that is just nomination, not confirmation. there are over 1200 positions that the incoming administration has to fill that are senate confirmed. 4000 total appointees of those 1250 that require senate confirmation. president biden currently only has 2 people actually confirmed, the director for national intelligence and the secretary of defense. they have a long way to go while the biden team has nominated more. they are still in a position where they are not leading on the confirmations. frankly, the senate is a tricky place right now. in ordinary times -- [indiscernible] they are not sure how to operate with the 50-50 tie including the impeachment trial coming up and legislation that is fundamental to our health and safety and responding to the epidemic. this is an extraordinary time. the real challenge to the biden team would be to multitasking, getting a lot done at the same time. in order to do that well they the people in place. they have a long way to go on the senate confirmed side. where they have more control is arou

hearing no other nominations the nominations are called. take roll call vote for nomination of commission president. [roll call vote] congratulations. >> president brandon: i did vote more myself thank you. >> i saw you, [laughter]. >> president brandon: thank you so much. thank you fellow commissioners for having -- for supporting me again this year. last year was a year for the history books. i could not asked for a better team to work with during last year and all that we did for our people. our staff is phenomenal. this year our focus will be on recovery, helping our tenants to recover and getting the port back up and running hopefully so vaccines are distributed to everyone. given what has happened over the past week and couple of months and seeing that we have so much work to do when it comes to equity and justice. that will be a focal point for us this year. we will really concentrate on recovery and equity. i could not can for a better community to work with. especially our fearless leader, elaine forbe, board director along with ou

any president that's nominated gets confirmed. by this president, johnson may have some problems here. it's not a popular president, the senate didn't have much of a president in terms of not confirming late nominees by the president. johnson is looking at one other vote. he fails to anticipate where the key opposition is gonna come from in 1968. this is the chart that johnson is looking at as he is making his selection in 1968. this is the roll call vote for thurgood marshall's confirmation eight and 67. there's not a unanimous vote. there are 11 senators who vote against marshals confirmation, the other on top of the chart. if you squint closely, good pretty much identify where these people are coming from. they're all from the south. ten of them are democrats, this is where segregationists are as democrats remain in the south, and former democrat john thurmond, who is now a republican senator from south carolina. in johnson's mind, as he's thinking about who would be a good replacement for warren, what he is saying is the peopl

the nomination. a second is a nice touch, but it's not required. and, nominee, if you would keep your camera feed on, that would be great. the nominees may nominate and vote for themselves. nominees may also withdraw their own nomination without a second at any time. at the completion of nominations, the nominations are closed and the board will hear general public comment on the names within the nominations. and then public comment will occur and then general discussion by the members on the nominations will begin. okay. are there any questions. and is there any objection to proceeding in this manner? okay, so, madam deputy, i don't see any name on the roster but i just wanted to check with you to make sure. >> i think that myrna melgar put her name above by accident. >> clerk: oh, okay. okay, great. so if the roster is clear and there's no objection to proceeding in this manner, seeing no objection, the nominations are declared open. >> so, hello, colleagues. thank you so much. it is my great pleas

for the pruitt nomination which were pretty muchch partyline votes but there are plenty of people. will bowl ross -- wilbur ross sonny perdue lane chow who were confirmed o by -- elaine chao. it'sll a a very closely controld senate and the most important thing we have in the u.s. senate is floor time and any single senator has the ability to slow down your floor time and that is one of the challenges. everys nomination is accepted ad the time is dragged out and doing other legislative business along the way. whether you have 69 or 60 votes in the senate as we head into thousand nine certainly if the biden team has 48 or 50 that makes a big big difference. >> sara d want to add to that? >> yeah you know i agree that the game is totally change. we are going to see closer votes on these nominees just because of the polar racial we are experiencing in the country. the most important thing a nominee or president-elect can do for his nominee for her nominee is to put forth people that are immensely qualified. there are people that exist by colin powell still and partisan places that we f

he'll nominate him. there are two problems with the carswell nomination. the first is that hainesworth did have a couple of votes that were hostile to civil rights but there was no indication that hainesworth was racist or that he was personally hostile to african-americans in any respect. he would stay on the circuit court after his defeat for several years and was well liked by both parties. you might have liked his votes or disliked his votes, but he was not personally problematic. carswell before entering the judiciary had run for public office. not in florida, but in georgia. it doesn't appear as if the nixon people had picked this up. and in 1948 running for state legislature in georgia, he had delivered a speech saying he was in favor of segregation forever, disparaged the idea of racial equality for african-americans, so if hanes worth is unacceptable because of his civil rights positions, carswell is going to be worse. but nixon pushes senate republicans. he says we can't let the democrats do this to us device. they blocked us with hainesworth. yo

heck, i would be nominated back with a nomination on my record. for civil liberties and civil rights. but the times and the folks who are against me because they are anti-semitic. because i live in texas, i don't have style. that's the only thing they have against me. i have adopted their platform. i know you've got to go. how you gonna rate these people? one, two, three, four, five? from the standpoint of my practical problem and wet i may want to do here and all the other things. [inaudible] i look at this not from your standpoint. look at it from my standpoint of knowing me, as you know me, of what i want. i want somebody who i can always count on his vote. i won't be necessarily proud of his opinion, but i want to be proud of the side he is on. >> these are private conversations. fortas it's not aware he's being recorded. johnson does know. and he's perfectly candid here about what he wants. if you get a brilliant justice, that would be great. but the chief goal here is to get someone who will vote the way the johnson wants. one suspects that

nominate several women to serve under merrick garland with a strong history of working in civil rights so using yesterday's events to make a case for his nominees for the attorney general is what we heard here today chris a salumi with the latest from wilmington delaware kristen thank you. let's go to alan fischer who joins us live now from the white house allan 1st of all in the past few minutes we know that nancy pelosi has been speaking as well the u.s. house speaker she says the crimes committed seditious acts she's been calling from trump's immediate removal through the 25th amendment and also saying that democrats are pressing for impeachment so for many people really the events of wednesday where the tipping point been some resignations from the white house what else can you tell us. well the 25th amendment is a big step but we've had no from chuck schumer who's the leader of the democrats in the senate and also nancy pelosi the speaker of the house and they have said it's time for the republicans to act all pressure goes on to my parents it's really up to the vice president to

technically is not a nomination hearing because only the president can nominate somebody . the senate will do courtesy hearings. for that are functionally confirmation hearings for the nominee. those that week, maybe the week leading into inauguration day when they would have been as soon as the president-elect is sworn in, it becomes the president he signed the papers that set up the nomination formally this would vote on and it's not, i think in most administrations, there are ta handful or two maybe, maybe it's a handful are confirmed the day after our quickly confirmed by voice vote or rollcall after inauguration day. but there are always a couple drag. couple that drag as it gets more complicated or anyone's problems or as sarah mentioned tax issues slogans or etc. they will and decided it was tia rollcall. you would typically have most of your cabinets the beginning of february inevitably there's one or two trying out for a month after that . >> we all remember sally's was the acting attorney general for at least several weeks in the trump administration. >> so we're

mayorkas' nomination is being needlessly stalled. my friends on the other side don't have to agree with mr. mayorkas on the finer points of every policy. i'm sure they don't share the exact views of every appointment to a democratic president's cabinet, but that is not a sufficient reason to oppose a nomination, especially one as important as homeland security. you don't have to take my word for it. listen to michael chertoff, president bush's former d.h.s. secretary. he said, quote, if members of congress want done test elements of biden proposals they are free to do so but hostage taking is not an appropriate way to do this, particularly if the result of that is to put the lives of the american people in jeopardy. chertoff went on to say that actions to thwart mayorkas' nomination were, quote, irresponsible and unconscionable. irresponsible and unconscionable. that president bush's -- that's president bush's former secretary of homeland security. not a democrat. well, the senate is not going to tolerate this irresponsible and uncon

blinken's nomination. i don't think i'll get many people from the other side. it's difficult to vote against nominees from one's own party. i would say, if we are to end war, we need to have a real discussion in this body about when we go to war, whether or not we have to declare war and we have to talk about whether or not our developments -- developments -- involvements work in the middle east and instead of saying it was all george bush's fault, faulty intelligence, there is some truth to that, but it is it really about the idea of regime change and that we know what is best for everybody else and when we put in a new regime, it turns out worse. i hope my colleagues will consider voting against mr. blinken because i think he's more of the same. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. risch: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for three minutes on the nomination of antony blinken to be secretary of state. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. risch: mr. president

he was nominated numerous times.is actually the one guy, the committee is actually regretted not having given it to him. but he never received it. it and then you have another person, the japanese leader of peace, a wonderful writer and educator. he sound numerous research in institutions around the world . and his whole movement is built around values and really creating peace through more infancy and more collaboration and communications between people and countries and organizations. so his nor his organization is a wonderful example. there's also a woman in the u.s. her name is cora and she started woman strike for peace and has been the driving force in the peace movement since the 1960s. she is the queen of the way i see it anyway read and although she's been nominated numerous times and with all of the requirements being met, obviously a piece champion, she said to receive the prize. and then we have also and these are individuals with you also have the peace prize also goes to others who have international as

i would like to nominate vice-chairmavicechair mandelmand nominate myself as vice chair for a good handing off of that position after several years of being your chair of county transportation authority. that would be my proposal. happy to discussion it and hear our ideas if folks have other ideas so i will open up to all of you and the nomination, that motion needs a second. i will try to figure out how to press the chat box button. >> i am in the queue. i would love to second your motion. for clarification one motion for supervisor mandelman as chair and you vice chair? >> supervisor peskin: yes, sir. >> i would second that motion. >> i have the chat box up. is there any discussion on the motion? then i guess i am to say that are there any further nominations? >> thank you so much. i just wanted to express my support for the motion. first to thank you, chair peskin for your nothing short of extraordinary work as our chair of the transportation authority for the past two years. this is no small job, and we have a transportation system in crisis, and to lead this endeavor on top of our job

the nomination. a second is a nice touch, but it's not required. and, nominee, if you would keep your camera feed on, that would be great. the nominees may nominate and vote for themselves. nominees may also withdraw their own nomination without a second at any time. at the completion of nominations, the nominations are closed and the board will hear general public comment on the names within the nominations. and then public comment will occur and then general discussion by the members on the nominations will begin. okay. are there any questions. and is there any objection to proceeding in this manner? okay, so, madam deputy, i don't see any name on the roster but i just wanted to check with you to make sure. >> i think that myrna melgar put her name above by accident. >> clerk: oh, okay. okay, great. so if the roster is clear and there's no objection to proceeding in this manner, seeing no objection, the nominations are declared open. >> so, hello, colleagues. thank you so much. it is my great pleas

to consider the nomination of antony blinken to be secretary of state, with a vote on the nomination at noon. . later, patrick leahy and sanders will be administered the of for proceeding with the impeachment trial of former president trump. the senate will also deal with agreements for equipment usage by house impeachment managers, as the trump legal defense team issuing summons to the former as it. >> president biden's cabinet nominees are on capitol hill this week for their confirmation hearings. three hearings wednesday, at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span, energy secretary nominee. at 10:00 a.m. on c-span3, linda thomas-greenfield, nominated for you and ambassador. and at 3:00 eastern, former white house obama chief of staff dennis mcdonagh, nominated for secretary of dennis -- veterans affairs. when hearing for two nominees. ohio congresswoman marcel futch for secretary of housing and urban development, and cecilia rouse, nominated for council of economic advisers. watch the confirmation hearings live on c-span and c-span3, on at c-span.org, or listen on the c-span radio app. >> nex

that had been our long-standing norm on nominations, that is on the executive calendar. legislation is very different. when it comes to lawmaking, the framers' vision and our history are abundantly clear. the senate exists to require deliberation and cooperation. james madison said the senate's job was to provide a complicated check -- a complicated check, he said, against improper acts of legislation. we ensure that laws earn enough buy in to receive the lasting consent of the governed. we stop bad ideas, improve good ideas and keep laws from swinging wildly with every election. our friend lamar alexander put it this way in his farewell speech. he said the senate exists to address broad agreements that become laws most of us have voted for and that a diverse country will accept. more than any other feature, it is the senate's 60-vote threshold to end debate on legislation that achieves this. it ensures narrow interests cannot ignore the rest of the country. it embodies jefferson's maxim that great innovation should not be forced on slender majorities. the bar for lawmak

her nomination now heads to the u.s. senate for confirmation vote, which will be held monday at 5:30 eastern. last week on the senate floor, senator scott said he will not support the nomination. here are his remarks. mr. scott: mr. president, there have been few other times in american history when a need for economic growth through strategic, responsible, pro-business policy have been as great as it is today. nothing is more important to a family than a good-paying job. that's where the american dream begins. today as our nation fights to overcome the horrendous health and economic impacts of covid-19, we must balance our approach. we have to protect american families and individuals that have been hurt by this crisis, support commonsense public health policies and an aggressive vaccine district -- distribution effort while keeping businesses open and standing up to adversaries like communist china. we also need to continual cutting regulations to make it easier for businesses to operate and for entrepreneurs to create

is there any nomination? >> i'd like to nominate member regio. >> i'll second that. >> chairwoman: member regio? >> yes. it is consistent with my past work. i think it is incredibly important that we have a positive representative moving forward. [inaudible] >> we will go the prevention liaison. nominations? >> i have a suggestion. it is good to be with the planning group. really everything should be connected. maybe that is not a great suggestion. i am nervous that we have so many different things going on so trying to consolidate. this might be an area where we can consolidate some of the work. >> thank you. we do not need to populate all of these at this time. if there is no nomination, that is fine. we can come back. i see nodding of heads. thumbs up. any objection to moving to the next liaison? no objection. for the next one i just want to hear from member nagendra. are you continuing in the role astrategic investment -- as the strategic plan? >> yes, i will serve in that role. of course, i open it up if

people who presumably wouldn't begrudge him this nomination. yes i mean i'm which is why it's very interesting to even hear conservatives like your guest try to juxtapose the black lives matter movement with the white supremacy the insurrection that's placed on january 6th which of course was incited by former president have to say donald trump and also you know this idea that martin luther king was indigent singing kumbaya a person waiting to get beaten up is just plain feckless dr king himself did say that people in places like detroit and watts and newark you strategic violence because we're talking about property damage not loss of life and never have you seen black lives matter take part in an insurrection where they were trying to stop the democratic process in a country that still oppresses them more than the peace and volatility of white supremacy that we saw on january 6th the fact that donald trump has even been considered for a nobel peace prize just goes to show you the differences in standards for black and white people in this cou

almost 80% of the judicial nominations, i expect to see cooperation. with regards to the filibuster and the nuclear option, chuck schumer is in a difficult spot. if you look at the rhetoric su surrounding the georgia election on both sides -- >> life commission governor gretchen whitmer on her states response to the coronavirus pandemic. you are watching

are there further nominations? there being no further nominations, the clerk appoints the following tellers -- the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, the gentleman from illinois, mr. rodney davis, the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren, and the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx. the tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in front of the speaker's rostrum. backncer: the house is tomorrow to vote on a rules package for the house. live house coverage here on c-span at 10:00 a.m. eastern. announcer: c-span's washington journal, every day we are taking your calls lies on the air on -- lies on the air, and we will discuss -- live on the air. monday morning we look at the week ahead for congress and how it is looking for the incoming hyden administration. we will also have molly reynolds from the brookings institution to talk about congress and the incoming administration. watch washington journal, live at 7:00 eastern monday morning. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls,

. >> the big nominating conventions going to political history. and in chicago republicans who elected abraham lincoln just 100 years ago pin their 1960 helps on an and lot. -- nixon and lodge. president eisenhower poses with his vice president in chicago. one of the most heartwarming receptions on arrival to address the gop convention. [cheers and applause] thank you ike day is the theme for the thunderous welcome. the enthusiasm spills over into the convention hall where ike and mamie hold center stage. convention [cheers and applause] business waits in the wings. [cheers and applause] ♪ the partisan crowd receives an accounting of the republican administration's two term stewardship at the headline making remarks of the president concerned the issue of whether people everywhere want to live under communism or a free system. he hurls a dramatic plebiscite challenge at the soviet premier nikita khrushchev. >> i challenge him. well he agree to the holding of free elections, under the sponsorship of the united nations? to permit people everywhere i

. ♪ [video newsreel] ♪ >> the big nominating conventions go into political history.st the democrats name the first kennedy-johnson ticket. and now the republicans who , elected abraham lincoln as the first president one have years ago, pin their 1960 hopes on nixon and lodge. ♪ president eisenhower, who will be giving up the world's biggest job poses with his vice , president in chicago. one of the most heartwarming receptions of his career on his arrival to address the gop convention. [cheers and applause] thank you, ike day is the theme for the thunderous welcome and the enthusiasm spills over into the convention hall, where ike and maybe hold center stage while convention business weights in the wings. ♪ [cheers and applause] the partisan crowd receives an accounting of the republican administration's two-term stewardship. but the headline-making remarks of the president concerned the issue of whether people everywhere want to live under communism or a free system. he hurls a dramatic plebiscite challenge at the soviet premier nikita khrushchev. >> i challenge him

is there any nomination? >> i'd like to nominate member regio. >> i'll second that. >> chairwoman: member regio? >> yes. it is consistent with my past work. i think it is incredibly important that we have a positive representative moving forward. [inaudible] >> we will go the prevention liaison. nominations? >> i have a suggestion. it is good to be with the planning group. really everything should be connected. maybe that is not a great suggestion. i am nervous that we have so many different things going on so trying to consolidate. this might be an area where we can consolidate some of the work. >> thank you. we do not need to populate all of these at this time. if there is no nomination, that is fine. we can come back. i see nodding of heads. thumbs up. any objection to moving to the next liaison? no objection. for the next one i just want to hear from member nagendra. are you continuing in the role astrategic investment -- as the strategic plan? >> yes, i will serve in that role. of course, i open it up if

it takes more time to consider their nominations. we've also seen the erosion of successful norms that have been associated with the judicial confirmation process in the senate. most prominently is something we call the blueslip . which is a tradition by which state senators of the nominee for our court positions have come to sign off on that nominee by pretending what we call i think historically they were actually blue. that's change over time and that more as really eroded so in 2017, senator chuck grassley who was then the chair of the senate judiciary committee not enforcing this norm for circuit court nominees so we've seen even in previous years of bipartisanship we had some deference to historic norms of some bipartisanship in the nomination process. we've also importantly seen or and more filibusters of district court nominees so attorney general older mentioned the lower courts, were going to talk about the lower court and naturally increase as well so this discussion particularly before the shift in the threshold for confi

one all the nominations are complete, i will close nominations, and then, we will vote on the nominations. we will repeat that for the vice president. so first, i will need a motion to open the nominations for president. >> so moved. >> second. >> okay. >> then we will need a vote on that. okay. were there any noes on the vote? >> no. better not be. >> clerk: okay. now i'd like to ask for nominations for president? >> i would like to make a nomination? >> clerk: okay. >> many of you know that marcus is quite a poet, so in mark buell style, it is with great honor and happiness and certainly no grief that i nominate mark buell to remain our chief. >> great. >> i would like to second that without any poems or rhymes at this time. >> well, you just did it, any way. >> oh, yeah, i did. >> thank you, commissioners. i would like to take a vote on that nomination. all in favor? is there anyone opposed? great. congratulations, president buell. >> thanks. thank you very much, guys. you're very kind, and i genuinely appreciate your confidence in my continuing in the position. thank you so much. >> y

but after 36 ballots, he got the nomination. shows us an side, interesting contrast to the study, was america really tired of military generals after grant? this time, we had to civil war war heroes running against each other, our field for the republicans, and winfield scott hancock, a guy with no political experience, nominated by republicans exceeds me, by democrats. -- excuse me, by democrats. the most narrow popular vote margin ever, 10,000 votes. garfield won the white house by a comfortable margin. as we know, he was wounded by an assassin's bullet in the washington train station, lingered for two months, and died in 1881, and was succeeded by his vice president, chester ellen arthur. -- chester allen arthur. perhaps i have biased, being from new york. but most of my studies of the presidency and press, i focused on new york newspapers, since they had prominent editors and also had significant influence at that time, and some of the largest circulations. first fire and subdirectory i could find listed these papers as top

the nomination. a second is a nice touch, but it's not required. and, nominee, if you would keep your camera feed on, that would be great. the nominees may nominate and vote for themselves. nominees may also withdraw their own nomination without a second at any time. at the completion of nominations, the nominations are closed and the board will hear general public comment on the names within the nominations. and then public comment will occur and then general discussion by the members on the nominations will begin. okay. are there any questions. and is there any objection to proceeding in this manner? okay, so, madam deputy, i don't see any name on the roster but i just wanted to check with you to make sure. >> i think that myrna melgar put her name above by accident. >> clerk: oh, okay. okay, great. so if the roster is clear and there's no objection to proceeding in this manner, seeing no objection, the nominations are declared open. >> so, hello, colleagues. thank you so much. it is my great pleas

. >> obviously with democratic control, the ability of joe biden to move nominations forward will be easier, the calendar i have not began to look at yet. >> last one. >> can you tell us a little bit when you found out you would be the majority leader and progressives are really pushing you to use the legislative filibuster, can you make that promise right now? >> we senate democrats know we face one of the greatest crises americans have, were united in wanting change and we will sit down as a caucus and discuss the best way to get that done. >> on those comments from chuck schumer last week on several fronts from the stimulus to nuking the legislative filibuster. >> there is so much in these comments that illuminate how the senate is going to operate and why i think the senate will continue to operate like this and has operated in the past, you heard the last thing that the more nordic leader chuck schumer said we will sit down as a caucus, that underscores the fact that the senate floor is no longer an arena where these decisions are adjudicated and made there made in the party lun

when the committee considers general austin's nomination next week, we will thoroughly review this nomination in the historic context that's being presented and impact it will have on future generations, therefore, as we discussed the importance of being in control of the armed forces this morning, i hope our witnesses can speak to be following issues. first i'd like your views how to encourage diversity of opinion within the sense when crafting policy and making national security decisions. rather than tilting one way to the milt or completely the other way to the civilian. second i would like our witnesses thoughts whether providing a waiver would encourage senior military officers to be more political and whether they believe it could lead to situation where future president sz will default to nominating generals to the position in law of qualified civilians. and third i'd like our witnesses to talk about the impact on the existing statute. and actions he could take to assure his tenure protects and promotes the principle of civilian control of the military. civilian control. military cons

confirmed i will promptly nominate his or replacement under the d.c. court of appeals, and i expect the distinguished nominee will receive a prompt and fair hearing, as well. as deputy attorney general, i nominate one of the most selfless people i've worked with, one of the brightest worked with worked with her during the last administration. 15 year veteran of the justice department. lisa monaco. lisa knows the department inside and out. she is the definition of public servant should be. decent, trusted, honorable. i might add, i embarrassed her with my other colleagues, she's selfless. i offered her other positions of "greater consequence," more prestige. but she wanted to work with you, judge. she wanted to go back to the justice department. a top-flight prosecutor who took on public corruption, corporate fraud, and violent crime. chief of staff to the director of the fbi. the first woman ever confirmed as assistant attorney general for national security. where she elevated cyber security to a top priority, where it's even more consequential today t

it takes more time to consider their nomination. we have also seen the erosion of several norms that have been associated with the judicial confirmation process in the senate. probably most prominently is something we call the blue slip, which is a tradition by which home state senators of the nominee for a lower court position kind of signoff on that nominee by returning what we call a blue slip. i think historically there were actually blue, but that has changed over time. that norm has really eroded. about 2017, senator chuck grassley, who was then the chair of the senate judiciary committee, start enforcing this norm for circuit court nominees. so we have seen, even in previous years of high partisanship, we had still seen some deference to historic norms of sound bipartisanship in the nomination process. we have also, importantly, seen more and more filibusters of district court nominees. attorney general holder engined the lower courts. we will talk about the lower courts. and that has increased as well. this notion that, part

board member of the i'm supporting manny's nomination. we know him as the owner of his civic engagement space and a friend, client and most recently as a fellow steering committee member for prop h. i think all of us know that he is hosted hundreds of events and they have enriched our city in ways. and a as a board member he spearheaded that have streets and giving businesses a fighting chance. it's taken a huge hit on the small business community and employs half of our city and hanging by a thread and this is a really pivot at moment for us to increase and from our representation perspective she's a queer, small business owner of color but also someone who has served with distinction and built policy expertise on the challenges faced by small buses as a small business commissioner. given the reduction of muni service and these impacts on our future of transit operations, we will certainly see shifts on commutes to downtown job centers and also shifts in operations of our businesses to park let's and outdoor services and curbside pick up

so i'm ready to vote on this nomination. i believe the rest of the senate is as well and i yield back the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: at noon today joe biden was sworn in as our new president. i never served with president biden when he was a senator, but i can tell you that from direct and firsthand experience that he is a man of tremendous empathy. i've witnessed it. and so i pray that god will bless him with strength, with health, with wisdom because i don't need to tell anyone that we and our nation are living in troubled times. you know, president trump was elected and then in this last cycle received 75 million votes, in part because he spoke to and was brutally honest about some of the grievances and the fears that are now dividing our country. it's important to understand, h

nancy pelosi, representative elect from the great state of california by way of charm city into nomination for election to the position of speaker of the united states house of representatives. nancy pelosi believes in the power of american exceptionalism. nancy pelosi believes in the goodness of the american people. nancy pelosi believes our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power. nancy pelosi believes the house is fundamentally the institution best equipped to reflect the hopes, the dreams and aspirations of everyday americans. nancy pelosi believes that our sacred mission is to continue america's long necessary and majestic march towards a more perfect union. the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. once observed the true pressure of a leader is not how one fairs in moments of comfort or convenience but how one fairs in moments of challenge and controversy. nancy pelosi has passed that test with flying colors over and over and over again. as a result of her tremendous leadership during a moment of great turbulence, house democrats ended the longest government shutdown in am

the nomination. a second is a nice touch but it's not required. and, nominee if you would keep your camera feed on, that would be great. the nominees may nominate and vote for themselves. nominees may also withdraw their own nomination without a second at any time. at the completion of nominations, the nominations are closed and the board will hear general public comment on the names within the nominations. and then public comment will occur and then general discussion by the members on the nominations will begin. okay. are there any questions. and is there any objection to proceeding in this manner? okay so madam deputy, i don't see any name on the roster but i just wanted to check with you to make sure. >> i think that myrna melgar put her name above by accident. >> clerk: oh, okay. okay, great. so if the roster is clear and there's no objection to proceeding in this manner, seeing no objection, the nominations are declared open. >> so, hello colleagues. thank you so much. it is my great pleasure t

moynahan could nominate three people and d'amato one. i was one of senator moynahan's nominee under george bush senior. david: as one of the nominees, who interviews you? do you get interviewed by the attorney general? jutice sotomayor: again, you do get initially interviewed by the senator. each senator has his or her own method of selecting people. some senators, like senator moynahan, had a committee of lawyers and academics and other people, community leaders, who interview people who were seeking nominations and ask them questions and then made recommendations to him. i believe he interviewed a number of the people they recommended and he, in turn, decides who he would nominate to the president. other senators had different ways of doing it and relied on certain individuals or certain staff members. so every senator does it slightly differently and i'm not familiar with all 50 senator practices. but a lot of senators have review committees of some sort or another. once the senator recommends you to the president, every president has

passed the the bill would also address the isturbingly slow nomination of i.g.'s that's been the norm across multiple administrations. would require notification of congress 30 days i.g. being placed on leave. already fication is required prior to an i.g. being removed from duty. the bill also would require the to report to congress if he has not nominated an i.g. days of a vacancy occurring. this report must include the failing to make the nomination and a target date for doing so. requirement will hopefully prod the executive branch to i.g.'s in a more timely manner. i.g.'s provide critical accountability within federal agencies and the positions need to be filled more currently the case. i urge members to support this reserve n bill, and i the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york reserves. is gentleman from alabama recognized. mr. palmer: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the alabama, mr. palmer, is recognized. mr. palmer: thank you, mr. speaker. 23, e in support of

this will be your only opportunity to provide comments on the nominations. you may make comments on items four through seven. you have two minutes to provide your testimony. address your comments to the legislative bodies as a whole . the office of civic engagement have provided three interpreters who are available to jump in and assist. (speaking foreign language). >> thank you for being with us here today. for person's who may be experiencing any connections issues. we have a live person in the office answering phones to assist you. if you are having trouble with the public comment line. can you please bring forward the first speaker. >> caller, are you on line? circle back to them. hello caller. >> i'm a part of district five under supervisor preston. i'm echoing support for supervisor walton for board president. thank you. >> thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller. >> hi. good afternoon supervisors. i wanted to say a great shout out to the board. i am a d10 resident. i want to congratulation supervisor chan. my community is very pleased

the senate finance committee unanimously approved her nomination. her final vote before the whole senate is set for monday. if confirmed, she would be the first female treasury secretary. so secretary of state, secretary of treasury. then secretary of defense in presidential succession. yesterday the senate confirmed general lloyd austin by a vote of 93-2. he is the nation's first black defense secretary. mr. austin is a four-star army general. he served as army chief of staff under president obama and later became the 12th commander of u.s. central command. next in succession, attorney general. and you might recognize the nominee. judge merrick garland, a familiar name. in 2016 president obama nominated him to succeed late supreme court justice antonin scalia. former senate majority leader mitch mcconnell blocked the nomination. currently judge garland serves in the d.c. circuit. confirmation hearings for him have not yet been scheduled. finally, the secretary of the interior who oversees federal lands and resources, national parks, and federal pro

is there a nomination? >> i would like to nominate mirian zouzounis. her leadership in the last year is phenomenal. i am so so proud of her. >> can other people make comments? >> is there a second? >> i second it. >> okay. great. yes, you may make a comment. >> i have had the privilege of working closely with vice president zouzounis. she is really fantastic. you know, i just want to say that in a year where it is going to be absolutely critical how sba interacts with the small business community, the fact we have somebody with both feet planted within sba is a huge asset to this commission and to the community. i have seen her put that to work behind-the-scenes helping, for instance the venue community get situated with webinairs and trains. her attention to details, you know, particularly with respect to how it affects the smallest businesses. i am so grateful for her lived experience, managing these and through the family business and her advocacy work on behalf of those folks. we have a fantastic group. it is an honor to serve with her. i want to s

we voted at the end of the week on her nomination. tony blinken for secretary of state will be next. so we're going to get some cooperation there, but there's no question it's going to be difficult. but we have to do it. we have to conduct an impeachment trial. we have no choice. i think there has to be accountability for not only what happened on the 6th of january, but developing the case, the evidence, of what happened before, during, and after that day, all of which is relevant. and then finally we've got to work on this new initiative that president biden set forth, the american rescue plan, which has kind of three broad elements. one is covid, obviously, to speed up the vaccinations, to get schools open, and to deal with the virus. second, to deliver immediate relief to families, a $1,400 check, and nutrition assistance, housing. and then the third is more directed at communities and businesses. so all three of those elements are essential for us to not just put the virus behind us over the next number of months -- i hope longer

>> indeed. >> and the next question is what's carmen's first responsibility after the nomination? and that comes from sky link. >> i think immediately especially during this time when so much of the city's response to covid is important, it is very important to make sure we continue to deliver on what is necessary and respond not only from a public health perspective, but also to support the city in the economic recovery. first and foremost, that has an impact on the lives of residents and operations. a big focus right away will be starting to take a look t a making sure we continue to support the efforts. that we do that in an excellent way and we also look forward to the future means. in addition to that, we're going to continue to look for more efficiencies. what's going to happen is we're going to go through a very tough time. i think the city is understanding that not only are we going to be coming to recovery, but that will mean we have fewer resources at exactly the time when san franciscans need us the most. and that will really require that we do more, that we work harder

i am grateful to be nominated. i look forward for the opportunity to serve the city as sfpuc commissioner. if confirmed by the board. i'm happy to the answer any questions that the committee members may have. >> chair peskin: thank you dr. ajami. supervisor mandelman or chan, any questions or comments? >> supervisor chan: thank you chair peskin and dr. ajami, we love to learn just a bit more about your view on the management. it's a critical time in my opinion for the management of hedge hetchy. we've seen technology, demanding needs increasing. just love to have a brief statement from you on the record about hedge hetchy at the moment >> as a resident of san francisco, i'm proud to be able to access -- it's a very important source of water for us as a city and also the area and the region to live in. we build a lot of infrastructure at a time that enable us to grow socially and economically and enabled us to be able to meet the needs of the population. obviously, moving forward, we'll see that there are other opti