. >> mr. cruz, mr. curtis, mrs. fischer, mr. gallego. ready? please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear they will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic? that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same period that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which you are about to enter so help you god? >> we do. >> congratulations senator. congratulations. congratulations. [applause] the clerk will call the names of the next group. mr. holick, mr. heinrich, ms. sharon oh. raise your right hand placed you solemnly swear your support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic? you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion? you will well and faithfully discharge the duty so help you god. congratulations senators. [applause] the clerk will call the names of

the clerk: mr. cruz, mr. curtis, mrs. fischer, mr. gallego. the vice president: please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which you are about to enter, so help you god? the senators: i do. the vice president: congratulations, senators. congratulations. the vice president: the clerk will call the names of the next group. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, mr. hawley, mr. heinrich, ms. hirono. please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and

mr. cruz, mr. curtis. please raise your right hand you solemnly swear you will support and defend the constitution of the united states is all enemies, foreign and domestic they will bear they you take this obligation without any mental reservation or purpose and well and faithfully discharge the duty of the office upon which you are about to enter so help you god? congratulations,ra senate. [applause] the clerk will call the names of group. [roll call] you solemnly swear you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic but you will bear true faith and allegiance the y same without ay observationwe will discharge the of the office upon which you are about to enter so help you got with congratulations. [applause] the clerk will call the name of the next group. call] please raise your right hand. against all enemies, foreign and domestic and you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that you take this obligation really. you will discharge t

the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. mr. gallego, no. the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. mr. durbin, no. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, no. ms. baldwin, no. mrs. shaheen yoiks mr. markey, no. mr. kelly, no. mr. schiff, no. mr. cotton, aye. mr. blumenthal, no. the clerk: mr. murphy, no. mr. hawley, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, aye. the clerk: mr. justice, aye. mr. risch, aye. mr. grassley, aye. the clerk: whitehouse, no. mr. husted, aye. mr. welch, no. mr. tuberville, aye. mr. bennet, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. the clerk: ms. hirono, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. mr. booker, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: ms. slotkin, aye. the clerk: mr. coons, no. ms. cantwell, no. the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. mr. young, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are 59, the nays are 34. the nomination is confirmed. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. thun

and he continues got his democratic tradition in a region grouped elsewhere by mr. cruz and todd is concert just in his a 3 some homeless stock in optimistic to declaring the day as a new turning point for god. not as it's more up to the start off. he's unprecedented sick and to him in office. he also shared his vision, forgotten his future, calling for a click to see if it's to prioritize the country's development to what a particular focus on the youth that he's missed, which was very clear the future of gotten. i can only be realized when all citizens, especially the younger generation, a given the tools to succeed and he stalls on youth development and has again team the support in the respect of young people have listen to this, have the same brand and and it's hard. while parents to help us move on, we are looking up the hebrew, at least, yes, find a way to find yourselves and then get past that jobs so that we would also have something to do and make out feelings at that home. now sometimes it gives us maybe, uh, hobbies in the see, no reason that we saw president

mr. aronberg: correct. sen. cruz: you worked closely with general bondy. mr. aronberg: correct. sen. cruz: in your judgment, describe -- same question i asked mr. cox, how would you describe her leadership style and her integrity? mr. aronberg: well, senator cruz, full disclosure, we were not as classmates, you and i, we lived in the same dorm first year because -- before either of us had any gray hair. sen. cruz: burn those pictures. mr. aronberg: fair enough. mr. cox is right. very hands-on. everybody in the office knows she was not isolated from the rest of us. she walk the hallways. she was friends with everyone. she brought her dog to work sometimes, even though it probably violated code and it was a big dog, a st. bernard. sen. cruz: didn't have a barrel of whiskey? mr. aronberg: only in bugs bunny cartoons. she is a very likable person. she is hard not to like. she -- you can disagree with her politically come about as far as a boss she never tried to big-time anyone. she is a person like anyone else. she expects the best from people, but she has a real human touch about her. s

mr. patel: sen. cruz: all of it. is that true whether the violence is right-wing or left-wing or anywhere else? mr. patel: there is no discriminating types of violence as law-enforcement. sen. cruz: do you believe that those who commit violence against law enforcement should be prosecuted and sent to jail? mr. patel: especially those that kill them. sen. cruz: how many years have you worked in public service? mr. patel: about 16. sen. cruz: i have to say it is ludicrous but sadly predictable that democrats are endeavoring to tarnish you, to paint a false caricature based on innuendo and smoke so you are working to protect the capital on january 6 they are trying to blame you for the violence that occurred. let me ask you this is a straightforward matter. what is the job of the fbi and what will the fbi role being if and when you're confirmed as director? mr. patel: the simple motto is to protect american citizens and uphold the constitution. if confirmed as the next director of the fbi, that is what we are going to do

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs.

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. 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 -- banks, barasso, blackburn, budd, daines,

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. mr. hagerty. [inaudible conversations] [cheers and applause] oh, my goodness. we've got this from years and years ago and days ago from here. oh, i talked to so many of you who have holiday parties but i have sickened i am so proud of our team and this is a team that spans many years of doing extraordinary work on the half of the people. and as you all have heard me say many times, i am fully aware that i am the public face of a lot of our work, and so i have the benefit of running into people all over our country. and i will tell you i am fully aware that when they are thanking me they are thanking our team for the extraordinary commitment that you each have an as the team has two lifting up american people, lifting up their condition come lifting up their hopes and dreams, and understanding through it all the nobility of public service. we have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in

mr. chairman. chair. cruz: thank you and as demonstration that you are the big cheese mr. lutnick, you are to be introduced by the vice president of the united states and as i am reliably informed that he is about three minutes out, so we will do something in the senate we are quite familiar with witches filibuster. and i took the chairman's prerogative to ask the senate majority leader if he could fill three minutes with words of wisdom so i recognize senator thune to say whatever he wants. sen. thune: i certainly can fill three minutes with words of wisdom but i can fill it with words. let me just say congratulations mr. love nick -- mr. lutnick, we are excited to have you nominated in this position. as the chairman shared your very powerful and compelling life story and it is an example of the american success story and someone who's been able to experience the american dream in the midst of a lot of adversity along the way. your skill and experience in the job -- in a job that requires a lot of that. one of the issues that we work a lot on is spectrum. we need more spe

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. ms. duckworth. my administration has begun the largest the regulation campaign in history are exceeding record-setting efforts of my last term. in total, the biden administration imposed $80000 in additional regulatory costs the average american household over the last four years. i promised to eliminate ten regulations for every regulation which will put many thousands of dollars back in the pockets of american families. to further unleash majorities in the house and senate which we took a long with the presidency reported past the largest tax cut in american history including massive tax cuts for workers and families and tax cuts for domestic producers and manufacturers working with the democrats on getting an extension of the original tax cuts by reading any paper. my message to every business is very double, a make your product in america give you the lowest taxes of any nation are not. if you don't make the products in america, which is your prerogative, then you will have to pay a tariff which

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs.ischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. 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 -- banks, barasso, blackburn, budd, daines, er

mr. chairman. chairman cruz: senator schmitt. senator schmitt: i want the committee to imagine that taiwan is under siege, the ccp determined to crush taiwan's resistance and prevent a u.s. response activates a multipronged strategy leveraging its control over global words and shipping infrastructure. at the panama canal, one of america's most vital trade arteries handling 40% of the u.s. container traffic. chinese controlled ports at both ends suddenly close. ships carrying food, oil, and military supplies are turned away because of technical difficulties, paralyzing the global economy. gasoline prices soar, supermarkets empty and supply chains collapse within days. china's state-owned zpmc, which supplies 80% of u.s. cranes, has equipped their cranes with cellular modems that create explosive vulnerabilities -- exploitable vulnerabilities. these cranes at u.s. ports mysteriously malfunction, halting critical operations, factories close, millions lose their jobs. while this scenario may seem hypothetical, it is entirely plausibl

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. i humbly submit for you nominated to serve as the 17th administrator of the environmental protection agency. the american people made their voices heard in november giving president trump a mandate to lead our nation to prosperity. i am grateful that the president-elect is giving me the opportunity to lead the epa at this critical time. our mission is simple and essential to protect human health and the environment. we must do everything in our power to harness the greatness of the american innovation, but the greatness of american conservation and environmental stewardship. we must ensure we are protecting the environment while also protecting our economy. throughout my life i've been privileged to hold such titles as congressman and state senator lieutenant colonel nunn has meant more more to me than husband's son and father. while one of my identical twin daughters arianna is now back in college i'm excited to be joined by my wife diana and our daughter mikaela. as well as my mothe

mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. de la cruz: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. de la cruz: today i rise to honor guadeloupe county commissioner greg sidenberger, on his well deserved retirement. after a lifetime of extraordinary service to both our country and our community. greg began his career with 20 years in the united states air force, serving as a command pilot during the vietnam war. and leading the squadron operating out of the seguin auxiliary air field. he then served as a pilot for american airlines for 18 years. for the past 12 years, greg has dedicated himself to guadeloupe county as commissioner for precinct one, transforming the county and ensuring the foundation for a bright future. i wish commissioner greg sidenberger a joyful retirement. again, congratulations. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recog

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. the presiding officer: mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. the clerk: 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. the clerk: mr. young. the presiding officer:

so that i agree definitely with mr. cruz. so we need to have a better mitigation for these type of hazards. >> so what needs to happen then in the future? how can they you know, who needs to take responsibility and say, let's get this fixed so that the next time something like this happens, it's not so devastating. >> this is at the city level. and in fact, in our city in la habra heights now, southern california edison is surveying to bury the power lines, which is an important measure to prevent obviously sparking of lines. and the same thing every year. may 1st is the annual brush clearance date. and they do inspections on every single property in the heights to make sure that the brush is cleared and then they charge the owner if you don't clear your brush. i don't know if the city of la has that aggressive of a program, but they need to adopt it because it does work. >> yeah, it sounds like something like that would definitely have helped in a situation like this. earlier we were talking about all these folks that are un

what mr. cruzs to set up a special commission to look at the allegations of state-level mischief around the vote and would ultimately have a short timeline to look into the matter and report back to congress and congress alternately decide what to do. something similar happened in 1876 with a contested election, but ultimately congress said we are going to follow the existing rules under the electoral count act and we are not going to go and try to create a commission. host: the house is set to gavel in at noon eastern today and the joint session set to take place at 1:00 p.m.. we will have coverage of the certification process on c-span. we hope you will watch it with us and call in afterwards. this morning, it has been kevin kosar of the american enterprise institute. aei.org is where you can find his work. we appreciate your time. that is going to do it for us on the washington journal. we will see you later this afternoon for that certification process in the house and joint session. ♪ [caption

mr. patel: sen. cruz: all of it. is that true whether the violence is right-wing or left-wing or anywhere else? mr. patel: there is no discriminating types of violence as law-enforcement. sen. cruz: do you believe that those who commit violence against law enforcement should be prosecuted and sent to jail? mr. patel: especially those that kill them. sen. cruz: how many years have you worked in public service? mr. patel: about 16. sen. cruz: i have to say it is ludicrous but sadly predictable that democrats are endeavoring to tarnish you, to paint a false caricature based on innuendo and smoke so you are working to protect the capital on january 6 they are trying to blame you for the violence that occurred. let me ask you this is a straightforward matter. what is the job of the fbi and what will the fbi role being if and when you're confirmed as director? mr. patel: the simple motto is to protect american citizens and uphold the constitution. if confirmed as the next director of the fbi, that is what we are going to do

mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. >> i rise in support of sean duffy to be secretary of transportation. last week congressman duffy was reported favorably out of the commerce committee without a single no vote. all 28 members of the commerce committee republicans and democrats voted in favor of august and duffy. two weeks ago congressman duffy appeared before the commerce committee for nearly three hours for two rounds of questions. his family seated behind him and he thoughtfully and ably answered the questions put forth by all of the members of the committee. the resounding bipartisan support for his nomination supports republicans and democrats believe congressman duffy is imminently qualified to serve as the secretary of transportation. transportation is not republican. it's not democrat. transportation is for all americans from roads to bridges to waterways to airspace. all americans depend on the department of transportation to help ensure a safe and efficient transportation system. congressman duffy

. >> we also have facilities that are 60% actvated, clinics mr. cruz network director talk to members like you, over the last several weeks about clinics he wanting on activate but can't because the staff needed to do so include a plus up or his baseline, and right now, budget requires we train staff instead of growing. right now, the different investment we need to make wement to make them to catch up with increasing picture of demand for veteran care. >> thank you for that and thank you, mr. chairman. i think these are important issues. >> thank you. >> representative. >> thank you, mr. chairman, in 2 years on this committee, we have spent too much time on errors of this magnitude are scandals mostly in v.a. headquarters. while vha and vba made claims of record breaking achievement in out reach and service, the cold truth that veterans are till being let down. on going issue with financial mismanagement are unacceptable it is our duty to ensure benefits and care promised to those who served are delivered actress, and trans trans it is clear you have

the clerk: 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. every time i went to church with him was packed. started before sunrise and i was thankful that it got to walk in with my grandmother. esses we sat down, sunday school would start. my grandpa always been asking if he wanted into his church before. my grandma and i raise our hands. and then my grandfather would pull the congregation and we quickly found out that the church was full of people from all over the country to alter the backgrounds and beliefs. my grandfather address the most diverse sunday school class ever assembled, again. before he would deliver his bible lesson, my grandpa talked about his week, and election he would talk about. if you stop the conflict, he talked about it. if he eliminated disease from a village or a country, he would talk about it. when my brother jeremy died, he announced the news at sunday

mr. chair. >> thank you chairman cruz and ranking member cantwell. at the heart of this hearing is a fundamental question about how the u.s. will compete on the world stage and maintain our national security. these are the questions that will define the future of this country. for american families to see lower prices and better economic opportunities we have to meet this moment honestly and seriously and i am proud to have joint senators cantwell and blackburn to reintroduce the bipartisan promoting resilience supply chain act, legislation i led and authored in the house. this bill ensures we have a national strategy to address our broken supply chains, whether it is a bridge collapse, a major global conflict, or unions striking for their rights. interruptions and disruptions to our supply chains severely impact our economy. our bipartisan legislation tackles this issue by elevating supply chains like the disruptions at the panama canal to be proactive and strategic. it helps us understand how we strengthen our ties with our friends and allies inste

mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator. >> senator cruz would be next, but he's not here. so i call on senator kennedy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. miss bondi, welcome. congratulations. can we agree that legitimacy is important to america's to america's criminal justice system? >> yes, senator. >> can we agree that legitimacy is important to the department of justice, which in part which in part administers our criminal justice system? >> yes, senator. >> and if americans come to believe that our criminal justice system or our department of justice is acting illegitimately. that makes americans less likely to accept the results of that system, does it not? >> yes, senator. >> and that makes americans less likely to follow the substantive laws that we pass that are administered by the department of justice. isn't that true? >> yes, senator. >> and if that happens, we have chaos, don't we? chaos in the social contract is breached, isn't it? >> yes. >> do you remember a person by the name of michael avenatti? >> yes. >> several years ago, he was a media star here in in washing

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. it's an honor to be serving as the 55th secretary of the interior. this is a tiny town of 40 people. the streets were not paper maker of all gravel. my father was a world war ii navy. officer who served in the pacific. my dad died when i was a freshman high school and my mom went back. to work in higher education. i was blessed to have learned from them about service and about leadership and sacrifice and certainly from both of them the love of the outdoors. growing up i worked in her family's grain elevator. every job i had all the way through junior high to the end of college is one that required showering at the end of the day and not the beginning of the day and i worked my way through undergrad at north dakota state as

de la cruz: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. de la cruz: i rise today to honor guadeloupe county commissioner greg sidenberger on his well deserved retirement. after a lifetime of extraordinary service to our country and community. greg began his career with with 20 years in the united states air force. serving as a command pilot during the vietnam war. and leading the squadron operating out of seguin exill rarery airfield. he then served as a pilot for american airlines for 18 years. for the past 12 years greg has dedicated himself to guadeloupe county as commissioner for precinct one. transforming the county and ensuring the foundation for a brighter future. i wish commissioner sidenberger a joyful retirement. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. rivas, for five minutes. ms. rivas: mr. speaker, just five days into my tenure as a member of the house of representatives, several large wildfires bro

>> no, sir, thank you. >> senator cruz. >> thank you, mr. chairman. pam bondi, welcome. thank you for your willingness to take on this incredibly important office. you know, i have to say i don't know that there is a more important position in this new administration than the position to which you have been nominated, attorney general of the united states. i thought the exchange just a moment ago with senator hirono was illustrative. she asked you how you would respond if the president asked you to target his political enemies. it's rather striking because it is not a hypothetical. it has happened over the last four years. and i think perhaps the most tragic legacy of the biden-harris administration has been the politization and weaponization of the united states department of justice. and we don't need to ask hypothetically. joe biden used and allowed "the new york times" to report it. calling on merrick garland why will he not prosecute trump for quickly? and merrick garland sadly sat in that chair and promised to be apolitical and broke that promise almost the instant

mr. president, you or trump? >> is that a joke? thank you. stuart: texas senator ted cruz joins me now. mr., as i see it, the biden team did get "the talks" to the table, but it was trump who pushed netanyahu to get the deal done. so who do you think deserves the credit here? >> well, let's be clear. the credit that is unequivocal is the credit for the disaster that is october 7 and the extended war that followed and that credit is unquestionably at the feet of joe biden. joe biden spent four years undermining the state of israel, undermining the israeli government, when october 7 happened, joe biden, entire biden administration began daily pressing the government of israel, stop killing the terrorists, stop killing hamas, at every stage, the biden administration opposed israel's carrying out its stated objective of eliminating hamas. i don't know if a deal is going to happen or not. i do know that the reason hamas came to the table is because of donald trump, that he said there be hell to pay, if the hostages were not released and so my prayers are certainly that the hostages are released

there were arguments made for two bills by john thune and cruz and graham, mr. trump held his ground, they left it, your reporting is what i heard, but i heard so many different things, i was not sure what i heard. reporter: inric interesting, after the meeting trump and thune came out and were not publicly will doing say they would did one way or the other, trump still saying he is open to one or two bills, privately it was agreed if trump wants a big beautiful bill, that is what they will start with. that is what they will start with, if they slowdown, they will have to pivot to two. at the end of the day priority for trump is to get this done fast. larry: then it will be one bill strategy out of the house that will start it. aishah hasnie fabulous appreciate it. >> you got it. larry: we'll get back to one big beautiful bill. but i want to talk about political failures keep running california. that is the subject of the riff. now look first, the night meyer in california is a natural disaster no one can control the santa ana winds, my own brother and his wife

cruz: thank you. chair grassley: senator padilla. sen. padilla: thank you, mr. chairman. i'll just follow up senator cruz's final comment with suggesting that we include targeting those children who are victims of unscrupulous employers as well, and happy to follow up with articles and reports too as you prepare for this position. ms. bondi: senator, i'm sorry, employers? sen. padilla: yes. ms. bondi: okay. i didn't understand that. sen. padilla: yeah. many employers across the country who are employing and exploiting dangerous conditions, these children that we're talking about. ms. bondi, we have even less time in this round than the first round. ms. bondi: oh, darn. sen. padilla: and i don't have some yes or no questions, but a couple of important issues i do want to make sure to cover for the record. when you were a florida attorney general, you defended restrictive abortion laws including mandatory waiting periods and parental consent requirements. if confirmed as attorney general, would you advocate for similar restrictions at the federal level? ms. bondi: i will fo

mr. chairman. sen. grassley: senator cruz would be here next -- would be next, but he is not here so i will call on senatornnedy. sen. kennedy: thank you, mr. chairman. ms. bondi, welcome. congratulations. can we agree that legitimacy is important to america's criminal justice system? ms. bondi: yes, senator. sen. kennedy: can we agree that legitimacy is important to the department of justice which in part administers our criminal justice system? ms. bondi: yes, senator. sen. kennedy: and, if americans come to believe that our criminal justice system or our department of justice is acting illegitimately, that makes americans less likely to accept the results of that system, does it not? ms. bondi: yes, senator. sen. kennedy: and that makes americans less likely to follow the substantive laws, that we pass, that are administered by the department of justice. isn't that true? ms. bondi: yes, senator. sen. kennedy: and if that happens, we have chaos, don't we? ms. bondi: chaos. sen. kennedy: and the social contract is breached, isn't it? ms. bondi: yes. sen. kennedy: do you remember a person by the name of mi

mr. chairman. thank you. >> thank you, senator. >> uh, senator cruz would be next, but he's not here. so i call on senator kennedy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. miss bondi, welcome. congratulations. um, can we agree that legitimacy is important to america's to america's criminal justice system? >> yes, senator. >> can we agree that? legitimacy is important to the department of justice, which in part, which in part administers our criminal justice system? >> yes, senator. >> and if, um, if americans come to believe that our criminal justice system or our department of justice is acting illegitimately. that makes americans less likely to accept the results of that system, does it not? >> yes, senator. >> and that makes americans less likely to follow the substantive laws that we pass that are administered by the department of justice. isn't that true? >> yes, senator. >> and if that happens, we have chaos, don't we? chaos and the social contract is breached, isn't it? >> yes. >> do you remember a person by the name of michael avenatti? >> yes. >> um. several years ago, he was a media star

mr. trump. in a moment we hear from senator ted cruz. then house ways and means chair jason smith but first one big beautiful bill, the subject of the riff. a big moment today, perhap two. first certainly, congress certified president-elect trump's eel open victory,ta. mr. trump create could a working class coalition, hispanic-americans could black americans, asian-americans, muslim mu-americans, young people, union members women. that could well change face of american politics for at least a generation, mr. trump turned the g.o.p. into the party of working folks, he will promote america first policies be they lower taxes, reciprocal fair trade tariffs, border closing, unleashing energy, minimizing red tape business regulations and he brought in the doge brothers, elon musk and vivek ramaswamy. who will weaken the over extended power of the unelected federal bureaucracy. as well as chopping down the tom tomorrow -- federal budget, and america first overseas to restore american authority, respect with peace through strength, and a clear

senator cruz: thank you mr. chairman. welcome, thank you for your long career in public service and thank you for your willingness to take on this incredibly important office. you know, i have to say, i don't know if there is a more important position in this new administration than the position to which you have been nominated , attorney general of the united states. i thought the exchange just a moment ago with senator hirono was illustrative. she asked you how you would respond if the president asked you to target his political enemies. it is rather striking because it is not a hypothetical. it has happened over the last four years. and i think perhaps the most tragic legacy of the biden harris administration has been the politicization and weaponization of the united states barb and of justice. we don't need to ask hypothetically because joe biden publicly mused and allow the new york times to report it. calling on merrick garland why will he not prosecute. and merrick garland sadly sat in that chair and promised to b

mr. chairman, she clearly will not answer that question. >> you will have a second round. would you like to speak before the quorum, senator cruz? >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator bondi, welcome. thank you for your long career in public service. thank you for your willingness to take on this incredibly important office. you know, i have to say, i do not know that there is a more important position in this administration than the position you have been nominated attorney general of the united states. she asked you how you would respond if the president asked you to target his political enemies. it is not a hypothetical. it is the last four years. i think the most tragic legacy of the biden harris administration has been the politicized asian in the weaponization of the department of justice. asking hypothetically because joe biden allowed the new york times to report it. calling on garland, why would we not prosecute trump more quickly and garland sat in that chair and promised not to be political and he broke that promise almost the instant he walked into the department of justice. if you look on the supreme court of the unite

senator cruz, you're up. >> thank you, mr. chairman.congresswoman, congratulations on your nomination, you're going to be terrific. i want to go back to a topic you discussed with senator cornyn, focus on iran's push to build a nuclear arsenal which poses the most immediate and acute threat to america's national security. when the ayatollah chants death to america, he means it. and i believe he would absolutely detonate a nuclear weapon over an american city if he could. the trump administration got iran's nuclear program in a box and kept it there. president trump withdrew from the catastrophic obama iran nuclear deal in 2018, he imposed maximum pressure in 2019. he invoked the u.n. snap back mechanism in the u.n. security council resolution 2231 to reimpose international sanctions in 2020. for that entire time iran was deterred from making significant advances on their nuclear program. they did not even enrich uranium above 5% or cascade advance centrifuges. starting in november 2020 the iranian regime gambles it could start rushing t

mr. patel: as high as i've ever seen it, senator. sen. cruz: described to this committee what the fbi should be doing to prevent future terrorist attacks. mr. patel: working hand in glove with our intelligence community obtaining information that directly relates to the fbi's criminal mandate on a criminal basis and sorting and prosecuting and stopping any terrorist attacks here and homegrown activities abroad directed at the united states of america along with counter mandates to the espionage rings in the country that dovetails with the terrorist activity. sen. cruz: does it concern you that customs and border patrol in the previous administration, border patrol agents in particular, to be on the lookout for terrorists crossing the southern border? does that concern you as a risk for americans across the country? mr. patel: that along with the fact that the prior homeland secretary and fbi director testified to congress there are dozens of terraced affiliates in the united states and they don't know where they are. sen. cruz: it will be your

mr. chairman, she clearly will not answer that question. >> you will have a second round. would you like to speak before the quorum, senator cruz? >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator bondi, welcome. thank you for your long career in public service. thank you for your willingness to take on this incredibly important office. you know, i have to say, i do not know that there is a more important position in this administration than the position you have been nominated attorney general of the united states. she asked you how you would respond if the president asked you to target his political enemies. it is not a hypothetical. it is the last four years. i think the most tragic legacy of the biden harris administration has been the politicized asian in the weaponization of the department of justice. asking hypothetically because joe biden allowed the new york times to report it. calling on garland, why would we not prosecute trump more quickly and garland sat in that chair and promised not to be political and he broke that promise almost the instant he walked into the department of justice. if you look on the supreme court of the unite

mr. chairman. general bondi, i concongratulate you -- congratulate you. sen. cruz: i the want to go back to the topic of the politization of the department of justice. we talked about the department of justice under joe biden and kamala harris being used to targets the president's political enemies. we talked about it being used to protect the political friends and allies of the white house. there is another asecretary of politicization and lawlessness. that is refusing to follow the law. utterly defying federal statutory law. i think there is no area where this has been more egregious than as it concerns our immigration laws. we have had four years of a wide open southern border. my state, texas, has borne a disproportionate burden as a consequence of that as 12 million illegal aliens have flooded into this country. and what the biden administration hasesident in thf america has done. the biden administration has simply ignored the law. when illegal aliens are apprehended they release them. federal law says they shall be detained and deported. frankly our constitu