate lawmakers are working on judicial nominations today. votes are expected throughout the day. we take it now to the senate floor. live coverage here on c-span2.

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the presiding officer: the yeas are 51, the nays are 43. the confirmation -- the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 14, araceli martinez-olguin of california to be united states district judge for the northern district of california, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of araceli martinez-olguin of california to be the united states district judge for the northern district

of california shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the presiding officer: the yeas are 48, the nays are 47. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. araceli martinez-olguin of california to be united states district judge for the northern district of california.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. president. in keeping with our promise to fundamentally transform the country, joe biden and the democrats have done everything in their power to fundamentally transform the federal judiciary. a a member of the judiciary committee, i've been able to interact with many of these nominees, and i have to say that i fully believe the american people deserve better. there was charnel bilkengrin, joe biden's nominee to the eastern district of washington.

she couldn't tell the committee what article 2 of the constitution says, but i expect my democratic colleagues will send her nomination to the floor this thursday. dale ho, who received unanimous support of democrats to serve in the southern district of new york, referred to himself as, quote, a wild-eyed sort of leftist, end quote, and disparaged members of the committee on twitter. before she was nominated to serve on the fourth circuit, d'andrea benjamin released multiple people on bond who went ton commit more violent crimes. she too received unanimous support of committee democrats. todd edelman, well on his way to becoming a judge here in the district of columbia, displayed

soft on crime tendencies. he released a known criminal who then went on to participate in the murder of a child. he received yet another vote of unanimous support from committee democrats. marianne gaston wrote a policy paper arguing that we should do away with residents restrictions for convicted child sex offenders. aurelia merchant, nominee to the eastern district of new york, couldn't define originalism. mr. president, this is an embarrassment, and it gets even worse. when you look at the lack of qualify kailings qualification of the nominees the democrats are sending for lifetime appointments to the

federal bench. now few nominations have been as disturbing as president biden's elevation of michael delaney to the first second. to date mr. delaney's most noteworthy contribution to his professional work, -- who dared to speak out against one of his clients. my colleagues on the judiciary committee already know the story of what mr. delaney did to jesse and her family, but i'm going to repeat it here for my colleagues who are unfamiliar with this nominee's background. you should vote against this nominee. and here is why. when she was a freshman at the elite st. paul's boarding school, jesse was sexually

assaulted by an older student participating in senior salute. this was a campus-wide competition that encouraged senior men to commit statutory rape. the perpetrator was ultimately found guilty of misdemeanor statutory rape. they had evidence that the powers that be at st. paul's knew about this sick tradition. mr. delaney represented the school and he decided he was going to play hardball. moved to have jesse, who was a minor child, named publicly in a lawsuit that had garnered national attention. that is right. let's publicly name this child in a lawsuit that had garnered

national attention. i would ask my colleagues, does that sound like an action that someone who is going to sit on the federal bench should be taking? now, mr. delaney knew that if he exposed jesse as jane doe, he would put her at risk of bullying, social isolation, and physical harm. he knew that. but it was worth it to him because it meant he could silence chessy prout and he could go on and protect an elite private school that had a sick tradition. their leadership knew about that sick tradition. well, most of my republican

colleagues came to mr. delaney's confirmation hearing and they questioned him about this action. only two of my democratic colleagues chose to attend the hearing and to question him. why? because even my friends on the other side of the aisle who have rubber spam ped -- rubber stamped each of president biden's unqualified nominees, no matter how controversial they were,. you know, they knew this guy, mr. delaney, he is unfit to sit on the bench. i would say two things to chairman durbin and the rest of my democratic colleagues on the judiciary committee. first, even a cursory glance at this nominee's record should have landed his file in the

trashcan. you don't do this. you do not do this to minor children. but now that his nomination is facing a vote, you need look no further into mr. delaney's record than what has already been laid out before us. he harassed and threatened a 15-year-old little girl who survived a sexual assault and who was just trying to protect other young women at that school from that same fate. that should be enough for every single member on the judiciary committee to oppose this nomination. it should be enough for every member of this chamber to oppose his nomination and confirmation. confirming mr. delaney would

send a chilling message -- a chilling message to victims of sexual assault. no victim would ever be able to walk into his courtroom and feel that they would be treated fairly under the law after seeing the way he treated chessyprout. i want chessy to speak for herself she submitted in a letter to the judiciary committee. my concern is that many of my colleagues in this chamber have not seen this letter. indeed, mr. president, i'm concerned that members of the democratic caucus who did not attend the hearing are unaware of this letter. so i will allow her to speak, and i quote. if michael delaney is confirmed -- if an attorney who brazenly intimidated a minor

victim of sexual assault is given the distinct privilege to serve as a judge for the united states court of appeals -- you, meaning every single one of you that would vote for him, you are telling victims and survivors that you not only approve of victim intimidation tactics, you reward their enactors with one of the highest legal appointments in the state of massachusetts. i expressed my concerns to the department of justice when michael delaney was first nominated in april of 2022, and today i am urging you to vote no to michael delaney's nomination. end quote. mr. president, i ask that chessy's full letter be printed in the record alongside my

remarks are. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you. the white house knew that mr. delaney was unfit to serve, but they nominated him any way. for the sake of young men and women around this country who are survivors of sexual assault, i urge president biden to withdraw michael delaney's nomination, and i call on my democratic colleagues to urge the white house to withdraw this nomination. and if they do not withdraw this nomination of a man who intimidated a minor child, exposing a minor child, unfit to serve, i urge you vote no if the white house does not pull this nomination. mr. president, i ask that the

remainder of my remarks be placed separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you. joe biden's reckless border policies have qlowd human -- allowed human trafficking and smuggling to grow into a $13 billion industry. i want to be crystal clear about what's happening here. this is not some sort of humanitarian mission. the cartels are not doing this out of the goodness of their heart. these are violent criminals who have figured out how to make millions of dollars every single day. they are kidnapping young girls and exploiting them for sex and labor over and over again. the left wants you to believe

this is a myth or that reports of trafficking and exploitation are exaggerated. but while i was down on the border, i heard from two women who can provide a mountain of evidence to the contrary. former mexican congresswoman rosa maria delagarza talked about her advocacy on behalf of survivors of this horrific abuse. she has dedicated all her life, she puts her time into preventing and targeting human trafficking in her own country and she has seen the ease with which the car cartels use our on border to make a buck and how they expand the slave trade into our country, profiting from it. we also had the chance to speak with carla row row -- romara.

carla fell into the hands of her captors when she was 12 years old and was unslaifd as a -- enslaved as a section sex traffc individual. she estimates she was raped over 40,000 times. a child in the hands of a cartel. that is what they did to her. this is a humanitarian catastrophe that is enabled by not only president biden's refusal to secure the border but incentives buried into the law that encourage criminal behavior. at the end of last year the justice department committed over $90 billion in funding to combat human trafficking.

it's an incredible investment of taxpayer resources, but unbelievably enough, the american people are subsidizing the lifestyles of these criminals even as they invest millions to bring down these trafficking rings. as it stands right now, the law allows accused traffickers to live in government housing and receive government benefits even after they are apprehended by law enforcement and charged with a crime. if we're going to get serious about combating trafficking at the border, we need to eliminate this incentive for illegal conduct. now, mr. president, i know it seems unbelievable that you have these cartel members that are getting u.s. government

benefits, living in government housing, getting unemployment checks, but it will is happening. now, the remain in mexico policy is a prime example of how successful tactics can work. by requiring asylum seekers to stay in mexico while awaiting a court date, we ensured that migrants weren't rewarded for illegally crossing the border. these programs work, and that's why i, along with senator hyde-smith and senator britt disiewfd introduced the stop trafficking taxpayer act. it ensures that everyone charged with thiewm drug trafficking -- charged with human trafficking at the border does not receive benefits, they will not receive

social security, health or disability benefits. it means that traffickers would not be table to receive a grant, contract, loan, professional or commercial license from the u.s. government. this is something that needs to happen. prohibiting traffickers from receiving taxpayer funds is just plain common sense. and there's no reason why this legislation shouldn't pass the senate immediately. i can't imagine that anyone would be for allowing these drug traffickers and sex traffickers to continue to live in government housing and receive these benefits. and the -- in the same way that drug traffickers are directly profiting from the opioid

epidemic that has killed millions of americans, human traffickers are reaping the rewards of this administration's complacency. it's time to start paying attention to some of the details of what is happening at our southern border. the american people are paying attention, and they're waiting on this president and on this body to join them in doing something about it. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i come to the floor -- are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. ms. cantwell: i ask that it be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cantwell: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor this afternoon to support the nomination of jamal whitehead to serve as the judge for u.s. district court for the western district of washington. mr. whitehead is extremely well qualified and has demonstrated an allegiance to the rule of law through a very impressive law career. my senate colleagues on the judiciary committee saw what an exceptional judicial candidate mr. whitehead is and they recognized how valuable his perspective would be on the federal bench. i am pleased to see that he was voted out of committee with a bipartisan vote of 11-9. while mr. whitehead has spent his entire career in the western district making him uniquely knowledgeable of the district in which he will be serving should

he be confirmed, throughout his career he has defended workers from discrimination, enforced federal employment discrimination laws, dedicated to ensuring equal justice under the law, and has demonstrated a profound commitment to public service. mr. whitehead has also sought to promote diversity in the legal field through outreach and education and is deeply involved in the community. he serves on the executive committee for the aclu of washington as well as board of amara, a child welfare organization in the seattle-tacoma area and is dedicated to meeting the needs of children and families who have been impacted by foster care. in addition to his outstanding qualifications, mr. whitehead's nomination continues the president's commitment to ensuring that the federal bench better reflect the american public. mr. whitehead is the first

judicial nominee by president biden to have a physical disability. now if confirmed he will be one of only a handful of federal judges with a disclosed disability. jamal whitehead is well prepared to serve the u.s. district court for the western district of washington. this is a historic confirmation. i hope my colleagues will support mr. whitehead's nomination to our federal court. i thank the president and i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

number one in a joint meeting

with senator schumer, the only time we met together, he lectured us about inflation reduction act last summer and subsidies for electric cars and in addition, almost out of body experience, not producing more energy ourselves which was interesting coming from the left and center chancellor. if you call your own politics, the russian invasion has completely changed the view in germany about energy necessity and decoupling from russia. the other observation is we were in the middle east and abraham accords during the previous administration was an enormous success, lots of interaction

between israel and uae for example. a step in the right direction and saudi arabia even though they are not part of the abraham accords, women are now being freed up to be involved in significant positions -- objection. the question is on the nomination. is there a second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the vice president: are there be any senators in the chamber who wish to vote or change a vote? on this vote the yeas are 48 and the nays are 48. the senate being equally divided the vice president votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture.

the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of, do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 13, margaret r. guzman of massachusetts to be united states district judge for the district of massachusetts, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of margaret r. guzman of massachusetts to be united states district judge for the district of massachusetts shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll.

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the vice president: the yeas

are 48,s nays are 48. the senate being evenly divided, vice president seats? the affirmative. the motion is agree he had to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. margaret r. guzman of massachusetts to be united states district judge for the district of massachusetts.

mr. kelly: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that tomorrow, wednesday, march 1, at 11:30 a.m., the vote on

confirmation of the guzman nomination followed by the motion to invoke cloture on the lawless nomination. further, that notwithstanding rule 22, at 2:15 p.m., the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the grey nomination. further, that following the cloture vote on the grey nomination, the senate proceed to legislative session and proceed to the immediate consideration of h.j. res. 30, that at 4:00 p.m., the senate vote on passage of the joint resolution and upon disposition of the joint resolution, the senate resume executive session and notwithstanding rule 22, vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the simmons nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: for the information of the senate, there will be two roll call votes at 11:30 a.m., one roll call vote at 2:15 p.m., and two roll call votes at 4:00 p.m.

i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: mr. president, i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 227 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 227, a bill to amend title 28, united states code, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions introduced earlier today -- earlier today. senate reserve 83, senate reserve 84, and senate reserve 85. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to en bloc? without objection. the senate will proceed. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, march 1, 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 the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the guzman nomination, postcloture, as provided under the previous order. further, that if any nominations are considered during wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: if there is to further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until >> up-to-date lawmakers judge

for eastern virginia. making him virginia's openly gay federal judge. when the sun is back in session tomorrow you can watch live coverage here on cspan2. ♪ c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of government happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up that his biggest events of live streams of floor proceedings of floor hearings white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics. all at your fingertips "washington journal" and find scheduling information for c-span and c-span radio plus a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play download it free today. c-span your front receipt to washington anytime, anywhere. ♪ c-span