senator ricketts: aye. senator moreno: aye. senator scott: aye. senator merkley: no. the clerk: mrs. murray. senator murray: no. the clerk: mr. wyden. senator wyden: no. the clerk: mr. sanders. senator sanders: no. the clerk: mr. whitehouse. senator whitehouse: no. the clerk: mr. warner. senator warner: no. the clerk: mr. kaine. senator kaine rrp no. -- senator kaine: no. senator van hollen: no. >> lujan votes no. the clerk: mr. padilla. senator padilla: no. the clerk: mr. chairman. chair graham: no. no. aye. never mind. [laughter] the clerk: mr. chairman -- mr. chairman, the ayes are 11, the nays are 10. chair graham: thank you. senator van hollen number 4. senator van hollen: thank you, mr. chairman. as we discussed earlier, this creates a point of order against legislation that would cut medicare or medicaid benefits. we should all go after fraud, waste, and abuse in medicare or medicaid but no one campaigned cutting medicare or medicaid so this creates a guardrail against it. i urge its adoption. chair graham: thank you. i have determined the amendment threatens t

of his senator, his senate colleague, lamar alexander. they sat down for a conversation here on c-span about his book, and he talked about his first election in the senate in 1984. you were you were. well. well, i think all of us in the united states senate are political accident. not all of us will admit it, but we all are. and you surely were. yeah, it was 30 points behind in july and july. election year. so the bloodhound ad, what was that? well, it was a desperate situation. roger ailes, who's now pretty well known of it, could you find roger ailes that? well, he in those days, he was doing a political consulting, doing commercials. so he was willing to take on somebody in a democratic state who was 30 points behind. well, he had a couple of clients he thought were going to win that year. and me and me and i appreciated the fact he was willing to take me on. but i mean, this is a tough competitor. you can see how he started cnbc for nbc and started fox for rupert murdoch. here's the situation. and it was it was july of the election. i

senator ricketts: aye. senator moreno: aye. senator scott: aye. senator merkley: no. the clerk: mrs. murray. senator murray: no. the clerk: mr. wyden. senator wyden: no. the clerk: mr. sanders. senator sanders: no. the clerk: mr. whitehouse. senator whitehouse: no. the clerk: mr. warner. senator warner: no. the clerk: mr. kaine. senator kaine rrp no. -- senator kaine: no. senator van hollen: no. >> lujan votes no. the clerk: mr. padilla. senator padilla: no. the clerk: mr. chairman. chair graham: no. no. aye. never mind. [laughter] the clerk: mr. chairman -- mr. chairman, the ayes are 11, the nays are 10. chair graham: thank you. senator van hollen number 4. senator van hollen: thank you, mr. chairman. as we discussed earlier, this creates a point of order against legislation that would cut medicare or medicaid benefits. we should all go after fraud, waste, and abuse in medicare or medicaid but no one campaigned cutting medicare or medicaid so this creates a guardrail against it. i urge its adoption. chair graham: thank you. i have determined the amendment threatens t

senator. markley. >> on day one the president issued a executive order to pause funds that were authorized as part of the inflation reduction act. there is a legal mechanism for changing the past law called a rescission. there is an illegal way called an impoundment. will you send a rescission message to congress or use the illegal impoundment strategy? >> senator, thank you for the question. those eos were again, pauses to insure that the funding that's in place is consistent and moves in a direction along the lines of what the president ran on. unleashing american energy away from the green new deal? >> insection or impoundments. >> there is a section that says that the office of legislature affairs will work with the office of budget. they might put forward rescissions. again, the language of the eo said required by law. it's meant to do a delay to figure out what are the best ways -- >> okay, very good. thank you, i'll just note you are not willing to say you will not willing to say you wi

the senate will be in order. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i call up my amendment number 101 and ask that it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new mexico, mr. heinrich, proposes an amendment numbered 101. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i rise to offer this amendment to support grants for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. over the last several weeks, i've heard from thousands of new mexicans about how donald trump and elon musk have thrown their lives and communities into chaos. that includes alexandria taylor. she called me about president trump's blockade on federal grants under the violence against women act. these grants do two things. they support survivors of rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and they help law enforcement hold predators and abusers accountable. these are not woke ideas. these are american values. if you support survivors of sexual assault and dom

sue senator mitch mcconnell talking about his relationship with the late senator john mccain in 2016in 2017, michaela mitch mcconnell did will then again for the affordae care act also known as obama care is a major senate vote in july, i whether to repeal the law and republicans get to this point where on the senate floor they have about going to repeal it pretty what is happening leading up to the boat. >> with there's a lot about kelly one of the things that senator mcconnell has most people call legendary skill is his ability to count the votes but this was really came down to the wire and absolute a few times where hee missed count miscounted they got what. >> one thing is not sure what john mccain to do and then when what is going r to do, republics lose. i would like to go back of it though to the mccain relationship is a very interesting in early on, they fought over campaign finance legislation and then, in the world histories, senator mcconnell is not very charitable for senator mccain pretty good about being president he thought that he was critically your ill-suited to be

senators cruz and klobuchar led the take it down act and it's already passed senate. i'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong about the inert issue of congress, and having the house pass act soon. please don't let us down again. i've witnessed over 40 teens take their lives since gavin due to this extortion. will it take one of your own children or grandchildren to finally get fed up enough to move? big tech is the big tobacco of this generation. we see groups give stacks over and over, parents of survivors knock on your doors yearly. and we watch companies spend millions lobbying. fighting us this court and continuously absolving themselves of responsibility. in this chamber last january,stood holding a picture of gavin while mark zuckerberg delivered a forced apology. big tech will never be about enforcement. meta pulled down 63,000 accounts in one day from one country just from lagos, nigeria and just off of instagram. did they pull those down to actually help our children and if so, why shan't haven't they done more since? or was it a p.r. stunt? i beg to say

senator. i can think maybe 1 or 2 times in the 15 years i've covered capitol hill, where it's been like that. what was the sense of things. >> on tulsi gabbard? >> yeah, it was unclear. i mean, look what it was. so perhaps for one reason, one a telling sign of how the serious republican leadership was taking this moment. john thune, the senate majority leader, came to witness what was happening inside the room himself. he would have to make a decision on how to proceed if ultimately, cassidy broke ranks and voted against this nomination, he had said that he would be unlikely to try to advance a nomination if a committee decides to vote against any cabinet nominee from going to the floor. so there was a keen interest among top republican leaders about what ultimately would go down here. but no question about it. a lot of drama in this room. typically, you're right. we know how members will come down. but bill cassidy was struggling. i mean, even as last night, i asked him repeatedly about how h

senator murray. senator murray. >> thank you. a very straightforward amendment title ii contains the reconciliation instruction as well as the company reserve fund and it creates a new reserve fund to implement a bipartisan multiyear agreement to provide 175 million in discretionary funding a defense. letting us address defense, border, veterans, farmers, food, nutrition, biomedical research childcare and a lot of other needs on the bipartisan basis. mr. chairman, i agree with you. we face serious challenges and i think that you will find agreement up and down, democrats share concerns of national security. providing more research to address the challenges at the border and making sure that we counter china. we also want to make sure that we address critical areas biomedical research childcare and aot lot more. approaching my amendment is simple. just to say on a bipartisan basis and this should be part of the topline conversation we are having now as we hurtled towards that deadline i want to make something very right. democrats

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 b

senate. and i have appreciated the opportunity to meet with nearly every member of this distinguished committee in recent weeks. i am especially grateful to president trump for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility of serving america's 33 million small -- 34 million small businesses. there is no stronger advocate for these job creators than our president. i share his commitment, and if confirmed, will work tirelessly with him to make small business great again. finally, i want to thank my incredible husband, jeff, and my wonderful family and friends who have joined us here today in-person and via broadcast. most importantly, i give all thanks and glory to god. as someone who has spent my life either working in small businesses, starting them, growing them, or helping them succeed -- i know that small business is big business for america. they comprise 99% of all businesses. they create two out of every three new jobs, and employ nearly half of the private sector workforce. they

senator john thune, wh succeeded mr. mcconnell as republican leader thi, released a statement that reads t "sator mcconnell's legacy is one of remarkable service to the senate, the commonwealth of kentnd o nation. his contributill rain a lasting reflection of his steady vision, determination and e tohe country he loves." >> i've never liked calling too much attention to today's date, february 20. but i figured my birthday would be as good today 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 campaigns, to count votes, steer committees, take the majority, and on nine occasions, to lead our conference serving as republican leader was a rare and rather specific childhood dream. just about a year ago, i think my collects for the confidence. to the distinguish members of this body, i've had the privilege to lead and i rem

what's going on in the senate? confirmed as the next director of national intelligence for this trump administration by a 5248 vote, a republican majority here backing her confirmation and ultimately putting her atop the us intelligence agencies. the mitch mcconnell, ultimately the only republican to vote against her nomination. this is the second nominee of donald trump in which mitch mcconnell has voted no. but notably, lisa murkowski, susan collins, who were skeptical of her nomination, ultimately voted to confirm her. the next nomination up is robert f kennedy jr. democrats are going to begin to take to the senate floor this afternoon, through the night to denounce his nomination in what we expect to be a unanimous opposition among all democratic senators tomorrow morning, when his vote is ultimately taken up for his confirmation around the 7 a.m. eastern hour time. now, the question with vice president vance, who could be a tie breaker vote for that nomination. he is overseas presently and will be tomorrow her

senator sheldon whitehouse just spoke on the senate floor. will be joining us senate floor. will be joining us after this break. if you have heart failure or chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help you keep living life, because there are places you'd like to be. (♪♪) serious side effects include increased ketones in blood or urine and bacterial infection between the anus and genitals, both which may be fatal, severe allergic reactions, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. stop taking and tell your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, rash, swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing. tell your doctor about lightheadedness, weakness, fever, pain, tenderness, redness or swelling between the anus and genitals. ask your doctor about farxiga today. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ (♪♪) i'm thinking of updating my kitchen... —yeah? —yes! ...this year, we are finally updating our kitchen... ...doing subway tile in an ivory, or eggshell... —cream?... —maybe bone?... don't get me started on quartz. a big big island... you ever h

we do know mitch mcconnell, the former senate republican leader, now senator, just senator, republican from kentucky has voted no. the second time he's gone against the trump national security pick. i want to go back to manu raju, who is in the hallways tracking senators and has one with him right now. >> yeah, that's right. that's senator peter welch, a democrat of vermont. but that was the news we were looking for. what will senate republican leader, the former senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, do on this vote? one of the two republican swing votes, one of them, john curtis, voted yes. mitch mcconnell voted no. what is your reaction, senator? senator mcconnell, now are to national security picks broke with trump both at pete hegseth to be defense secretary and now tulsi gabbard. and he could be the lone republican. what's your reaction to that? >> well i'm impressed with senator mcconnell. i mean, the question is loyalty to trump. >> and a lot of the republican colleagues are very loyal to trump and fearful of straying. and then loyal to national security. and on these two re

>> yes, senator.e plans and postures has always over the years but to conduct migrant operations. in fact, one of our missions is to plan for mass migration scenario. under the currents in a radiation -- situation, what we are doing is modifying our existing land to be able to support the migrant ops at the naval station and to provide a safe and humane care and support of the department of homeland security. now, to be clear, two different sides of the base. one is the naval station, both the mock which was a migrant operations center where we actually set up tents and then we have gtf in the other side of the island which we have the detainees. >> have you estimated the cost that you will incur for the operations? you have to construct facilities to 30,000 individuals which would include healthcare centers , sanitation provisions, et cetera. how much money will that cost us >> right now we are in the initial phases process. to get to 30,000 if that is desired. right now we are in initial phases. rig

thank you, senator sheldon whitehouse, who just spoke on the senate floor, will be the senate floor, will be joining us after this for more than a decade farxiga has been trusted again and again, and again. ♪far-xi-ga♪ ♪far-xi-ga♪ ask your doctor about farxiga. where ya headed? susan: where am i headed? am i just gonna take what the markets gives me? no. i can do some research. ya know, that's backed by j.p. morgan's leading strategists like us. when you want to invest with more confidence... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management because it's made from. >> the senna plant. >> a natural vegetable. >> laxative ingredient. >> gentle, dependable. >> seneca. >> also available in delicious gummies. >> tackling quarterbacks. >> or tackling subscriptions. >> oh. >> if. >> i had to choose. >> tackling quarterbacks because it's. >> so easy to tackle subscriptions with. >> experian easy. >> i'll go tackle those. >> quarterbacks even though it's >> quarterbacks even though it's ♪♪ sonya earlene and marcia are among the thousands of real women living with metastatic breast cancer; doing wha

senator wyden and i have agreed that senator warnock will now speak. following senator warnock, we will proceed to the vote, and anyone else who wants to make for march will be allowed to make remarks. senator warnock. sen. warnock: thank you so very much, mr. chairman. at a rally a few months ago, donald trump said he was going to allow mr. robert kennedy to "go wild on health." go wild. of all the things i can think of that i would like to see a secretary of health and human services do, go wild is not on the list. mr. robert kennedy is manifestly unqualified for the job he seeks. and in both my live and written questions for the record, he failed to commit to protecting access to affordable health care, failed to commit to protecting the people who are protecting us. the problem the cdc has is that every day these noble civil servants and workers protect us from dangers you don't see, and often don't get credit for protecting people from things they don't see. i sadly do not trust him --i simply do not trust him to oversee the cdc. he's unqualified,

patel: thanks, senator. chair grassley: senator moody. sen. merkley: i am the most junior senator so i go last. ever since i got here, and it has been a whole week, i get told two things when i rush up to my fellow senators. number one,, are you senator britt? [laughter] and number two, you know the senate is a body that is deliberative and calm, and i am anything but. i don't know how the next couple of years will look but i hope they bear with me. i have been a lot of things that are these agencies i thought we would never see out of the united states. i know my fellow attorneys general who would agree with me in fact, some of them are here to support you. i would love to introduce them, the attorney general from south carolina, former utah attorney general as well, and little son and the louisiana ag. they joined me. thank you for being here. they joined me in signing onto a letter supporting your nomination. we did that while i was still attorney general over a week ago. they came here today to support you. mr. chairman, i know you have be

under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until senate stands in recess until >> the senate for weekly party caucus. today lawmakers votedo confirm kelly loeffler administrator for small business administration. later this week the upper chairman will vote on confirmati of kash patel to be by the director. fil vote on thursday. watch live coverage can on the senate when lawmakers return at 2:15 eastern this afternoon here on c-span2. >> get essential contact information from government officials all in one place. this compact spiral bound guide contains bio and contact information for every house and senate member of the 119th congress. contact information on congressional committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. the congressional directory cost 3295 plus shipping and handling. scan the code on the right or go to c-spanshop.org to preorder your copy today. >> all this week, watch c-span's new members of congress series where we speak with both republicans and democrats about their early lives previous careers, families and why they decided t

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin . a senator: i rise to sound the alarm what's happening to our nation regarding lifesaving medical research. in the first month of the trump administration. as many of you know, i am a proud graduate of the university of wisconsin madison law school. ms. baldwin: in many ways i grew up at the university where both of my grandparents who raised me worked. my grandmother ran the costume lab at the theater department, and my grandfather was a scientist. he was a biochemist who spent four decades unlocking the key to how our metabolism works. in large part, thanks to funding from the national institutes for health. my grandfather and his colleagues pioneered breakthroughs that impacted biochemistry around the world leading to all kinds of developments to keep our bodies healthy. from nutrition and diet to advanced drugs to really so much more. and i share my grandfather's story because it demonstrates why the nih is so essential. as the world's premier biomedical research institution, nih i

shut down the senate! shut down the senate! shut down the senate! shut down the senate! shut down the senate! hey! all right, here you go. >> i appreciate you all. all right, i was just elected to represent the 47th district in california. i succeeded katie porter, and like katie, like senator warren, before going into politics, i was a law professor. and we are here because we are in a constitutional crisis, the likes of which we have never seen in this country. we are here because elon musk, an unelected billionaire, is repeatedly and break -- blatantly breaking the law, including by usurping all authorities expressly reserved to congress. the constitution is simple. we appropriate the money and treasury delivers it. but elon musk taking it over threatens all that. he has time powers that even the president does not hold, including the power to close agencies he does not like, agencies that congress created an funded. who the hell gave elon musk this authority? no one. until yesterday elon musk had no official role with the administration. now, all of us up here today,

moran: i yield to the senator from virginia, senator warner. presiding officer: the chair recognizes the senator from virginia. mr. warner: thank you him first i want to thank my colleagues from kansas. i know you were there that night. i want to thank as well obviously my dear friend 40-plus years from virginia. we were at the airport along with friends from maryland and d.c. by 7:00 the next morning. and the remarkable thing is this is a route i take home every night. i have the luxury, frankly, of being the guy that my home is actually closer to the capitol than all other members. i drive along the parkway each night. and i think i missed the actual collision by no less than seven or eight minutes. and yet we then saw a number of red lights rushing into national across the river in maryland. and we all know that the souls on american flight 5342 and those pilots in the army helicopter, awful, awful collision. echoing what my friends have said. we can't give you words that will get rid of that terror or that awful event. but we have seen over

here's senator roger wicker, here's senator bill cassidy, here's senator jerry moran saying, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, wait a second. you can't stop all this foreign aid. that's american food aid that's going to rot in the ports, says jerry moran. that's that's an hiv treatment program that needs to be restarted immediately, says physician and louisiana republican senator bill cassidy. i mean, the pushback is real. it's emboldened in part by the stupidity and palpable incompetence of the administration that's trying to push everybody around. the pushback is real. it is emboldened, and it is coming from every direction. the protests we saw yesterday at the usaid building to stick up for usaid and foreign aid, that was a big deal, an impromptu demonstration that attracted tons of members of congress, tons of people, tons of media. there's going to be another demonstration for that same cause tomorrow, again with members of congress. this time it's going to be 11:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. at upper senate park, which is on constitution avenue in washington, d.c, standing up for usaid, standing up

i now turn to my colleague senator padilla. senator padilla: thank you, senator hirono. in addition to a lot of the specific concerns about kash patel and how he would be as a f.b.i. director, i feel compelled to remind us of the moment that we are in right now. in the first two weeks of the second trump administration, the chaos that has been created, we have seen efforts by the administration to unlawfully freeze federal funding. threatening payments to housing programs, social security, medicare, beyond, etc. we have seen unprecedented access by the world's richest man, enabled by the richest president in history, to access the treasury department's databases. threatening not just payments but putting at risk everybody in america's personal information. in times of chaos and crisis like this, the public deserves to see trusted leaders in the most important positions of our federal government. trusted leaders who will stand up and say no to a president trying to blow through the very guardrails put in place by the constitution. so in that context that nomination and po

senator marshall, senator warnock, senator smith, senator young and senator welch. i indicated i would give another five minutes to senator wyden. i understand he has distributed that five minutes to a few other senators so we will have a few quick questions and then we will proceed. i would like to thank the audience. we had some outbursts earlier but i would like to thank the audience for being respectful and encourage the audience to continue being respectful as we conclude the hearing. sen. marshall: thank you, chairman. obesity, diabetes, heart disease. obesity, diabetes, heart disease account for probably 80% of health challenges in america. you know how many times i heard my friends across the aisle mentioned those? i do not know if we have lost the forest for the trees. vaccines are a critical issue. i do not know how mr. kennedy's position to be any more clear that he will support the vaccines, the science, empowerment to parents and their doctors to make these choices. 60% of americans have a chronic disease. there is an epidemic of chronic diseases across

any party in the senate. what they are able to do there is move money around, change federal spending priorities, they cannot necessarily make policy for the reconciliation process, but they can allocate money differently for different priorities and different office so they are trying to take two bites of the apple, the house gop is. they want to do a border bill and another one that has to do with taxes and tax reform and extending those tax cuts. in the first year of the trump administration this is the biggest thing that is in front of them. host: something else we could be hearing is the phrase budget resolutions. both the house and senate can use those. explain what they are and what role they can play in the process. guest: right now that is the big hold up on the resolutions and tried to figure out which chamber will go first in this process. the issue for republicans, the biggest issue on capitol hill as they have a very slim house majority. the challenge is to get anything through that house that mo

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. a senator: thank you, mr. president. i rise today in support of robert f. kennedy jr.'s nomination to be secretary of the u.s. department of health and human services and to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of his confirmation. contrary to the attacks that have been constantly made on him, he has made it very clear he will support safe vaccinations and just wants to see that the research on them is done and done well. mr. crapo: when his nomination for the role of secretary of hhs was announced, mr. kennedy stated, we have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic facing americans. i agree with him. we've got to get into the business of making america healthy again. mr. kennedy's dedication to this commitment has been apparent throughout the nomination process. he will bring a fresh perspective to health care, prioritizing consumer choice, information transparency, and early interventions to st

>> thank you, senator. i have not been following the procedural posture of those cases very closely. of course, i intend to do so. >> you will be centrally involved in those decisions are part of what my colleague was trying to focus on was the tweet that you apparently posted in response to a decision that you did not like. the tweet said looking for some andrew jackson level leadership on this one. the judge has made his decision now let him enforce it. my colleague from missouri suggested that somehow senator durbin was standing up for the decision and i think buried in what he said and what my colleague said was clarity. what are the avenues appropriately available to a litigant which can include the president or the department secretary, what are the avenues available to properly challenge a duly issued federal circuit or district court order and is it ever proper to simply refuse to obey that order? >> thank you, senator. i will answer your second question first. which is what i referenced earlier. th

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. proba

i am now turning it over to the wonderful senator from georgia, senator warnock. sen. warnock: thank you so much, senator hassan. great to be here with my colleagues. a budget is more than a physical document. -- fiscal document. it is also a moral document. show me your budget, and i will show you who you think matters. who is income who is out, who you think is expendable, where your priorities are. as we take stock of what their washington republicans are trying to do now, this budget if it were an ekg suggest that washington republicans have a heart problem, and they are in need of moral surgery. so the consequences of the actions that they are trying to take in this moment hits into the lives of ordinary people. i think too often those of us who work in this space and those who cover us sort of cover the politicians. when the politics becomes about the politicians, we lose sight of where and how this actually matters for ordinary people. what they are trained to do is both immoral -- what they are trying to do is both immoral and impractical. i've been working in

>> senator fetterman: i have.time to really understand his background and to learn more about the man, and i sat down with him twice in my office to have a conversation. so whatever the vote comes down on, that's going to come with an informed view. i approached with an open mind, and i watched the hearing, and that is how the process works. >> shannon: so have you made a decision? >> senator fetterman: well, i've been following it, and i talked to my colleagues on both sides. i've said this on the record, it has been challenging, for sure. absolutely. it is certainly not a slam-dunk for the nomination. >> shannon: will you reveal your vote before you get to the floor, or is this going to be a game-time decision for you? sweet tea right before stick my thumb it's just part of an ongoing dialogue on where we are with this. but i have made an investment to really understand and talk to all the nominees, and i've treated everyone with respect, and i took the time to listen. and that has been my commitment. >> shannon

to the senate floor.dilla, who sits on the judiciary committee and has been moving back and forth at breakneck speeds throughout the day. i really appreciate you coming right in and speaking with us, senator, with us, senator, i appreciate that. i know you just voted against kash patel. why. >> of course i'll say happy to go from committee to the floor and to come here to you. w did i vote against kash patel? i mean, he is completely unfit for this role. you've been talking earlier about the. no. the lack of independence now of the department of justice. overall, the fbi especially, it cannot be under the white house's thumb. that's not how we achieve justice in the united states of america. but if you look at president trump's pick from attorney general bondi, his selections for deputy attorney general, fbi director patel, these are people who are going to be far from independent. they claim to want to depoliticize the fbi when their history, their track record, shows that they're going to be doing the e

so that was the pennsylvania senate seat in the georgia senate races. there were four different republicans who lost while trying to get senate seats from georgia in 2020 and 2022, who have all now been named to things in the trump administration. kelly loeffler lost a georgia senate race in 2020. trump named her to head the small business administration. david perdue lost a georgia senate race in 2020. trump named him to be ambassador to china. doug collins lost in the primary for georgia senate in 2020. trump named him to run the va. herschel walker lost a georgia senate race in 2022. trump named him to be ambassador to the bahamas. kari lake lost her run for arizona governor in 2022, and then she lost her run for arizona senator in 2024. trump just named her to run the voice of america. lori chavez-deremer lost her house seat in 2024. in oregon, trump named her to run the u.s. labor department. brandon williams lost his house seat in 2024. in new york, trump named him to run the national nuclear security administration. god help us all. lee zeldin lo

househo republicans say one bil, senate republicans say two bills. donald trump meanwhile is changing his mind every hour. yesterday, senate republicans voted to proceed on their budget resolution. butts, this morning you saw president trump flip the script again further sowing chaos. republicans talk to big game about flooding the zone. but instead, they are drowning in their own chaos and confusion. if this mess republicans have created for themselves as a preview of how they will govern it bodes very poorly for them but more importantly for the country. republicans could do to bill's comment 10 bills, 50 bills, 100 bills, it does not make a difference. because the one thing they are united on, the one thing they are trying to get done house and senate republicans, donald trump and elon muskan is to give their billionaire buddies a tax break and have the american people pay the b cost. no matter what it is. senate democrats will expose republicans reconciliation budget bill exactly for what it is. a sinister front for clearing away to cut taxes for