in 2009. we don't have any evidence they were in the same province in afghanistan, the same location or unit, something else that remains under investigation. we know that they both used the rental company turo to rent their vehicles. it has been confirmed by dod that he was in the army, a green beret operations sergeant who spent most of his time at fort carson, colorado. he was on approved leave from germany where he was serving with the special forces group, previously in the national guard and army reserve. through exceptional joint investigative efforts -- >> we will show this in its

entirety after remarks from president biden speaking from the white house. you are watching live coverage on c-span. [applause] >> mr. president, and confirming 235 lifetime judges during your administration we have made history, not just in a record-breaking number but in the quality of the individuals who have been nominated and confirmed. i served on the judiciary committee for some time, all three of us have served on the committee. personally, i reviewed over 1000 judicial nominees in the committee and on the floor. the record is clear. the nominees represent the best

of the judiciary, of america. when i became chair of the senate judiciary these vacancies and bringing balance to the court was the highest priority. we face six ordinary challenges. the first two years of the administration coincided with the longest evenly divided senate in history and for the past three years, democrats have held a narrow majority. the biden administration had fewer vacancies to fill day one than the trump administration did in fewer than half. still we succeeded beyond what any hope for. 235 judges confirmed, more than one out of every four judges now serving on the judicial bench were nominated by this president joseph biden. [applause]

because of the arcane and challenging rules of the judiciary committee the members had to be sitting in their seats when the roll call was taken for each and every nominee, 235 times. i will give you a second to remember the names of those who served so well, dianne feinstein, sheldon whitehouse, amy klobuchar, chris loomis, richard blumenthal, cory booker, alexi padilla, jon ossoff, senator butler and senator welch. they deserve a round of applause. [applause] i would be remiss if i did not note the amazing staff that brought us here as well on my

side. extraordinary group of people starting with and swanson, philip rest. [applause] sarah bauer. [applause] stephanie angel, just clay, leak simmons. [applause] the high point of the last four years was when you kept your word and we were able to confirm justice ketanji brown jackson. [applause] if you are to be the first, you have to be the best, and she is, certainly the best by every measure. you kept your word and nominated her and we have done a great

favor to the nation by following through. in closing, we are proud of the fact these nominees have bipartisan support, more than 80% of them received bipartisan support. i want to thank my friend and colleague of many years, chuck schumer. i nagged him and beat up on him and twisted his arm and did everything i could to get our nominees on the calendar and he came through with flying colors. the closing weeks of the session, that was the focus of our activity, to make sure we reached this 235 number. thanks chuck. [applause] i'm grateful to be a part of this opportunity, these men and women will be serving america for decades to come. my friend chuck schumer. [applause] sen. schumer: thank you everybody. it's a great day. i thank everyone. thanking president biden, we are

here today because of your leadership mr. president. [applause] with president biden working by our side, senate democrats confirmed 235 judges, more than any majority have confirmed in decades. this is historic. we confirmed more judges then were confirmed under the previous administration, something no one thought we could do. in fact we confirmed more judges than under any administration going back decades. when people look back at the most consequential accomplishments of the last four years, two things will stand out. the legislation we passed between 2021-'22 and the historic judges reconfirmed to the bench. now these are amazing accomplishments.

even more importantly, these judges come just in time. our democracy faces an uncertain future. many people are rightly worried. we hear incoming leaders saying things about undercutting the wellsprings of democracy, that make many americans anxious. the good news is these judges will be a barrier against attacks on our democratic institutions. at the district level, these judges will have the first, often decisive impact on cases involving voting rights, elections and democracy at large. thanks to these judges, it's now far more likely today than it was a few years ago that these attacks on democracy will be blunted. in short, these judges will be the shield that protects our

democracy. so thank you president biden for leading the way in strengthening the bench, it could not haven't without you -- it couldn't happen without you. it will protect our institutions and it better reflects on america itself. i want to thank chairman durbin for outstanding work the last four years. he certainly was as we say in brooklyn a nudge. that's a good word. [laughter] without chairman durbin, we could not have confirmed so many judges in such a short amount of time. he's been an excellent and diligent partner every step of the way. i want to thank his staff and judiciary staff and my staff, my great counsel, for the great job they have done. i want to thank vice president

harris who helped us confirm many nominees by deciding vote, many of them were 50-50, and without her being here, and she had to change her schedule often at the last minute notice, it might not of happened. thank you to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. we did have some support from a group of republican senators and that helped us. we think that as well. -- thank that is well. it is my sincere pleasure to turn it to the person who led the way in this great effort, our president joe biden, mr. president what you have done confirming a record number of judges will be one of the most important follow-ups of your legacy, which is of course very large and impressive. thank you for your leadership,

all these many years. let us welcome our great president, joseph biden. [applause] pres. biden: thank you thank you thank you. i'm sure you're clapping because i finally showed up. [laughter] i do apologize. we had a busy schedule new year's day on, two crises, one in louisiana and one in las vegas. i have assembled the entire defense and intelligence apparatus of the country, the situation room, we have been spending time there. i will take another two minutes to talk about that and then go

on. i want to give an update on the investigations of yesterday's terrorist attacks, new orleans and las vegas. i have come from the meeting, the better part of an hour, from the homeland security team. the people killed in portland has risen to 15 including the attacker, 35 injured. the fbi briefed me as of now no information that anyone else was involved in the attack. they have established the attacker was the same person who landed the explosives in those ice coolers in nearby locations in the french quarter a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle. he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those ice chests. there is no question -- they

have established he is there and he had a detonator to explode those chests. the attacker posted several videos several hours before the attack indicating his strong support for isis. federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating any foreign or domestic contacts or connection that could be relevant to the attack. we are continuing to investigate whether there was connection between in norlin's attack and the explosion and las vegas. as of now, i have been briefed, they have not found evidence of such a connection thus far. i've directed them to keep looking. the individual who rented the truck in las vegas also served active-duty u.s. army and the fbi is working with dod on investigating including possible motives and all those he worked with, who served with him.

i directed my team to accelerate these investigations. they are making every single resource available to get the job done. we will share the facts as soon as i learn them so the a public doesn't have to wonder. new orleans is a city of tremendous spirit. you cannot keep it down. we are seeing that today. the sugar bowl is on, kickoff will take off shortly if i don't get this damn thing done we will be in real trouble. [laughter] the fbi is handing control of bourbon street back to local officials, security is enforced. people in new orleans are sending a message. they will not let this attack or attackers with diluted ideologies overcome us. none of us should fear. we will pursue terrorist

organizations where they are and they will find no safe harbor here. i will provide updates in new orleans and las vegas as the facts develop. to the business at hand, i cannot tell you how much i appreciate these men. not a joke. fact of the matter is, majority leader schumer and chair durbin, their leadership has been invaluable. from my days of leading the committee 200 years ago -- [laughter] -- i may judicial nominations a priority. i was involved in contentious nominations over the years. today i want to recognize a major milestone. 235 judges, the largest number of confirmations in a single presidential term since the early 1980's, including one

supreme court justice, 45 circuit court of appeals judges, 187 district judges and to judges on the court of international trade, that represent the best of america. it's all about preserving the constitution. i made three speeches in this campaign. in my term as president, one when i entered, saying democracy was at stake. the institutions are in jeopardy, in my view. some of the decisions coming down made no constitutional sense. they are all highly qualified people. they have had distinguished careers. it matters. judges matter. shaping the everyday lives of americans, protecting basic freedoms. defending constitutional liberties, respecting the idea that precedent matters.

these judges will be independent, fair and impartial and respect the rule of law. most importantly, i never thought i would be saying this, they will uphold the constitution! when i ran, i made a promise, i would have a bench that looks like america, that taps into the full talents of the nation. i am proud we have kept our commitment. judicial decision-making and outcomes, we have a record number of judges with experience long overlooked in the federal judiciary, like advocates for civil rights, workers rights, immigrant rights and more. the first former public defender to sit in the second circuit, we will put forth men and women who have been prosecutors and attorneys, which was a distant past and the courts.

no matter who they are or where they come from, all these appointees will understand the role of a judge and are committed to the rule of law. the institutional safeguards of our constitution that upholds the rights and guarantees of the constitution. i have appointed the most demographically diverse judicial nominees in the history of america. it represents all of america, the best of america. numerous historic first, the first black woman on the u.s. supreme court. more black women in the courts of appeal than every other previous administration of history combined. [applause] hispanic americans, asian americans, muslim americans, the list goes on. for the first time in a long

time, we have a bench that looks like and represents all of america. a special thank you again to leader schubert and chair durbin working tirelessly to move this through committee on the floor in a contentious political period in american history. one-vote majority. it's amazing what they did. republicans and democrats filling vacancies in their states, all the republican senators, we got back to the basics. finding basic movements to civil liberties and civil rights, whether your counterpart in the republican party, we got people who understand the constitutional limitations and safeguards. i don't want to get anyone in

trouble, especially my conservative friends in indiana, south dakota and texas but they were all fairly appointed and they are not democrats. they understand the institutional structure of the court. these judges will hear cases on everything. how americans cast ballots, when it will be counted. whether workers can unionize. 1934. make a living wage for their families. their children can breathe clean air and drink clean water and be mandated by the congress to do so, this is a vital check on the excesses of other branches of government, including congress and the executive branch when they overreach. follow the safeguards. let me close with this, i am proud of the legacy we will leave for our nation as it relates to judges and i'm proud of the men and women who stepped

forward in the call to serve. if i look to you and said i want to nominate you and you said in this time? i'm serious. i know this room is the only room to comprehend that. i know they will uphold our nation's founding principles, liberty, justice, equality, and for decades to come. as we say in my old neighborhood, it's a big deal. [laughter] bless me father, for i have sinned. all kidding aside, i am proud of the caliber, capacity, willingness and academic backgrounds of all these men and women we appointed. we appointed more women. i was raised in a household

where all the women were smarter than all the men. all kidding aside, i think we will be proud of these women and men that have been appointed and i think we will establish the safeguards built into the constitution. everybody. everybody everybody has equal opportunity. that is what it is all about. thank you for all you have done. wouldn't have got it done without you guys. thank you for the recommendations and help. most importantly these two guys, the idea from the beginning when we had that first conversation, that we are going to appoint these judges we looked at each other like are we kidding ourselves? thank you pal. thank you. [applause] by the way, i have ruined his reputation by bragging so much about him. it might hurt him during an election year. every time we get in trouble, i

literally asked my staff, durbin. you are the best pal. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ >> also live today on c-span at 5 p.m. eastern president biden were lower the presidential citizens metal to 20 recipients including liz cheney and bennie thompson, who led the january 6 committee. you can watch live on the c-span now app or online at www.c-span.org.

>> the public will be able to pay respects 7:00 tuesday evening. wednesday president carter will lie in state at the capitol being transported on thursday, where he will take his last trip home to be buried at the carter family home in georgia. we will show this live on the c-span networks, www.c-span.org and c-span now. ♪ >> democracy isn't just an idea. it's a process shaped by leaders , entrusted to a select few.

it's where debates unfold, decisions are made and the nation's course is charted. democracy in real-time your government at work, this is c-span giving you your democracy unfiltered. ♪ witness democracy in action with c-span, experience history as it unfolds with live coverage this january as republicans take control of congress and a new chapter begins with the swearing-in of the 47th president of the u.s. don't miss the opening day of the 119th congress, watch the election of the speaker, the swearing-in of members, and the first day of leadership for john thune as the new senate majority leader. monday, january 6, live from the house chamber, witness vice president harris preside