business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the rudofsky nomination under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the today senators voted to confirm danielle and of organ court of appeals judge for the ninth circuit. and they also voted to limit debate on the number of brother judicial nominations. including a u.s. court of appeals judge for the second circuit. our live coverage of the senate continues when senators return. sunday night at book tv on afterwards, former speaker of the house newt gingrich, with his latest book trump versus china. i don't say the chinese have any great planning and certainly in the next 20 to 25 years, to troy to take us on militarily and in a traditional sense. but i do say they're trying to build the dive boat cyber capabilities and i say this is part of work while weight is an extraordinary national asset to

cotton: i'd like to say a few words about lee philip rudofsky. in a few minutes, this body will vote to move ahead with this nomination. lee has a long and impressive resume from harvard law school to the white house office of legal counsel to kirkland & ellis and beyond. his early career and qualifications speak for themselves. and lee is no stranger to serving arkansans. he was our state's very first solicitor general. lee left a good job at walmart to take that position and face the many challenges that come with it. he also moved three hours from his loving wife and three young kids to work around the clock for the people of arkansas. that hard work paid off for all of us. according to esteemed members of arkansas' legal community from both parties, lee, quote, established arkansas solicit general's office as one of the finest legal practices in the state of arkansas, end quote. he has subsequently become a respected professor and recruiter at one of our state's two law schools. and lee is also a leader at his local synagogue and a member of

mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the cloture votes on the rudofsky and wilson nominations occur at 12:00 noon on wednesday, november 6. i further ask consent that the confirmation vote on the hunsaker nomination occur at 4:00 p.m. on wednesday, novembeg disposition of the hunsaker nomination, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the n.r.a. denyi nomination. finally, i ask consent that if cloture is invoked on rudofsky, wilson, and n.r.a. -- nardini, the confirmation votes occur at a time in consultation with the majority and democratic leader on thursday, november 7. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer

the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of lee philip rudofsky of arkansas to be u.s. district judge for the eastern district of arkansas shall be brought to a close. the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of lee philip rudofsky of arkansas to be united states district judge for the eastern district of arkansas, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 41. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on t

rudofsky's nomination as well as the nominations of ms. pitlyk and mr. menashi or any nominee by president trump that does not meet our high standards and returning to a thoughtful, rigorous bipartisan process of selecting only the most qualified judges to a lifetime appointment in our federal courts. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, i rise today to say just a word about veterans day, but then to talk about our nation's historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. we will celebrate veterans day as a nation on monday and so this will be an opportunity just to stand as a member of the armed services committee, as a senator from a very militarily connected state to just echo the words of senator thune from a few minutes ago that we owe a huge debt to our veterans. it's also on the -- on november 10, the anniversary of the marine corps and as a father of a marine, it is my honor to wish them happy annivers