mr. marshall. cornyn. mr. lee. mr. kennedy. mr. ricketts. mr. moreno. mr. scott. mr. merkley. >> aye. >> misses murray. mr. wyden. mr. sanders. mr. whitehouse. mr. warner. mr. kaine. mr. van hollen. mr. lujan. mr. padilla. mr. chairman. mr. chairman the yeas or seven the 12. >> merkley nine. >> colleagues this is an effort to make sure we are not increasing the cost to americans to strength in the chinese simultaneously by financing dual subsidies for the export of liquefied natural gas to china. we are already exporting to them and making their energy prices lower in making the american families pay more for their gas to heat their homes. that's wrong on both fronts. >> i like what i said about this but the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. grassley. mr. crepeau. mr. johnson. mr. marshall. mr. cornyn. mr. lee. mr. kennedy. mr. ricketts. mr. moreno. mr. scott. mr. moreno. mr. merkley. mrs. murray. mr. wyden. mr. sanders. mr. whitehouse mr. warner. mr. kaine. mr. van hollen. mr. lujan. >> aye by proxy. >> mr. padilla. mr. chairman. mr. chairman the yeas or aid the 11. >

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. & 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 -

mr. cornyn. senator cornyn: no. the clerk: mr. lee. senator lee: no. the clerk: mr. kennedy. senator kennedy: no. cory: mr. rick -- the clerk: mr. ricketts. senator ricketts: no. the clerk: mr. moreno. senator moreno: no. the clerk: mr. scott. mr. merkley. senator merkley: aye. the clerk: mrs. murray. senator murry: aye. the clerk: mr. wyden. senator wyden: aye. the clerk: mr. sanders. senator sanders: aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse. senator whitehouse: aye. the clerk: mr. warner. senator warner: aye. the clerk: mr. kaine. senator kaine: aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen. senator van hollen: aye. the clerk: mr. lujan. chair graham: aye by proxy. is that ok? yeah. thank you. [laughter] keep the momentum here. the clerk: mr. padilla. senator padilla: aye. the clerk: mr. chairman. chair graham: no. the clerk: mr. chairman, the yeas are 10, the nays are 11. chair graham: senator wyden. wyden 1. senator wyden: thank you, mr. chairman. colleagues, this takes medicaid off the chopping block in the united states senate. and we know that medicaid is a lifeline for nursing home patients a

mr. cornyn. senator cornyn: no. the clerk: mr. lee. senator lee: no. the clerk: mr. kennedy. senator kennedy: no. cory: mr. rick -- the clerk: mr. ricketts. senator ricketts: no. the clerk: mr. moreno. senator moreno: no. the clerk: mr. scott. mr. merkley. senator merkley: aye. the clerk: mrs. murray. senator murry: aye. the clerk: mr. wyden. senator wyden: aye. the clerk: mr. sanders. senator sanders: aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse. senator whitehouse: aye. the clerk: mr. warner. senator warner: aye. the clerk: mr. kaine. senator kaine: aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen. senator van hollen: aye. the clerk: mr. lujan. chair graham: aye by proxy. is that ok? yeah. thank you. [laughter] keep the momentum here. the clerk: mr. padilla. senator padilla: aye. the clerk: mr. chairman. chair graham: no. the clerk: mr. chairman, the yeas are 10, the nays are 11. chair graham: senator wyden. wyden 1. senator wyden: thank you, mr. chairman. colleagues, this takes medicaid off the chopping block in the united states senate. and we know that medicaid is a lifeline for nursing home patients a

mr. cornyn. senator cornyn: no. the clerk: mr. lee. senator lee: no. the clerk: mr. kennedy. senator kennedy: no. the clerk: mr. ricketts. senator ricketts: no. the clerk: mr. moreno. senator moreno: no. the clerk: mr. scott. senator scott: no. the clerk: mr. merkley. senator merkley: aye. the clerk: mrs. murray. senator murray: aye. the clerk: mr. wyden. senator wyden: aye. the clerk: mr. sanders. senator sanders: chairman, the yeas are 10, the nays are 11. chair graham: next is warner 7. senator warner: thank you, mr. chairman. as i explained earlier, this would try to just put in place for these doge officials, many of who do not have appropriate clearances, to make sure we can do all we can to protect this national security and the information that are in these classified accounts. my fear is, either by malfeasance or just plain stupidity some of this is going to get out and our nation is going to be made less strong. i urge adoption of the amendment. chair graham: thank you, senator crapo, i think the explanation stands. call the roll, please. faster. the clerk: mr. gras

mr. cornyn. not agreed to. the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: -- be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. paul, proposes an amendment numbered 999. mr. paul: mr. president, the budget bill before us instructs the senate to find $342 billion in new spending. the budget bill as written is a spending bill. my amendment would add language to cut spending. the cuts would total $1.5 trillion. these cuts mirror the cuts from the house budget resolution that has been passed. this year the deficit will exceed $2 trillion. it is a fiscal imperative that congress begin to cut spending. mr. merkley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: mr. president, all evening we've been pointing out that with this bill, families lose and billionaires win. that is certainly put on to steroids with this amendment because this amendment would add a quarter trillion dollars directed at the snap program. it would add a third of a trillion dollars directed at reducing the viability of student lo

mr. cornyn: madam president, it's been a little over a month since president trump was inaugurated as

mr. cornyn. >> aye. mr. thune. aye. mr. cassidy. aye. mr. lankford. aye. mr. daines. aye. mr. barrasso, aye. mr. johnson, aye. mr. tillis, aye. ms. blackburn, aye mr. wyden, no. ms. cantwell, no. mr. bennet, no. mr. warner, no. mr. whitehouse, no. ms. hassan, no. ms. cortez masto, no. ms. warren, no. mr. sanders, no. ms. smith, no. mr. lujan, no. mr. warnock, no. mr. chairman? the chairman votes aye. the final tally is 14 ayes, 13 nays. chair crapo: with the click please restate the vo--with the clerk restate the vote? >> 14 ayes, 13 nays. chair crapo: the vote is reported favorably. since i asked my republican colleagues to hold off at the outset, i will go to my republican colleague first. senator tillis. sen. tillis: i voted aye today and i wanted to briefly explain why. i believe in my 65 years -- i will be 65 in august -- that mr. kennedy will be one of the first people coming before who is not a trained health care expert. he views this through the lens of an attorney. he's brought many lawsuits on food safety, vaccine safety, a number of other things. mr. chair, i think

mr. cornyn, aye. the clerk: mr. king, no. mr. reed, no. mr. markey, no. ms. warren, no. mr.mer, aye. mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, no. the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. the clerk: mr. moreno, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, no. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, no. the clerk: mr. booker, no. the clerk: mr. kaine, no. ms. rosen, no. mr. durbin, no. mr. warnock, no. the clerk: ms. smith, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. lee, aye. the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. the clerk: mr. padilla, no. mr. young, aye. ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. bennet, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are 52, the nays are 48. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the majority leader. mr. thune: i move to waive the mandatory quorum with respect to the kennedy nomination. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk wil

mr. cornyn. >> mr. >> cornyn i mr. mr. thune i mr. >> scott mr. >> scott i mr. cassidy mr.sidy i mr. >> lankford mr. lankford i mr. >> daines mr. >> daines i mr. >> young mr. >> young i mr. >> barrasso mr. >> barrasso i mr. >> johnson mr. >> johnson i mr. >> tillis mr. tillis i mrs. blackburn mrs. >> blackburn i mr. marshall mr. >> marshall i mr. >> wyden. no. mr. wyden. no. >> miss cantwell, no. >> miss cantwell, no. mr. bennet, mr. bennet, no. mr. warner, no. mr. warner, no. mr. whitehouse, mr. whitehouse, no. miss hassan, miss. hassan, no. >> miss cortez masto. >> miss cortez masto. >> no. >> miss warren, no. >> miss warren, no. >> mr. sanders, mr. sanders, no. >> miss smith, no. >> miss smith, no. >> mr. lujan, no. mr. lujan, no. >> mr. warnock, no. >> mr. warnock, no. >> mr. welch, mr. >> welch, no. >> mr. chairman, >> chairman. votes i. >> mr. chairman the final tally. >> is 14 ayes. >> 13 ayes. >> the vote. >> was. would the clerk please restate the vote. >> mr. chairman. >> the final tally was 14 ayes. >> 13 ayes. >> the vote was 1413. the nomination is reported fav

mr. cornyn: mr.wo weeks ago president trump issued an executive order titled protecting second amendment rights. this executive order reaffirmed constitutional rights of law-ablieding citizens to keep and bear arms, which of course is part of the bill of rights, the most precious of those rights and liberties that have been protected since the beginning of our country. this executive order directs attorney general pam bondi to review and develop a plan to rescind president biden's overreach when it comes to firearm regulation. the president's executive order comes on the heels of four years of president biden's bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms and explosives, otherwise known as atf, from trampling on americans' second amendment rights. this started in 2021 with the biden administration's so-called zero tolerance policy. president biden's atf used this policy to revoke the licenses of firearms licensees or ffl's over minor bookkeeping violations. for decades the atf had a history of working wi

mr. cornyn. mr. cornyn, i mr.. thune, mr.. thune i mr.. scott. mr.. scott i mr.. cassidy, mr.. cassidy i mr.. langford i mr.. langford i mr.. daines mr.. daines i. mr.. young. mr.. young. i mr.. barrasso mr.. barrasso i mr.. johnson mr.. johnson i mr.. tillis mr.. tillis i mrs.. blackburn. mrs.. blackburn i mr.. marshall. mr.. marshall i mr.. wyden. no. mr.. wyden. no. miss cantwell. no. miss cantwell. no. mr.. bennett. mr.. bennett. no. mr.. warner. mr.. warner. no. mr.. white house. mr.. white house. no. miss hassan. miss. hassan. no. miss cortez masto. miss cortez masto. no. miss warren. no. miss warren. no. mr. sanders. no. mr.. sanders. no. miss smith. no. miss smith. no. mr.. lujan. no. mr.. lujan. no. mr.. warnock. >> no. >> mr.. warnock. no. mr.. welch. mr. welch. no. mr. chairman. chairman. votes aye. mr. chairman, the final tally is 14 ayes. 13 ayes. >> the vote was. would the clerk please restate the vote? >> mr. chairman the was 14. ayes. 13. ayes. >> the. the vote was 1413. the nomination is reported favorably. we will now turn to other senators who would like to m

mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be able to complete my remarks before the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i'd like to continue along the theme that our majority whip has talked about, particularly their hand-wringing that we're hearing and fearmongering we're hearing from some of our democratic colleagues over president trump's promise to secure the border and the actions that he has taken already in his administration to do exactly that, including enforcing our existing laws by repatriating or deporting people who have no legal right to be here in the first place. so instead of the fearmongering of mass deportations, you might just call it enforcing the law. something that's long overdue and that the biden administration did not do. because the fearmongering is not based on reality. our democratic colleagues would have the american people believe that an elderly grandmother down the street, a peaceful neighbor who would never hurt a fl

mr. cornyn, aye. mrs. britt, aye. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. moreno, aye. ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: ms. smith, no. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, no. mr. grassley, aye. the clerk: mr. smyth, aye. the clerk: mr. husted, aye. mr. ossoff, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. mr. padilla, no. the clerk: mr. schiff, no. mr. ricketts, aye. ms. hirono, no. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. coons, no. mr. murphy, no. the clerk: mr. durbin, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, no. the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. mr. hickenlooper, no. the clerk: mr. booker, no. mr. blumenthal, no. vote: vote: the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the presiding officer: we have 51 yeas. 47 nays. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, kash patel of nevada to be director of the federal bureau of in

mr. cornyn: mr.sident, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the governor of the great state of texas, greg abbott, has made a request to the united states congress to reimburse our state for the expenses we've incurred in attempting to combat the texas-mexico border security crisis during the four years of the biden administration. i'm proud to support this request along with my colleague, senator cruz, and members of the texas delegation in the house of representatives. securing the nation's borders is the responsibility of the federal government, plain and simple. given the division of responsibilities between the states and the federal government, there's no doubt by that this is a federal responsibility. for four years, though, president biden and vice president harris and secretary of homeland security alejandro mayorkas intentionally and willfully refused to enforce the laws on the books to keep the borde

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr.esident, i know there's a lot going on in washington, d.c. these days, given the speed and the aggressiveness with which president trump and his administration have attacked his agenda, and i use that in a very positive way. it gets a little confusing to figure out what's important and what's maybe not quite so important. but i'd like to talk about one thing that's been very top of mind for a lot of us here in the house and the senate, and that of course is the process to implement president trump's america first agenda. this is what the election was about, just on november 5, and of course a lot of ink has been spilled on the mechanics of the process, talking about budget resolutions, reconciliation instructions, and things that are jibberish to most americans, but this is the process by which we do the job of implementing president trump's american first agenda. last week, my senate colleagues and i were here late into the night and into the early morning voting on amendments to the

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms.kworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. they overall level of trade is too small in the grocery tax working families will be required to pay is far too high for this ever work nevertheless the self-proclaimed president is pushing forward by firing 65 irs workers responsible for tax enforcement in today congress is about to vote on one beautiful bill this solution to the voting republican concern about our initial debt the king of debt will approvejanuary the seventh we are going to have prices down. i think you will see pretty drastic price reduction. if anybody can find the reductions. i would like to know about it what is drastic is the approach being taken with this republican budget in the fact that beginning this weekend my texas consumers rely on mexican produce will pay 25% more as a result of the new trump tariff tax, for the nation's farmers these tariffs promise more pain the type of pain that they got during the first trumpmr

mr. cornyn, the senator from oregon, mr. wyden, the senator from washington, ms. cantwell. mr. thune: mr. president, i understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for is a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the bill -- title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 29, an act to require the secretary of homeland security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the united states with theft and for other purposes. mr. thune: mr. president, in order to place the bill on the calendar under provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, february 11. 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 be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to e

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. the chance to have a spirited conversation. the budget committee reported out senate concurrent resolution seven, that will allow the reconciliation process, the spending of money and the reduction of spending based on different committees. this resolution allows for 175 billion immigration policy enhancements does not spend the many penny after words and by billionmr dollars what will hapn those two committees work with the trump administration to meet their priorities. there is nothing in this resolution directing one dime of spending. note spending bill can be implemented without presidential signature. i want to make sure that is clear. one of $50 billion in increased defense spending. quiet? we have a lot of threats since the withdrawal of afghanistan radical islam is on the rise. we've got a hot war with russia and ukraine but israel is facing enemies on seven sides. we provided weapons to ukraine and israel. we've run out of 155

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. on the democratic side, it was down the line, not one defection. >> yes. >> jose. >> as you know. >> this. job is a. relatively recent job. it was only created. >> after nine over. >> 11 when people saw all the different silos of information. of these 18 intelligence services that weren't coordinated. so they decided, let's try to coordinate them and create someone at the top of that. that's the job she was just confirmed for. it's a very important job. it's the person who actually decides what the president sees in the daily brief every morning. and what's what's important of that stuff that comes in there. i think part of the reason that people voted against her is she's not an experienced intelligence official. she doesn't understand or know those other agencies, which i think is pretty important when you're trying to coordinate them. you know, ultimately, the job of the dni is a judgment call, and her judgment has not been flawless. the fact that she's repeated lots of memes and i

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. the clerk: 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. the hearing to consider the nomination of troy edgar to be deputy secretary of the department of homeland security and dan bishop to be the deputy director of the office of management and budget will come to order. for far too long federal >> has increased unchecked amassing over $36 trillion in debt. her children and grandchildren will one day inherit it. in washington there's a mindset that seems to be to just write another check is if each new dollar debt doesn't matter. last for years we have added nearly $6 billion a day or $241 million per hour toward national debt for a running total of $8.5 trillion over the last four years to the unchecked and reckless >> spree in washington over the last four years has put every american family on the hook for another $67,000 injo debt. despite this unprecedented level of >> agencies continue to ask for more fund

mr. patel: absolutely. sen. cornyn: without regard to partisan affiliation or politics? mr. patel: absolutely. sen. cornyn: do you believe that president trump, as the commander-in-chief needs access to all of the lawfully available intelligence that can be collected by the american intelligence community in order to inform him so that he can make good judgments as commander-in-chief to assure the safety and security of the american people? mr. patel: having been responsible for the collection of that intelligence i firmly believe that he and every president must have it. sen. cornyn: so, you would not support any impractical or perhaps in material or unworkable ways to inhibit the flow of that information to president trump? mr. patel: i would not. sen. cornyn: let me ask you. you and i talked about this a number of times and this has come up before and a lot of different contexts. as i have always said, i think section 72 of the foreign intelligence surveillance act is the most important law that most americans have

mr. cornyn, aye. mr. schumer, no. mr. moreno, aye. mr. hagerty, aye. mr. whitehouse, no. mr. justice, aye. mr. boozman, aye. ms. smith, no. ms. murkowski, aye. mr. ossoff, no. mr. thune, aye. ms. cortez masto, no. mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. markey, no. ms. klobuchar, no. the clerk: mr. king, no. mr. murphy, no. mr. sheehy, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, no. mrs. gillibrand, no. the clerk: ms. slotkin, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. mr. cassidy, aye. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, no. vote: the presiding officer: the ayes are 51. the nays are 47. and the motion is agreed to. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the majority leader. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the mcmahon nomination be expired. further, that the senate vote on confirmation at 5:30 p.m. on monday, match 3. if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislativ

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. the clerk: 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. today the committee will consider two matters promotion of coast guard samuel hopkins center lieutenant commander in the nomination of deputy secretary of transportation. mr. bradbury's confirmation hearing last week expressed dismay that there have been fatal aircraft accidents here in washington, d.c., pennsylvania and alaska and in arizona, this week we had another distressingly close call chicago's midway airport a small jet on the ground into the runway without authorization as an incoming flight was landing. now more than ever it's essential for the department of transportation to have officials understand the systems are t

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms.kworth. mr. durbin. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator although suspend. the clerk: mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate ismented during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during vote. the senator will suspend e -- suspend. the clerk: mr. hawley. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the clerk: mr. hawley. mr. hickenlooper. the presiding officer: pursuant too rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: ms. hirono. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. the presiding officer: pursuant to rul

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. my extraordinary sister is here as well as addison's brother rick and my sister-in-law abbey and my closest friends come down to support me. my father is a professor of american history. taught me how to appreciate life. when i was 14, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer she decided when you die before then, was going to live. she pulled me class so i rushed and said, are you okay? is okay, let's go. drove to new york city we went to the opera and a late night dinner, super late and get to on time. my mother died in february of 1978 when i was 16 years old. a year end a half later, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. he wanted to make sure i left to start college in the fall. drop me off at school and a week later therapy treatment at a local hospital and the nurse gave him the wrong dose and he died right then and there. september 12, 1979. we don't know is heartbreaking but losing both is something entirely different. like shattering. with

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. mrs. gillibrand. i'm honored to be sitting here to be nominated for the next sector of the v.a. i want to think my friend kevin cramer for the kind introduction. i appreciate his work and your work as well. i thank him for that. i would like to thank president trump for his nomination and his willingness to have not on the veterans of this country. i'm privileged today and appreciate the chairman and ring them mentioning my family because i would not view without them. my wife of 36 years is with me lisa. i have my son copeland, his wife your guide my son cameron and his fiancÉe. and then on the one of the quizzes altogether and that is jordan. she is our daughter. also on the public is watching what no of the list of a didn't mention, my 86-year-old 86-year-old father who spent 31 years as a as a georgia ste trooper. bad, i'm here because of you and mom. and i love you. america's greatest nat

mr. grassley. aye. >> more cornyn aye. >> mr. scott aye. [vote taken] >> mr. chairman. chairman votes aye. mr. chairman, the final tally is 14 ayes, 13 nays. >> the vote -- would the clerk please restate the vote. >> the final total was 14 ayes and 13 ayes. we'll look to other senators and i will go to the republican side next. first senator tillis. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i voted aye today. i want to briefly explain why. i believe in my 65 years i will be 65 in august. that mr. kennedy will be one of the first people coming before who -- >> dana: you have it. the hurdle to get out of committee cleared by rfk, jr. the nominee from president trump to be health and human services secretary. there was a little bit of tension and drama leading up to it. cassidy from louisiana hadn't said how he would vote and he was a yes in the end. the vote now 14/13 to get rfk, jr. out of committee. now the challenge is to get enough votes to get off the floor. that will probably happen for him. john, what do you think john since it was unanimous on the republican side, i would -- collins might still waiver

mr. cornyn. >> mr. greer, congratulations on your nomination. and back in-i think it was the clinton administration when china was admitted to the wto, is that your recollection as well? paper was somehow based international order. but the fact of the matter is china cheats, china steals our intellectual property. they do not recognize a rules -based order do you know off the top of your head what types of tariffs that china imposes on imports into their country? >> i do, senator. so, when it comes to tariff rates their overall applied tariff rate is on average seven half% on ag product is 14% we know this does not capture the full extent of the non- trade barriers and regulatory hurdles they impose on our exports. >> they subsidize a lot of their government owned enterprises correct? >> that's very right makes it difficult for anyone else to compete it result in enormous overcapacity that floods of globalmarkets and our own marke. it's something that's been a huge factor in the deindustrialization of the night ninestates which we need to rev. >

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. the clerk: 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. thank you j.d. and the vice president for that kind introduction. deeply appreciate our friendship and that you were able to join you today. i'm profoundly grateful to president trump and the confidence he's placed in me. to honor to stand here before you as your nominee for the secretary of commerce. my family is here with me today and i like to introduce you to my wife allison behind me who for 30 years has been my great partner adviser and a spectacular mother to our wonderful children my eldest son kyle behind me brandon, casey and ryan. extraordinary sister eydie is also here as well as allison's brother rick and my sister-in

mr. cornyn, aye. ms. warren, no. ms. hassan, no. mr. ossoff, no. mr. fetterman, no. ms. smith, no. mr. van hollen, no. mr. markey, no. mr. coons, no. ms. baldwin, no. mr. hickenlooper, no. mrs. shaheen, no. vote: the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no. mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mr. schiff, no. the clerk: mr. bennet, no. mrs. capito, aye. mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: mrs. fischer, aye. the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. the clerk: mr. mullin, aye. mr. lee, aye. the clerk: mr. gallego, no. the clerk: mr. curtis, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, no. the presiding officer: the yeas are 51, nays 49. the confirmation is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be l immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: thank you very much. to my colleagues, we'll soon be starting what is commonly called a vote-a-rama. if you've never been in one, it's okay. but know it's a chance to have spirited discussion and debate about po

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. this hearing of the committee will come to order. welcome everyone. without objection the chair may declare a recess at any time. i recognized myself for the purpose of making an opening statement. good morning. i want to welcome everyone today to today's doge subcommittee hearing on u.s. foreign aid. this hearing comes at an important time, a time or all of those are witnessing billions of dollars in taxpayer, fraud and abuse being exposed across every agency of our federal government. it comes at a time for oversight of u.s. foreign aid has uncovered billions of dollars that have been weaponized in furtherance. of globalists far right ideologies. the american peopleri want chan. the american people voted for change. the american people have spoken that they no longer wish to be placed by the bureaucracy's agenda to undermine the u.s. interest abroad. in 2023 alone, americans privately donated over $557 billion of their own money. corporations donated over $37 billion, foundations donated over 103 billion. that is incredible, incred

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator cornyn. >> congratulations on your nomination. ng the clinton administration china was admitted to the wto --is that your recollection? mr. greer: president bush signed the paper. senator cornyn: the premise was china would become part of the rules-based international order. the fact of the matter is that china cheats. china steals our ip. they don't recognize our rules-based international order. do you know off the top of your head, what sort of tariffs china imposes on imports into their country? mr. greer: i do, senator. when it comes to tariff rates, their overall applied tariff rate on average is 7.5%, on ag products it is 14%. we know this does not capture the full extent of the nontraded barriers and regulatory hurdles they impose on our exports. senator cornyn: they subsidize government owned enterprises? mr. greer: that is exactly right. it makes it difficult for anyone else to compete and results in an enormous overcapacity that floods markets. it has been a huge factor in the de-industrialization of the u.s., which we ne

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. the clerk: mr. daines. thank you, i had the opportunity to meet with almost all of you and i greatly appreciate that pretty i'm grateful to president trump when it is committee for your consideration to be the any seventh attorney general of the united states. i would not be here without my family. in big bear with me, for just a moment, a lot of made a very long trip and around the mall down so i don't forget anyone predict my beautiful mother, retired kindergarten teacher would not be here without my month rest of the week ago it was 12 years since we lost my dad to leukemia for like 12 days. my amazing husband john, it is to incredible girls, colin infinitely pretty colin is a senior university of florida next month i think all of you in this committee will be very happy to know the family is in cybersecurity. there's a third who's traveling abroad and we shouldn't be here in my amazing father-in-law, david and my sister, beth my brother-in-law home with my knees to my nephews and if you just rai

mr. kennedy: yes, let me reassure you that president trump personally spoken to me about locating those 300,000 children who disappeared of the last four years. >> senator cornyn: it is hundreds of thousands, i agree. >> mr. kennedy: many of them have been sex trafficked and childhood slavery. we need to find those kids. in terms of addiction services and substance abuse services, it is a priority for me. it was a priority for me when i was running for president during my campaign. i was an addict for 14 years. i go to meetings every day. i hear this story every day. i hear the many stories about - the barriers of access of care. we need to improve that and to answer specifically your question, i think we can do that through gma, which is a program that's funded by hhs. that's the largest funder for medical school students. that's one of the things for primary care physician should be, should understand addiction care. addicts always go through a cycle where a moment of periodic where they are ready to go into treatment but it is fleeting and commentary. we have the opportunity to save their lives. if we miss that window then they are off to the races again. >

mr. kennedy, i appreciate senator cornyn's questions about mental and behavioral health, something i care a lot about. i know and understand your mental health challenges, as i've i. and i agree that the mental health crisis in this country is a crisis. let me ask you, in 2023 and again in 2024, you blame school shootings on antidepressants. you said, "there is no time in american history or human history that kids were going to shoot schools and shooting their classmates. it really started happening coterminous with the introduction of these drugs, with prozac and with other drugs." do you believe them as you said, that antidepressants because school shootings. mr. kennedy: i don't think anybody can answer that question. sen. smith: so your answer is? mr. kennedy: i said it should be studied along with other culprits, social media. but i would never make, because there is no science on that subject. sen. smith: well, there is, senator -- excuse me, mr. kennedy. the science shows there's no link between school shootings and antidepressants, and in fact, most school shooters will not even