chair grassley: good morning, everybody. in today's digital era, our young people face risks that previous generations could not even have imagined. even though technology brings amazing opportunities for education and growth, it also opens doors to new dangers that we must confront. this isn't the first hearing we have had on this issue, and unfortunately, it probably won't be the last. we held a hearing on this same subject roughly a year ago, when we brought ceo's from some of the largest social media companies to discuss safety issues on their platforms, and we held a similar hearing a year before that. on the one hand, this is alarming because the problems is getting worse. in 2023, as an instance, the cyber tip line received 36 and 2/10 million reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation, a 12% increase over 2022. and even though the numbers have not been published for 2024, it seems that they are expected to go up. additionally alarming are the new technologies that are being used by bad actors to exploit ch

grassley: yes, it does. mr. durbin: i want to make certain, particularly, that i understand the modification. to the resolution clause. perhaps you can clarify as to whether or not there is a requirement of the executive branch to comply with all federal court rulings. do you modify that particular sentence? mr. grassley: yeah, that's right. mr. durbin: and do you add the word lawful? mr. grassley: yes. mr. durbin: so, mr. president, i think -- i want to clarify for the record and for history there's no dispute. there are differences of opinion about court orders in the past. i would say, without fear of contradiction, that though president biden's name has been mentioned repeatedly, particularly when it comes to the forgiveness of student loan debt, there was never any acknowledgment of defiance of any court order, period. there was a court order against the biden administration and president biden did not agree with it. it went forward -- he went forward with a different app approach with the law. his name has

our colleague, senator cavity, grassley, and -- senator cassidy, grassley, and heinrich put forth a bill to do that, expanding on senator johnson's leadership in this area, and senator graham's good work. the halt fentanyl act would permanently list fentanyl analogues on schedule 1. this will help law enforcement keep pace with fentanyl that is driving drug overdoses in our country. it has backing from a number of state attorneys general and from law enforcement. attorney general bondi endorsed the bill, and it has bipartisan support here in congress, including bipartisan cosponsorship and strong bipartisan votes in both the senate judiciary committee and in the house of representatives. mr. president, i'm also proud that this bill has come to the senate floor through regular order. the senate judiciary committee held a hearing on fentanyl, where members heard the heartbreaking stories of lives taken or changed forever by deadly fentanyl analogues. the committee held a markup and reported the bill to the floor by a bipartisan vote of 16-5. now we're going to have a debate on the bill her

>> chairman grassley, thank you for that question. the civil rights division has 11 sections in each of them is charged with an important duty under the constitution and the statutes, of course. my approach will be to meet with the section head in each of those sections, understand the work that they are doing and then assessing the extent to which that work is consistent with my view of the civil rights statutes and the priorities of the civil rights justice. i think that they have made clear that diversity equity and inclusion as it has been applied to use racial quotas to deny equal access to employment, even potentially housing and other aspects of civil rights that are covered by the civil rights statutes are inappropriate. we will certainly be taking a close look at all of those and it is forcing the law equally on favorable americans. >> would you approach title vii discrimination civil rights laws and use it against companies that discriminate on the basis of race? >> senator, if the facts support such a prosecution or a civil

maria benson, chair grassley:'s senior director of communication

>> thank you for that question, chairman grassley. i first raised my hand and swore an oath to defend the constitution when i was 22 years old. i take that oath deadly seriously. that not only structures my philosophy of how i would approach my job at the justice department, but that commitment also shapes how i work and how i execute that mission did with integrity, excellence, high standards, morals and treating everybody with dignity the way that they deserve to be treated. and, so, not only do i bring that commitment to the u.s. constitution, but i also bring a way of acting that i think as here's to the best that our -- adheres to the best that our nation has to offer. >> you clerked for justice scalia. a famous champion of interpreting doctrine of originalism and throughout his career the concept of federalism -- what was your most important lesson that you learned from the justice scalia. >> thank you for the question, mr. chairman. it would be very hard to reduce it to just one. i would echo the personal characteristics. i gav

grassley: the senate will soon vote to confirm linda mcmahon to be secretary of education. i know that some people feel that the secretary of education should have extensive experience in a school system. however, it is important to remember that education is still mostly a state and local responsibility. there is no such thing as a federal superintendent of education. the u.s. department of education doesn't run any schools. our many public school systems in this country do not report to washington, d.c., and washington also has no authority over what is taught in our schools around the country. the job description of a secretary of education is to manage a bureaucracy who runs a number of funding programs. by all accounts, linda mcmahon did a great job running the small business administration in the last trump administration. i have no reason to believe that she cannot run the department of education. i think she understands the difference between state and federal role in education. i also expect is that she understands the difference between the and legislative branche

>> chairman grassley, thank you for that question. the civil rights division has 11 sections in each of them is charged with an important duty under the constitution and the statutes, of course. my approach will be to meet with the section head in each of those sections, understand the work that they are doing and then assessing the extent to which that work is consistent with my view of the civil rights statutes and the priorities of the civil rights justice. i think that they have made clear that diversity equity and inclusion as it has been applied to use racial quotas to deny equal access to employment, even potentially housing and other aspects of civil rights that are covered by the civil rights statutes are inappropriate. we will certainly be taking a close look at all of those and it is forcing the law equally on favorable americans. >> would you approach title vii discrimination civil rights laws and use it against companies that discriminate on the basis of race? >> senator, if the facts support such a prosecution or a civil

grassley: i know that is your answer. i just can't believe when people were doing a good job for decades working for the irs, and they were well-qualified and got good reports, that -- you've got to work with us to get people back to what they were doing before they became whistleblowers! it just does not make sense. let me go on. i don't think you can do much more there. now, getting back to what senator wyden said about more employees, i don't want to get on that subject, but there is a tool that i got passed in 2005 or 2006, for whistleblowers to report taxes that are not paid. that has bought $6 billion back and i don't think that -- $6 billion back into the total treasury since then. i and i don't think the irs is using the job as successfully as they should. i hope you will review it, make full use of it, and don't leave a bunch of whistleblowers out there saying the government is not collecting taxes and having them wander, in some cases for 10 years, how is the irs handling this information i gave them? so can i c

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. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, boozman, cassidy, collins, cotton, cramer, ernst, fischer, gallego, grassley, hassan, hickenlooper, hoeven, husted, johnson, kennedy, mcconnell, moreno, mullin, ossoff, rosen, round

maria benson, chair grassley:'s senior director of communication -- nassw's senior director of communication. we are the last to know but the first ones to have to fix it. we are ready. it is handled. communications is one of the most vital functions of the secretary of state. it lets citizens know what you do and how you can help them. we are here to talk about crisis communications. the linchpin of getting through it. a good strategy features principles like the ones here and there supporting teams. communicating during crises, like bomb threats are make or break. one wrong move and safety can be in jeopardy. trust in the process can be damaged, not to mention the health of our democracy. secretary schmidt of pennsylvania, secretary simon, secretary raffensperger and secretary hobbs and his assistant secretary. each secretary will outline how they work with their own teams, local election officials, federal agencies and media to message emergency situations. in the recent election cycle, disruptions happen. they happen in unexpected and often have unintentional consequences. it's important

. >> senator grassley. and by the way, through the week, we. >> had meetings with. >> president macron with a small group of senators led. >> by senator thune. >> and what i kept thinking. >> is to a t. >> the republican. >> senators that have met with these foreign. leaders have been very. >> clear that they. >> are supportive. >> of ukraine. >> at. >> least ones that go to the meeting. >> and. >> that they. >> believe that. >> vladimir putin is. >> the. dictator and that he started. >> this war. >> so we. >> start with that. >> so i thought that. >> president zelensky, this. >> couldn't have gone better. >> this morning. he was actually looking forward. >> to going over to the white house. >> he was in good spirits. >> so when i watched that video, there is one aggressor. there is one. side showing. >> disrespect, and that is when j.d. vance berates. >> a president of a foreign. >> country that is. our ally. zelensky has. stood up to a dictator. >> he they have lost. >> hundreds of thousands of people. >>

we had a bipartisan meeting with president zelensky, with senator graham, senator wicker, senator grassley. and by the way, through the week, we had meetings with president macron with a small group of senators led by senator thune. and what i kept thinking is to a. t. the republican senators that have met with these foreign leaders have been very clear that they are supportive of ukraine, at least the ones that go to the meeting and that they believe that vladimir putin is the dictator and that he. started this war. so we start with that. so i thought that president. >> zelensky, this. >> couldn't have gone better this morning. he was actually looking forward to going over to the white house. he was in. >> good spirits. >> so when i watched that video, there is one aggressor. there is one side showing disrespect, and that is when j.d. vance berates a president of a foreign country that is our ally. >> zelensky has. stood up to. >> a dictator. he they have lost hundreds of. thousands of people. he did it with three simple words. the first day of the invasion, when he went down to the stree

then chuck grassley delivered "alosersayswhat" to the "are you for real right now?"] then amy klobuchar delivered the "what?" to the "alosersayswhat." then john thune delivered the "l.o.l., gotcha" to the "what?" [ light laughter ] and finally, mitch mcconnell said, "president eisenhower's speech tonight was great." [ laughter and applause ] ♪ well, some sports news, for the first time ever in the game's history, the 2026 world cup final will include a halftime show. >> steve: ooh. [ audience oohs ] >> jimmy: right now drake is like, "oh, no." [ laughter ] and finally, police in florida said that a man allegedly stole and then swallowed almost $800,000 worth of diamonds. a few hours later, his toilet said, "yes, yes, 800,000 times yes!" [ cheers and applause ] we have a great show tonight. they are music superstars, and this season they're judges on "american idol." luke bryan, lionel richie, and carrie underwood are here tonight! [ cheers and applause ] he stars in espn's "first take" and hosts the popular podcast, "the stephen a. smith show." stephen a. smith is jo

. >> senator grassley has always been. >> sort of a huge. proponent of whistleblower protections.> really standing. >> up here, but. >> that the main. >> answer now is you have, you know, congressional protection. >> to the. >> extent that still exists. >> andrew weissman, as always, thank you so much. >> for being. >> with us. you can hear much more of andrew on msnbc's main justice podcast. you can scan the qr code on your screen right now to start listening today. this week, he and co-host. mary mccord dissect the white house's attack on lawyers and what that could mean for the rule of law. we've got much more ahead after this. you're watching the weekend on msnbc. for the times when cooking just isn't in the cards, try brand new ready made meals from hellofresh. no prepping, no cooking. just heat prepping, no cooking. just heat up and dig in to delicious (man) got one more antoine. (vo) with usps ground advantage, it's like you're with us every step of the way. ♪ (man) cooool. ♪ (man) right on time! (vo) stay in the know. from your dock... to their door. right now across the u

. >> grassley might have an issue. >> with that. but as we're doing the opec bill, can you imagine? but because of what you just mentioned in terms. >> of well, i interviewed the secretary of energy, chris wright, a few weeks ago in washington, dc, and i kind of joked around with him about this. i mean, i don't think it'd be the worst thing for the us to at least engage. or figure out what we're not colluding. there's nobody making deals. >> i mean, certainly we saw in march of 2020 you did have an active dialog because the shale companies called president trump and said, hey, russia-saudi price war not awesome for us. and american energy dominance is not going to thrive in this price environment. so president trump, remember, he became de facto president of opec. like he got the largest collective production cut done in april 2020. >> yeah. volatility is the real enemy of the producer because they can't plan their budgets. helima croft rbc capital. >> markets for having. >> me on. >> you're very welcome. have a great conference. we are right back. >> crypto watch is sponsored by cr

grassley: in january investors concerned about china's advances in a.i. innovation wiped out nearly a trillion dollars in u.s. tech stock value, and that happened in a single day. chinese companies like deep seat are often able to keep pace with silicon valley because they steal our tech secrets and they do it from right under our own noses. this not only puts the united states at a competitive disadvantage but also threatens our national security. the citizenship and immigration ser services ombudsmen has warned that chinese nationals in our university systems are engaged in widespread technological espionage both on campus and in the workplace. foreign stem students often take tech jobs that give them access to sensitive technologies. now, this shouldn't be possible. why? because the law clearly states that student visas are solely for study, not for work. outrageously, the department of homeland security has -- granted work authorization to these students. the department of homeland security has even allowed foreign students to stay in this country und

i would like to thank my friends chuck grassley and joni ernst, senator from iowa, much like picking your favorite child, picking her favorite senator is very hard. i would like to thank my friends and family for joining me here today. ranking member shaheen and established members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. i am honored to appear before you as donald trump's nominee to serve asse united states ambassador to nato. i'm grateful to donald trump for his confidence and to this, he for its consideration. if confirmed i will work tirelessly to strengthen the alliance, assure the security of thehe american people and uphold our nation's role as the beacon of freedom and the many. it is the on of a lifetime to have served in two administrations throughout my career i have overseen critical issues related to national security, law enforcement and protection of us interests domestically and abroad. my experience managing the department of justice has equipped me well to navigate the complexities of nato. as a former college football player at the universi

it's chuck grassley who would make that decision.genda, scheduled the hearings, decides what to do. so that's the question that i guess our ranking member, dick durbin, would have to ask him for. now, what we can do is to follow the story and to explain to the public, as you have done so well, nicole, that this is a really significant alarm sign going off within the department of justice from people who have no reason to be like opposed to a republican administration. >> yeah. i mean, i guess that's what's so stunning to me as an ex republican. these are the kinds of people that my old boss would have desperately wanted to retain inside the department of justice through a democratic, certainly to a republican administration. let me ask you about this. the new york times is reporting. >> is that this guy, ed martin, who's been involved in a lot of this, you know, he's kind of a lowlife himself. he's never been a prosecutor. he comes in full of partizan rancor and trump maga spirit. he has no respect for what's happening around him. i

grassley: october 7, 2023, will probably go down in history to americans like december 7, 1941, pearl harbor day. october 7, two years ago, israel experienced a surprise attack from hamas. as those under attack rushed to safe rooms and to bomb shelters, the terrorists' group inhill traiting the country -- infiltrating the country began firing on homes and killing israelis at random. those who have seen the footage of the attacks, in many cases by those films taken by the attackers themselves have said that the glee and the pride hamas showed in killing, in mutilating and in raping innocent civilians was particularly shocking. it's also very chilling and also very disgusting. on october 7, hamas also took roughly 250 residents hostage, even including babies, real old people, and even some americans. the horror that these individuals have faced under the brutal reign of hamas is unimaginable. the hostages have been subjected to inhumane conditions, deprived of their basic human rights and used as pawns in the cruel game of manipulation. now, more than 500 days later, hamas is still hold

colleague is in a hearing that is presiding over and can't be with us right now but i promised senator grassley that the moment he shows up indifference to his seniority we will suspend and allow him to make a few remarks but we -- i will postpone my opening statement until after introductory remarks. with that, senator earnst, you're up, welcome to our committee.mi >> thank you, mr. chairman risch. it's an honor to be dis here toy to introduce my friend and fellow iowan mat whitaker and i would also like to extend greetings to his friends and family that have joined us here today was raised outside of des moines iowa and went on to graduate from the university of iowa where he earned his bachelor of art and master of business administration and jury juris doctor. and i have to state for the committee this is very important. he was a university iowa hawkeye football player and did take the team to the 1991 rose bowl that is probably one of his most significant achievements and as an iowa state cyclone i try not to hold this against him. so matt has proudly served our state and country. as the u