mr. blanche. we need people leading the department who will end the abuses of the past and make the agency live up to the ideals of our constitution. i'm not the only one who thinks mr. blanche is the right man for the job. he's received support from some of the people who understand the justice department best. over 100 alumni of the southern district of new york who worked alongside mr. blanche wrote to say this. quote, todd's experience, character, intellect, openness to dialogue, and long-standing love of and belief in the mission of the department of justice make him eminently qualified to serve as deputy attorney general, end of quote. another communication -- 70 former doj officials wrote to say that, quote, mr. blanche is a special nominee in that he brings decades of experience both as a prosecutor and defense attorney to the role of deputy attorney general, end of quote. another one -- law enforcement groups representing tens of thousands of officers wrote to support mr. blanche because

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the blanche nominationthe presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. are the ones only accept the election outcome. that is a fundamentally un-american view. and no one understood that more than john lewis. voting is an act of patriotism. we love her country. we want to make it better and want every american to have the same opportunity. let's make our elections more fair and more accessible so that everyone has a chance to make their voice heard. let's in republican efforts to put up roadblocks to the ballot box and let's remind people that voting is how we make our democracy stronger. together complex past the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act. it's my privilege to introduce someone who is taking a legislative role in his capacity as chair of house administration of the children from new york. >> ranking member -- [inaudible] >> good morning. thank you to all my not only colleagues but dear friends who are up on the dais to talk about this report in legislation and a spec

mr. president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, todd blanche florida, to be deputy attorney general. mr. thune: mr. president -- send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. can the clerk: cloture the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of todd blanche, of florida, to be deputy attorney general, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. thune: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the presiding offer to join with the like committee on the part of the house of representatives to supreme court the president of the united states into the house chamber for the joint s

mr. thune: for the information of all senators, senators should expect one vote at 11:00 a.m. on cloture on the blanche nomination and two votes at 3:45 p.m., confirmation of the blanche nomination, and passage of s.j. res. 28, senator ricketts' digital consumer payments cra. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask amy: u.s. senate is considering legislation to rea biden administration financial rules on the agenda in the week the loving is a respected to give a couple prede trump's nominationsor labor secretary deputyttorney general and live coverage incident is here on "c-span2". ♪ ♪♪ >> tonight, c-span's covered under coverage a president trump's nursing congress and the first address of the second term listen to month since taking office in season is live coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern the preview of the evening from capitol hill, the president speech which begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern and western impressed respond to the present speech your causing his reaction on social media over on "c-span2" you can also watch the simulcast of the evening's coverage followed by rea

i asked this of todd blanche and he answered that is true, so your client will in fact be the united states government, in the america, and not, that's right. mr. sauer: i stand by my prior answer. >> i appreciate all of you being here today. certainly based on the history, i think the roles in which you are volunteering to serve and have accepted these nomination are some of the most important roles in our government, especially at this moment in time, when so many people believe, so many americans believe that the department of justice and agencies within it have been used to unfairly target those who may hold a different political preference or persuasion. it is so important for the stability and consistency and long-term success of this nation to have people like you, patriots passionate about this country and its founding principles in these roles to assure americans that we are going to bring this back to a place where americans can trust that the institution of the department of justice is a shield protecting not only american safety, but they are inalienable rights. do you believe at its core that is one of the missions that you will f