alsobrooks. quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic whip is recognized. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. pending before the senate on this saturday morning is the nomination of governor kristi noem of south dakota to be secretary of homeland security in the cabinet of president tr trump. i have never met governor noem. i had hoped we would have a chance to get together, but that didn't work out. i made a request for a courtesy meeting, but we couldn't schedule it. my vote is not contingent on a person showing up in my office, but i wish we'd had a chance to meet and talk about the awesome responsibility she is seeking with this department. department of homeland security is virtually of the creation of 9/11. that's when the term homeland started being used at our highest levels of our government, in an effort to keep america s

alsobrooks, ms. baldwin, mr. banks, mr. barrasso. the vice president: please raise your hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? the senators: i do. the vice president: congratulations, senators. the vice president: the clerk will call the next names of the next group, please. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, ms. blunt rochester, ms. cantwell, mr. cramer. the vice president: please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and fait

alsobrooks. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, the first bill that a new majority considers is an indication of its priorities. the american people are rightly concerned about the illegal immigration crisis in this country. and they sent a clear message in november that they want to see it addressed. and that is why the republican majorities in the house and the senate have made it our first order of business to take up the laken riley act. this bill is a small but critical step toward resolving the biden border crisis. the first of many, i might add. mr. president, the laken riley act is not a complicated bill. it says that an illegal immigrant involved in a theft-related crime must be detaped. that means -- detained. that means someone in the country illegally, in other words, who has already broken our laws,

alsobrooks: i want to say thank you to mrs.ito and ranking member whitehouse for your leadership on this meeting and holding today's hearing. i agree we miss senator ben cardin but am excited to be able to join this committee. e.p.w. has jurisdiction over many issues that are important to marylanders and i look forward to working with both of you as well as all of our colleagues on this committee to address the environmental and infrastructure challenges we face in our states. to mr. zeldin, congratulations again to you and to your family on the nomination and thank you as well for your willingness to serve and for appearing before our committee today. i appreciate it. i very much enjoyed meeting with you and having the opportunity to speak with you and so i suspect that my questions will come as no surprise to you based on that conversation. and in the interest of time here, i'd ask as much as possible you would answer yes or no to the following questions. i know while in congress you worked to ensure that e.p.a.'s efforts to

alsobrooks. mr. grassley: mr. president.he presiding officer: the senator from iowa is recognized. mr. grassley: like my colleague -- the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. grassley: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without the presiding officer: without >> asked the quorum call the -- >> without objection. >> also leader has just said, i come to the floor for the same purpose of talk about my vote in favor of mr. bessent, to be secretary of treasury. this cabinet position is one of the most important positions in any administration. the secretary is the tip of the spear for president's domestic economic agenda. very key player in international affairs with responsibilities covering international trade, global finance, and foreign sanctions, and that's just to name a few. given the current challenges we face as a nation, the next treasury secretary will have a big, full load on their plate. the u.s. is facing what former clinton treasury secretary larry summers recently called, quote,

alsobrooks. grassley: i ask that the quorum call -- last week -- mr. president, last week you heard me speak in support of the laken riley act, the vote that we're going to have later this afternoon. today i'd like to discuss a related bill called sarah's law. sarah root was a young woman from iowa who had a bright future ahead of her. her life was tragically cut short just one day after she graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average. she was killed when an illegal migrant who was street racing while heavily drunk crashed his car into this sarah root while she was stopped at a red light. in an outrage of justice, this illegal migrant was released after his arrest. sarah's law requires immigration authorities to detain criminals responsible for a death or a serious bodily injury. illegal migrants shouldn't be here in the first place. everybody knows that it's against the law to enter the united states without our permission. even so, if they come here violating our law, they hurt and ki

also taking the oath that day, senator angela alsobrooks of maryland. they'll be the first black women to serve simultaneously in the senate in only the third and fourth black women ever elected to the upper chamber. senator blunt rochester will be at the capitol tomorrow to complete her first constitutional duty in her new job, certify the election of donald trump as the next president of the united states. and as you see right there, joining me now, senator lisa blunt rochester of delaware. senator, thank you very much for coming back to the sunday show. >> thank you, jonathan. it is good to be back with you. and it is nice to be called senator. >> i was going to say, it's nice to call you senator. so you know what? let's start this conversation by pointing something out that you just told me before we came on air. a lot is being made of the fact that you and senator alsobrooks are black women who have been elected to the senate, just the third and the fourth elected, but you told me you are the first black person ever elected from the house to the se

alsobrooks. >> journalist and professor marvin kalb joint discomfort the author of the new book a different russia. start at the end if you would. you write when nikita khrushchev learns john kennedy had been assassinated he cried. why. >> it was one of the marvelous, interesting fascinating aspects of nikita khrushchev that he had a dream and the dream was if he could sit down with an american president he figured he and the president could solve all of the problems of the world. all he needed was that opportunity. he got that opportunity only once in june of 1961 in vienna when they met at the summit, the summit that was greeted with enormous expectation and ended in the deepest disappointment. khrushchev wanted to somehow or another take kennedy to the cleaners. is going to get his way. he wanted to rewrite the strategic balance in the world which favors the u.s. he wanted to favor russia, the soviet union and he did at that moment with kennedy and that led right to the cuban missile crisis wh

alsobrooks. >> we talked about the fact the pentagon can't do an audit. you talk about mid-gum i've run big businesses. accountability. if you want to get an audit done you can get an audit done. you might get a letter saying this thing yet to fix when all goes to accountability and we haven't had it. can you talk about what you bring, how you bring accountability to the table, what you done in the past and what you will do with regard to bring accountability? >> i meant when he said any opening statement. i know what i don't know. i don't never run organization of 3 million people with a budget of 350 billion. what i do know is i lead men and women. i played people. its leadership the people and motivation of people and a clear vision of people where you build a team, cast that vision, power people properly. i want smarter and more capable people around me than me. you will get that at the department. i cast a clear vision, build a plan can work it. we set the metrics and everyone is healthy cattle. i know our business, incoming businessman president bel

alsobrooks. trump tax cuts and in 52 days the funding of the government has to cash out an agreement and the federal aid and wildfires in california, president trump going to california and the damage on friday two when it comes to the house and senate, how agreement -- as far as reconciliation, what is the perspective of the house. >> president trump has one bill. republicans have talked more legislation, johnson will be more important with the one bill approach but it remains to be seen how they will move forward in part of what is discussed in the white house. >> we've been showing our viewers at home from inside oval office, what was your perspective but. >> a remarkable scene really. the capital one arena and biden era orders and some of the others. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ he he. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> oh great who dwells in the sky in it together as brothers talking upon. please here our prayer. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ country's future, prosperity, security, strength, and i share the president's confi

alsobrooks. [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds] hello everybody. we have the congress in charge and we will do a lot of work and get the army corps of engineers are here and it's perfect progress. they left them high and dry and now we will be taking a little tour with some of the people from the area. appreciate the governor coming up in meeting me. i appreciate that very much and will be talking. we want to get the problem fixed. it's like you got hit by a bomb. >> most importantly thank you for being here thank you from all of us that all the folks in altadena that were decimated. we will need your support and we will need your help. you are there for us during covid and i won't forget that and i know we will be able to work together. >> we have got to get it done. there've been a number of lives that have been affected and been affected in a lot of real estate has been affected. we can almost say this is like the second world war. nothing like this

alsobrooks. >> rambling speech that followed. also absent from donald trump's speech was any mention of specific policies that he will do to bring down the cost of grocery, housing, childcare and medicine. if none of the executive orders will do anything meaningful to make life more affordable to working families. what we got was a room pull of the richest -- full of the richest people on earth applauding the prospect of more tax cuts for them and more corporate consolidation that will lead to fewer choices and higher prices for consumers. my local costco was out of eggs weekend -- mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, later today the senate will proceed to a vote on whether to move to the born-alive abortion survivors protection act. it is a simple bill, mr. president. it simply states that a baby born alive after an attempted abortion musting given the same -- must be given the same protectio

let me welcome our new colleague from maryland, senator alsobrooks, she was the first woman elected as the top law enforcement officer in the county where she grew up in. she has stood up for victims of abuse and violence and helping americans. and she is now the first african american senator ever to serve from the state of maryland frment the state of -- from the state of michigan, we are excited to welcome alyssa livestock inn, she -- liveslock she served in the cia under president bush and in the department of defense under president obama. i would like to acknowledge two more colleagues who have taken their oesdzs because -- oaths because serve special recognition, senator schiff and senator kim. senator schiff is a well-known hered to many of us -- well known here to many of us. finally, last, but not least, i would like to congratulate our newest colleague from new jersey, senator kim. he was a long-time leader in the house, top expect in diplomat. so to our new colleagues, we say welcome. we're excited to work with you. we're ready to help you. as you find your bearings, we urg

alsobrooks. >> mr. hegseth, if confirmed, will not improve our military but destabilized it and weaken the institution. further, during his hearing mr. hegseth failed to convince me and many of my colleagues that he's capable of running any organization remotely as complex as the department of defense. mr. hegseth has been ahead of two separate veterans organizations, from 2008-2010 he led the organization veterans for freedom which had an annual budget of less than $10 million. each year he was in charge, outlays exceed revenues until the organization verge on bankruptcy and had to be merged with another group. from 2011-2016, hegseth ran the organization concerned veterans for america. during each of those five years, tax records show the organization spent more than it raised. if this is how mr. hegseth manages organizations with a comparatively small staff and budget, how can anyone have confidence that he will be able to effectively manage an organization with hundreds of multibillion and billion d

alsobrooks. [background noises] >> jimmy carter, the longest the president known as elected politician citizen carter after he served in the white house only four years and knows jimmy georgia. he's on his way home along with his family to. they built their home in 1961 according to georgia about 11 part of the jimmy carter is durable georgia 5, president tr elect to be the 47th president of the united states. by thanksgiving he announced several senior rules in his new administration. all in all it just president trump 18 days to name all of his cabinet secretaries, a pace unprecedented in history. it usually takes a few weeks, but president trump has shown he wants to get to work quickly, executing the mandate he received from the american people and he deserves to have his team in place in order to do that. that's going to require some work from the senate. we're ready to get to it. the senate will prove -- brave each of the nominees -- provide each of the nominees with a fair process. senate

alsobrooks. that thing with the court for votes. by a lot. had a great election but even to this day there playing with the courts trying to make everybody happy on the democrat side. it's called weaponization of justice at a level nobody's before. a deranged individual, i guess he's on his way back today. the press made a big deal but we need nothing wrong. when the republican wins the vote by millions, people said he could win four, we won by a lot-watching this injustice department. cans were killed in a heartbreaking deadly act of terrorism. dozens of our fellow americans were seriously injured as well in the carnage. these are people that were just celebrating the new year. their attacker was a terrorist. he flew an isis flag. it was off the back of his truck. as a result of the terrorist attack, he destroyed families, destabilized a community, and broke the hearts of so many, many americans. the shock of this attack is matched only by the urgency of the message that it sends to our country. and the message is this. it is time to restore

alsobrooks. quorum call: countries around the world and phase one will last six weeks. the release of a number of hostages by hamas including women. the vice president and i cannot wait welcome home exchange palestinian prisoners in turn is one of the current to the neighbors. these vital supplies negotiate which is end of space bar -- cal. mr. sanders: i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: madam president, as we go forward in this new session of congress, i would hope very much that there will be a serious focus on the crises facing the working families of our country. madam president, we are the wealthiest nation on earth. in fact, we are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. and yet today, while we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had, 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck, the life expectancy of working people is far below that in other wealthy countries, 85 million americans are uninsure

alsobrooks. barack obama or whoever. not the terrorists. the tariffs increasing supply chains. they will increase prices on our farmers. increase prices on american spirit i want to ask you, do you think we are in an environment where exporting products and growing markets outside the united states is a big economic opportunity and what will you do to build coalitions to help us be able to achieve opening up those markets. >> actually went and looked at some older data. in 2000 and terms of the labor share of aggregate income in the u.s. 69% accrued to labor. today, that is 60. you can see a sharp drop after what is called the china sock. i agree with you that opening markets is good but the free trade must be balanced against fair trade and, clearly, what has happened is the trade has not been fair. we cannot allow as i think i mentioned to you china is the most in the history of the world they may have minus 4% and they are attempting to export their way out of that as opposed to the internal r

alsobrooks. in any event we look forward to working with you on those issues. often one of the most important decisions you will make in the future is unknown how the and you and the transition team will have to pick and omb director and that's important to us because all of us have, that are western states have tremendous amount of land. we had a real problem with this one. she's only got about 95 hours left. she was a terrorist. she engaged in the work that was done in idaho spiking trees. you probably know about spiking trees. since she's been director we haven't seen her. it. she'd been appear once in the four years and it divided this committee deeply with a huge fight and straight partyline vote. she got confirmed. we do once a like that running the blm particularly some we can find. i urge you to use your best decision-making ability when you choose that person. on another important issue, the issue for us in idaho is the windmill project. my good friend senator kaine have different views

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. ms. duckworth. my administration has begun the largest the regulation campaign in history are exceeding record-setting efforts of my last term. in total, the biden administration imposed $80000 in additional regulatory costs the average american household over the last four years. i promised to eliminate ten regulations for every regulation which will put many thousands of dollars back in the pockets of american families. to further unleash majorities in the house and senate which we took a long with the presidency reported past the largest tax cut in american history including massive tax cuts for workers and families and tax cuts for domestic producers and manu

alsobrooks. president. this is the first time i've heard of the nomination conversion. i hope you understand women serving in the military right now might think if you can convert rapidly, there are long-held aggressively pursued the use and 32 days, that's 32 days after confirmed maybe you will reverse those go back they said straight up that women do not belong in combat. you've written to date retire the should be banned for ten years. tonight a great between the pentagon and defense contractors. the question i have, would you put your money where your mouth is? when you leave this job, you will. >> time is short, i just need a yes or no. >> white short every general who serves not go directly into the defense industry for ten years. if you're not willing to make that pledge? to like about the general senator. [laughter] >> let us clear, you are in charge of the general so you are saying is not sauce for the gander? >> i like to the policy for your hard work committees hard work. this has gone

. >> now senator alsobrooks, formerly county executive of maryland.he was quoted as saying that it was remarkable to think that in two years america will celebrate its 250th birthday and 250 people have served in the senate and only three have looked like me. yes, it has been 32 years. the fact that it took 32 years and we are only at the point where the first time there are two black women serving for the first time in history, it is remarkable but also slightly disappointing. it is disappointing because, they are our young people out here like myself who are wondering, why does it have to take so long? >> as we said before we were on camera, he works in mysterious ways. this is the way it was supposed to play out and it did, and i am so proud of these two women. they will be able to do a lot of good for a lot of people. it is not personal for either one of us or of them, but now they get to do the people's work. >> that is what they said in their campaigning on the trail. i interviewed both of them and they never talked about, elect me because i'm g

alsobrooks. quorum call: >> i had told some that have surprised this morning but we are on course the birthday next week. do that one year. but i want at this time at this country to do with the reality of where we are and how we go forward. in 1972 as hakeem jeffries refer to this morning and archer of the congressional black caucus yvette clarke new i start at 17 years old with shirley chisholm. people thought shirley chisholm was out of place. i remember going with her as she ran for president. in 84 i was there when reverend jackson ran. in 2004 i ran iran. it's been a continual journey and i was in chicago thinking of shirley when i walked on the stage to say she didn't get the nomination but we live to see a woman to get one. [applause] and a woman come very close to breaking the ceiling not only for blacks but for women as well. i watched her career from district attorney to attorney general to state to yes, senator the vice president. she never shame us. she never let us down. and i want

alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. the clerk: mr. banks. mr. barrasso.pete's story is not that much different from that millions of other veterans and they know what they appreciate him for the experiences he has gone through. after our countries brutally attacked on 911, pete hegseth answered the call of duty like so many others. he put the interests of this country ahead of his own. and i can tell you firsthand, as can the hero's sitting in this audience behind me, pete's character up country, his selflessness, his duty these are the key tenants who shaped him into the leader he is today. these are the traits president trump recognized when making the decision to nominate pete for this critical role. he will bring the perspective in the first secretary of defense to serve as a junior officer on the front line not in the headquarters on the front lines in the war on terror. recognizes the human cost, the financial cost in the policy drift discussed often in this very room that led us to decades and decades of war. not only does anderson the threats he f

of course, you know, angela alsobrooks and lisa rochester. we're see the expansion of black power and the congressional black caucus is one sort of epitome of that really. >> absolutely. race and politics reporter for "the hill," cheyenne daniels, thank you so much. >>> whooed look at the markets this morning -- ahead, we will look at the markets this morning as investors look to regain the momentum that produced solid returns in 2024. "way too early" will be right back. "way too early" will be right back your gut is like a garden growing both good bacteria and bad. that balance is key to a healthy gut environment. benefiber's plant-based prebiotic fiber gently nourishes the good bacteria, working with your body to help your gut, and you, flourish. effortlessly. every day. grow what feels good. with benefiber. have you always had trouble with your weight? grow what feels good. same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the

alsobrooks. no time is yielded back a final vote could occur tomorrow about 9:00 p.m. eastern. looking at other nomination senate intelligence committee announced a confirmation hearing on january 30. the meantime several other nominees including lee zeldin to have the epa, chris wright for energy secretary and dog program for interior secretary were advanced by the respective committees. further votes have not been scheduled by the full senate. good afternoon everybody and it's a privilege to be here. we are the preshow for the show that is going to begin in just a little bit. with president trump. we have two esteemed governors here uniquely by the way to governors in just a moment. but the state of america politics that are almost petri dishes in experiments throughout the united states for how to do business and i think we are learning a lot and we will learn a lot from both of them throughout the next half hour. sarah huckabee sanders sisters and governor of arkansas. her she's the daughter of mike huckabee who was the governor in 1996 -- 2007 you may know her as the trump

angela alsobrooks and lisa blunt rochester. now, they were sworn in by the nation's first black and south asian vp, kamala harris. and republican senator tim scott is now the longest serving black senator in united states history, and the first ever african-american member to chair a full committee in the senate. and here he is getting sworn in by then vice president joe biden in 2013, a record of seven latino senators are now in the senate with the addition of democrat ruben gallego and republican bernie moreno and democratic senator andy kim is now the first korean american senator in u.s. history. though there has been some controversy, including the milestones set by congresswoman sarah mcbride, who was the first out transgender member of congress. but the democrats win ultimately led speaker johnson to vow to effectively ban transgender women from using women's restrooms in the capitol. and even though females make up about half of the u.s. population in congress, fewer than one third of its members are women. there are no

alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr.ritt. 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.

alsobrooks, no. the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, no. hegseth. the fox news weekend morning. co-host to be secretary of defense. we're watching this live along with you joining us now from the capitol's julie sirkin, nbc news congressional correspondent, who's been covering this confirmation process closely. julie, we're trying to listen, as i know you are as well. can you tell us what anything about how this vote is unfolding on the senate floor right now, how it seems like this is going? we obviously saw a yes vote there from joni ernst, a no vote from lisa murkowski. two closely watched female republican senators. >> and so far it is just collins and murkowski that have voted no on the republican side of the aisle against pete heck, said the two that i'm watching the most closely, i have not yet seen on the senate floor, and that is thom tillis and mitch mcconnell. the mcconnell had made his way to the floor a short while ago and might just be waiting over there. i'm just keeping an eye on the screen here. and certainly pete hegseth can only a

jasmine crockett, congresswoman summer lee, congresswoman jennifer mcclellan and senator angela alsobrooks. as we celebrate founders day, we recommitted ourselves to the mission and division of delta sigma theta authority incorporated, fostering economic empoweringment, advancing education, improving physical and mental health, promoting international awareness, and lastly, engaging in political advocacies. these values have guided us for 112 years and will lynn to light our way -- and will continue to light our way forward. thank you. let me also add i associate myself with every word that congresswoman pressley said in respect to what we are rightly naming when we think about this bill being proposed, it is really the child predator empowerment act. there is nothing fair, there is nothing safe about a teacher, a counselor, a nonmedical professional asking a young child to remove their garments so they can be inspected. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from puerto rico, mr. hernandez rivera, for five minutes. mr. hernandez rivera: th

alsobrooks. that brings me to my number six reason why south dakota will continue to be an example to the nation. and it is our babies. south dakota has the highest birthrate at any state in the america. our people are happy. they're having babies and that is a hope for the future. [applause] every baby brings boundless potential. we are caring for south dakota moms and babies vote before birth and after and lastly we talked about the first thousand days of the child's life on conception to their second birthday. these days are the most crucial to a child's development. in the last year our brightest star program support of more than 600 mothers and over 500 infants and toddlers. one mom the start of the bright start as a teenager is now a registered nurse in an emergency room and she wrote wrote e department of health and said i talk about you and the bright start program all the time to new moms. i tell them that they get back you have my life and i'm forever grateful. this past november the pe

alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. the clerk: mr. blumenthal. the clerk: ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. the clerk: mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. the clerk: 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. that phrases misnomer. any members of this committee have served in combat and last 25 years can include men a

alsobrooks. quorum call: >> good morning, everyone. let me begin by expressing our deepest thoughts and prayers for the people of los angeles county who are in the face of a horrific extreme weather event with their lives, property, homes, and families being threatened in a very horrific manner. .. and our government agencies that need to be there in times house democrats are prepared to provide any support necessary to this administration to the state government in california and to the people of los angeles county as they navigate through these tragic fires. questions? >> the lake and riley act yesterday by the biden party more democrats than last time democrats with the switch not dealing with immigration and does this reflect the got religion. >> customer conflict forward to working with incoming administration and a republican colleague on securing the border in a common sense manner and fixing our broken immigration system in a bipartisan and comprehensive way. >> what about those numbers, there is criticism that democrats did no

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. they will sort and offer arnold one one is also enforcement will have coaches for modular filing system out this goal of the louisiana national guard to zero will build six formal blown will and they are not there today/. you previously and likely already in the department is affected by wildfires from okaloosa closely with them today respond this. secretary allison will. the ten euros commanders and it is in on. working and the ten. it is pretty odd. >> in the state of california they increase the number and clean as far forward as we can and we whatever the federal agencies and they are already we in to be introduced in a choreographed way and they are already a complex situation and they will be incorporated zero the critical especially with aircraft and it can be a factor. >> can you update us on the transition in the building? >> still continue to see schedule meet

. >> i'm pleased to welcome one of our newer members, senator alsobrookes and i remind you you have very large shoes to fill with senator cardin leaving from the great state of maryland and i'm sure you will be able to do that so welcome and it is great to have you on committee. >> thank you. i would like to say thank you to chairs of a woman capito and ranking member whitehouse and for holding today's hearing. i agree with you that we miss senator ben cardin but i'm excited to be able to join this committee. we have jurisdiction over many issues that are important to marylanders and i look forward to working with you and our colleagues on this committee to address the environmental and infrastructure challenges we face in our state. to mr. zeldin, congratulations to you and your family on your nomination and thank you as well for your willingness to serve and for appearing before our committee today. i appreciate it. i very much enjoyed meeting with you and having the opportunity to speak with you. i suspect my questions will come as no surprise to you based on that conversation. in the

dave mccormick senator and the camp senator diego senator lisa blunt rochester and senator angela alsobrook and i look forward to working with our ranking member elizabeth warren addressing some the issues that our nation will face and my hope is in many ways we will have an opportunity to have bipartisan conversation in a bipartisan answers. it may not be the case all the time but it can be the case on the time and it -- at this time i'd like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record for letters from 25 organizations set up and submitted to the court. without objection so ordered. we are honored today as well to have our colleagues and senator john cornyn who will introduce mr. turner. mr. corn in the floor is yours. >> thank you mr. chairmen chairman and ranking member warren and members of the committee. it's a pleasure to be here today didn't is my friend and fellow texan scott turner to be the next secretary of the u.s. department of housing and urban development and thank you for allowing me the honor of saying a few words. scott is a fourth-generation texan and that's a big d

alsobrooks. # r >> a skilled negotiate i might sometimes use broad tariffs to bring leverage and in other or bench marks would you use to inform your decision to go with across the board measures or more surgical tariffs, and do you believe there should be any caps or triggers to prevent an unintended escalation? >> so, senator, i haven't been confirmed yet, president trump isn't in office, but i would imagine that you, the american people should think about tariffs in three ways under the trump administration. one will be for remedying unfair if trade practices either by industry or country. a la the chinese tariffs via steel. two, maybe for a more generalized tariff as a revenue raiser for the federal budget and, three, plump, i think, has added a third use of tariffs as you said as a skilled negotiator to -- he believes that is we've probably gotten over our skis a bit on sanctions and that sanctions may be driving countries out of the use of the u.s. dollar. so the tariffs can be used for negotiations whether it's for mexico on the fentanyl crisis, so i think you and the american peop