mr. schumer: first, mr. president, i'd like to send my heartfelt condolences to the bush family for the passing of the former first lady barbara bush. simply put, mrs. bush was the personification of grace and class, as first lady and as a human being throughout her life. she will be missed by people on both sides of the aisle and by all americans. second, mr. president, let me begin on our nation's issue of foreign policy. over the weekend the ambassador to the u.n. nikki nailly went on national television to's a nnounce a new round of sanctions against russia for enabling the brutal assad regime to commit chemical weapon attacks against its own people. only 24 hours later, the white house reversed course and senior administration officials blamed nikki haley for being, quote, confused. the word confusion may in fact define this administration's foreign policy. does anyone at the white house talk to each other? is there a coordinated strategy? or is our foreign policy completely subject to the president's f

mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: yes. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: it's good to see you back in the chair the second time, madam president. now, let me begin by addressing the administration's ongoing efforts to secure a diplomatic deal in north korea. to achieve the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. it's a worthy, ambitious goal. indeed, we should all root for a diplomatic solution to the decades-long conflict. it is undeniable, however, that this meeting is fraught with peril. my primary concern is that the president and his penchant for spur of the moment decision-making could lead the united states into danger in one of two ways. my first concern is that the president, without a clear or coherent strategy, will buy a pile of magic beans, accepting an agreement, any agreement that allows him to declare victory. we know what he will say. the greatest compromise ever. greater than versailles, greater than anything. talking is

mr. schumer: mr. president, the markup committee will markup the rules of the nominees to benefit the majority. of course the majority can approve of the nominations on a party line vote for all nominees up to and now including the supreme court since leader mcconnell elected to change those rules last year. why the need for further erosions to minority rights in the senate? republicans argue it's because their facing, quote, historic obstruction of the president's nominees. a few points on that. the democrats have cooperated with the majority of noncontroversial nominees, like career ambassadorships and civil servants for a long time now. before each recess there is a long list of names approved. before the last recess, the senate confirmed as nearly as many nominations in 2018 as president obama had confirmed in the analogous year, 2010. let me repeat that before the last recess the senate has confirmed almost the exact same number of nominees in 2018 as president obama had confirmed in 2010, the se

mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: before i get into the substance of my remark, i remind my dear friend, our majority leader, that the vast majority of the benefits of this tax break, this tax cut, went to the wealthiest of americans. the vast majority went to large corporations. and what are they doing with the money? using most of it for buybacks. that was a by buyback. they buy back their own salary. the rich guy making money, the shareholders, one third out of the country, most of whom in the top 10% of america make more money. the middle class and rural america particularly is left behind in this bill. we could have done a tax bill where the benefits went to the middle class, not just some, 10%, 20%, but all. so this bill is -- it's a bit of a fake. small benefits for the middle class along with harm to their health care. the things put in this bill will raise many people's premiums far more than their tax -- than their small tax break. so let's be honest about this. this bill was done for the rich and th

mr. schumer: once again, congratulations. this is the first time at least when i am speaking on the floor that you are in the chair. is it the first time you are in the chair, madam president? can't answer. i know. let the record show she nodded her head in an affirmative way. okay. madam president, first a brief comment on the tribal labor sovereignty act which failed to move forward in the senate last night. indian affairs has very rarely found its way to the floor of the senate, despite a number of very pressing issues in indian country, including homelessness, educational disparities, language loss, health care access, broadband access, and many more. for a number of years, democrats and republicans on the indian affairs committee have pushed legislation that would alleviate these problems. on our side of the aisle, senators udall and tester, smith, baldwin, heinrich, heitkamp, cantwell, murray, have worked very hard on bills that deal with these very, very significant issues in indian country. but, madam president, none

mr. schumer: i will not. the presiding officer: is there objection to the original request? mr. mcconnell: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: today senate democrats have filibustered legislation to reauthorize funding for our coast guard. in a dangerous world, the brave men and women of the coast guard are always ready for the call, whether it be to interdict drugs, secure our ports, or conduct daring maritime rescues. they citizen our support. they don't deserve a filibuster for the sake of political posturing. so let's have a little plain talk about why the bill failed. democrats filibustered this legislation because it contains an eminently sensible bipartisan provision to streamline regulations for the mariners and vessel on thers who drive america's maritime economy. it would cut back on duplicative rules and overlapping enforcement and provide a uniform standard that protects the environment and commerce alike. if this sound like commonsense bipartisan -- like a commo

mr. schumer: before i begin, i want to welcome the president of france, emmanuel macron, who just finished his address before a joint session. his words were timely, particularly his admonition to reject the false idols of our time -- isolationism, cynicism. he argued that if we were to chance principles upon which both our nations were founded, as he would say, liberte, egalite, and fra ternite, he would say it better than me, of course, and secure the prosperity of our peoples in the future, we must seek further cooperation with our allies in the engagement in the world. i hope that everyone at both ends of pennsylvania avenue takes president macron's words to heart. now, madam president, the senate is considering the nomination of mike pompeo to be the next secretary of state. i must admit that even after his confirmation to the directorship of the c.i.a., i remained concerned about mr. pompeo when he was in the congress. i talked to him directly. i told him how deeply disappointed i was in how he handled the benghazi hearings, how partisan they were. i told him some of his comments abo

mr. schumer: madam president, i watched the president on tv this are morning, and like most americans, so many americans, i was aghast. the president seems to live in an alternative reality. he says things that are patently false and he thinks just by saying them they become true. the amount of 1880- -- 1880-degree turns, name calling and blaming, you watch the presidented the president this morning and the -- you watched the president this morning and the way he acted it is so unbecoming of a president and democracy. we believe in truth. people may vp different value systems, but to just make up things as they go along and without a blink of the eye and contradict things that he said that are exactly the opposite a few hours, a few weeks ago is not who any president of any party of any i'd lollingy -- ideology should be. what the president said this morning is embarrassing to america, democracy, and to any american who prizes truth. one of the things the president said this morning was that, quote, he's decided not to be involved in the russia probe but may change his mind. that is why i

mr. schumer: for that and everything else.privilege here to speak about my dear friend, our colleague, louise slaughter. i used to call her not louise t as her family knows, and rochesterarians know, weezy, out of great love and affection. i see her three wonderful daughter, megan, amy, robin. her seven grandchildren, her great grandson, the light of her life. what a legacy. weezy may have been born in kentucky but she was a new yorker through and through. she never backed down from a challenge. never backed away from a fight, and certainly as we all know was never afraid to speak her mind. that's what made her such a tireless and effective champion for the people of upstate and western new york, her absence will be felt not only by her staff and family and colleagues gathered here today but also by her constituents. and all of us in the new york delegation for whom louise accomplished so much. of course louise, the tireless fighter, was also beloved. she loved rochester, rochester loved her. from one corner of monroe county t

mr. schumer. the president said he wanted a love bill. that's what it was. unfortunately, the republicans added on some killer amendments, eliminating certain kinds of immigration programs that have been in place for a long time, such as family reunification. keep in mind that if that had passed, mrs. trump's mother and father could not reunite with their daughter. so it is just crazy. the reality is we want a comprehensive immigration reform. we want the daca. and we're willing to offer money, but not willing to destroy families that want to reunify. we're not -- >> congressman. >> we're not going to destroy the existing system. >> we have to leave it there. appreciate your time today. thank you. >> you got it. >>> we are getting new details this morning about the special counsel's investigation and how it is intensifying. robert mueller's team questioning russian oligarchs, stopping and interrogating two of them on u.s. soil. special counsel looking at whether wealthy russians were illegally funneling money into president trump's campaign coffers. kara ski

mr. president, senator schumer is just flat wrong. he is wrong about this bill. there is nothing in this bill that gives the o.m.b. director any additional power. there is nothing in this bill that gives him any additional tools to delay or cut programs. in fact, we put that language in at the request of the minority leader. and, frankly, i remember when we were having discussions under the obama administration, many of my republican colleagues were worried that this would be a way for the obama administration to somehow have more power than we want them to have. the bottom line is we have the power in the legislative body to decide what programs are funded. we are the people who appropriate government funds. shouldn't the taxpayers and members of congress have an easily accessible way to get good information about a program? and, by the way, no one is saying anybody has to draw certain conclusions from the facts that would be on this website. we're only asking that the facts be put on the website. it's not nefarious. there's no plot here. i don't want to heard c

mr. schumer come out supporting comprehensive legislation. i would note for the record, very similar to what my colleague in the senate, on the senate finance committee, ron wyden and i introduced last year. that's great. the more the merier. what we want to do, this congress is to be able to do some simple things. the legislation we have worked on together to allow state legal marijuana enterprises to get rid the permits to get rid of their expenses. i appreciate the gentleman's leadership. and there is robust medical research on cannabis. the federal government interferes. no longer for any reason on that. and in working on this literally for decades, i have never met a single humidity being who thinks there is anything to be served by forcing state legal marijuana enterprises to be conducted on an all-cash bases. these are things we can change whether people want formal legalization. this are commonsense steps that have bipartisan support. and we will take it to the people. we will be voting on it in michigan, probably in missouri and a ba

mrs. bush. paul ryan tweeting barbara bush holds a revered place in the hearts of generations of americans, she led with clarity and character. chuck schumer saying mrs. bush personified grace and class as first lady and throughout her life, she will be missed. my heartfelt condolences to the bush family. our viewers sharing their thoughts and prayers, regardless of your politics you have to admire her poise and dignity. she was a wife and mother and protected her children with fierce tenacity even as adults. beth rating prayers of peace to the bush family especially her husband and friends, that was one classy lady. actress rosanne barr saying barbara bush said she thought it was a brave woman after my star-spangled banner fiasco. i never forgot that. it was sweet of her. barbara bush, one of the top trends on twitter even into this morning. jillian: barbara bush leaves behind a lasting legacy notably with her work on literacy. rob: steve ducey sat down with her to talk about teaching americans to read and the politics and much more. >> thank you for inviting us into your house. >> if you talk about literacy. >> if you don't mind i would

chuck schumer tweeting mrs. bush personify grace and class as first lady and she will be missed and i send my heartfelt condolences to the bush family. nancy pelosi says mrs. bush brought dignity, civility and spirit everything she did. her strength of character, strength of principles and strength of her faith were a great gift to our nation. bill clinton got close to the bushes after that election battle, barbara bush was a remarkable woman with grace, brains and beauty, she was fierce and feisty in support of her family and friends, country and causes blue showed what an honest vibrant full life looks like. hillary and i mourn her passing and bless her memory. a former deputy assistant to george w. bush, still knows the bush family quite well. what pops out about mrs. bush? >> a consummate first lady. don't warn me, celebrate me, the luckiest person in the world, and 73 years, and lived in the best country in the world and served the greatest nation. mrs. bush was somebody, a class, dignity, cared about peopl

senate democratic leader chuck schumer tweeting "mrs. bush personified grace and class. she will be missed and i send my heartfelt condolences to the bush family." house minority leader nancy pelosi said "mrs. bush brought dignity, civility, and spirit to everything she did. her strength of character, strength of her principles, the strength of her faith were a great gift to our nation." bill clinton who got very close to the bushes after the election battle, tweeted "barbara bush was a remarkable woman. she had grace, brains and beauty. she was fierce and feisty and supported her family and friends, her country, end. " " brad blakeman is a former deputy assistant to president george w. bush. he knew the bush family, still knows them quite well. we appreciate you coming in. what pops out for you about mrs. bush off the bat question! she was a consummate first lady. she would tell you i think, don't mourn me. celebrate me. i'm the luckiest person in the world. i found the love of my life at a very early age. we stayed together for 73 years. i was blessed to have a great f

it makes me uncomfortable to call him trump the way i would schumer i say mr.rump, long tradition in the white house in the washington to do so. mr. president when you're talking to him, president trump, the president, mr. president and mr. trump when writing about him. i'll put it on facebook as well. i'm going to get back on facebook as best i can. look for it maybe in an hour or two. it will take time to type that up. >> thank you, mr. mcgrew. >> 5:48 right now. happening today, the east bay about to get a bit more wild west like. >> 14 bison are on the way to the oakland zoo, part of the his toric herd and apparently link back to the original herd from 1873. animals part of the zoos of california trail expansion that features animals native to california but no longer live here. >> but now they live here. >> right. >> back to normal. >> all right, we're going to have great weather to head to the oakland zoo. maybe you're looking for something to do with the kids once they get out of school. make sure you have something nice and warm to walk out the door wit

mr. pompeo should be supported. i yield the floor. >> congressional report assessment order leader chuck schumer about the mike pompeo nomination. he explained why he's voting against. >> i'm going to oppose the nomination of secretary pompeo. i met with him several times while he was cia director. we have very good discussions. i was pleasantly surprised he took a stronger stand on russian sanctions from the president did. then we talk foreign policy and i'm going to wait and hear his hearing. i was disappointed so i asked for a second meeting. we do not talk foreign policy issues. i asked two things. i said first to me more important than the great decisions that a secretary of state has to make his rule of law in america. would he be willing since there's not many in the administration to speak out publicly and forcefully that the president should not fire mueller rosenstein she demurred. i said now that your secretary of state you're in a different situation which you walk back the nasty comments he has made about muslim americans or people from south asia? he demurred. i am voting no for those reasons. i think people have g

it's beautiful to see chuck schumer come back over to the house to sing the praises of louise, and again, thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, one of the great privileges and joys of my speakership was to name louise slaughter the first woman chair of the rules committee. [applause] representative pelosi: and i wasn't just proud of it because she was the first woman, but because of the excellence of her work. now, gwen said that her sister said, who is that old lady? that must have been your younger sister. yes. well, my older brother, who was louise's age, used to say to me, who is that girl on tv? doing such a good job on the rules committee? she's always working. who is that girl? that girl was louise slaughter. and here we are, "amazing grace," louise, so many friends here, really, in the shadow of her fellow kentuckian, here he is right there. the first -- henry clay, who was the speaker of the house. and it says on there, "leader and statesman." and when he passed away, there were a great deal of remembrances of him, no more than of louise slaughter, leader and stateswoman from kentucky, but new

can't just call him trump the way i would say schumer or mcmaster or comey, i say mr. trump. again, there's a long tradition in washington to do so. mr. president, if you're talking to him, president trump, the president, mr. trump when writing about him. what do you think? we examined the president's tweets and executive orders and everything, every day and like i said, i read your tweets and facebook messages, send them on in. >> thank you, scott mcgrew, mr. mcgrew. happening tomorrow, a celebration for labor and civil rights leader ses ar chavez, tomorrow is the annual cesar chavez holiday, parade and festival taking place, starting at 11:00 a.m. and street fair and music and dancing and arts and crafts. this marks 25 years since chavez passed away and 50 years since he went on a 25-day hunger strike for nonviolence. that's crazy to think about because gosh, i was a reporter and i covered the funeral out in the central valley. i guess i've been doing this for a while. >> you have the time machine. >> that's right. >> i get in the chamber every night. >> better sleep it in

mr. leader, just another was reported back to us at our ranking members meeting today in a very positive way from leader schumer about the meeting and to explain to go forward at this appropriations process and it was pretty vast agreement that it was a good idea. >> mr. chairman. >> senator shelby. i said this yesterday in the meeting today with the belief in the appropriations process breaks down, the senate breaks down and it reflects on both of us, republicans and democrats because the senate is not working. if we work the appropriation process. i've talked to senator durbin about this. you agree? >> to satisfy my, mr. chair, let's pick an appropriation bill, and then head to the floor. let's see how this works. we've got to educate ourselves and senator mcconnell, you are right. as long as you deal its unanimous consent, anyone can stop the trade. i hope we can find a way to get back. >> if somebody comes up and we got a bill that comes out of the appropriations committee wednesday unanimously and they say i'm going to talk on a motion to proceed. we've got to cut that off together. that is what they used

mr. leader, just so you know that was reported ba can to you at ranking members today in positive wail from leader schumer just about the meeting and his intention, as senator durbin explained to go forward with the appropriations process, and it was pretty i would say vast agreement that it was a good idea. >> mr. chairman. >> senator shelby. >> i said this yesterday in the meeting, but i really believe this, that when the prop ration process breaks down, the not breaks down. and it reflects on both of us, republicans and democrats. because the senate is not working. if we work the prop ration process, we are going to work the senate. i believe this. i talked to senator durbin about that. you agree dave? >> i just might add let's pick appropriation bill and put training wheels on it and head it to the floor. see if this works. we have to educate ourselves. and senator, you are right, i hope that we can find a way to get back. >> if somebody comes up, and it could be one of ours, or yours, and comes up and we have a bill comes out of the appropriations committee, for example, or one of two, say unanimousl

mr. obama was having trouble getting his picks through the senate. senatery notes that minority leader chuck schumeraid republicans are abusing the so-called blue slip process that have given home state senators said my veto over judicial picks for their states. he also said the aggressor still atmentver republicans' tre of judge merrick garland. that debate happening in the senate rules committee, and that is happening today at 3:30, if you want to watch it. we are carrying it on the web at c-span.org, so you can watch it there. brian in indianapolis, indiana, republican line. go ahead. caller: yes, i was just wondering why everyone wants to get donald trump out? he is doing an awesome job, and there is no way he could have ever been president unless we voted for him. nobody wanted hillary, and now aboutis something out hillary clinton and some other lady killing and molesting a child. host: what video are you referring to? miliar with it. caller: it is called fizzle drip. just google it. ,ost: line for independents go ahead. caller: i think picking dr. jackson for the v.a. was a very poor choice.

mr. karem: i agree. >> in a letter from general counsel, acting -- acting general counsel to senator schumer and mcconnell, was talking about the u.s. involvement and to quote the letter, the united states provides the it coalition defense articles and services including air-to-air refueling, and advice regarding advice of law and risk of civilian casualties. is this the extents of our involvement? >> the extent of our involvement with respect to the support of the coalition's efforts in the civil war we obviously have -- provide different support with respect to c.t. operations using different authorities. senator gardner: ambassador satterfield? ambassador satterfield: we provide a variety of humanitarian and political support and engagement. yes, it's an accurate accounting of our military support and intel support. senator gardner: what's the paup personnel figure we have involved with yemen? ambassador satterfield: i believe we have roughly 15 personnel in saudi arabia. but they are conducting a variety of activities, including largely helping on the ballistic missile threat. senator gardner: ambassa

mr. fasman: if you were betting, and the cory gardner bill, chuck schumer bill came to the house and senate floor, would they pass? i should ask, what are the chances they could go to the floor? and what are the chances of they would pass? ms. minton: schumer's bill, good chance. gardner's bill, less of a chance. of schumere leadership. leadership has for the most part taken a pretty anti-pro-marijuana position. you also have mitch mcconnell, who just introduced last week a hemp legalization bill, and pelosi said that she might eventually consider legalization of marijuana. her voting has been pretty good. she voted to make it legal for veterans, for rohrbacher farms, which stopped the department for going after the states where it is legal. i think the schumer bill has a good chance, and the gardner bill has gotten a lot of support. i think it has slightly less of a chance because of his rank. but they both have a good shot. mr. fasman: marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. are you surprised we have not seen more federal marijuana prosecutions? i imagine a sort of an ambitious y

mr. short tweeted, "the senate is back this week and it's time for senator schumer to stop his historic obstructionpresident's nominees. the white house submitted the nominations for deputy secretary of labor to 93 days ago and for deputy epa minister to 186 days ago. there finally scheduled for votes this week. it's time to confirm them." we welcome mark short. you got the deputy epa confirmed yesterday. are you happier? marc: we got the deputy epa and the deputy secretary of labor. we also had a record number of judges confirmed and the supreme court justice. the level of obstruction is historic. between the presidency of george h.w. bush, clinton, george w. bush, and obama, and their entire first terms, there were 32 filibusters on nominees. for the first 15 months of this initiation, we have had over 80. 16 years of presidents with a total of 32 filibusters. in 15 months, we have had more than 80. it's a historic level of obstruction and its continuing to leave the senate into a place where there will probably be rules changes and a continued deterioration of the ability to work together. david

but chuck schumer's spokesman told bloomberg, quote, given the reportered role in helping congress mast nunes turn the investigation into a partisan breeding ground for conspiracy theories, mr. cohen-watnick's new position is troubling. he must not come anywhere near the mueller investigation, and democrats will watch like a hawk to ensure that is the case. so this guy, fired from the white house before for his involvement in what looked like an effort to monkey wrench the russian investigation, we don't know why president trump has ordered him to be hired again by the trump administration and specifically be ordered that he we gipp a job in the office of jeff sessions. we don't know why the president would issue an order to put that particular guy in that particular place. but as of today es ra cohen-watnick reportedly has finished his first week on the job, now at the department of justice. there's been so much turmoil and turnover in the administration, it continues tonight, but it's been happening for long enough that people previously cast out are starting to get recycled into new, even more controversial jobs. heads up on this one. what is it? the next big thing in fo

mr. trump three results on the investigations. the senatey -- minority leader chuck schumeraid "our republican colleagues must not continue ignoring the elephant in the room." , icolm in st. petersburg facebook user. we are here to talk about the hearing yesterday. what did you talk about -- what did you get from it? caller: hi, pedro. i wanted to response to a couple of your callers who said we need to take responsibility for our own privacy when we put our information on the internet, things like that. i want to say that i do agree partially to that. i think where the disconnect , anyway,with facebook is that facebook gives you a false sense of security when it gives you the option to go on and set your privacy settings and set who can view your content. if it is telling you hey, you can go and set these types of things, you are going to want to trust that platform that is actually protecting your information and letting you, the user, decide who can see it and who doesn't. people,that is where including myself, are kind of upset about that, that they are not entirely as p

mr. leader just say you know that was representative ported at out of the ranking member's mainstay in a very positive way from lead -- leader schumer and senator durbin has explained wind to go forward with the super operations process. i'ma. in agreement that was a gd idea. >> senator shelby. >> i really believe this when the appropriations process breaks down the senate breaks down. it reflects on both of us, republicans and democrats because the senate is not workingus. if we work the appropriations process we are going to work the senate. senator durbin. >> i would just add let's take an appropriation bill and put and training wheels on it headed to the floor and see how this works. we have to educate ourselves and senator mcconnell you are rightt. anybody can stop the train so i hope we can find a way to get back to that. >> if somebody comes up and it could be one of ours or yours a bill that comes out of the committee and we are willing to say unanimously and they say i am going to ask for a motion to proceed. not to cut that off. that's what they used to do. i have been there and you have too. when the committee worked we w

the schumer bill has a good chance, and the gardener bill has gotten a lot of support. it has less of a support because of his rank. mr. fasman: marijuana it is still illegal at the federal level. we surprised we have not seen more federal marijuana prosecutions? d.aagine an ambitious young . in denver, seattle, he wants to impress jeff sessions. why have we not had someone go after someone on the federal level? ms. minton: it is high-stakes for jeff sessions. we had were blocker handicapping hrabacker handicapping miss us. open theappens, they door for the courts to considering this. also puts more pressure on politicians to do something. if the state start legalizing it and the federal government and the department of justice do not interfere, us voters, the 60% or 80% you say it wants to be legal -- if the justice department starts prosecuting mom and pop shops, people get angry and it moves up on important issues when they go to vote. mr. fasman: if we were to see a crackdown on the business, you think there would be a push toward full legalization? ms. minton: and i think sessions understands that, he is going on

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, the senate routinely reauthorizes the coast guard, much like the defense act, which shouldn't be a terribly partisan issue, never has been. we all deeply respect the work of the coast guard and recognize the heroism of the men and women who serve in that capacity. but unfortunately the republican majority slipped a poison pill rider into this otherwise noncontroversial bill that would repeal part of the clean water act. that's why the coast guard reauthorization bill failed today. the rider would prohibit the e.p.a. and the states from regulating solution and invasive species from the ballast water of large vessels. instead, it would let the coast guard set regulations. an agency that doesn't have the environmental expertise of the e.p.a. this is a massive change to the clean water act. the clean water act has worked well for decades because the states drive inno

mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. now, mr. president, over the past two weeks we have seen increasingly worry -- worrisome signs that president trump is seriously considering firing the special counsel charged with the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. equally as troubling is the possibility of the president firing the deputy attorney general who oversees that investigation in order to install someone who would dismiss mr. mueller or otherwise impede or shut down the investigation. let me be clear, firing mr. rosenstein would be as great an injury to our democracy as firing mr. mueller. mr. rosenstein, by all accounts, since being appointed by president trump has followed the letter of the law. there's no conduct the president or anyone else can point to that would suggest mr. rosenstein went beyond d.o.j. regulations or otherwise abused his position. he has dutifully done his job when he approved mr. mueller's referral to the u.s. attorney in the southern district. it was simply because he was provided

mr. schumer: mr. president, yesterday f.b.i. agents at the direction of the u.s. attorney of the southern district of new york seized information from president trump's personal attorney michael cohen. it was reported that the referral to the u.s. attorney's office originated with special counsel mueller. but the raid itself was under the direction of the u.s. attorney's office and new york f.b.i. agents. we don't know the reason for special counsel mueller's referral. we do know that any referral must have been signed off by deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. furthermore, the u.s. attorney's office in new york would have to be convinced that whatever information mr. mueller passed along was worth pursuing. and the u.s. attorney would have to convince an independent magistrate judge, nonpartisan, that there was probable cause to believe that seizing information from mr. cohen would yield evidence of a crime. that's a serious and high standard. -- that had to be met. i go through these details because it's important to understand that yesterday's events could

mr. schumer: first let me welcome back my fellow senators after a productive state work period. let me welcome our newest senator, cindy hyde smith, the junior senator from mississippi. she's the first woman to represent the state of mississippi and i welcome her warmly to this chamber. now, over the past weeks, as we've been away, we've heard of the passing of two of our senators, zell miller and danny akoka. i would like to say a few words about danny who is a good friend of mean and everything he did. he was a soldier, a teacher, and a statesman. he embodied the spirit of hawaii. he was so sincere in his beliefs and such a kind and gentle man that senators went out of their way to help him and of course he fought so hard for his state. he taught us so much, in his modesty, in his persistence, in his love of his constituents. and so for all he taught us for his service and his friendship, we say mahalo one final time. now, it was tammy duckworth who first informed me of senator akaka's passing, and it shows god's rhythms of life, the passing of danny akaka after a -- after lon