mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: leader schumer. mr. schumer: i would just like to welcome our chaplain back. we're glad he's with us and in good health, and wish him and all of us a happy new year. the vice president: the chair lays before the senate the certificates of the election of 32 senators elected for six-year terms, beginning on january 3, 2025. all certificates, the chair is advised, are in the form suggested by the senate, or contain all the essential requirements of the form suggested by the senate. if there be no objection, the reading of the certificates will be waived, and they will be printed in full in the record. if the senators to be sworn will now present themselves at the desk in groups of four as their names are called in alphabetical order, the chair will administer their oates of office -- their oaths of office. the chair will read the names of the first group. the clerk: ms. alsobrooks, ms. baldwin, mr. banks, mr. barrasso. the vice president: please raise your hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support a

mr. president, for giving me the floor. mr. president, excellencies, allow me to congratulate the united states of america for including among the signature events of its presidency and the essential topic and one of great relevance to our lives as states, governments and citizens of the contemporary world. this inclusion demonstrates a commitment to addressing crucial efforts that arc fact us all in seeking collaborative solutions to global challenges. our thanks is extended to his excellency antonio guterres and the secretary-general of the united nations for his briefing on artificial intelligence and the vision and the guidance that his excellency, effectively general of the united nations has it to be adopted this relation to artificial intelligence are essential and they lead to continuous reflection on societies. mr. president, as mozambique's term in the security council is about to end, i would like to express on behalf of his excellency, the president of the republic of mozambique, on beful that of the government of mo

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. here a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. in my work i've seen firsthand how these principles of resignation. they provide a transcends politics speaks of the shared humanity of all people in a region. leaders across the middle east recognize this trump administration is serious about results, not symbolic gestures, but real meaningful progress that improves lives. thank you. [applause] it is not always easy. there are moments of deep challenge and frustration. decades of mistrust cannot be undone overnight. but yet i take comfort in knowing i am not in this alone. president trump's clarity of vision ensures that i never have to question what success looks like. his leadership provides the confidence and direction necessary to navigate these complexities. as we move forward, my commitment is to continue the work of advancing president trump's vision for the middle

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, two months after americans rejected his presidency and policies, president biden is doubling down. last week he unveiled a new front in his war on american energy. a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas development covering the entire east coast and large portions of the west coast, the eastern gulf of mexico, and parts of the northern bering sea in alaska. all told, all told, he's closing off more than 625 million acres to new oil and gas development on top of the bans that were already in place. mr. president, the president's decision last week was particularly notable for its size and for the clear snub to american voters. but this is just the latest in a long series of actions by the president hostile to conventional energy development. a pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas exports, a sharp decline in leases issued for oil and natural gas on public lands and waters, restrictions on drilling in large areas of the national petroleum reserve in alaska. the cance

mr. president, the list goes on. mr. president, in past years i've listened to speeches delivered by leaders welcoming the new congress and discussing the agenda for coming months. i now find myself in the position of delivering that speech. republican lg colleagues trusted me to lead our part in the senate in the next congress and i will work every day to be worthy of that trust. my philosophy of leadership comes from my dad. he was a basketball coach at our high school and had very strong opinions about the right way to play. sports to him was not billion personal glory -- was not about personal glory. it was about elevating the team. he hated ball hogs. if someone else was in a better position to take the shot you always made the extra pass. you have didn't try to pad your own statistics. it's an attitude which i've tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i intend to carry with me to the leader office. my job is to be of service to my colleagues and to our country. mr. president, i'm here today addr

mr. president. to start, my delegation warmly welcomes the agreement for a long-awaited cease-fire, the release of hostages in gaza. after 15 months of violence and instability, the realization of this rekindles hope. at long last. for a more peaceful year ahead for the middle east. yet, behind this long-awaited milestone lie the sacrifices of peacekeepers in the region, who have endured deliberate attacks as they valiantly upheld peace. honoring their courage, let me make the following three points. first, we condemn in the strongest possible terms any attacks against peacekeepers and facilities. since last october, the security council has received disturbing reports of dozens of deliberate assaults against peacekeepers in unifil's area of organization. never before have we witnessed such targeted violence against the blue helmets. as a contribute in country, we are deeply alarmed that this may set a dangerous precedent. let us be clear, there is no conceivable justification for deliberately attac

mr. president, the list goes on. mr. president, past years i listen to speeches welcome members and discussing the agenda for the coming months. i now find myself in the position of delivering that speech. republican collective trust me too lead a part in the senate in the next congress. i will work every day to be worthy of that trust by the philosophy of leadership comes my daddy was a basketball coach at her high school at strong opinions about the right way to play sports amazon about personal glory. it was about elevating the team he hated fault talk to someone else in a better position to take this you always made the extrau pass you did not try to pad your own statistics is an attitude which i tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i carry to the office. my job is to be of service to my colleagues into our country mr. president here to address in the senate in this role because of the confidence my colleagues have placed in me. but i'm here first of all because of the confidence placed in me by

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. esident, later today we will hold a vote on the nomination of scott bessent to be treasury secretary, an example of the american dream in action, mr. bessent rose from challenging economic circumstances to a career in the world of finance. and he brings a wealth of private-sector experience in the economy and markets to his new role as well as a concern for the needs of working americans. during president trump's first administration, we passed major tax relief legislation. the tax cuts and jobs ab reformed our nation's tax code, nearly doubled the standard deduction, doubled the child tax credit, and enacted pro-growth policies for american businesses of all sizes. as a result, the economy took off and our nation became more competitive. household incomes increased and the employment rate hit its lowest level in 50 years. now, however, a lot of that tax relief is close to expiring. without action, american families and businesses will face a staggering $4 trillion tax hike next year,

mr. president. . mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call -- we're not? okay. thank you. mr. president, i think we all remember the situation just a few short months ago in the leadup to the election. democrat senators and senate candidates were declaring they would eliminate the filibuster or carvouts that render it meaningless. the democrat leader said the days of the filibuster were numbered, telling the crowd at the democrat national convention his party would be changing the route -- the rules to pass the democrats' federal takeover of elections. the filibuster, it seemed, was on its way out. fast forward to yesterday, mr. president. yesterday, it seems, there was a sudden change of heart, because yesterday every senate democrat, the democrat leader, new democrat senators, long-serving democrat senators who expressed their desire to get rid of the filibuster, joined together and filibustered a bill

mr. president. mr. president, the cabinet confirmation process is well under way here in the united states senate. confirmation hearings began this week with defense secretary nominee pete hegseth in the armed services committee on tuesday. yesterday we had six confirmation hearings, the most confirmation hearings, i might add in a single day since 2001 and we have more happening today and tomorrow. by the time president trump takes the oath of office on monday, the senate will have held hearings for 12 of his nominees. and there are plenty more to come. once the committee -- committees, i should say complete their work the process will move to the floor. we will move as quickly as possible on those votes. i hope democrats will provide a level of cooperation that will allow us to quickly fill these positions so that nominees begin their work for the american people. mr. president, one of the nominees being considered this week is a familiar face to us in the senate. yesterday our long time colleague sena

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. president. presiding officer: the senate majority leader -- the president pro tempore: the senate majority leader. mr. thune: i understand there's bill at the desk. i ask for its first reading. the president pro tempore: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 5, the bill to require the secretary of homeland security to take into custody aliens charged in the united states with theft and for other purposes. mr. thune: mr. president, i now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under provisions of rule 14 i object to my own request. the president pro tempore: objection is heard. the bill will be read for a second time on the next legislative day. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that upon dissolution of the joint session today, the senate stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m., tuesday, january 7, that following the prayer and pledge the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders reserved fo

that we get _ without you, mr president and thought that we get to. - without you, mr president and at we get to.- thought that we get to. thank ou, mr thought that we get to. thank you, mr president, _ thought that we get to. thank you, mr president, we - thought that we get to. thank| you, mr president, we couldn't do this without you. i was suitably impossible. the ambition is for stargate to raise up to $500 million for data centres over the course of mr trump's a second term. 0ne mr trump's a second term. one of his first actions on taking office in 2a hours earlier, was to resend his predecessorjoe biden's plans for artificial intelligence.— biden's plans for artificial intelliaence. ~ . , intelligence. michelle fleury there. this _ intelligence. michelle fleury there. this can _ intelligence. michelle fleury there. this can monitor - intelligence. michelle fleury there. this can monitor on l intelligence. michelle fleury- there. this can monitor on some of the announcement of donald trump has made during his first full day of the white house, on his first day in office, us pre

mr. president, madam vice president. i mean, you and i, sir, have traveled many different disasters, and i can say from what i've seen here yesterday that this is certainly one of the most destructive that you and i have had to deal with during our time here. i had a chance yesterday to talk with the governor and the mayor to hear some of their immediate concerns, but mostly to start to talk about what this recovery is going to look like. i had an opportunity to get briefings from the incident command post both at the palisades fire as well as the eaton fire, and madam vice president, i had a chance to drive through all to dena -- drive through altadina and see just what the heart of this community is by hearing from the local officials and just witness the amount of loss that they are experiencing and going through. i mean, in addition to the thousands of structures that we hear about that are gone, many of those homes, an entire small business district, a booming business district in altadena that has just been burnt t

mr. president, secretary blink en. let me also thank the united states presidency for convening this important high-level meeting on artificial intelligence. i thank you antonio guter eshg guterres, secretary-general of the u.n. the topic for today's briefing is not only timely but highly relevant. as we acknowledge the significant implications of a.i. on the global landscape and president-day realities. this includes the potential to transform societies and economies and the risk it poses to peace and security particularly when misapplied in military context. the rapid development of a.i. technology highlighted in outcomes of ongoing international dialogue including the secretary-general's july 2023 policy brief. on the global digital compact and the future. the general assembly resolution led by the united states and china. presents opportunities and challenges. address global issues within the framework of development. however, as a.i. becomes increasingly persuasive, its ability to disrupt peace and security. a.i.

mr. president. mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, if there was one word, one word that should never ever describe a secretary of defense, it is erratic, but that is the one word that describes mr. hegseth best. advancing a secretary of defense is one of the most important votes senators are going to take all year. this man has lives in his hand, lives of citizens, lives of people of the world, and lives of the brave men and women in our armed forces. so i want my colleagues to think carefully of all the people we could have as secretary of defense is pete hegseth? really the best one we've got? come on, you know he isn't. you know he's not even close. is the best man we have to lead the greatest military in the world? is this man, with a known history of excessive drinking, the guy you want at the other end of the phone at 2 a.m. in a crisis, in control of the nuclear codes? who are we kidding? who are we kidding? is this the man with a mile-long

mr. president, i look forward to working with them. mr. siding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> a reading from the torah. the holy one of god is eternal and supreme, the brief, the mighty awesome god shows favor and takes no bribes. kranz a stranger providing those who need food and clothing. you two must befriend a stranger for you were strangers in the land of egypt revere and honor the holy one your god, only god should you worship. by the name of the holy one shall you swear god's glory and those marvelous awesome you saw with your own eyes. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ faithful god, except fervent prayers of your people govern forgot almighty you've made all the people of the earth glory to serve you. give to the people of our country strength of forbearance that we may an important your. >> almighty god, ruler of all things of heaven and earth, members of the cabinet, wisdom and grace, and exercise of their duty that they may serve all people of this nation promote dignity and f

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, commits a robbery, he or she will be detained. if this bill had already been law, the

mr. president the list goes on. mr. president past years i've listened to speeches delivered by other leaders welcoming members to the congress and the discussing the agenda for the coming months and i find myself in the position of delivering that speech. my republican colleagues have trusted me to lead our party in the senate in the next congress and i will work every day to be worthy of that trust. my velocity leadership comes from my dad.da he was al basketball coach at or high school and had very strong opinions about the right wayut o play. sports to him was not about personal glory. it's about elevating the team. he ball. someone else was in a better position to take the shot he always made the extra pass. it's an attitude which i've tried to carry with me throughout my life. it's an attitude i intend to carry with me through all this. my job is to be of service so my colleagues into our country. mr. president i'm here today addressing the senate in this role because of the confidence my colleagues continue. i'm h

mr. president, dr. biden, madame vice president, mr. of tomorrow to ensure our war fighters are ready when the nation calls. modernize and expand our fleet, we are on track to increase the number of fighters and bombers and expand our space domain capabilities. we are now in a trajectory, implement next generation combat vehicles improve air missile defense,ss generational modernization of u.s. nuclear triad bolstering capabilities and we are on a padway as been set to streamline adopting emergency technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and system to our fighting force. simultaneously, president biden has worked tirelessly to care for our men and women in uniform and their families improving the quality of military o housing providing historic pay raises and implementing new programs to expand benefits to all service members. i wouldse also like to recognize work of dr. jill biden. she's -- what she's done with joining forces initiative, supporting service members, veterans, caregivers and their families. as our

mr. president. >> hello. [applause] >> what great honor and pleasure to welcome you back to the dollhouse community. just four days into your new mandate we highly appreciate your presence with us today. we miss you. we wish you the best as you take on your critical work ahead. global challenges that we face today are monumental. the importance of american leadership and your personal leadership in this regard is fundamental and paramount. we are here to heal and policies related to revitalizing the economy and addressing global challenges. as you may expect, mr. president , your return to office and your policies have been the focus of our discussions this week discussions among 3000 political and business leaders from over 130 countries who came together here and davo's. president trump: well, thank you very much. and hello to everyone in beautiful davos. this has been a truly historic week in the united states. three days ago i took the oath of office and we began the golden age of america. the recent pres

mr. president, mr. president mr. president you said earlier during your speech at davos that you would like to see interest rates come down. how much would you like to see them come down. and you. >> would like to see them come down a lot. and oil prices will come down. and when oil prices come down everything's going to be cheaper for the american people and actually for the world. but for the american people. so i'd like to see oil prices come down. and when the energy comes down, that's going to knock out a lot of the inflation that's going to automatically bring the interest rates down. >> are you worried that, mr. president, you said that. >> you would demand. >> are you worried that there's too much going on at once if you're trying to bring interest rates down and get the economy back. >> going, it just works that way. i mean, it's just economically works that way. when the oil comes down, it'll bring down prices. then you won't have inflation, and then the interest rates will come down. >> you said that you wo

mr. president. on behalf of all the 3,000 participants here in davos. we really, really underline that joining us the third day in your presidency, live, taking questions here, is so appreciated. and we are already ready for receiving you next year in person. so thank you very much and all the best from davos. [applause] president trump: thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

mr. president. on behalf of all the 3,000 participants here in davos. we really, really underline that joining us the third day in your presidency, live, taking questions here, is so appreciated. and we are already ready for receiving you next year in person. so thank you very much and all the best from davos. [applause] president trump: thank you. thank you very much. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] >> if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it any time online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates and other events feature markers that guide you to interesting and newsworthy highlights. these points of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen. when you hit play on select videos. this timeline tool makes it easy to quickly get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. scroll through and spend a few minutes on c-span's points of

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: mr. president, when i came out of graduate school, i was hired by secretary weinberger as a presidential management intern, now called pms, presidential management fellows. five of us were brought in to do a series of rotations to bring, well, an injection of policy determination to the conversation in the secretary of defense's office. and it was really quite an enlightening experience. my first assignment involved being desk officer for lebanon -- excuse me -- for jordan at the defense security assistance agency because a desk officer who worked for both jordan and lebanon had to pay more attention to lebanon because we had the horrific bombing of the marines in the tower. then there was an argument inside the defense establishment about how to keep russia from going forward at a faster pace technologically. and the research and development side said if you classify everything, you will slow us down, and russia will catch up. and the policy said unless we classify everything, the russian

mr. president, dr. biden, madam vice president, mr. as set our military on a course to confront the threats of tomorrow, to ensure our war fighters are ready when the nation calls. he supported significant investments in shipbuilding to modernize and expand our naval fleet. we're on track to increase the number of our fighters and bombers, expand our space domain capabilities. we are now on a trajectory to increase long-range fires, implement next generation combat vehicles, and improve air and missile defense. and generational modernization of the u.s. triad is underway, bolstering our deterrence capabilities. and we're on a pathway that's been set to streamline adopting emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and implementing systems into our fighting force. simultaneously, president biden has worked tirelessly to care for our men and women in uniform and their families. improving the quality of military housing, providing historic pay raises and implementing new programs to expand benefits to all se

mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, today the senate will vote on the nomination of kristi noem. i am voting no today. there are obvious and bipartisan solutions to fix the mess at our border and to grateful improve our immigration system. those solutions include the bipartisan border security bill we introduced last year with senators lankford, murphy and sinema, and even better a comprehensive reform package along the lines of the bipartisan compromise from the gang of eight from 2013. these are real solutions that would solve our immigration problem and kristi noem seems headed in the wrong direction. i will vote no. now on the hegseth debate last night. last night senate republicans entrusted the mostly powerful military in the world to someone with no experience, terrible judgment and serious flaws of character. this is a deeply troubling moment. our troops deserve so much better than pete hegseth. our country deserves so much better than pete hegseth. his flaws were obvious to both sides from the start.

the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. braun: mr. president. mr. young: mr. president.spending his final days in office on a valed valed valedictory tour. here's one accomplishment he won't mention, a crisis on our southern border which spread across across our country flooding our communities with fentanyl and cost innocent american lives. it's correct to call this one of president biden's accomplishments. he intentionally reversed the trump administration's border policies as soon as he reached the oval office. and it was by design, by design, mr. president, that millions of migrants who illegally crossed our southern border were released into our country. this self-inflicted disaster will be a major part of president biden's ignominious legacy, and it is in part why americans chose to return president trump to office in november. when the american people voted for a republican president and a republican congress, they remember voting to restore the rule of law at the border. they remember demanding -- they remember demanding that their government fulfill its constitu

mr. president. she is on the way, mr. resident, to puerto rico again on an official visit given the island wide black out there and doing everything we can to help on that. and of course, again per your guidance we are doing everything we can to help work with partners including our utility partners but also federal partners as well. as is just coming into this meeting important to note these are actual outages. powers has been disrupted because of the fire but proactive shut offices as you mentioned as well. you have two main utilities out there in the los angeles department of water and power. concluding with their ceos as well including calls to them just a few hours ago to make sure were doing everything we can to help. we are coordinating with those utilities and utilities literally across the country to make sure we have all of the capabilities and the federal government that are utility partners to provide that. i want to thank you, mr. president. you join a call a couple months ago with liz and her secretary to tha

mr. president. >> mr. president, my district is a bit east of here. >> yep. >> you were talking about the need to better manage the forests and the wild lands to prevent this from happening again. and you were so right about that. just last year, they put out a fire, in my district it was over twice as big as the palisades fire. they put it out in an area where we had done thinning they stopped the fire on a fire break that we had built a couple of years ago. we had an area on the other side of my community that has not been thinned in decades because it is being held up by a lawsuit from an environmental group that says we are going to reduce habitat. mr. president we need to -- in addition to getting resources and boots on the ground to do this treatment, we need to reform the legal system to prevent these lawsuits from tying up these projects for years and years and years. and not to say that they shouldn't be heard, but we need to resolve them. >> president trump: is this a state group, state or

mr. president. i'll go to another ceo that you know very well. brian monahan, the ceo and chair of bank of america. >> good afternoon, mr. president. congratulations and obviously eventful week for you and your family. if you remember five years ago you came here and we walked among 150 ceos from all over the world and you engaged about your policies and procedures. this year you're not here and yet this week was eventful from the orders you mentioned earlier. literally a wave of orders coming out on immigration, on trade, and many other matters. so as a representative of the united states here, we got a lot of questions about what does all this mean and how would the president square this with the clear focus on growth, prosperity, market -- stock market growth, a good bond market, and bringing down prices. how do you think about the impact of all the orders and how fast they come out and how you'll balance them with the score card of being successful and continuing gdp growth, bringing down inflat

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on tuesday, january 21, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hours be deemed ex-provided. the time for the two leaders and morning business be closed. further, upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 4, s. 6. finally, the senate recess from 12:15 to 2:15 to allow for the weekly conference meetings. 12:30. sorry. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. of the senate has gaveled out foroday today s

mr. president. the presiding officer: -- mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: we've just locked in a vote on my amendment. i would like to call on my amendment 14 to senate amendment number 8 and ask it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. cornyn proposes amendment numbered 14 to amendment number 8. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i want to offer an amendment that would add more -- one more crime to the list covered by this legislation, and that would be assault of a law enforcement officer. anyone who comes into the country illegally and harms these brave men and women in uniform is dangerous. and dangerous not only to our first responders but also to the safety and security of all texans and communities all around the country. unfortunately, we know under the biden-harris administration these people that are committing these kinds of crimes are routinely being released back into the streets, as we saw last february in new york city when seven people were arres

is that _ mr president, you are donald trump? is that a _ mr president, you are donald trump?oke? — mr president, you are donald trump? is that a joke? but— mr president, you are donald trump? is that a joke?— is that a joke? but donald trump's ressure is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as _ is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as well - is that a joke? but donald trump's pressure on israel as well as - is that a joke? but donald trump'sl pressure on israel as well as hamas to seal the deal before his return to seal the deal before his return to the white house next week might have made a decisive difference. joe biden put the pan on the table last may. with guards in ruins, the point from the president that the palestinians have a path to their own state is wishful thinking. the israeli government says security depends on military power, not allowing palestinian independence. after 15 months of war in gaza, the conflict which has lasted

mr. president, it's time to vote. mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 5. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is granted. mr. thune: mr. president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of the treasury, scott be sent to be secretary of the treasury. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture 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 scott besent, to be secretary of the treasury. signed by 17 senators as follows. the presiding officer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent to resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. president, mr. president, mr. president, two questions related to each other. >> first, you id on your first y of office. you're going to pardon nuary h. defendants. are you planning to pardon those who were charged with violentffenses? >> well, we're looking at it anwe he other people in there.nd as you see, i guess 24 or 28 people came now from the fbi that came out very quietly. nobody reported it, but they had people in some form related to the fbi. they strongly related to the fbi. we have to find out about that. we have to find out about hezbollah. wha tfind out about who exactly was in that whole thing, because people that did some bad ings were not prosecuted. you know, i see it all t time, and you see it to people at were doing some bad things, weren't prosecuted, and people tt didn't en lk into the building are in jail right now. so we'll be looking at the whole thi. but i'll be making major pardons. yes, please. just one more followp question, plse. >> on jack smith's port. >> good afternoon, mr. preside

mr. president. >> i'm sure. >> the crown prince of saudi. >> arabia will be. >> really glad you gave this. speech today. >> you've had the busiest four. >> days that anybody can imagine. and congratulations for that. and my question is, is about some of the things. >> i've observed. >> here at davos. it's a forum.f people, as usual. i think i've been here 30 years, and a lot of the european business. people have expressed enormous frustration with the regulatory regime in the eu, and they attribute slower growth rates here because of the numerous factors, but especially because of regulations. and you've taken a completely different approach in this area. and if you could explain the theory of what you're doing, how you're going to do it, and what you expect the outcome to be, i'd appreciate it. >> well, thank you very much. and congratulations, steve. you're a friend of mine, but on a great career. you've had an amazing career and it continues. i just want to congratulate you. very inspirational to

mr. president. the presiding officer: the speaker pro tem. mr. grassley: i would like to speak for one minute in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: january 9, is national law enforcement appreciation day. today, as well as every day, we should give our thanks to the nation's men and women in blue. i make this practice. whenever i see a police officer, i always try to stop and say two things -- i'm not for defunding the police, and i proud to back the blue or i say it in another way, thank you for maintaining the peace. as chamber of the senate judiciary committee, you can be sure that i'll continue my work to protect and support law enforcement in both iowa and nationwide. the judiciary committee always accomplishes issues supporting police in a bipartisan series of bills most often in the month of may. to our law enforcement friends, all senators say, thank you for your selfless service. may god bless you and may god protect you. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from from iowa is recognized. mr. grassley: today is the 52nd annual march for life, right here in the nation's capital. folks from all over the nation and world are in washington to offer joyful witness to the beauty and dignity of every human person. they will march in the cold in solidarity with babies in the womb. they will march in solidarity with mothers who deserve better than abortion, mothers who deserve love, support, and encouragement. they will march with the hope that the day is coming when all people will see babies as a blessing -- as the blessing they are, the day when abortion is unthinkable. the signs the march ers carry reveal the hearts of each one, a popular sign each year reads, quote-unquote, love them both. the pro-life movement's desires to affirm and restore the bond between mother and child. this sacred bond exists even before a baby is born. so i say thank you to the pro-life march ers. i say thank you for your thankful exa

the president. mrs. eisenhower left the church for the white house where the president and the vice president were officially sworn for their second terms of office. since, by law, the president cannot serve more than two terms. this would be the beginning of the last four years of occupancy. the white house by president eisenhower. typical of the many receptions held throughout washington for the best in attending the inaugural ceremonies was this reception given by senator and mrs. bridges in honor of the governor of new hampshire. the senator and the receiving with lovely mrs. bridges with champagne music by this marine quartet directed, by lieutenant king. the morning of january 21st dawned cold, cold and overcast. the plaza, as seen from a navy blimp overhead. as the president and mamie came out of the white house. he paused momentarily, thought back to his first inauguration when he came to the white house to be accompanied by president truman on his first ride to the capitol capitol. the president

mr. president. mr. president, two months ago the american people gave republicans a clear mandate. a mandate to get america back on track. senate republicans won 53 seats. the house of representatives, republicans in the majority. and president trump won a historic victory. he won all seven of the battleground states, and he won the popular vote. the victory was decisive. starting it week republicans are going to begin to deliver on the pan date. -- on the mandate. just heard the minority leader in the senate talking about what are republicans going to do to help the american people. i'm going to talk about that because i want to contrast it to what the outgoing president is doing right now in using his final days in office. the democrat president would is leaving is trying to put in place left-wing dangerous policies, policies that have been rejected by the american voters, and policies that are going to make it more expensive for american voters to live their lives. these policies will make america les

mr. president. [inaudible] >> good morning president biden for thank you for being here. last week we began receiving reports the national weather service about a significant weather event the 20 hit southern california. this is not something that is a surprise to us in southern california. it is something we were well prepared for. based on those predictive conditions of wind gusts up to 100 miles an hour, we began increasing our staffing of local, state, federal agencies. hundreds of firefighters began moving on a sunday afternoon from northern california into southern california but local partners began up to staffing their own fire station. helicopters, fire engines, hand crews to be better for an incident that occurred with those resources were pre-position and counties throughout southern california for an event just like this. on tuesday morning the palisades fire again. i like to introduce you to chief who will touch on the palisades fire. >> thank you. thank you so much mr. president. we are provide you fires that have occurred in the city of los angeles. with th