mrs. saldana? it turns out the source is the senator from just left the floor, the senior senator from texas, who announced today he is voting against her. after this, he is voting against her. why? he said because she would aid and abet this president of the united states in implementing his executive order. well, mr. president, elections have consequences. i noted that president obama was re-elected by the people of the united states of america and given the responsibility to lead this great nation. he's asked for a team to do that, and whether i agree or disagree with any given policy of this president, it is clear the american people said mr. obama, heed this nation. -- lead this nation. he has asked for help to lead this nation, and it's help long overdue. do you know how long, mr. president, it's been since we filled this spot, this critical spot to protect our border from illegal immigration? over two years. july 2012 is the last time the spot was filled. there are those people who have sugg

mr. reid: and this would also be during all quorum calls today because there will be several of them, that the time will be divided equally on the saldana matter. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, more than three months ago, i was proud to introduce a fellow texan, sarah saldana to the security and government affairs committee in connection with her nomination to be the top immigration enforcement official, a position of profound importance to our country and particularly to texas, being a border state. s this saldana has an amazing story. she was bench in corpus christi, texas and became the first latina united states attorney in texas history and only the second woman to hold that in the 135-year history of the northern district of texas that includes the dallas-fort worth metro

saldana has agreed to step up to this challenge. she is a true american success story, mr. president. she rose from the hu humble beginnings of south texas as the youngest in her family. she is now one of the nation's top law enforcement officers. saldana was unanimously confirmed by the u.s. senate in 2011 to her current position as u.s. attorney for the north district of texas. she has a distinguished record representing the u.s. government as the senior law enforcement officer in one of the largest districts in the nation, it spans some 100 counties. i don't know how many counties you have in the state of montana, mr. president. we have three. but she has grace and presides over law enforcement operation that has 150 counties in the northern part of texas. in this role, she deals as closely and extensively as anyone else with the threats this country faces every dprai transnational criminal networksment this experience will serve her well, if confirmed to lead i.c.e. don't take my word for it. one of our good friends in the senate, john cornyn, the senator from texas -- t

saldana stated she believes mr. obama does have the authority to defer deportation for millions of illegal immigrants. our first guest authored a bill passed in the house that challenges the administration's fiat on immigration. joining us congressman ted yoho, a member of the house foreign affairs and congressional committees. first, congratulations getting your bill passed. what is, however, necessary to stop the president's executive order that confers de facto amnesty. >> lou, i appreciate you having me on. this is something we have to get back to the rule. while the president doesn't have the authority, it will be proven that he doesn't have the authority to do this, according to article 1 section 8 of the constitution. that power solely in the branch of the house where naturalization laws are made. the president has overstepped it, in fact, if you go back to the 20 or 22 times he said he did not have the authority to do this, and he's the constitutional lawyer, and i agree 100% with him. when he signed his exe

mr. president, i rise today to speak in opposition to the nomination of sarah r. saldana. she has been nominated to head the nation's top immigration law enforcement agency which has been at the epi center of this administration's refusal to enforce our nation's immigration laws. i'm sure she's a person of integrity and character and who's got experience, some at least, as united states attorney in texas, but fundamentally i'll share with you some of the reasons i think this is not the right nomination at this critical time. when asked in the judiciary committee whether she rejects the president's unlawful action to unilaterally grant legal residence and work permits to five million individuals illegally in the country, she said that she did. she supported that action. her answer reflects a remarkable disregard for the rule of law that demonstrates the difficulty she'll have as being the leader of this important i.c.e. agency. i.c.e. is the immigration customs and enforcement officials. they are immigration enforcement officials. they are hired to work as enforcement offic

mr. carper: thank you. madam president, i rise today to urge my colleagues to vote in a few minutes to confirm sarah saldana to assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement. a number of our friends have come to the floor opposing ms. saldana's nomination, but incredibly enough i haven't heard them question her qualifications. their opposition appears to be in response to the president's decision to bring five million hardworking immigrants out of the shadows this month. let me say as one member of the senate, we can quarrel about the timing and we can quarrel about the policy. i think for the most part the policy in the president's proposal is good. do i wish we had done it as a body? i wish we had done our jobs? you bet i do. but i wish the president delayed the announcement until a little bit later this year. he didn't. and so that's where we are. that's where we are. whether you like the president's executive order or not, it is about today whether we take our responsibilities seriously to ensure federal agencies have the leadership they need to operate efficiently and effectively. the sin

mr. walsh: i ask unanimous consent that following disposition of calendar number 635, rose, there be three hours of debate equally divided in the usual form on the motion to invoke cloture on calendar number 1084, saldana. further, that the time from 2:15 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form, with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. walsh: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider all nominations placed on the secretary's desk in the foreign service. that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the national then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. walsh: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 606, senate 1744. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 606, s. 1744, a bill to strengthen the accountability of individuals in

mr. president,. calendar number 1084, saldana, if cloture is invoked all postcloture time on the nomination be expired, and the senate proceed to vote on the nomination. further at 5:00 p.m. the until until 6:00 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form, at 6:00 p.m. the senate proceed to vote on cloture on calendar number 1150, blinken. if cloture is invoked, all postcloture be expired and the time vote on confirmation of the nomination. further, that if any nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid not the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motion be in order to the nomination, any statements related to the nomination printed in the record and the president immediately note inside of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. walsh: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. walsh: i ask consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without obje

mr. president, the senate will proceed to executive session to debate the murthy, santos, rose, saldana and blinken nominations. i'm not going to give any extensive -- i'm not going to speak extensively on any of these. i'm going to just say now tony blinken i have known for many years. he was integral to the success of joe bidden as a -- joe biden as a united states senator. he has been with him as vice president. now he is going to be second in command at the state department. when we have our briefings in the classified room, there is no one more articulate and can answer the questions any better than tony blinken. i have great admiration for him. i think we as a country are so fortunate he is going to be in the position he's in. at 5:30 today, there will be four roll call votes. those votes will be as follows -- cloture on murthy to be surgeon general of the united states, confirmation of murthy nomination, cloture on the santos nomination to be a member of the defense nuclear facility safety board, and cloture on executive calendar number 635, frank rose being assistant secretary of st