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 -- alsobrooks, baldwin, bennet, blumenthal, blunt rochester, booker, cantwell, fetterman, gallego, gillibrand, hassan, heinrich, hickenlooper, hirono, kaine, kim, king, klobuchar, lujan, markey, merkley, murphy, murray, ossoff, peters, reed, rosen, sanders, schatz, schiff, schumer, shaheen, van hollen,

mr. hoeven: mr. president, i move to proceed to calendar number 14, senate joint resolution 12. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 14, s.j. res.providing for congressional disapproval chapter of the united states code of the rules submitted by the environmental protection agency and so forth. mr. hoeven: i ask for the yeas and nays, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. in fact some of the things that i agreed about are the u.s. foreign aid is a powerful tool that should align with national security interests and we that we should not be empowering foreign adversaries and i too am also deeply concerned about autocratic regimes like our adversaries in china who are aggressively investing inn. soft power at the expense of the united states. i also agree strongly with all the witnesses that we need reforms to our foreign aid we need more oversi

mr. hoeven, aye. tors voting in the negative -- alsobrooks, coons, hassan, heinrich, kim, klobuchar, lujan, murray, peters, schumer, shaheen, van hollen, wyden. mr. mccormick, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. mr. schiff, no. mr. boozman, aye. mr. schatz, no. mr. marshall, aye. mr. gallego, no. the clerk: mr. thune, aye. the clerk: ms. duckworth, no. ms. ernst, aye. ms. collins, aye. ms. hirono, no. mr. merkley, no. ms. cortez masto, no. the clerk: mr. ossoff, no. the clerk: mr. welch, no. the clerk: ms. baldwin, no. ms. cantwell, no. the clerk: mr. kelly, no. the clerk: mr. graham, aye. mrs. moody, aye. mr. warner, no. ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: ms. blunt rochester, no. mr. husted, aye. ms. slotkin, no. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, no. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, no. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. sullivan, aye. mr. hickenlooper, no. the clerk: mr. sanders, no. mr. cornyn, aye. the clerk: mr. king, no. mr. reed, no. mr. markey, no. ms. warren, no.

mr. hoeven: thank you. adam president, i'm pleased to come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to confirm chris wright to be secretary of energy. mr. wright has demonstrated tremendous leadership in the energy industry over the past more than 30 years. he is a true pioneer in advancing new technologies that unlock the shale energy revolution in our country. when i start the as governor of north dakota in 2000, our state was producing about 100,000 barrels of oil a day. but that production was declining. we produced from the old traditional vertical wells going down as much as two miles in most cases. so we had to do something dix we started a new energy plan called empower north dakota, to help make our state the energy powerhouse that it is today. we developed the right regulatory and tax climate to encourage energy development. we worked to bring talent to our state with the best entrepreneurial mindset. that included energy leaders like mr. wright. people that have the latest and greatest understandi

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 investigation. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. mcconnell: i've never liked calling too much attention to today's date, february 20. but i figured my birthday would be as good a day as any to share with our colleagues a decision i made last year. during my time in the senate, i've only really answered to two constituencies. the republican conference and the people of kentucky. over the years the first group trusted me to coordinate cam campaigns, to count votes, to steer committees, to take the majority and on nine occasions to lead our conference. serving as a republican leader was a rare and, yes, rather specific childhood dream. and just about a year ago, i thanked my colleagues for their confidence w

mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, aye. . the clerk: mr. merkley, no. the clerk: mr. budd, aye. mrs. gillibrand, no. mr. moran, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, no. the clerk: mr. schatz, no. ms. smith, no. mr. husted, aye. ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. ms. cantwell, no. the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. mr. kim, no. ms. murkowski, aye. mr. coons, no. mr. kaine, no. the clerk: mr. warner, no. mr. king, no. the clerk: mr. warnock, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. the clerk: mr. schmitt, aye. mr. cruz, aye. mr. lee, aye. mrs. moody, aye. mr. daines, aye. mr. schiff, no. mr. booker, no. mr. padilla, no. mr. padilla, no. is led by this. we wish to be everywhere all times. with allies and partners and encouraged everyone to invest have they represent but it requires realistic nominees. a lot of to the media anyone suggests abandonment are trying to drive away allies. we are committed to that and understand the importance. the fiscal reality of the have to. nato has to spend more and we are very encouraged and behind closed doors acknowledging that r

mr. hoeven: thank you. mr.esident, i come to the floor today to discuss our continued efforts to reverse the biden administration's regulatory overreach, specifically as it relates to energy. this includes our efforts to work with president trump to unleash america's full energy potential and truly make our nation energy dominant. not just energy secure, but energy dominant. energy security is national security. and so it's vitally important for our country. we worked diligently in the senate to swiftly concern president trump's cabinet officials and continue to do that. we made it a firefighter to make sure the -- we made it a priority to make sure he got its department heads. key to this effort, i was confirming dougburg ---ing dougburg hum to be interior security and lee zeldin to be serve as administrator of the epa. we look forward to working with president trump's newly established national energy dominance council chaired by secr secretary burgum and vice secretary wright. soon the senate will vote on my

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 task with managing and can assess such incidents have a systemic cause. as a former general counsel of the department of transportation mr. bradbury will bring a deep understanding of how the department in a transportation system operates. he is intimately familiar with the department of past attempts with the for

mr.. hoeven i. >> clarity of what everybody is watching right now. senators get to come in and vote. they don't technically have a clock on them. they may claim otherwise. what you just heard was a clerk reading off the votes of those who have voted yes. anybody who hasn't voted can come in and vote while they're doing it. i'll just say it's actually a very cool thing to watch. if you're a senate procedural nerd, you see the pages sitting down there. >> senate procedural. >> nerds. i've met some adjacent. i'm adjacent to them. yeah. the guy sitting down right next to the to the desk or the the pages who actually run the senate. um, but are actually enormously helpful. so we're continuing to watch the senators come in. i believe you see somebody wearing an eagles jersey right there who clearly lost a bet. um, at some point, um, you know, you're allowed to have a little bit of fun, although you're supposed to be wearing a jacket and a tie on the senate floor as we continue to kind of watch these votes. i'm sorry, is that a jeremy maclin jersey? that's

mr. hoeven, aye. emphasis on fighting crime, with the senate judiciary chair rather calling him the right man at the right time. but democrats have warned he is unfit for the position, raising concerns that he's going to use the agency to target the president's political enemies. joining us now is nbc sahil kapoor reporting on capitol hill, and frank figliuzzi, former assistant director for counterintelligence at the fbi and an msnbc senior national security analyst. also, brendan buck, former aide to house speaker paul ryan and john boehner and an msnbc political analyst. welcome to all of you. so, hill, right now, where is the count? where does the vote stand? >> hey, alex, will the senate vote on the nomination of kash patel to be fbi director is still open, and it's looking like this is going to be a close one to the end, because we now have two republicans who have come out against kash patel. the first is susan collins, who made her opposition known earlier today. she said in a statement that sh

mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. king. ms. klobuchar. ms. klobuchar. serving america's small businesses, no stronger advocate than our president. actually our commitment if confirmed i will work tirelessly to make small business again. i want to thank my wonderful husband jeff and my wonderful friends who have joined us here today most importantly i gave all thanks and glory to god. as someone who has meant my life working in small businesses, starting them, growing them and helping them succeed, i know that small business is big business for america. they comprise 99% of small businesses, 2 out of 3 new jobs. they are the opportunity and innovation engines that drive prosperity and growth and they power the american economy as much as they power the american dream and president trump make historic strides driving small business formation, blue- collar boom and agenda created 7 million new jobs. his first term accomplishments were so great that following the 2024 election small business optimism recorded largest jump

mr. hoeven. mr. husted.. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend e. the clerk: mr. quelly. -- mr. kelly. the presiding officer: no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will success spend. the clerk: mr. kennedy. mr. kim. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: mr. king. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is permitted during a vote. the senator will suspend. the clerk: ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. the presiding officer: pursuant to rule 12, no debate is towered during a vote. is permitted during a vote. the senator although suspend. the

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. the last thing they need is another massive tax hike on top of that inflation. what happens if the tax cuts expire . if we do not extend these tax policies americans will be at with an over $4 trillion taxincrease . more than 2.6 trillion of that tax increase will fall on households giearning $400,000 per year and an average family of four making $80,000 will be saddled with the $1700

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. the presiding officer: a quorum is present. the ske is is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of russell vought of virginia to be director. office of management and budget shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. al

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. i'd like to thank president trump for his confidence in me at the special focuses of this campaign they want to make american education the best in the world can return education to the states where it belonged to free american students from the educationrm bureaucracy of school choice. proof that americans overwhelmingly support the presence vision and i'm ready to enactra it. education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares american workers to in the future. i've been passionate about education since my earliest college days when i studied to earn a teaching certificate. this is continued for my business career as a connecticut state board of education member as a university trustee and the chair of the america first policy institute which advocates workforce development parental choice and accountability in higher education. i'm also a mother and grandmotherha and i join millios of american

mr. hoeven: thank you, mr. president. i am a pleased to come to the floor again today to discuss my resolution to block the democrats' natural gas tax. which i'll call up right after we vote to affirm president trump's national energy emergency declaration. the biden administration's tax and regulatory onslaught over the past four years have driven up the cost of energy and led to a national energy emergency for our nation. one of the most egregious examples is a new tax on natural gas, and that's why i'm leading senate joint resolution 12, a congressional review act resolution to block this tax from taking effect. my resolution would rescind -- will rescind the rule amplifying the democrats' natural gas tax that the biden administration finalized last year. democrats and president biden mandated this new tax under the so-called inflation reduction act, which was of course the inflation acceleration arctic taking inflation all the way up to 9%, and the environmental protection agency issued its final implementing rule on

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 policy and about the budget resolution. so what's happened here is that the budget committee reported out senate concurrent resolution 7 that will allow through the reconciliation process the spending of money and the reduction of spending based on different commi

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-law abby and many of my closest friends who chose to come down to support me. i grew up on long island new york and my mother was an artist and art teacher my father was a professor of american history. my mother gene taught me how to appreciate life. when i was 14 she was diagnosed with terminal cancer but she

hoeven: mr. chris engelstad, president of the national barley growers association, from fertile, minnesota. i certainly know where that is. ms. amy france, chair of the national sorghum producers, scott city, kansas. of course josh gackle, who i introduced a minute ago. mr. garrett moore, member of the u.s. peanut federation from chancellor, alabama. mr. tim deal, vice president of the american sugar beet growers association from doran, minnesota. and that leads us to mrs. jennifer james, board of directors, usa rice, newport, arkansas. i know how excited our chairman is to introduce both you and mr. reed. i see he has book ended this, which does not surprise me a bit because he knows how to cover all the bases. with that, i will turn back to our chairman, senator boseman. -- boozman. chair boozman: thank you, very much for your help. sen. hoeven: i did mention that inadvertently when i introduced senator moran, i said the great state of texas inadvertently. i was thinking about my white from tex