herbert humphrey. it was frank delano roosevelt who coined the phrase 100 days. watch the first 100 days at 7 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span2. >> we take you live now to the u.s. capitol where the senate is ready to gavel in on this thursday. today lawmakers are considering the nomination of kash patel to be fbi director. a final vote has been scheduled for 1:45 p.m. eastern today. you're watching live coverage here on c-span2. ... the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate with prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, you are our hope for the years to come. today, bless our senators. give them wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. the exercise of their duties. and courage to seek your plans. use them to bring peace where discord reigns and to inspire the nations of the world. lord, lead them through the obstacles they will face to the fulfillment of your loving providence. infuse them with infuse them with

make and keep their lives pure, kind and just. may their highest motive be not to win over one another but to win with one another. we pray in your strong name amen. please join me in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to t the flag of the united stas of america. and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> under the previous order leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration which the clerk will report. s. con. res. 7, setting forth the congressional budget for the united states government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i take congress's constitutional oversight mandate very seriously. what you learn in eighth grade civics oversight responsibility is checks and balances of government. in the 118th congress, as ranking member of the senate budget committee, i established

the committee's very first oversight and investigative unit. its oversight touched on 97% of taxpayer agencies, sending over 600 oversight letters to federal, state, and private-sector entities. last year my team sent over one letter per day on average. that oversight unit launched the committee's first subpoena since 1991, and i'm -- and obtained records for brand-new record about credit suisse of nazi accounts. i hosted also oversight roundtables where exist expose odd the biden administration's failure at the southern border

to collect dna and protect unaccompanied children. my investigation resulted in a referral to law enforcement to find and protect unaccompanied children who were brought here in violation of our laws. but the federal government had a responsibility to make sure they were protectived. my oversight team made record public and performed interviews to ensure accountability following the assassination attempt of president trump in pennsylvania. i published data for an epa grant program showing most taxpayers' money wasn't spent like the law required. my oversight also uncovered abuses by the fbi's foreign influence task force. fbi political bias in the hunter

biden investigation and prosecution, the obama-biden state department obstruction of law enforcement efforts against iran, wasted money on misclassified atf employees, private equity investment exploiting health care and damaging hospitals even in ottumwa, iowa. the department of justice's shortchanging the crime victims' fund, so those victims didn't get the money they were entitled to. excessive dod spending on spare parts and price gouging. in response to that, i got legislation passed to fix that problem. my oversight team also worked to protect whistleblowers and forced government agencies to amend their policies to comply with federal whistleblower laws.

so we're in the 119th congress, and as this congress gets under way, i have become chairman of the senate judiciary committee. my oversight work is already full speed ahead, and i look forward to making -- i look forward to what the next couple of years produce because we want to guarantee the executive branch faithfully executes the laws, as the constitution requires, and to expose waste, fraud, and abuse in the wasting of taxpayers' money. i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

>> here this morning on this brisk morning my fellow democratic senate judiciary colleagues and mine are here at the fbi headquarters today on the day of the senate republicans have scheduled a vote to confirm kash patel president trump's nominee for fbi director. we stand outside the building mr. patel on one day plans to, quote, shut down and reopen the next day as a museum of the deep state. that is one of many of the

bizarre, political statements made by the man who is asking for ten years as director of the fbi. after meeting with mr. patel reviewing his record questioning him at the hearing, i'm convinced he's neither of the experience, the judgment nor the temperament to lead the fbi. my senate republican colleagues are willing lfltly ignoring myriad red-flag warnings about mr. patel especially his reoccurring instinct to threaten against perceived enemies this is an extremely dangerous flaw for someone who seeks to lead the nation's most powerful domestic investigative agency for the next ten years. what is this all about it is clear the first item is to revise history. to somehow blame the police for january 6th call the national

guard cowardings in uniform quote unquote cowards in uniform. before his nomination mr. patel was an endless source of outrageous conspiracy theories that benefit president trump claiming that january 6th was, quote, never an insurrection quote unquote that the fbi was, quote, planning january 6th for a year. planning january 6th for a year he said the fbi is not only dangerous but what he's doing is irresponsible. mr. patel is even gone so far as producing and selling, recordings of songs performed by the january 6th rioters who violently assaulted police officers. mr. pennsylvania peel calls these rioters political prisoners. patel sympathies are clearly for the convicted mobsters and not the police who were their victims. and now he wants to be director

of the number one criminal investigative agency in the world. i was there that day as many my colleagues stand with me those insurrectionist are not political prisoners they were rioters on a mission from donald trump. before even being confirmed as if fbi director mr. patel was already seeking retribution on behalf of president trump despite his status as a private citizen. what is happening now we verified through multiple whistle-blowers inside this building and beyond the new administration is cleansing the ranks of the fbi. of anyone who may have participated in the investigation of january 6th, we're talking about five thousand people in the fbi who were doing their duty as asked. 5,000 of 38,000 are now stand subject to the new administration's scrutiny.

multiple whistle-blowers verified this information over and over again. senior leaders with collectively hundreds of years of experience force out creating a leadership vacuum here at the fbi. thousands of agencies fear losing their jobs simply because they were assigned to work on cases involving january 6th of president trump in the fbi long history this is never happened before. there was only one political person in the fbi the director all the others are professionals, law enforcement professionals risking their lives for the safety of america. mr. patel is open about his plans to dismantle the fbi and secret retribution and private citizen thrown the bureau into chaos before -- mr. patel will be a political and national security disaster if confirmed. my judiciary democratic

colleagues have saw the alarm now is up to a handful of senate republicans as to whether they have the courage to step up and do publicly what they've told these fbi agents that want to do and that is vote against kash patel what is at stake is the future of the fbi, and i -- look forward to this vote today in the hopes that they'll come forward and join us in the effort. next is senator white house -- >> what's his name -- [laughter] senator white house hold on to the microphone. >> left to his own devices, kash patel has proven himself to be a wildly vindictive partisan. when around donald trump, kash patel has proved himself to be a

suckup. he has multiple fallen entanglements that are not adequately explained including chinese interests through cayman islands, shell corporations. this from a guy who in this building is supposed to look out against china and russia. and last, this is the first senior law enforcement official in american history to have pled the fifth and he's been unwilling to even explain to the judiciary committee what crimes it was that he was concerned about that caused him to plead the fifth. kash patel mark my words will cause evil in this building behind us and republicans who vote for him will rule that day. senator coons. >> this morning, tens of thousands of fbi agents got out to do their job. to serve our nation, to help to keep us safe.

and later today, this senate will vote on whether or not to confirm kash patel to lead the men and women of the fbi. the bureau needs and deserves a politically independent and capable leader to stand up for the brave men and women of federal law enforcement. and after the confirmation hearing and questions, it's clear to me and my colleagues here that cash patel is not that leader he's a yes men for president trump. already undermining the critical bureau he wants to lead. already demonstrate alarming willingness to do bidding of a vengeful white house whistle-blowers have alleged he's helped orchestrate the purge of senior fbi agents its leadership, and those involved in january 6th investigations before being confirmed. when kash patel in the future breaks for law, violates norms,

erodes trust, and harms our public safety, every republican who votes for him today needs to know that they will own those facts. when he weaponizes the fbi, and he's literally said he plans to do just that, republicans better hope that that weapon doesn't end up pointed at them. the men and women of the fbi who bravely serve our nation and who keep us safe at home and abroad deserve better than kash patel. americans deserve better than cash kash patel and we intentioned to vote against him for confirmation today. next is senator blumenthal. >> thank you senator dosh durbin thank you for my colleague for their work for many of us -- as federal prosecutors have spent a fair amount of time u.s. attorney i work closely with the fbi, let me say no building in

our nation capitol better deserves the american flag than this one because the fbi agents who work here put their lives on the line, risk everything for our country, our patriots and heros and they deserve better than kash patel who promised i'm quoting all fbi employees -- wi objection. mr. schumer: well, mr. president, the senate is in for a very long day and a very long night. over the next day or so, senate republicans will try to advance a budget resolution that clears the way to cut taxes for donald trump's billionaire friend. democrats are going to hold the floor all day long and all night long to expose how republicans want to cut taxes for

billionaires while gutting things americans care about most -- health care, jobs, public safety, national security, housing, education. this is going to be a long, drawn-out fight. this reconciliation budget bill is only the first step, albeit an important one. days like today, where we vote on amendments late into the night, go a long way in revealing where each party stands and who each party is fighting for. democrats are glad to have this debate. we're happy to have it a few more times, if the republican leader so wants. democrats will show, in each of these debates, where republicans truly stand deep down -- not with working people, but on the side of billionaires, like elon musk. if you become wealthy fairly and squarely, we don't begrudge you.

but you're doing fine, and you certainly don't need a massive tax break. yet, that is precisely what republicans are getting ready to do, give billionaires another tax break and make the american people pay the cost. if senate republicans really think the best solution for inflation is to put more money in the pockets of the billionaire class, democrats will make sure the american people know it. we'll expose republicans' plan to cut health care so that billionaires can have another tax break. we'll expose republican plans to gut housing, to defund nih -- stop cancer research? stop research into diseases that are hurting, harming, and even killing our loved ones? uh-uh. to cut nutrition? to make housing costs go up?

to hurt food inspection? to stop the fight against bird flu, here, or ebola overseas, so they don't harm us? doing all those things that make no sense, so they can cut taxes for billionaires? no way, we say. that's wrong for the american people. and the more they learn about it, the less they're going to like the trump agenda that republicans in the senate are following. republicans can spin their agenda however they want. they can try to pass one bill, two bills, 50 bills -- it doesn't matter. they can slice and dice their policies in whatever order they wish. doesn't matter in the end. the end game is the same for donald trump and the republican majority -- tax cuts for billionaires paid on the backs of working and middle-class americans.

that is not, absolutely not, what the american people signed up for. the american people want to see inflation go down. it's gone up in the last month, even though donald trump said it will go down starting on day one. they want to see their paychecks go up. they want to see more jobs. they want to see better jobs. they want to see more ladders to the middle class. and they want to find ways to stay in the middle class once they get there. republicans, meanwhile, have abandoned the working and middle class. in just one month, donald trump and republicans have eviscerated so many of our institutions in order to kater to the whims -- to cater to the whims of billionaires. donald trump has defied the rule of law. he's ignored court orders. he's even fancied himself a king. while all his billionaire

friends spread through the government like locusts and put public services that serve tens of millions of people at risk. when elon musk holds court in the oval office and meets heads of state, head start and community health centers have seen funding shut off. donald trump preaches about corruption and fraud, all the while ridding the government of independent watchdogs and letting doge go through people's social security numbers and even private health and tax data, with virtually no guardrails, no check. all this chaos is by design. all this lawlessness has a goal. everything we have seen over the last month from donald trump and republicans has one end game in mind, undermine the rule of law in order to put more money in the pockets of billionaires like elon musk. nothing criticizes the broken

core of republicans' agenda better than their tax cuts for the ultra wealthy. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today having just seen the democrat leader come to the floor to talk about the senate budget resolution, and when i heard the minority leader say, none of it's accurate. let me tell you, i have the budget resolution with me, the key morgueses, five pages long. that's it -- key portions. five pages long, that's it. every american can read it for themselves. the resolution focuses on three

things, three things only -- number one, securing the border. number two, restoring peace through strength. number three, unleashing american energy. not complicated. it's common sense. americans overwhelmingly support americans overwhelmingly support >> that's why republicans in the senate are moving forward. this budget allocates $175 billion to secure our border. that includes funding for president trump's successful executive orders to deport criminal illegal immigrants. border patrol agents and ice agents need the resources to do it. there are currently more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records in the country today. president trump and homeland security secretary kristi noem

are moving at lightning speed. they're moving to deport them. they're moving to make our communities safer. their strong actions have led to double the number of arrests of illegal immigrant criminals compared to the arrests under president biden. these arrests are making our communities safer, and they're sending a message to would-be illegal immigrants all around the world to don't come here, and actually, these people are turning around and going back to their own homes. illegal border crossings between the united states and mexico are at their lowest rates in the last five years. the actions of president trump are working. they're working so well that the trump administration says it's running out of money for deportations. border czar tom homan told us just that. secretary noem told us that as well.

secretary of defense pete hegseth told us that. attorney general pam bondi has told us that. senate republicans are acting quickly to get the administration the resources that they have requested and that they need. the budget will allow us to finish the wall. it also takes the steps we need toward more border agents. it means more detention beds. that alone will keep dangerous criminals off the streets. it means more deportation fli flights. that way we can get dangerous criminals out of our country. now, let's talk about national security, because the reconciliation bill we're talking about allocates $150 billion to restore american peace through strength. we live in a dangerous world. the threats against the united states are higher than we have seen in decades.

there is a threat of terrorism. we saw the danger of terrorism in new orleans earlier this year. there is the threat from the chinese communist party. they are rapidly building up their military. meanwhile, over the past four years, weak leadership from the previous administration undermined our military and our military strength. there is a real threat today from iran. they are the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and they are also racing toward a nuclear bomb. weakness invites conflict. strength deters war. this budget is a big step towards rebuilding our military, to protecting our nation, and we need to do that after four years of weakness. we're already seeing a surge of young people who want to join

the military. recruitment are up. under president trump and secretary hegseth, recruitment is at its highest in 15 years. with this budget, america will be stronger. our military will be more lethal and more intimidating. now let's talk about energy and american energy dominance. this bill will take the handcuffs, the handcuffs off of american energy producers. the previous administration caused painfully high prices with its energy mistakes, its blunders. it locked up affordable, reliable, american-made energy. can never forget joe biden saying he wanted the epa to prioritize climate over american energy, energy that was p affordable, available and reliable. terrible mistake. wrong for the nation. we're here to correct that.

families suffered from soaring prices. the economy struggled under those regulations in the previous administration. passing this budget allows us to reject the energy failures of the last four years. it puts a premium on energy that is affordable, reliable, and american. the federal government will also see its revenues increase as we produce more american energy. and, you know, mr. president, that wyoming is america's energy breadbasket. america is a super power of energy and we need to act like it. if you listen to the senate democrats, it's abundantly clear that they don't support these goals of american energy dominance. they don't. they haven't. they still don't. democrats also are opposed to securing our border. they're opposed to rebuilding our military. they're opposed to unleashing american energy. they're standing in the way of commonsense priorities that americans overwhelmingly

support. they are a party in a panic mode. their high prices and open border agenda completely out of touch with the american people. democrats used this very process, reconciliation, a few years ago. what was their purpose? they wanted to raise taxes and pass trillions of dollars in wasteful washington spending. they wasted taxpayer money. they subsidized electric vehicles for the rich. they sent stimulus checks to criminals, like the boston marathon bomber. it's almost unbelievable. the federal government is too big. it spends too much. republicans will end this wasteful washington spending. we will get america back on track. after four years of high prices and open borders, our nation and americans deserve a path to safety and prosperity. starting with this republican

budget, that's what the american people will finally get. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

senator durbin thank you my colleagues for their work many of us as federal prosecutors have spent a fair amount of time in this building. as u.s. attorney, i work closely with the fbi let me say no

building in our nation's capitol better deserves the american flag than this one. because the fbi agents who work here put their lives on the line, risk everything for our country, our patriots and heros, and they deserve better than kash patel who promised i'm quoting -- all fbi employees will be protected from political retaliation. he said it under oath. at that very moment, he was involved in directing covertly the purging of fbi employees based on political retribution. at the very moment under oath, he was denying that there would be any political retribution, and, in fact, in the days that followed, top leaders were

fired, and a lot of employees were given word that they would be let go as well because simply because -- they were involved in a criminal investigation of donald trump to which they had been assigned. they did what they were assigned to do. and the result was political retribution. for all of the reasons that my colleagues have outlined so well, and i think that you know, they're just overwhelming number of factors that argue he's unprepared and unqualified yes an enemy's list he has foreign entanglements. he has talked about and glorified the january 6th rioters as political prisoners. there's no question he's unqualified and unprepared only question is, whether my republican colleague will do the

right thing. and let me say to republicans, who may vote for kash patel, this vote will haunt you. you will be held accountable. you will rule the day of this vote if it is in favor of kash patel because the american people will hold you accountable. we will make sure that the american people know about this vote. and with that, let me introduce senators padilla. >> first of the california delegation -- >> right. >> good morning. i want to thank ranking member durbin for bringing us together today. you know, it's pretty cloor to me what's going on to think back to president trump's first term, his trade market strategy was to try to, quote, flood the zone. so muddy the waters to put us in a state of constant chaos for

the purpose of confusing the american people. make people feel overwhelmed with so much that happens in a single day. to distract from the real dangers and threats that he represents. he's doing it again. and doing so to try to pull attention away from the extreme that he's put forward not just to serve in his cabinet but in a number of high level positions in the administration. so for people listening to us today, thinking well maybe this is just politics as usual. of course democrats want to oppose president trump's nominees, no. this is not -- this is a real danger and a real threat. only in the year 2025 when

president trump has the republican party basically in the headlines can an extreme nominee like kash patel be put forward to support the president and to support a republican in the senate. kash patel has consistently demonstrated you heard over and over this morning. a complete lack of judgment, a lack of preparation, a lack of the independent necessary to serve as director of the fbi. so no, this is not just politics. there's a real threat to the safety of americans and every community across the country. if he's confirmed, the purging of law enforcement will continue. if he's confirmed, this department will be weaponized as he's threatened to do. if he's confirmed, americans

will be less safe. from the president -- the question now is to our republican colleagues. may abide by their oath of office, the commitment to the constitution. their loyally to the own constituents or will they too fall behind the wishes, behind whims behind a dangerous agenda of donald trump? that is a question at hand as you heard from other colleagues, not if but when -- kash patel breakings the wall. when the fbi misses an important lead, and a crime is committed in the united states because fbi was redirected to a political agenda not our public safety. every member of this committee

or every member of the senate will vote for kash patel will also be held accountable. pleasure to introduce my colleague from the state of california senator schiff. thawnch senator padilla. with a 30 years ago i served as a assistant u.s. attorney in los angeles for almost six years there wasn't a finer law enforcement agency that i worked for at that time. nor have i witnessed in the 30 years since than the fbi but instead that building right now, there's a purge going on. inside that building fbi agent who is dedicated to protecting public of purged from their offices, thousands of fbi agents have been sent questionnaires asking them about their work on the january 6th investigations. and let's just take a moment to

understand what that's all about. on january 6th, a violent mob attacked a a capitol, the police officers gouged them in the service of an even bigger crime which was stopping the peaceful transfer power. not only were these agents who are being purged assigned those case and did their assignments, but they did so in a righteous prosecution against those involved in attacking police and attacking the peaceful transfer power. but they're being purged -- and the man that they would have head the agency, the man that donald trump would have head this agency is someone who made common cause with those violent attackers. this is someone who joined them in song, helped produce music by these people who beat and gouged and law enforcement officers. this tells you something about

the character of kash patel or rather his lack of character. this is someone who said he wants to close down this building and open it up as a museum of the deep state. this is someone who when i asked them whether he was a aware of any firings within the bureau or any potential firings within the bureau, said he didn't recall. said he didn't recall when was whistle-blowers have said he was deeply involved in those top fbi personnel. this is someone we cannot trust. this is someone who lacks the character to do this job someone who lacks integrity to do this job. we know that our republican colleagues know that. the only qualification kash patel has to the fbi director is that when everyone else in the first trump administration said no, i won't do that -- that crosses moral ethical and legal lines, kash patel said

sign he up. in the first trump administration as we were seeing in this second you rise to the level of your and no one is a bigger or more dangerous than kash patel this political hack doesn't deserve to be in this building he can't do the job. he won't protect the public. he will miss news resources of the bureau. he will weaponize against political opponents rather than protecting, safety of the public safety of the american people. we will vote no. our republican colleagues -- intimidated by this president and primary challenges from neither world -- may vote to confirm him. but as my colleagues have said they'll have to live with that vote be accountable for that vote and be accountable for all of the destruction that patel does to this premier law

enforcement agency. we stand -- us democratic members of this judiciary committee stand shoulder to shoulder with the professionals in the fbi. with law enforcement everywhere and we wish our colleagues would do the same. and with that, let me proudly introduce my colleague peter welch. >> thank you mr. chairman it is like we were in the windy city here. kind of chicago, cold -- you all are doing pretty good. it is not quite vermont cold. we know cold in vermont. you know, i'm not going to repeat the things my colleague just said which i agree with. but here's the context -- since january 20th, donald trump has been on a lawless rampage. he has invade the the authority of congress by canceling programs that have appropriated funds inflicted cruelty on people who have been loyal public servants and agencies across country.

he is threatening farmers with these high tariffs, calling it an emergency. kash patel is a crown jewel in this lawless rampage he's an instrument of donald trump's effort to destroy the justice department and the fbi so that he is absolutely and completely not only above the law but beyond the law. he's called it my justice department. cash patel agrees he willingly agrees to carry out the vengeance tour of donald trump. that's what he does. this fbi at his -- been so revered in our country, sure. it has issues of various times every agency does -- but this has been a nonpolitical agency. no longer -- and when in the confirmation

hearing my colleagues adam schiff and others asked about the purge -- he heard nothing see nothing hear nothing say nothing. he didn't know anything about it two days later it comes the he was master mining it. and implementing it as he was lying to us in the committee. so the big biggest threat to our country right now is donald trump's funnel assault on the rule of law. and one of the generals in that assault is kash patel. we must defeat his -- his appointment as the fbi director. >> question -- >> thank you all. >> gentlemen, thank you.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, it's been one month since president trump took the oath of office. since january 20, the senate has been hard at work confirming the president's cabinet nominees, 18 confirmed so far. president trump has more of his team in place today than any president has had at this point since 2001. and we've done this despite obstruction by democrats. every nominee has received a fair process, as promised, and the senate will continue to keep its foot on the gas until president trump's cabinet table is full. mr. president, later today the senate will vote to confirm kash patel to be director of the fbi. mr. patel will lead the nation's

primary federal law enforcement agency at a critical time. we've seen a heightened threat of terrorism in the homeland. illegal drugs continue to come across the southern border an take the lives of too many americans. violent crime spiked in recent years and is still a problem in many parts of the country. and at the same time the fbi has lost the trust of many americans who fear the agency has become politicized. mr. president, kash patel has spent his career working in criminal law and national security. he spent his first years after law school as a public defender. in 2014 he was brought on as a terrorism prosecutor at the u.s. department of justice prosecuting terrorist organizations like al qaeda and al-shabaab. from there he went to work in national security for the house intelligence committee and then in the first trump administration. he worked on the national security council where he handled hostage rescues among other sensitive missions. he also served as principal

deputy for the acting director of national intelligence and later as chief of staff for the acting secretary of defense. mr. president, as i said, the fbi has lost trust among the american people in recent years. much of that seems -- or i should say, much of that stems from a perception that politics has infected the fbi's important work. and it's not hard to see why. in just the last few years, the fbi field office in richmond, virginia, circulated a memo suggesting that traditional catholics could be violent extremists. in 2021, the attorney general infamously instructed the fbi to work with local law enforcement to target parents who attended school board meetings, and of course there is the fbi's apparent double standard when it comes to investigating president trump and his repeated failures to cooperate with congressional republicans. mr. president, the next director of the fbi needs to focus on rooting out politics so the fbi can enforce the law, uphold the

constitution, and keep americans safe. the bureau also needs a renewed focus on empowering the fbi's field office to be good partners to local law enforcement. i'm encouraged that mr. patel has the support of the national police association, the national sheriff's association, and multiple state attorneys general, all of whom will be his partners in law enforcement should mr. patel be confirmed. we've unfortunately seen that no community is immune from crime, terrorism, or illegal drugs, and we need all law enforcement working together and focused on the real threats facing our country. i look forward to working with mr. patel to restore the integrity of the fbi and get it focused on its critical mission. mr. president, one of the most significant accomplishments of the first trump administration was the passage of the tax cuts and jobs act. this comprehensive bill reduced tax rates for every income bracket, doubled the child tax

credit, nearly doubled the standard ex -- i should say the standard deduction, and enacted pro-growth policies for american businesses of all sizes. what were the results? a growing economy, higher paychecks for hardworking families, millions of new jobs, small business growth, higher than expected federal revenues. that's right, higher than expected. government revenues since the tax cuts and jobs act have exceeded projections by roughly half a trillion dollars. an end to corporate invery,s -- inversions, which is the practice of moving company operations overseas for tax purposes. practically every aspect of the u.s. economy was strengthened by this pro-growth legislation. contrary to what my friends across the aisle like to claim, it was middle-class families, not wealthy americans, who

received the largest proportional benefit of the tax cuts. now, let me just repeat that, mr. president. it was middle-class families, not wealthy americans, who received the largest proportional benefit of the tax cuts. working families benefited from this legislation. working families ended up with more money in their families. working families had more breathing room because of the tax cuts and jobs act. anyone who pretends that this wasn't the case is either ignorant of the law or being deliberately deceptive. mr. president, the income tax cuts for individuals are expiring at the end of this year, along with a key small business tax cut called the section 199-a pass-through deduction. none of our top priorities for this year -- i should say one of our top priorities for this year is extending this tax relief. but not just extending it,

mr. president. making it permanent. as i and several other finance committee republicans naivetyed last week in a -- noted last week in a letter on this subject, i quote, a temporary extension is a missed opportunity. businesses need certainty, while investing in their companies, and taxpayers should not fear tax hikes due to congressional inaction, end quote. that's it in a nutshell, mr. president. hardworking americans shouldn't have to live in fear of a tax hike every few years, and businesses need a clear picture of the tax outlook so they can plan for the long term. mr. president, making the tax cuts and jobs act permanent would protect hardworking families from uncertainty and ensure they can keep more money in their pockets. and it would have significant long-term economic benefits. the national federation of independent business reports that making the small business section 199-a deduction

permanent would cheat crete an additional 1s -- would create an additional 1.2 number of new job annually. long-range gross domestic product would indecember by a substantial -- increase by a substantial 1.1%. the president has called for making this act permanent. i'm committed to making sure any tax bill we consider does exactly that. we have a real opportunity to improve the lives of americans, both here and now and for the long term, and we can't waste it. mr. president, needless to say, drafting major tax legislation takes time. senator crapo, the chairman of the senate finance committee, has been doing an incredible job laying groundwork for a permanent extension. there's still substantial work to do to arrive at a bicameral agreement. we have to take the time to get it and do it right. as we continue to move full steam ahead on in key part of the president's agenda, however, there are other pressing

priorities that need to be addressed immediately. when the president's border czar was here last week he emphasized that the administration cannot sustain its effort to deport criminals here illegally without additional funding, and the last thing we want is to delay other parts of the president's agenda, like border security, while we do the work to arrive at tax agreement that will pass both houses of congress. that's why the senate is moving forward on a two-part legislative plan to accomplish our and the president's top priorities. the first bill will address securing the border and other key snobol security -- national security priorities. the other focuses on making tax relief permanents. we will take up a second budget resolution for the tax purpose. i thank chairman graham for doing the work to get today's resolution to the floor, and i look forward to passing it later this week.

purchase, i look forward to taking -- mr. president, i look forward to taking up that seconds resolution in the not too distant future to prevent a $4 trillion tax hike on hardworking americans and making the individual and small business tax relief from the tax cuts and jobs act permanent. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call with respect to the patel nomination be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. 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 kash patel, of nevada, to be director of the federal bureau of investigation, signed by 17 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 kashyap patel of nevada to be director of the federal bureau of investigation shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet.

mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. ms. cantwell.

mrs. capito. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth.

mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono.

mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar.

mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin.

ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters.

mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen.

mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden.

mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, cotton, cramer, crapo, cruz, fischer, justice, marshall, moran, mullin, rounds, sheehy, thune, tuberville, wicker. senators voting in the negative -- blunt rochester, cantwell, kaine, kelly, kim, murray, and warnock. ms. alsobrooks, no.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, no. mr. mccormick, aye.

the clerk: mr. schatz, no. mr. daines, aye.

the clerk: mr. reed, no. ms. hassan, no.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye. mr. lujan, no. mr. van hollen, no. mr. gallego, no. mr. wyden, no. mrs. hyde-smith, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, no. mr. curtis, aye.

p the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. the clerk: mr. banks, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, no. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. mr. merkley, no. ms. rosen, no.

the clerk: mr. bennet, no.

the clerk: mr. peters, no.

the clerk: mr. tillis, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, aye. mr. schumer, no. ms. slotkin, no.

ms. duckworth, no. mr. graham, aye. the clerk: mr. young, aye. ms. collins, no.

vote: the clerk: mr. risch, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, no. the clerk: markey, no. .

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, no. mrs. moody, aye. mr. king, no. mr. lankford, aye. mr. heinrich, no. mr. cornyn, aye.

mrs. britt, aye. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. moreno, aye. ms. ernst, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, no. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, no. mr. grassley, aye.

the clerk: mr. smyth, aye. the clerk: mr. husted, aye. mr. ossoff, no.

the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. mr. padilla, no. the clerk: mr. schiff, no. mr. ricketts, aye.

ms. hirono, no. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, no.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. coons, no. mr. murphy, no.

the clerk: mr. durbin, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, no. the clerk: ms. lummis, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. mr. hickenlooper, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, no. mr. blumenthal, no. vote:

vote: the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no.

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, no.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the presiding officer: we have 51 yeas. 47 nays. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, kash patel of nevada to be director of the federal bureau of investigation. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the

senator from kentucky. mr. mcconnell: i've never liked calling too much attention to today's date, february 20. but i figured my birthday would be as good a day as any to share with our colleagues a decision i made last year. during my time in the senate, i've only really answered to two constituencies. the republican conference and the people of kentucky. over the years the first group trusted me to coordinate cam campaigns, to count votes, to steer committees, to take the majority and on nine occasions

to lead our conference. serving as a republican leader was a rare and, yes, rather specific childhood dream. and just about a year ago, i thanked my colleagues for their confidence which allowed me to fulfill it. to the distinguished members of this body, i've had the privilege to lead and i remain deeply, deeply grateful. today, however, it's appropriate for me to speak about an even deeper allegiance and even longer standing gratitude. seven times fellow kentuckyians have sent me to the senate. every day in between i've been humbled by the trust they placed in me to do their business right

here. representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a li lifetime. i will not seek this honor an eighth time. my current term in the senate will be my last. i've been a student of history my entire life. i can't remember the last time that i didn't have a stack of biographies or political memoirs on my nightstands. -- nightstand. i know how tempting it can be to read history with a sense of determineism. assuming that somehow notorious failures were inevitable, that

crowning triumphs were predestined. in either case, that lives and careers follow ed orderly paths. this of course isn't how things work. and i never had to look further than my own life to recognize it. i've never lost sight of the fact that without my mother's devoted care, a childhood encounter with polio could have turned out a lot worse. that unless my father had taken a job in the bluegrass state, my interest in politics might have run a course somewhere else. if it weren't for an 11th-hour outside the box idea on the campaign trail, my senate career

would have been over before it began. or that if not for the people of ken kentucky, time and again agreeing that leadership delivers and elected me to send back here, it would have been someone else from somewhere else taking that seat at the table where i've had a chance to work, strategize, fight, and win. i grew up reading about the greatness of henry clay. but there were times when the prospect of etching my name into his desk in this chamber felt like more of a long shot than making it to the major leagues. i got a front row seat to the

greatness of senator john sherman cooper of kentucky as a summer intern in his office. but at so many moments in my early career, the idea of following in his footsteps felt more distant than the moon. so the only appropriate thing to take away today apart from my healthy dose of pride is my immense gratitude for the opportunity to take part in the consequential business of the senate and the nation. gratitude to the people i repr represent, kentucky's families and farmers and miners and servicemembers and small business owners, gratitude to

loyal friends, dedicated volunteers, and talented staff who helped me serve much better. gratitude to this institution that has repaid my devotion so generously over the years and to so many colleagues who have become great friends. gratitude for my family's sup support. and in particular, my ultimate teammate and confidant of the last 32 years, elaine's leadership and wise counsel in her own right have made her the most seasoned cabinet official in modern history. on top of all that, her devotion to me and to kentucky is a lot

more than i deserve. when i arrived at this chamber, i wasn't coming with a governor statewide executive experience or a house member's appreciation for washington dynamics. i knew my hometown of louisville and i spent the previous few years working hard to learn what mattered to folks all across the rest of the commonwealth. and yet within weeks of swearing the oath, sure enough i was here on the floor talking with colleagues from other far-flung corners of the country discussing solutions to a farm income crisis that affected different states in the same way. i learned quickly that

delivering for kentucky that finding ways for the commonwealth achallenges were actually -- challenges were tied to national debates. seeing to major agriculture legislation, remembering kentucky farmers, and particularly including when they needed extraordinary assistance like the tobacco buyout. smaeg sure that -- making sure that nationwide steps on transportation infrastructure included resources for modernizing the bridge that supports billions of dollars of economic activity and the surrounding region. and with the trust of the local community, finishing the task first assigned by president reagan, the safe destruction of

america's chemical weapons at the u.s. army depot. this has spanned the length of my senate career, and i've been humbled to help kentucky punch above its weight. of course the senate has to grapple with foundational questions that reach even more broadly across american life and even further into posterity. we trusted on behalf of the american people to participate in the appointment of the federal judiciary. to be the final check on the assembly of power in the courts beyond the reach of representative politics. and to be ensure that the men and women who preside over them

have authentic devotion to the rule of law above all else. when members of the body ignore or pervert this fundamental duty, they do so not just at the peril of the senate but of the whole nation. the weight of power to advise and consent has never been lost on me. and i've -- on this floor there is no place to hide from the obligations of article i, the senate's unique relationship with article 3 or our role in equipping the powers of article 2. here every debate over

agriculture or infrastructure or education or taxes is down stream of the obligations of national security. every question of policy here at home is contingent on our duty to provide for the common defense. one of the first times i spoke at length on this floor as a freshman i was compelled to join the debate over strengthening the deterrence of america's nuclear triad, whether to expand the u.s. military's hard-target nuclear capability was an interesting question posed to someone whose most recent job had been running a county government. but, of course, was the founders' brilliance at work. the hopes and dreams of every american are tied up in our

ability to protect and defend the nation and its interests. every family traveling abroad and every worker and small business owner who's livelihood depends on foreign trade may depend on the credibility of america's commitments to friends and the strengths of her threats to enemies. in turn, the safety and success of the men and women who volunteer to serve this great nation in uniform depend on the work we do here to ensure that enemies think twice -- twice before challenging them and those enemies never face a fair fight. next to ronald reagan's determining, the work of

strengthening america's hard power was working before i arrived in the senate. since then we allowed that power to at trophy and it threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. less any of my colleagues doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term, i have some unfinished business to attend to. in our work, most of us in this body develop an appreciation for the senate itself, its written rules, it's collegial norms, its pace in play, yet, so often i watched colleagues depart venting their frustrations at the confines of the institution or mourning what they perceive to be decline of its norms.

regardless -- regardless of the political storms that may wash over this chamber, during the time i have remaining, i assure my colleagues i will depart with great hope for the endurance -- the endurance of the senate as an institution. there are any number of reasons for pessimism, but the strength of the senate is not one of them. this chamber is still the haven where the political minority can require debate. it's the crucible in which jurists are tested in their if he digitaly to uphold the constitution and the rules and laws as they were written. the senate is still equipped for work of great consequence and to

the disappointment of my critics, i'm still here on the job. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: i ask unanimous consent that the members and staff and spectators in the gallery be allowed to applaud for a period not to exceed 30 seconds. the presiding officer: without objection. [applause]

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, in about two hours the senate will vote on whether to confirm kash patel to serve as director of the federal bureau of investigation for the next -- the presiding officer: order. mr. durbin: to serve as director of the federal bureau of investigation for the next ten years. ten years, mr. president. if senate republicans confirm mr. patel, i believe they will come to regret this vote. probably sooner rather than later.

i, for one, am convinced that mr. patel has neither the experience, the judgment nor the temperament to lead this amazing criminal investigative agency. it appears -- it appears my senate republican colleagues are ignoring the many red flags in in patel's record. probably because they fear retribution from the president and mr. musk. let me be clear. this is not a partisan issue. during my time in the senate, i have voted for four fbi director nominations before this one. each one was clearly a republican, and i vowed for them -- voted for them nevertheless. historically the federal bureau of investigation has been a political. i hope mr. patel because he is

dangerously, politically extreme. he has repeatedly expressed his intention to use our nation's most important law enforcement agency to retaliate against his political enemies. even before president trump took office, mr. patel announced that he would force out fbi director chris wray, who he nominated in his first term before firing jim comey. the director is the only political appointment at the fbi. congress took steps to ensure that this agency remains as a political as possible by providing for a single term of ten years for a director and subjecting the appointment to the advice and consent. 50 years ago we made this reform and may see it fall to ashes today. as we've seen for weeks now, the trump administration's purge of the fbi is a political exercise that has spread to service

career officials. there's an association of fbi agents and the two leaders of that association came to see me recently in my office to talk about this situation. both of them are women, one is serving 17 years in the career job at the fbi and the other 22. they were quick to add that their fathers had been fbi agents before them. it was clearly in their blood. they came to tell me about the situation at the fbi today because of this transition and because of the prospect of kash patel heading their agency. they said morale has never been lower. they have gone through many of -- gone through many presidential transitions and have never seen anything like this. the declaration that is required now of fbi agents as to whether they were participating in the investigation of the january 6 rioters who assaulted this

united states capitol building. let's be honest about what's going on here. there's an effort to have soviet style historical revision. the trump administration and the people that they're pushing into leadership have to basically pass a loyalty oath in terms of the outcome of the previous presidential election and what happened on january 6. they're somehow asked to ignore the obvious that we see on videotape over and over again. the rioters who soughted this capitol -- assaulted this cop toll were so dangerous that the vice president of the united states sitting in your chair was removed by secret service because of fear he would be hurt if he stayed in that position. those of us who were on the floor of the senate on january 6 were asked to evacuate this chamber as quickly as possible. this was not simply a question of tourists getting out of line. these people who assaulted this u.s. capitol building were hell-bent on stopping the constitutional process of

counting the electoral votes in the 2020 election. and now fbi and others are being asked to say the opposite, that this wasn't somehow a breach of l law, horrendous terrible chapter in the history of this country and that there was danger afoot. because the president has given a sweeping pardon to the 1600 who were prosecuted for trespass and conspiracy, the use of firearms in the capitol and the like, we are supposed to somehow discount this as a significant moment in american history. it was. and for the fbi agents who participated in the investigation of that day, i say they were doing their job and they did it well and now to remove them from the fbi because of that is obviously hurt the morale of the fbi agency and made them stop and wonder what the future holds for them if another president comes in with another political agenda. will they be the victims again?

as we've seen for weeks now, the trump administration's purge of the fbi is a political exercise that has spread to senior career officials. and the fbi -- in the fbi long, long history, this has never happened before. this purge has dramatically weakened the fbi's ability to combat national security threats and make america -- and has made america less safe. senior leaders with collectively hundreds of years of experience have been forced out creating a leadership vacuum. thousands of line agents fear losing their jobs simply because they were assigned to work on cases involving the january 6 attack or president trump. i have heard directly from fbi agents who now fear for their safety and the safety of their families. to understand why, let me tell you about a january 6 rioter named edward kelli. mr. kelly was convicted of

assaulting a law enforcement. we saw it, didn't we, in terms of videotapes that show our law enforcement agents trying to stand their ground in this capitol building, being beaten back and assaulted by these mobs. mr. kelly was convicted of assaulting law enforcement and he was given a full and unconditional pardon by donald trump. but mr. kelly has also been convicted in his home state of tennessee of conspiracy to murder the fbi agents who investigated his role in the january 6 attack. understand this. now he is arguing that president trump's blanket pardon of mr. kelly should cover his attempt to kill fbi agents. when asked about the possible firings of career fbi officials at his confirmation hearing, mr. patel under oath, under oath, and i quote, said i don't knows what' going on right now at the fbi. mr. president, that's not true.

thanks to multiple brave whistleblowers, we now know that mr. patel likely committed perjury if making that statement. even before being confirmed as an fbi director, mr. patel is already directing the ongoing purge of honorary -- pardon me -- honorable career public servants despite his status as a private citizen. he has no right to be part of this awful process. i urge my republican colleagues seriously consider these credible whistleblower allegations before you vote on mr. patel's nomination. mr. patel's claim about an fbi purge were not his only misleading statements under oath. at his hearing, mr. patel implausibly told me he could not recall stu peters, a man who has been identified as an anti-semitic holocaust denier. i asked him repeatedly, what about stu peters? don't know the man. don't recognize the name.

this is simply not true. considering that mr. patel appeared on mr. peters' pod cast eight times, mr. president, eight times and he couldn't recall the man's name. and mr. peters has since revealed that he and mr. patel directly communicate via their personal cell phones, quote, constantly, constantly was the word he used. as far as patel was concerned under oath, never heard of the man. why in the world would he do that? why would mr. patel admit the obvious? eight for pod casts and constant communication with this man? and an even larger question, what is he doing as a man who wants to direct the fbi in concert with antisemitic holocaust denier stu peters? what is going on here? is he showing good judgment? is this the kind of person you want to put in charge of 38,000 criminal investigators? mr. patel also claimed, quote,

he didn't have anything to do with the recording of the so-called january 6 prison choir which included at least six rioters who violently assaulted police officers. mr. patel thinks there's something interesting, maybe even amusing about the fact that he created a choir of these individuals who had been prosecuted for what they did on january 6. here's what mr. patel said to steve bannon after he denied knowing anything about this recording before the judiciary committee recently. he said to steve bannon, quote, we got this idea to record the january 6 prisoners who recite the national anthem every night from the d.c. prison. then we took that to the studio so we mastered and digitized that. so on steve bannon's show, he's the mastermind behind this recording of these prisoners saying something about the national anthem every night. that particular tape that he

created of the january 6 choir was taken to trump rallies, too, and played as some kind of interesting display of what patel insists are just political prisoners. one of mr. patel's choir boys, julian khater. he was convicted of assaulting capitol police officers with pepper spray. one of those officers was capitol police officer bryan sicknick. brian sicknick suffered multiple strokes and died the day of the attack. mr. khater was one of the people who assaulted him. mr. patel has called these violent january 6 rioters -- and i quote -- political prisoners. that includes guy reffitt. guy reffitt was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in the january 6 assault, 87 months. mr. reffitt brought a gun to the

capitol on january 6 and recorded himself saying the following which i'll paraphrase because i don't want to use profanity on the floor of the senate. quote, we're all going to drag them out kicking and screaming. i just want to see pelosi's head hit every efing stair on the way out and mitch mcconnell, too. ef them all. his 19-year-old son jackson turned him into law enforcement after the attack despite reference threats to shoot jackson and his sister. here is what reffitt said to his own children, quote. if you turn me in, you're a trading -- traitor and you know what happens to traders. traitors get shot. he received a full and unconditional pardon from president trump. guess where he was on january 30 of this year? back at the capitol complex at mr. patel's confirmation hearing. here's what mr. reffitt posted on social media from the hearing

room. quote, present and in support of kash patel as the leftist commies continue to spew lies, misinformation and disinformation. my man is clean house kash. quote, unquote. stew peters, constant communication, holocaust denier. this gentleman has become a hero, too, for his appearance before the committee, and we're all commies for questioning kash patel's policies and what it's led to. these are his allies. stoo you peters, julian khater, guy reffitt. on the other hand consider who is warning us about patel. former trump officials who know him like attorney general bill barr, cia director has kill. defense secretary mark esper and national security advisor john bolton. all of these were republican appointees who worked with patel, who know him well, and

warn us not to do this. don't give this responsibility to this man. all republican appointees. mr. patel has left a long trail of grievances lashing out at anyone who has not complete -- who is not completely aligned with them. he calls democrats, quote, vindictive, evil, and vicious, and repeatedly attacks republican senators who don't tow the manager ga line -- maga line. i read his book government gangsters. it includes an enemies list at the end of the book, 60 names, members of the deep state in the word of kash patel which in includes distinguished members. attorney general bill barr and merrick garland to former fbi dire directors bob muller and chris wray, all have the misfortune of crossing paths with vindictive

kash patel. he claims he respects law enforcement but his words and actions demonstrate his disdain for the fbi. he has said on day one he plans to, quote, shut down the fbi headquarters and he's falsely claimed that the fbi, quote, was planning the january 6 event for a year beforehand. there is no truth to that statement, mr. president, and he is casting aspersions on the fbi that are undeserved. mr. patel's record demonstrates that he's dangerous, inexperienced, and dishonest. he should not and cannot serve as an effective fbi director. mr. patel has been crystal clear that he plans on using the fbi's vast surveillance and investigative authority to, quote, come after, close quote, the president's enemies. it is shocking that my republican colleagues are willing to support him, despite the serious throat he poses to our national security. and i'm sorry to say i believe they will quickly come to regret

this vote. when i think of giving this man a ten-year, ten-year as director of the leading criminal investigative agency in the world, i cannot imagine a worst choice. you want the person that has that job and that power to destroy people simply by investigation, to show some temperament and some judgment. kash patel shows just the opposite. he is neither qualified nor prepared to assume this responsibility. i will be voting no and plead with my republican colleagues please think twice before creating this situation and making it even worse. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california is recognized mr. padilla: mr. president, i too, rise today to oppose the nomination of kash patel to serve as director of the federal bureau of investigation. now, let me begin by saying to

americans watching at home who may not be completely up to speed as to what hes' -- to what's going okays the importance of this -- going on, the importance of this significant situation or wondering who is kash patel. you might have been distracted these last few weeks by a rush of headlines coming out of the white house, maybe preoccupied with the cost of groceries that are rising by the week. you may have, if you caught any news, been hearing about how president trump, the richest president in history, has given elon musk, the richest man in the world, unprecedented access to millions of americans' sensitive, private information. yes, elon musk has access to your personal private information from social security

numbers to home addresses to your tax information. there's been a lot going. all the while, president trump is also trying to lay the groundwork to pass another massive tax cut for billionaires. so if you've been busy and struggling to keep up, i understand. so let me try to break it down for you. only in the year 2025, when donald trump seems to have a headlock on the republican party, could a nominee this extreme and this unqualified be considered or confirmed to lead the fbi. no party of reagan would ever support this big a threat to american freedom and our national security. no party of lincoln could ever support this big a source of

division among americans. and yet here we are, pretending as if a man who promised to shut down the fbi headquarters on day one and turn it into a museum for the deep state is now fit to lead the fbi. you see, time and again kash patel has shown that his loyalty lies not with the rule of law but with donald trump. why? because he knows that donald trump is his cash cow. trump is kash patel's ticket to selling more books. it's his calling card to try to book the next podcast interview. and certainly key to landing his next job. frankly, it's a pattern we've seen from too many of the nominees that donald trump has picked for his second

administration. these are people whose sole qualification is allegiance to trump. this should disqualify any nominee, but it's particularly concerning for a nominee slated to lead the nation's premier law enforcement agency. when it comes to protecting the security of our nation, there is no room between patriotism and patronage. the american people need and deserve a public servant who is 100% committed to the around-the-clock safety of the american people. unfortunately, through his actions over the course of the last several years, his conduct this past month before the senate judiciary committee, kash patel has demonstrated a

dangerous lack of judgment, lack of preparation, and lack of independence. he's shown that he's either unwilling or unable of putting politics aside in order to protect the american people and uphold the constitution should he be confirmed to lead the fbi. and throughout his career, he's shown a clear pattern of loyalty to trump and of self-dealings at the expense of the american people. that includes undermining the fbi's work in order to protect trump from investigation, profiting off of conspiracies about a, quote, deep state and promoting an enemies list targeting public servants, selling picture books to spread conspiracy theories to children

about the 2016 election, endangering the lives of america's servicemembers after inserting himself into a hostage rescue operation, refusing to commit in his confirmation hearing to enforcing existing gun laws that protect lives and that saves lives, holding millions of dollars in unvested stock in a foreign company tied to forced child labor, even producing a song and financially supporting the families of insurrectionists who violently beat capitol police officers on january 6, and now it includes -- now it appears that this list includes potentially having lied under oath in his confirmation hearing about the role he played in firing career

fbi employees based on the perceived -- on their perceived loyaltieses, after we -- loyalties after we heard him swear in committee that he played no role in the firings. whistleblowers are coming forward to tell us otherwise. at the very least, this charge is so serious that it warrants further investigation. colleagues, stretching the truth or potentially outright lying z

z

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the way, just -- that's 20, if just a few --

that's 2023, just a few years ago, not when he's in high school. in 2023 he said, and i quote, we're going to come after you, whether it's criminally or civilly. we'll figure that out. but, yeah, we're putting you on notice. and on another podcast last august he said, when trump wins in 2024 and is in power in 2025, we can prosecute them, referring to justice department officials. that was just last august. at his hearing before the judiciary committee, we gave mr. patel numerous opportunities to explain, to walk back his threats. he chose not to, nor did he try to explain his so-called deep state list of former government officials, including many republicans who served under the president's first term.

this list of his deep state government gangsters, as he called them, list, included former defense secretary mark esper, former cia director jena haspel, former national security advisor john bolton and former attorney general bill barr, bill barr who had received so many compliments from people in this body, from so many republicans, including the chair of the judiciary committee. i remind our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that bill barr wrote that putting patel in charge of the fbi, promoting him in any way, would only happen, quote, over his dead body, end quote. jena haspel threatened to resign to stop patel from becoming her deputy. and john bolton said that patel

demonstrated no policy aptitude at all. mr. president, these are staunch life is long republicans -- lifelong republicans. they are experienced and respected people. i may not agree in any way with a everything they've said or done, nor does everyone here, but we do agree that they are z most senior

nonpartisan public servants who oversaw national security, criminal and cyber matters. one day later, an e-mail was sent to fbi employees requesting a list of everyone who had worked on january 6 cases. quote, to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary, end quote. it wouldn't matter if it's just a brand-new person who eliminate goes assigned to -- who gets assigned to a case or a senior person t doesn't matter if these people were prosecuting people, investigating people that actually tried to do us harm in this chamber, chased down senator -- former senator romney

in the hall. that all happened. destroyed offices of the parliamentarian and others, cut police officers' faces and injured them, and then when in any crime scene you'd have it investigated, this guy, kash patel, is questioning those fbi employees that were simply assigned to the case to work on them. this is not the person we should be putting in charge of the fbi. and i know my colleagues know this. so many of them that were there at the time supported christopher wray. i voted for christopher wray. he was donald trump's choice to run the fbi. but i thought that he would be a man of integrity, and he was. i will also note that applications to the fbi have tripled since he's been in office. during that time period, because he's improved morale.

they've been doing their job, and people want to go work there. mr. patel's supposed enemies are not only government officials he disagrees with. he has threatened the press as well. no one agrees with every story the press writes. i certainly don't, and i'm sure many of my colleagues have read stories about them that they don't like, but we believe in this country in the first amendment. mr. patel, however, has referred to the media as, again, a recent quote, the most powerful enemy the united states has ever seen, end quote. he said that not even on a p podcast. he said that in a speech. think about that, the media is the most powerful enemy the united states has ever seen, in the words of kash patel, nominated to be the director of the fbi, to oversee tens of

thousands of agents across the country. not china, not russia, not iran, not terrorists, but the press. and mr. patel has already publicly threatened journalists, saying we're going to come after the people in the media. we're going to come after you, whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure it out, but yeah, we're putting you all on notice, end quote. this isn't someone who has any business running the world's premier law enforcement agency. this isn't someone who we can trust to be faithful to our constitution. this isn't fidelity to the rule of law and impartial law enforcement. it is a direct threat to it. br bravery. fidelity, bravery, integrity. let's talk about bravery. we all know that the capitol police showed bravery far and

above the call of duty on january 6, 2021. we know that. we know that many of them, their gear was stuck on a bus, their riot gear, they weren't even able to access it, and so many of them were protecting us, people who worked in this capitol, when the beam that were storming into this capitol had better gear than the police had, and of course, we made tons of changes since then, changes to the leadership of the capitol police with a new chief, changes to the sergeant at arms, changes to our security profile. we've made those changes. of course, we should have done that. but what we do know is they showed bravery. but rather than recognize the officers' bravery, mr. patel accused those who testified in the january 6 hearing of lying. when asked on a podcast whether capitol police officers told the truth in the house of representatives january 6 committee hearings when they

were under oath, mr. patel said, and i quote, no, and lying under oath is a federal offense, and they should be investigated for it. once again, our colleagues on the judiciary committee gave him the chance to walk back these comments during his hearings. and once again, he chose not to. in fact, he claimed this wasn't accurate. it was exactly what he said. we have the evidence. we have the facts. we have the proof right there, his words. i would think facts and truth and the proof should matter to someone who is asking to be head of the federal bureau of investigation. but it doesn't. literally, this is on youtube. anyone listening today could look it up. the men and women of the capitol police aren't criminals. they're heroes. and so are the men and women at

the fbi, who every day put their lives on the line to keep us safe. but kash patel disagrees. he wrote in his book, again recently, that, quote, the fbi has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken, end quote. and he called the men and women of the fbi, quote, utterly corrupt, end quote. how do you think that makes people feel, people out in minnesota who are going after bank robbers or gangs or drug rings? because kash patel didn't like one investigation of a bunch of mob sterols that came into this -- mobsters that came into this capitol and beat up police. then he said he wanted the list of everyone involved in that. i don't think the fbi is a threat to the people, like mr. patel. i don't think it's utterly corrupt. and i don't think my republican colleagues believe that either. i think they admire the people

that work at the fbi. in fact, under mr. way's leadership, as i noted, the morale of the agents and personnel at the fbi has improved significantly, three times as many people applying as agents. these agents deserve a director who will have their back and continue building the morale at the bureau, not someone who denigrates their service and, as kash patel has done, again we've got his voice saying it, called for their headquarters to be shut down and turned into a mu museum. that was one of his later comments. the men and women of the fbi show us every day what it means to embody bravery, and now we need to show them we too can be brave and tell the president on this one, no, this is not the right person. we know he's your friend. we know you've hung out with him

a lot. but this is not the person for this job. i ask my colleagues to vote no on just one of these nominees. i voted yes on some of them. i looked at their credentials, i made a decision. maybe it wouldn't have been the first person i picked, but i voted yes on some of them. i ask them to vote no on kash patel. inte integrity, fbi, integrity, i. the fbi runs on facts. it runs on truth. without truth, the whole system breaks down. in his hearing, mr. patel made clear why americans should be so concerned about putting someone in charge of the fbi who clearly does not have the integrity the job demands. mr. patel did not even have the integrity to stand by his own words that we had on youtube. instead of disavowing or providing explanations for his past statements, he repeatedly misled the committee, dodged

questions and claimed ignorance, claimed he didn't remember things he said just a few months before. why would you want someone in the fbi who doesn't remember things they said only a few months before? this is irresponsible at best and deceitful at worst. the director of our nation's most powerful law enforcement agency must be forthright and trustworthy. he must follow the facts and carefully analyze evidence before drawing conclusions. unfortunately, mr. patel has proven that his allegiance is to the president, not to the truth. mr. president, independence of the fbi from the white house is critical. we recently saw courageous prosecutors stand up for an independent justice system. they resigned instead of carrying out politicized orders from the administration. these were not liberal lawyers or members of the resistance. the acting u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york, daniel sassoon was a federalist

society member and a clerk to justice scalia. she is a rising star. she is so respected. she has taken on major, major cases and won against criminals, time and time again, and she gave up the position of the acting head of one of the most incredible prosecutors offices in the country, the southern district of new york. and the lead prosecutor of the case, hagan scott, was a decorated iraq war veteran. he clerked for justice roberts and justice kavanaugh, when justice kavanaugh was on the court of appeals. in his resignation letter, he wrote, i expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion, but it was never going to be me.

i think we should think about those words when we take our votes. i expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion, but it was never going to be me. my republican colleagues need to show some of the same courage as these public servants. they need to stop acquiescing and stand up to this assault on our justice system, and a good place to start is by voting against patel. the fact is federal law enforcement and the american people deserve a director who embodies the bureau's motto -- fidelity, bravery, and integrity. i will be voting no on his confirmation, and i ask our republican colleagues to join me in standing up for justice, in standing up for the rule of law. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor.

ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii is recognized. ms. hirono: thank you, mr. president. as the leading law enforcement agency in our country, the fbi does critical work every single day to keep our nation, to keep us, safe, from counterterrorism and countertrafficking to fighting cyber attacks and so much more. at a time of global instability, fbi agents are working day in and day out to protect us from threats, both foreign and domestic. but today the fbi and the department of justice face a cr crisis, caused not by any outside threat but rather by the men and women tasked with leading these agencies. instead of focusing on potential attacks, hacks, or violent criminal enterprises, we have a

doj and fbi that have been turned inward on themselves. in just the last month, dozens of senior career fbi and doj employees have been purged, purged en masse, by president trump and his administration. hundreds of thousands of prosecutors and fbi special agents and an lichss may be next -- analysts may be next. i shouldn't use the word may -- will be next. purging hardworking sieve civil servants does not to make us spife. it does just the opposite. attorney general bondi recently announced the creation of a, quote, weaponization working group, end quote. only continues this trend. through this working group, she is doing what she told us she

would not do in her confirmation hea hearings. she is, quote, investigating the invest investigators. with this working group. and i expect next it will be prosecuting the prosecutors. i fear what a doj and fbi focused inward on themselves mean for the safety and security of our nation. which brings me to kash patel. president trump's nominee to lead the fbi. for many reasons, mr. patel is not the man to answer the many challenges of the moment. mr. patel spent his nomination hearing avoiding every hard question. not even the hard questions. i asked him, for example, if he would investigate people -- 60

people on his deep state list. he would not say no. it's pretty clear, this list, and i suspect it's a growing one, but this 60-person list are all the people not sufficiently loyal to president trump. so it has many, many republicans on the list. what the heck is he planning to do with that list? believe me, it's not because they're going to be commended for the work that they did. i asked him in his hearings whether he profited from selling supplementals to detox the covid-19 vaccine, supplementals he promoted on his social media channels. he did not answer. i asked him if donald trump lost the 2020 election. he would not answer. he claimed not to know an

anti-semitic extremist named stew peters, despite the fact that he appeared in this person's program eight times. he tried to claim no involvement with the january 6 choir, made up of inmates, made up of inmates serving in prison for their part in the violent insurrection on january 6 at the capitol. and of course, we all know all of these inmates have been pardoned en masse by the president. he claimed no involvement with this choir, despite promoting them and hocking their merchandise for years. he was unwilling to provide details about his grand jury testimony related to the january 6 insurrection, testimony he had to be compelled to give after

taking the fifth amendment. of course mr. patel has the same rights as any american to plead the fifth. but we have an equal right to ask him as the nominee for the fbi director no less why he did so and to learn what is ult -- what his ultimate testimony was. the one thing mr. patel did testify to in response to a question from senator booker about whether he was, quote, aware of any plans or discussions to punish fbi agents or personnel associated with trump investigations, quote. and his response was, quote, not aware of that. we have since learned of credible evidence that mr. patel perjured himself with that statement. mr. president, mr. patel is

totally unfit to lead the fbi. it's clear he won't discern fact from fiction and that he will be loyal to donald trump and donald trump only which means total disregard for the constitution and the rule of law. ours is a nation of laws. but mr. patel's nomination is one more indication that donald trump fancies himself above the law, even referring to himself as king in a recent tweet and will weaponize the law however he wants to to advance his political agenda. mr. patel is a dangerous nomination that will make our country less safe, less secure, and erode america's trust in the fbi.

mr. president, our administrative agencies and certainly the department of justice and the fbi do not exist to be used as tools for retribution by donald trump, pam bondi, or kash patel. but that is exactly what is happening with our agencies and the firing and the purposing of thousands of people who are doing the job of the people. what can be thinking in supporting mr. patel to lead an agency that has the tools to spy and go after all the people that he doesn't like. i urge my colleagues to vote no on his nomination, and i yield back.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california is recognized. mr. schiff: today the senate is on track to confirm kash patel as director of the fbi. think about that statement for a moment. kash patel, conspiracy theorist, january 6 denier, maga sink fact and political profit tur will be fbi director. the absurdity of it, consequences of it, and it's worth asking today how did we get to such an extreme point, to this moment when someone so patently unqualified, really disqualified from any position of responsibility is poised to become director of the nation's preeminent law enforcement agency.

earlier today i stood with my colleagues out in front of the fbi headquarters, a building that kash patel promised to dismantle on his first day as fbi director and turn into a museum of the deep state. the home of a department that we all know he will convert into a political weapon for the president, the president who is a serial law braker and will use pa -- breaker and will use patel as a tool for retribution against his enemies. but in a democracy law enforcement does not serve the president, let alone someone who fashions himself as a king. law enforcement serves the people. it is nonpartisan. it is not a vehicle of political payback for a political party. and yet we are watching the fbi and doj hole he lowed out -- hollowed out, dismantled and turned into an investigative and p.r.c. cue torl extension of donald trump's white house. we are watching it live in real

time. it is already happening in that building we visited this morning. in just the last month the department of justice has engaged in a brazen, sweeping purge, a rolling saturday night massacre, an unmistakable campaign to intimidate, to punish, and to drive out thousands of hardworking, nonpartisan fbi and career doj employees. this is happening as we speak. acting deputy attorney jgeneral bove fired roughly two dozen prosecutors involved in january 6 criminal cases, not for cause, not for corruption, not for misconduct. they were fired for failing what is in effect a loyalty test. a loyalty test. a maga mob attacks the capitol on january 6 to stop the

peaceful transfer of power. they beat police officers, gouged them, bear spray them, all in the service of an even bigger crime, stopping the peaceful transfer of power after donald trump lost his reelection. and they get pardoned by donald trump. the law breakers get pardoned and the brave fbi acts who tracked down these violent miscreants, these agents get punished. they get fired. they get purged. the one man-wrecking ball that donald trump is turning the world upside down, the criminals are being pardoned and the cops are being punished. now, kash patel sat before the senate judiciary committee and under oath insisted he knew of no plans to punish fbi employee s involved in investigations related to donald trump. he positively levitated of the suggestion that such a thing could even be true. then within days, top fbi agents

were fired. thousands of fbi employees, career professionals were sent a detailed questionnaire demanding they disclose any involvement in investigations related to the january 6 insurrection. a warning accompanied this. additional personnel actions could follow. and yet, mr. patel testified that, quote, there will be no politicization at the fbi. there will be no retributive actions taken by any fbi should i be confirmed as fbi director. he sat in that committee room and told the senate all fbi employees will be protected against political retribution. that was a thursday. three weeks ago. the very next day the purges be began. before the ink had dried on the transcript of that hearing, the retribution campaign had begun. in his written response to questions, patel denies knowing

about these actions in advance, denies knowing whether he discussed the dismissals with the white house, the doj or the fbi. he wrote, i do not recall having conversations with the transition team about pursuing any particular investigations or targets. i asked him in writing about these actions, and his answer was he doesn't remember. but in fact whistleblowers have come forward to testify or to state that not only did patel know about the upcoming purges, he was directing those dismissals. how could he not recall that? it wasn't years ago. or even months. it was days before. days before his written answers to those questions, those written answers where he said he couldn't recall, he was directing these purposes covertly as a private citizen. but he doesn't recall.

purges of quality career professionals who dedicated their lives to the rule of law, who have been fired, laid off, or forced out because they dared investigate a violent insurrection on our capitol. or the president's retention of classified documents that contained our nuclear and other national security secrets. there was a time in our country when the fbi was weaponized, when it served as a sword for the president, and the doj served as his shield. when hoover authorized covert harassment campaigns against the perceived enemies of the president. we thought those days were over and they were over until now. we must not put in place a roy cone for the president, someone who will bend and break the law to serve, and the president's personal and political aims. for therein lies the path to corruption to unlimited power

and to malfeasance of the highest order. we put up guardrails to prevent one man and his cadres of company men from turning the bureau and department into a partisan and lawless battering ram. we must not take them down. because we know the road that lies ahead. and we know that donald trump cannot destroy the nonpartisan character of the fbi and the department of justice without his enablers. and kash patel, kash patel is donald trump's handpicked enabler and hefrnlman -- henchman, the guy who would say yes when everyone else would say no to any immoral and unlawful request made by donald trump. the guy who publicized his deep state list almost half of whom are republicans, the guy who worked for and retains millions of dollars in stock in a company supported by the chinese communist party. and any normal world, that would automatically disqualify someone

from leading the nation's premier law enforcement and cou counterintelligence agency. this is not someone we would want running the fbi. it would be unthinkable to confirm a nominee who has written an entire book in service of, quote, dramatically limiting the scope of the fbi's authority, a nominee who publicly said it would be fun to go on a manhunt of government gangsters, those who represent trump's army to take this country back. i am of the opinion that the fbi should be going on manhunts for are actual criminals, not the president's enemies of the day. the fbi shouldn't serve as donald trump's army. alas we will not soon forget the last time donald trump's army presented itself to us when they beat down the doors of this

capitol, when they attacked law enforcement, and sought to overturn an election. mr. patel is quite familiar with that mob. he celebrated them in song. now, mr. patel tried den -- to deny his association with the january 6 choir. he said he had nothing to do with their recording. but earlier on steve bannon's podcast, he was all too proud to brag about it. quote, so what we thought would be cool is if we captured that audio and then of course had the greatest president, president donald j. trump recite the pledge of allegiance. then we went to a studio and recorded it, mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song now releasing exclusively on the war room. but when i asked him about this under oath, his response was, and you may never believe this, when he said we did this and we did that, we didn't include him.

i don't know what is worse, taking credit for something he didn't do or doing something and then lying about it. but what i do know is this is not the character of someone who should be director of the fbi. at the hearing i also asked him to turn and face the capitol police officers in the room. these officers from the same department that suffered such grievous injuries on january 6. he couldn't do so. he couldn't look them in the eye. and i don't blame him for being too ashamed. he should be ashamed. celebrating their victimization in a song. he should be ashamed. and anyone voting to confirm him should be ashamed. and yet here we are on a fast track to rubber stamp his

confirmation, asked to turn a blind eye as he takes control of the most powerful law enforcement agency in the cou country. that is what my republican colleagues seem poised to do, and i will ask again how on earth did we get here. and where are we going by confirminga nominee who is so plainly unqualified, who is tied up in shady business dealings with the ccp and the kremlin, who made songs with violent cop beaters, who made peoples of -- memes of himself sawing the heads off of members of congress. how on earth did we get here? because we all know where this road ends investigations into anyone who stands up to donald trump, elected officials, journalists, anyone. and if they just towe the line long enough -- to you the -- tow

the line long enough, they'll be spared. we know what happens when you fall out of favor for donald trump, when you are asked to do something so egregious, that you cannot possibly continue to say yes, when you reach that moment, when you're forced to cross the president or abandon your final line in the sand, it will be these moments that you remember, the concessions to a wanna-be authoritarian that you entertained, the lines you allowed him to cross so you were spared his wrath, but you will not be spared. no one is. not the veteran nonpartisan employees at the fbi, not the mavrick modern members of this body, not even the most extreme supporters left out in the cold the moment they are no longer valuable to this president. when, not if, when you fall out of favor for donald trump --

there is more rum under donald trump's bust than on it. enabling his administration is a 1-way street. by continuing to go down it, you drive ourselves and the foundations of democracy to the very precipice. my colleagues, we have a duty today, a duty to the constitution and a duty to the american people. we have a duty to the 38,000 men and women of the fbi who put themselves and their lives on the line every single day. those who work in the building where we stood this morning in the freezing cold and in communities and cities across the country. keeping us safe and secure, we must take that duty seriously, because if we confirm kash patel, knowing what we are getting, knowing where we are going, we will only have ourselves to blame. mr. president, i yield back.

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island is recognized. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. i'm here to join my distinguished colleague from california in opposition to the nomination of kash patel and to make crystal clear to this body what he is going to do in that job. he has shown who he is. so when she's things -- these things go wrong, i want to be absolutely clear that our republican friends were warned. they will own the consequences of kash patel's misbehavior. let's start with the fact like any fbi director before, this guy is a have i t -- this is a guy who is a politician, those are the stripes he's shown when

left to his devices and those are the characteristics he will revert back to when he is running the fbi. just a few examples. this is from his book that contains -- called government gangsters -- and this is a page of his enemies' list. attorney general bondi said nobody should come to a law enforcement job with an enemies' list. then they had to pretend this is not -- if you're going to set up a man hunt against people, are they not your enemies by any logical definition of the term? he goes on to a video that shows himself chainsawing off the heads of the people on his

enemies list, including the handsome junior senator from california and the daughter of former vice president cheney. it's a pretty gross image to be putting the heads off of people with a saw. and he didn't put it up, but he retweeted it. he loved it so much that he put it up on his own media. things like that are not appropriate for an fbi director. they're bizarre for just a normally weird person, but for an abnormally weird person to be the director of the fbi, things are going to go bad, be warned. he is also a completely sycophantic sickup when it comes to -- suck-up when it comes to donald trump. he wrote children's books where

king donald rules and where -- brings just to him pursuing the slugs of the fbi. really? when the fbi is asked to investigate corruption in trump world, do you think kash patel will rise to the occasion or do you think he'll participate? a coverup? all you have to do is look at his own conduct and his own history. this is not democrats saying this. what we're doing is relating what he has said and what he has done. this is kash patel on kash patel. he spread the really abhorrent lie that federal law enforcement was behind january 6. on one of the many podcasts and interview shows where he spewed so much disinformation and

partisan vitriol, he was asked, it looks like you have a preponderance of evidence suggesting there may have been federal law enforcement involved in making january 6 happen. kash patel said, i'll get you to beyond a reasonable doubt that federal law enforcement answer were behind january 6. we know that is false. we know that investigations have shown that is not even remotely true. that is completely false information. and, yet, here he is spouting it and that's what he's going to look like at fbi director too. the fbi's going to have to appear before judges and convince judges of the legitimacy of the agency, that they have done a fair job. here's what he said about judges.

we've got to start impeaching judges if they rule against donald trump. they were a political terrorist in his view. any case that donald trump's been charged in, almost every judge is handling this thing as if they're not a judge but a political terrorist, and of course he meant the trump judge down in florida as the only one accepted. when you start talking about judges that way, you can't then expect judges not to pay attention when you come before them trying do the work of the fbi. then there's the question of what his former colleagues have said about him. these are things he said himself. what have he hads former colleagues said -- former can employees say. john bolton, i didn't think he was qualified. i was forced to hire him. political pressure jammed him into the job and battlon said -- bolton said he didn't want to

hire him. bill war, they -- bill barr, they tried to force him. he said kash patel has virtually no experience that would qualify him to be lead of the fbi. these are the recommendations of his own colleagues that show his unfitness. over at the cia they tried to stuff him in someplace, and the director of the cia, gina said that she would resign before allowing patel to assume a position as her deputy. this is a gay who has -- this is a guy who has a record of trump appointees that shows he is not qualified, capable and would resign before letting them work for him. and now he's supposed to work for the american people, it's ridiculous. he testified once in state court on a trump-related case.

and his testimony was to put it, mildly, not convincing. here's what the judge said. the court finds that mr. patel was not a credible witness. his testimony is not only illogical but completely devoid of any evidence in the record. okay, people come into court, they lie. the court doesn't believe their nonsense, and statements like this happen all the time in court. but here's where they don't happen. they don't happen with federal law enforcement agents because when i was the u.s. attorney in rhode island, if one of my fbi agents went over to the u.s. district court in rhode island and testified in a criminal case in such a way that one of the united states district judges said about that witness, he was not a credible witness, his testimony was illogical, completely devoid of any

evidence. we would look into that that. this is like giglio material, what is to be exposed to future defendants when it is an agent who is a government witness. people lose their careers over giglio material. this, if he was an fbi agent, would have caused headquarters to say, what is going on. how did one of our people get involved in such flagrantly wrong testimony that he was called out. and this is the person they want to put in charge of the organization whose professionalism and whose integrity are essential to the successful working of the organization, and the guy was basically called out as a liar and fraud in plain court. this guy is a hot mess. and when you have a character

like this that lies in court, that runs chainsaw memes about your opponents, that every person you tried to work with who was senior in the trump administration says, get this bum out of here. i don't want to be anywhere near him. that's a record. my republican friends who will vote on this guy, when he gets there and he does what his character will tell us he will do, don't think this won't come back to haunt you. and by the way, don't think that his trump servants as fbi director won't turn on you. just because he's a have i vitriolic partisan who despises democrats, doesn't mean when trump's ire moves somewhere else to republican officeholders, he

won't be able to be an enforcer against you. there's a lot to be concerned about. i'll close with this. never before in the history of american law enforcement has somebody saw to obtain a position in laurment who has pled the fifth amendment. not only did he do that, but he refused to tell the committee what it was all about. you can't plead the fifth unless there's a reasonable expectation that could put you in jeopardy of a crime. what crime? how in jeopardy? explain that. you're not just a normal person, you're trying to be the head of the fbi. in a civil case, pleading the fifth entitles the judge to instruct the jury to draw an adverse interest about your testimony, that the jury can find against you because you took the fifth. why we have not had a straight answer yet from our republican colleagues about why the guy who

wants to be the head of the fbi pled the fifth, it is an unprecedented terrible situation. with that, i yield the floor. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to begin where my

wonderful friend and colleague, senator whitehouse of rhode island, ended in opposing the nomination of kash patel to be director of the fbi. i served as united states attorney as well, and i know first hand what an investigation and a prosecution can do to an individual's life even without a conviction. i used to tell my staff the ms. important thing we decide -- the most important thing we decide to do is to start an investigation or bring charges because that person will be under a magnifying glass, having to defend himself, even if no charges are brought. and to defend himself even if there's no conviction, and the

charges themselves can do irreparable r harm to a person's reputation, his finances, his family, his life. we entrust these positions, investigative and prosecutorial, to people who deserve the credibility and reliance that we give them. so the position of director of the fbi or attorney general of the united states or prosecutors and investigators who work for them are not ordinary positions. even potentially in certain situations they are more powerful than a member of the united states cabinet in the impact they can have on individual lives.

for the ordinary nominee, any of the defects in character or experience or performance in past jobs would have been disqualifying. we live in a time that is not ord ordinary, and this nominee is not normal. i've never seen any nominee to a position of significant responsibility that has as many disqualifying factors in his or her background. but i think that one comment about him that strikes me whenever i read it is the full quote from former national security advisor john bolton.

part of that quote has been cited by previous speakers. i want to read the whole quote. kash patel's conduct in mr. trump's first term and thereafter indicates that as fbi director, he would operate according to secret police chief barrias's comment reported comment to joseph stalin, show me the man and i'll show you the crime. now, very few people remember secret police chief barria and the terror he caused in carrying out joseph stalin's edicts to destroy people's lives, to execute them, to eliminate their families. but the mantra of barria and

stalin, show me the man and i'll show you the crime. make up the crime to fit the man, and we will eliminate him. we're talking here about a nominee who has an enemies list. he calls it something different. he calls it government gangsters, and he's on a manhunt for them. manhunt is his word. he can use different words, but the point here is he is on a mission to use the powers of this office in donald trump's name for political retribution against his enemies, against trump's enemies, against maga's opponents. to use these institutions for

political retribution is the height of irresponsibility. even to hint at it ought to be disqualifying. and he has made it explicit in his past writings and his statements and speeches not just a couple of times. it is a theme that runs through his public comments, that eliminating enemies through the use of prosecution is not only acceptable, but it's desirable. the fbi is a very special agency. 38,000 civil servants, including 13,000 special agents who go after international and domestic terrorism, cyber criminal syndicates, foreign espionage,

organized criminal enterprises, including drug cartels, child sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and many other crimes that affect our lives and the lives of everyday americans across the country, all different backgrounds, races, religions can be victims of crime that the fbi investigates. and the fbi agents put their lives on the line because pursuing these crimes often puts them at risk from bad guys who may not even know that they're shooting at an fbi agent, but it's something pursuing them. they may not know that an fbi agent is operating under cover

and they may be killing him. and so the fbi's work is a dangerous business, but it is for our good and our safety. the american people deserve an fbi leader who is worthy of them. the american people deserve a director of the fbi who will keep them safe and who will make that safety a priority. but in recent weeks the trump administration has systematically weaponized and politicized both the fbi and the department of justice. on her very first day in office, attorney general bondi created a, quote, weaponization working group. let me repeat that. weaponization working group. and specifically named targets to be investigated. the letitia james, alvin bragg,

jack smith. all of them left legitimate lawsuits and prosecutions against president trump. there have been reports that prosecutors and fbi agents have been reassigned from drug trafficking to do immigration enforcement, from terrorism task forces to immigration enforcement. and the administration has issued allegedly unethical or illegal order causing many top prosecutors to bravely resign rather than betray their oath of office. we're talking about men and women who love their jobs in the department of justice and do them well, and they have sacrificed those jobs because they were ordered to take action

that was unethical or illegal in their view. we need now more than ever an fbi director who is trust worthy and devoted to the ideals and values of the department of justice and the constitution, above all. anyone taking one of those jobs, raises their right hand and swears an oath to the constitution. not to the president, not to the attorney general, not to any other official. it is to the constitution. kash patel is not that person, not the person to have that immense responsibility, most especially at this moment. he lacks the judgment, he lacks the integrity, he lacks the character and competence to be fbi director. kash patel's contempt for those

agents who put their lives on the line has been clear. he's called them the fbi, one of the most cunning and powerful arms of the deep state. and there are now highly credible whistleblower reports that he may have directed the purging of senior leaders at the fbi as well as potentially a mass firing of career fbi officials. those fbi officials who serve professionally with distinction, put their lives on the line purged as a result of kash patel involving himself, in fact in those decisions even as under oath in response to my question, he said, quote, all fbi employees will be protected against political retribution. all fbi employees will be

protected against political retribution. well, we stood in front of the fbi headquarters this morning. in that very building, there are individuals who will be fired because they took assignments. they didn't choose. they were assigned to criminal investigations that happened to involve donald trump. political retribution at its very height. and if he directed the purging of those fbi agents, contrary to the assurances he made to our committee, at his nomination committee, kash patel was certainly less than truthful with us. i have not been without criticism of the fbi. none of us have been. no agency is perfect. but i am also betting that

members of the fbi would say there's room for improvement in this agency. kash patel would slash and trash the fbi, not improve it. he would engage in political retribution, not constructive reform. he would weaponize the fbi with that enemies list. he may not say it's an enemies list. he may call them government gangsters. but that manhunt would involve political retribution, and he has conspiracy theories. he trafficked in them. he said he agrees with a lot of what qanon says. he engages in election denialism refusing to say president biden won the 2020 election. he's even suggested that the fbi planned the january 6 attack on the capitol. and he has glorified those the the rioters by calling them political prisoners, and in fact

aiding them in their defense. even the rioters who attacked and assaulted police officers p and did them grave injury and in some instances contributed to their deaths. he has joined them in song, producing the j6 choir's recording. and he has refused to be honest when it really matters, pleading the fifth amendment in the case about donald trump's handling of classified documents. and then denying us, or at least refusing to cooperate in providing us with access to the testimony that he offered. the litany of questionable comments, actions by this nominee shows he lacks the

character and competence for this job. i've talked about roughly half a dozen various, different facts in his background, statements, comments, actions that would be individually disqualifying. all together they paint a picture of someone who has no proper role anywhere near a law enforcement agency, let alone director of the fbi. i'm appalled that my republican colleagues voted for him in committee unanimously on their side. i'm appalled that so few may vote against him on the floor to today. but i am absolutely sure of this one thing, this vote will haunt

anyone who votes for him. they will rue the day they did it. to my republican colleagues, think about it. think about what you will tell your constituents, more important, your family. maybe your grandchildren, about why you picked and voted for this person who will so completely and utterly disgrace this office and do such grave damage to our nation's justice system. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president, i ask permission to speak up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from vermont is recognized. mr. welch: thank you, mr. president. thank my colleagues for joining me here today. i oppose kash patel and believe he is the dangerously wrong

choice to serve as director of the fbi. we all have great admiration for the fbi. the men and women there serve our nation, do hard work every day, and for decades they've served as a nonpolitical agency that protects us and defends the rule of law. i believe that mr. patel is on a mission to wreck the fbi. it's his own words. he wants to turn the fbi building into a monument, a museum to the deep state. you know, i believe that this country and congress is in the midst of a slow-moving but rapidly accelerating constitutional crisis. this is real, and we can ignore it or see it. it began most visibly, of course, in january 6, 2021, when two norms of this republic -- the peaceful transfer of power and the renunciation of violence to affect the utcome of a vote count and certification -- were

breached. many members of the house and senate also voted against certifying the votes of the people in their own states. the president continues to say that the election was stolen, and he has coached his nominees to embrace the big lie. mr. president, the first trump -- or, pardon me, the first month of the trump administration has shown a contempt for the constitution, an acceptance of lawlessness that is dangerous to the future of our republic. president trump's election denialism was only an early sign of his disregard for the norms and requirements of the constitution. now empowered in a second term by a congress and a judiciary which refused to assert their independence, mr. trump has enacted executive order after executive order to dismantle our

institutions. he doesn't have the authority to do what he's doing. the federal funding freeze, clearly unconstitutional, invasion of article 1 power of the purse, shutting down agencies created by congress without authority, revoking birthright citizenship, segment says he can do by executive order, removing leaders of independent agencies created by congress, clearly unlawful, firing inspectors general in violation of notice requirements created by congress, unlawful. firing government employees who have civil service protections, clearly unlawful. and pushing -- really -- a quid pro quo order at the department of justice to drop charges against a corrupt mayor in new york so he'll accede to whatever the wishes are of the trump administration regarding local

enforcement. and that's only a short list. and we have reached a point where a federal judge has found that the white house defied his order to release billions of dollars in federal grants marking the first time that a journalling has expressly declared that the trump administration is disobeying a judicial mandate. that is trouble. the country is headed into a situation where in addition to acting without authority, the president and his enablers are indicting -- he will defy rulings from the third branch of our government. vice president vance has made it very clear what his point of view is on judges. judges aren't allowed to control the executive's, quote, legitimate powers. and if the courts don't like it, let them enforce it. of course, under our constitution, since marbury v. madison, the court is -- the court is the final arbiter of

what is legitimate or what is not. in the executive branch -- the executive branch must enforce the laws, as interpreted by the coequal branch of government. mr. president, it is my view that this administration is showing maximum contempt for core constitutional values, including, most importantly, the separation of powers. this is not about what the president's agenda is. this is about his disregard about the limits that apply to each branch of government. and we have a dilemma. there are many in congress that are fully in support of president trump's policies. that's his right to pursue them, any member's right to support them. but it has to be that we accept our unique responsibility -- each of the 100 u.s. senators -- that we have to guarantee that

in pursuit of those policies, it is done within constitutional boundaries. that is the glue that has held this country together for thick and thin for nearly 250 years. you know, this is not just talk about civic aspiration. it's a recognition that the separation of powers, that the system of checks and balances -- we're custodians of that, each of us here -- that the concept of the executive's ambition should be matched with the ambition of the legislature. that's what's held us together through the turmoil of our own history. we have fierce debates about important public policy matters, but what allows us to resolve them, despite intense disagreements, is staying within the guardrails of the constitution. that process is being threatened

directly and agresssive. -- aggressively. the president's attack on our constitution on january 6 has continued to this day. we've witnessed the renunciation of the decision that the american people made in the 2020 election by president trump's nominees. many of them who came before us, including mr. patel, were unable to simply say who won the 2020 election. they continued the stop the steal narrative even four years later. and now we have president trump in his first month in office acting in ways that continues to challenge the constitutional order. i'm voting guess mr. patel, pry -- i'm voting against mr. patel, primarily but not gleeful because he's -- but not exclusively because he's clearly

an instrument to continue eroding the precepts of the constitution on separation of powers. and i urge all my fellow senators, republican and democrat, to embrace the responsibility we have to assert our responsibility and authority as a coequal branch. this is a difficult time, particularly for many of my esteemed colleagues on the republican side. you may support, as i mentioned, the policies of the president, but we've got to take a look at how he is going about trying to implement them. that really matters. we are all custodians of the constitutional order. i'm regarding what president trump has been doing in his first month in office as an illegal rampage -- it's a rampage of illegality. he's showing a contempt for congress and a contempt for the united states judiciary.

mr. patel has signed onto that agenda. he isn't just someone who will be forced to participate in the president's campaign of retribution, he is an active participant. he's got his enemy's list. we know this because his own words said what the fbi -- what was the fbi doing planning january 6 for a year? no basis for that other than to set up the attack on the good men and women of the fbi. mr. patel is the one who created a list of deep state individuals. this is like russia kind of stuff. half of whom are republicans in the so-called deep state. and he called it nothing more than a cabal of government gangsters and allies. this is the department he's going to be leading. really? and he's the one who said thank you to president trump for helping put so many government gangsters in their place.

mr. president, mr. patel is not the person to lead the fbi. and my hope is that all of us should consider what mr. patel will do. he's going to use the power of the fbi to go after all those in government, those in the media, and those across the country he doesn't agree w he cannot serve as the next director of the fbi. i yield back. the presiding officer: all postcloture time is expired. the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks.

mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker.

the clerk: mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer.

mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson.

mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey.

mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff.