brennan later today and later we'll be voting to advance two more circuit court nominees, joel carson and john nalbandian. each possess their own set of sterling qualifications. each come recommended widely by those who work closely with them and each deserve to be confirmed by this body and take their place on the federal bench. our friends across the aisle aren't making it easy, but despite the historic obstruction, this senate will do what it takes to process and to confirm the president's fine nominees for these important posts. on one final matter, later today president trump is visiting the great state of indiana, he is joining hoosiers to celebrate the new jobs that republicans are delivering to indiana and all over the country. after years of democratic policies that made life harder for job creators, the united states of america is officially open for business once again. surveys show that since president trump and this republican congress were elected, the percentage of small and independent employers feeling confident about expanding their businesses has nearly tripled. the

mcconnell: yesterday, the senate confirmed two more superbly qualified circuit court nominees, joel carson and john nalbandian. they are the 20th and 21st circuit judges we have confirmed this congress. this morning, our colleagues on the intelligence committee finished their consideration of gina haspel to be c.i.a. director and reported her nomination favorably with bipartisan support. ms. haspel's testimony and record have showcased the poise, talent, and experience that make her an excellent selection. senators heard about her 30-plus years of c.i.a. experience spanning sensitive operations from the cold war to the global war on terror. that background makes ms. haspel an ideal pick at this particular moment, and secretary mattis has explained that counterterrorism and a renewed great power competition are two of the key challenges facing our nation. so it's no wonder, mr. president, james clapper, president obama's director of national intelligence, said, quote, i think the world of gina. she is capable, smart, very experienced, well respected by the agency rank and file, and a great

or we have joel carson, nominee for the tenth circuit who has spent most of his career deeply embedded in advocating for fossil fuel interests. that's a huge conflict of interest for being able to weigh in as a judge on any issue regarding energy. then we have the case from oregon, the chairman and judiciary committee has scheduled a hearing for him tomorrow, mr. ryan bounds despite the fact that senator wyden and i have not returned our blue slips. should this nomination come forward to this floor and be confirmed, this will be the first time in the history of the blue slips that the combined objection of both home state senators has been ignored. so you might ask why is it that senator wyden and i feel so strongly about this particular nominee. well, the first is the white house didn't consult with us. they brought him in for an interview and decided they were going to nominate him without consulting the home state senators. this body who wants to stand up for consultation would stand against this nomination. oh, the white house says they consulted. they have a very strange definitio

joel carson has a distinguished tenure. his peers say his integrity, fairness and respect for the dignity of others are topnotch. a bipartisan group of new mexico lawyers have expressed competence. he'll be an excellent addition to the tenth circuit they said and the judiciary committee agreed reporting judge carson's nomination to the full senate in a bipartisan fashion. we'll also vote on john nalbandian from my home state of kentucky nominated to serve on the sixth circuit. he has earned respect from across the political spectrum as a top appellate advocate. he's known for his fairness, collegiality, and legal ability. in 2007, mr. nalbandian was appointed to be a special justice of the kentucky supreme court. he later sat on the selection panel for magistrate judges in the state's eastern district. and more recently, president obama nominated him to serve on the board of state justice institute. he was confirmed by a voice vote. in addition to well regarded work in private practice, nalbandian has also dedicated himself

the clerk: the judiciary, joel m. carson iii of new mexico to be united states circuit judge for the tenth circuit. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i want to return to a theme that i've been addressing the last few days and that is the nomination of ms. gina haspel to be director of the c.i.a. yesterday the entire country, indeed the entire world, got to see ms. haspel's performance before the senate select committee on intelligence. and speaking for myself, i could not have been more impressed. and in taking an informal poll among others, i think they felt -- many people felt the same way. it is al tough -- it is a tough -- a tough requirement of her confirmation process to -- for comob who has been 33 years -- somebody who has been 33 years working for the c.i.a. in the most obscure and unknown to the rest of us spots around the world to have to come and answer questions about her career much of which happens to be classified information. and, of course, we ha

the clerk: judiciary, joel m. carson iii to be united states circuit judge for the tenth circuit. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i had an opportunity yesterday to visit our friend john mccain. it was a beautiful location, sedona. it's about a two-hour drive from phoenix. john and cindy and i had a chance to sit on the back porch and reminisce about our friendship and all we had shared over the last 30 years. we had some laughs. we mainly reminisced about the battles. sometime we were on the same side, sometimes we weren't. but one thing about our colleague, john mccain, you'd rather be on his side than not. but for ten years we had very vigorous debates about an issue he and i both cared about and we were on the opposite sides. it ended up going all the way to the supreme court. he won and i lost. and we worked hard to establish a new relationship after that vigorous battle of a decade. we all know his story all too well. a genuine american hero. we admire the tenacity and the grit that it took to survive those five and a half years in th