ms. warren: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. it is no secret that powerful interests are working to undermine our government. giant companies and right-wing billionaires have been pouring unlimited sums of money into making sure our government works for those at the top and leaves everyone else behind. and a key part of their strategy is to capture our courts. during the obama administration, these powerful interests and their republican allies in congress executed an unprecedented campaign to stop fair minded, impartial nominees from filling judicial vacancies. nominees weren't blocked because they weren't qualified. they weren't blocked because they were inexperienced. they weren't blocked because they were out of the mainstream. they were blocked for one reason and one reason alone. because they didn't demonstrate a sufficient willingness to bend the law in favor of the rich and the powerful. with donald trump as president, these same interests sense a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape

ms. warren: thank you, madam president. i rise today to express my strong opposition to president trump's nomination of mike pompeo to be the next secretary of state. there are many reasons to oppose thp nomination, but the main reason for me is pretty straightforward. mike pompeo is completely unfit to serve as america's chief diplomat. during his time as a public servant, mike pompeo has embraced a variety of views that betray america's values, whether it's his support for interrogation techniques that amount to torture, his preference for war over diplomatic solutions, or his hateful, blatantly discriminatory views about muslim and lgbtq americans, mike pompeo's confirmation would degrade america's diplomacy and erode our moral standing on the world stage. let's start with his evolving position on torture. in 2014, then-congressman pompeo praised the interrogators who used torture as, quote, patriots and, quote, heroes, but when seeking confirmation to become c.i.a. director, mr. pompeo suddenly said he would, quote, alw

ms. warren: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we, we are. ms. warren: i -- yes, we are. ms. warren: i ask that it be limited. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: thank you. i would like to take a moment to thank senator whitehouse for his bold leadership and to continue the fight to rid our system of dark money. all across our country teachers are taking to the streets to demand what no teacher should ever have to ask for, fair pay and decent benefits. in state after state, education has been cut to the bone. they have even cut the bone. kids are crammed into overcrowded classrooms. they are handedded tattered textbooks, and their teachers are paid so little, that some qualify for food stamps. in fact, salaries are so low in some states that teachers are working two, three, and sometimes four jobs just to make ends meet. now, many people don't know this but teachers have always had a very special place in my heart. as a little girl growing up in oklahoma, there was one person i admired more than anyone else in the world, my seco

ms. warren: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are, senator. ms. warren: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. senator, i need to read a few things first for the record. under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of education, carlos g.muniz of florida to be general counsel. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 12:30 p.m. will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. under the previous -- the senator may proceed, please. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, just weeks after voting, to make it harder to stop discrimination in mortgage lending, the senate is now on the verge of voting to make it harder to stop discrimination in auto lending. about 40 years ago, congress passed an important civil rights law called the equal credit oppo

ms. warren approved this recommendation do i have that right. >> that is the conclusion you could draw. >> and hard to search location? was it ever circulated within the bureau? >> i don't know i just know we found them because they were responsive to the previous request. >> where were they make in the director's file. >> the office of the director's file. that would've been the first place i would have looked. >> this committee asked repeatedly with the oversight investigation responsibilities , 242, a quarter of a billion dollars in the building we don't even own we asked six solid years and it is in the director's office file. mr. chairman i have further questions about these records were not previously produced and referenced i trust they will cooperate with any future discussion on this topic. >> absolutely. >> i yield back. >> it is nice to see you back here so we are often confronted with false choices here in congress as you well know. so we have to repeal dodd frank and every aspect or defend every single order the same with the cfpb and has to be repealed or eliminated as you a

ms. warren approved that recommendation. do i have that right, acting director mulvaney? > that is certainly conclusion you can draw -- >> were memorandum for miss warren's decision in hard to search location. >> it was not? >> why the memos subsequent i circulated to the bureau? >> i don't know. we found them. they were responsive to the previous request and we disclose them. >> where were they? >> they were in the director's file. >> the director's file. >> office the director file. >> office of the directer to's file? >> yeah. asking if that would have been the first place to look for sufficient? yes. >> this committee asked repeatedly oversight and investigation responsibilities. $242 million, a quarter of a billion dollars spent on luxury renovations on a building we don't even own. the bureau rents. we asked repeatedly for six solid years. we find out they're in the director's office file. mr. chairman, i have further questions about these records that were not previously produced or referenced and about the issue revealed by these records. i trust that the bureau wi

ms. warren: do i have permission to speak? the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i'm here to urge my colleagues to oppose the nomination of two trump nominees. john ring nominated to the national labor relations board and patrick pizzella who has been nominated deputy secretary of labor. these two nominees have been selected to hold critical jobs to protect workers. that's what these jobs are about. and i'll be blunt. i start with a pretty high bar here, since despite his campaign rhetoric from two years ago, the president's track record on standing up for workers has been absolutely miserable. from the day he nominated andrew pudzer, an executive who delighted in mocking and belittling his own low-wage workers to run the department of labor, this administration has delivered one gut punch after another to america's working people. the national labor relations board is responsible for protecting the rights of workers to organize and bargain for better wages and benefits. so as we consider president trump's latest nominee for the bo