standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of sarah r. saldana of texas to be assistant secretary of homeland security, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of sarah r. saldana of texas to be an assistant secretary of homeland security shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. and the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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

the clerk: department of homeland security, sarah r. saldana of texas ton an assistant secretary. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, my colleague has just stepped off the floor from texas. he has spoken at some length about his position on this nomination, and i would like to address the same issue. first, with the utmost respect, for my colleague from texas, we disagree on many political issues but we are truly friends. we work together on the senate judiciary committee. i respect him very much, although we may disagree, as we do on this issue, and i want to say -- put in context what i am about to say in expressing my respect for the senior senator from texas. but, mr. president, i'm at a loss to explain the position of the senator from texas and the republican party of america when it comes to the issue of immigration. what are we to make of what they tell us when we talk about immigration? without fail, mr. president, they say to us, first, first and foremost we must have enforcement at our borders. once we

standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of sarah r. saldana of texas to be assistant secretary of homeland security, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of sarah r. saldana of texas to be an assistant secretary of homeland security shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. and the clerk will call the roll. vote: wit vote: . the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not the ayes are 53. the nays are 41. and the motion to invoke cloture is agreed to. under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question occurs on the saldana nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: does any member wish to change their vote or to vote? if not, on this the yeas are 55, the nays are 39 and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is consider

department of homeland security, sarah r. saldana of texas to be an assistant secretary. department of state, antony blinken of new york to be deputy secretary. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. >> in 1986, the people of south dakota elected me to serve them in the 100 session of the united states congress quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to oppose the nomination of dr. dr. vivek murthy to be surgeon general of the united states. surgeon general is known as america's doctor. americans have great respect for this important position. they expect their surgeon general to be someone who has substantial experience in helping patients, helping them improve their health and in helping them reduce their risk of illness and injury. this important position has been vacant since july of 2013, so about a year and a half. i