thune, aye. mr. schmitt, no. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. cruz, no. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. mr. manchin, aye. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 83. and the nays are 11. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. 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 the nomination of executive calendar number 281, general randy a. george for appointment as chief of staff of the army, an appointment in the united states army, the grade indicated while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10, usc section 601 and 703 to be general signed by 19 senators. the presiding officer: b

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: three weeks ago, president biden launched the second part of his student loan giveaway. his dramatic overhaul of the repay program for federal student loans. the president's revamp flew under the radar event when it was first announced overshadowed by his plan to forgive up to $10,000 of student loan debt outright or $20,000 for pell grant recipients. but the truth is that the president's new income-driven repayment plan, which he has dubbed the saving on a valuable education plan, or the save plan is just as problematic, if not more, than the president's scheme to forgive outright. the new plan will create a system in which the majority of the federal borrowers will never fully repay their federal student loans. the wharton budget model estimates that just 24.6% of future bor

thune: mr. president, thank you. there is nothing like summertime in south dakota, while i'm in sue falls, summer gives me time to spend more time at home and to meet with constituents and have important conversations that shape a lot of what i work on here in the senate. it's a busy month. and, mr. president, we cover a lot of ground this august, both figuratively and literally. to begin with august is fair season in south dakota, i made it to the turner county fair, the brown county fair where i got my usual tubby burger and to the sue county fair. it's especially big for our agricultural community. whether i'm serving lunch to those at the agricultural day. i appreciate opportunities to hear directly from farmers and ranchers. i do this every year but it's especially important in a farm bill year like this one. many of my farm bill priorities come directly from these discussions. in fact, these discussions can often get into the weeds on policies, but the bottom line from farmers and ranchers was simple. we need t

thune, no. the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. vote: the clerk: mr. casey, aye. ms. lummis, no. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. johnson, no. mr. boozman, no. mrs. shaheen, aye. ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: ms. ernst, no. mr. moran, no. mr. barrasso, no. mr. king, aye. the clerk: mr. rubio, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no. mrs. blackburn, no. the presiding officer: mr. sande rs, aye. ms. cantwell, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. mr. sullivan, aye. mrs. capito, no. vote: mr. romney no. the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, no. mr. young, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. r- the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. budd, no. the clerk: mr. scott of, florida, no. the clerk: mr. president manchin, no -- mr. manchin, no. the clerk: mr. coons, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. hawley, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, no. the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 51. the nays are 48 a

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, today i want to talk about something that has been going really right here in the united states senate. and that is the use of regular order to consider the annual appropriations bills. what do i mean by regular order? for starters regular order refers to allowing bills to go through the committee process, including hearings and a markup, where hebes -- members of the committee have a chance to amend and improve the bill before being referred by the committee to the senate as a whole for additional debate and deliberation. the regular order process is key, mr. president. it provides the time and pace for real deliberation. it allows for input from a broad array of members and promotes collaboration and compromise. a

unlike john cornyn and john thune. do you think it would work with trump with any of the these republicans? >> it is a good question. especially because trump defers to his own criteria for supporters which is strong, compliments for anyone he's thinking about endorsing and then they have to look the part also. but beyond that, i think the hazard for mcconnell and his allies or anyone in the senate is that trump is very malleable to whatever you put in front of him. so if you put a list of quotes or criticism from any of these three senators in front of him, that is going to set him off. it will not think strategically beyond those quotes. >> who do you think is the favorite to replace him of the three. i'm putting you on the spot. >> the minority whip is thune. but also served as minority whip. it is a tossup. >> a secret ballot is so hasrd o handle. >> and could mcconnell last the entire congress and i think that -- listen, right now people are wondering could mcconnell last the rest of the year and to seung's point,

speaker mccarthy: i talked to senator thune many times and i think he did a tremendous job.i have worked with mcconnell early on in a lot of this too, but i did not talk to him today. reporter: [indiscernible] speaker mccarthy: let's understand there are different ways bills come up. if i bring a bill up under a rule it takes 218 to pass. if it is on suspension it takes republicans and democrats together. we had the majority of republicans voting for it. let's put in perspective what happened prior to the bill. the democrats first wanted to adjourn. can you imagine hours away from shutting down and you want to adjourn? then, they came down and all voted by a card to delay it, delay it, delay it. then the leader took magic minute to keep talking, delaying it, delaying it, delaying it. so i think that at the end of the day we kept to the government open. we kept paying our troops to finish the job we have to get done. yes, sir. reporter:[indiscernible] speaker mccarthy: i think ethics should look at this, but this is serious. when you think of how other people were treated whe

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: the senate's not in a quorum call, is that right? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: three weeks ago the administration announced a cancellation of seven oil and gas leases in a small portion of anwar, the arctic national wildlife refugee that is ready for energy exploration and development. it is the latest move by the biden administration to stifle conventional energy production. in his state of the union address, the president acknowledged, and i quote, we're going to need oil for at least another decade and beyond that. end quote. let me repeat that, mr. president. and, again, these are president biden's own words. we're going to need oil for at least another decade and beyond that. well, in this case the president's right. while a turn of energy is power and increasing energy production, we are nowhere near able to rely on all the energy technologies, we will -- alternative technologies. we will he need conventional energy for quite a bit. the best way to do that is by

thune, aye. mr. peters, aye. mr. wyden, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. the clerk: mr. capito, aye. the clerk: ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. mr. menendez, aye. mr. risch, aye. the clerk: mr. cruze, -- mr. cr. the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. mr. cotton, aye. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, aye. mr. tuberville, aye. mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, aye. mr. lujan, aye. mr. kaine, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. casey, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye. mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: mr. daines, aye. mr. lee, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. marshall, aye. mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. sanders, aye. mr. cassidy, aye. mr. vance, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. young, aye. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. the presiding officer: the very is 96 yea, zero nay. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomin

thune: mr. president, on monday the democratic leader came down to the floor to discuss the continuing r continuing resolution that the house proposed and he said they made no attempt to reauthorize the faa. making no attempt to reauthorize the faa. well, mr. president, apparently it slipped the democrat leader's mind that the democrats are making no attempt to reauthorize the faa leader. that's right. it's been 97 days since the federal administration aviation reauthorize because the democrat leader objected to a bipartisan amendment that senator sinema and i planned to offer. an amendment to improve aviation safety by implementing a structured, rigorous training program for perspective airline pilots. now, mr. president, current training requirements for airline pilots require 1,500 hours of flight time primarily in the cockpit all those a bachelor's degree in aviation can receive credit for some of those hours. i recognize the value of cockpit experience. but to his 1500 hours a loan are not

leader mcconnell and senator thune have both voiced grave concerns about the past -- the path of senator tuberville is taking the speaker macarthur when asked about it this week emergence of time the speaker of the house. senator tuberville tactics have been opposed by top republicans in congress. they've been opposed by republican presidential candidates and it has been denounced by military families from one end of america to the other. it has been denounced by veterans groups. polls show the american people strongly oppose what senator tuberville d is doing an and a recent poll showed that even 58% of alabama voters believe senator tuberville should allow the motion to go forward. simply put besides the most extreme elements of thepu republican party no one thinks this is a good idea. in the face of that opposition it seems that senatorer tubervie is becoming more and more desperate to get out-of-the-box he has put himself in. he's desperate to shift the responsibility onto others. i've made it clear we will not about anyone to shift it onto democrats. the blame, the blame falls squar

thune: mr. president, we recently passed the first anniversary of the so-called inflation reduction act. despite the white house's showy anniversary celebration, this legislation is not aging well. and that's not exactly a surprise, mr. president. it was clear from the beginning that this bill had problems. it was called the inflation reduction act yet before the bill had been signed into law, the nonpartisan pen whorton budget model was noting that the bill's impact on inflation was, quote, statistically ingrchable from zero. in other words, the inflation reduction act would do nothing to reduce inflation. even president biden has essentially admitted that the bill's name was misleading. it was also clear from the outset that the bill's claims of deficit reduction were extremely shaky relying on accounting gimmicks and fuzzy math. then of course there were the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes on american wayses -- businesses, rarely i might add a strategy that produces economic grow

thune, aye. the clerk: ms. ernst, aye. presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 82, the nays are 8, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the mcgrath nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, tara k. mcgrath, of california, to be united states attorney for the southern district of california. the presiding officer: under the previously order, the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. the clerk: mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst.

thune, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, no. mr. reed, no. the clerk: mr. budd, aye. mrs. capito. aye. mr. mullin, aye. the clerk: mrs. fischer, aye. the clerk: mr. sanders, no. the clerk: mr. casey, no. vote: the clerk: mrs. cornyn, aye. ms. klobuchar, no. mr. durbin, no. the clerk: mr. tillis, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, no. the clerk: ms. duckworth, no. ^. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. mrs. shaheen, no. mr. young, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, no. the clerk: mr. wyden, no. the clerk: ms. warren, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: ms. hirono, no. the clerk: mr. ossoff, no. ms. cortez masto, no. the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mr. king, no. the clerk: mr. markey, no. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin, no. mr. boozman, aye. mr. tuberville, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, no. mr. sullivan, aye. mr. peters, no. mr. kelly, no. the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. the clerk: mr. grassley, aye. mr. warnock, no. mr. warner, no. mr. kaine, no. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, no. the clerk: mr. tester, no. ms. r

senator mcconnell, senator thune have said they disagree with tuberville. it's now up to the republican party to get him in line. we're not going to shift the burden to democrats when this is a republican cause problem. next. next, go ahead. >> or i've had a conversation with speaker mccarthy and we had a good conversation. >> we agreed. a cr is the best way to go. he's going to have a rough time implementing it, but i hope he sticks to his guns and i think he knows, i think leader mccarthy knows that if a shutdown happens, it will be caused by house republicans, it will be bad for the country, but it will also be very bad for them. >> the u.s. recognize taiwan as an independent country. >> no, i think that the present situation is where we should stay. yes. yes. so, there was a hand there. yeah, way back there. i would like to call on a new person there. hi, new person. >> lawmakers in the house and senate have concerns. >> look, i'm very glad to see mcconnell back. he's doing well. we're working together well. and i always wish him the best leader schumer

senator mcconnell, senator thune has said they disagree with taber billets that look to the republicanarty to get him in line.de we're not going to shift the burden to democrats when it's a republican cause problem. next, next go ahead. [inaudible] >> i have had a conversation with speaker mccarthy. we had a good conversation. we agreed it's the best way to go. he's going to have a rough time implementing it but i hope he he sticks to his guns. and i think he knows i think leader mccarthy knows that if the shutdown happens all because by house republicans. it would bad for the country but it will also be very bad for them. the non- situation is where we should stay. yes there's a hand there? way back they are alike to call on a new person. hi newke person. [inaudible] >> want to get your thoughts on. [inaudible] pricks look i'm very glad to see mcconnell back he is doing well. we are working together well and i always wishing theis best. >> leader schumer? >> talk about your goal in that getting closer to getting some numbers for legislation? x ai is where the two or three most serious

we will see. >> and between mcconnell and thune. >> and the politics are complicated to say the least. a lot going on, and the coverage of all of the developments continues right after this. (woman) it is high. whenever you are ready. (man) are there any snakes? (woman) nope. (man) are you sure? here we go! (vo) it's time to push your limits. (man) okay. (woman) you're doing great! (man) oh, is that a buffalo? (woman) babe, that's a cow. (vo) the all-new subaru crosstrek wilderness. adventure on the edge. gives you access to every game. but terry doesn't have directv. come on. come on. work for dad- here... now, you can find the game easy. my barbecue is saved! access nfl sunday ticket on us, get a $400 reward card. my barbecue is ruined. old school hard work meets bold, new thinking, ♪ to help you see untapped possibilities and relentlessly work with you to make them real. ♪ after switching to the farmer's dog we noticed so many improvements in remi's health. his allergies were going away and he just had amazing energy. it looks like nutritious food, and it is. i'm investing in my do

he will remain in the job in 2025, potentially opening up a leadership race between senators john thune he froze in july, gop senators supported him staying as leader, but many would not say if they'd back him in the future. >> do you think senator mcconnell should run for leader in the new congress? >> i mean, the new congress is 18 months away. >> if he ran for leader, do you think he would get the job in the next congress? >> that's speculation that's not necessary right now. >> reporter: after his wednesday even in covington, kentucky, mcconnell called key allies including thune and cornyn and attending a fundraiser for senate candidate jim banks, who told cnn the senate leader was sharp and engaging. the question about mcconnell's health is bound to intensify when he faces his 48 colleagues next week for the first time since the summer recess. >> he should tell us if something bigger is going on. whatever he tells me, i'll trust to be true. >> reporter: some republicans fear the impact of mcconnell's fall in march could be worse than he has let on. >> obviously the fall he had was

coming into our community, and it's affecting our local resources, pd, fire, two for the meantime thune 20 miles to the south and front and, texas, this our county, west of mcallen, the elite texas dps rangers operation group, has begun clearing this are elated that you see video of a comedy set up a operational security there and is an island, that had been under control previously by tco's or transnational criminal organizations, so essentially, the work continues around the clock and out here and out of the frontlines, and even as we have been saying with a government shut down looming, meaning, order patrol and all other federal agents out here, be essential employees, coming to work but not receiving a paycheck. our sale. arthel: that is not right in casey, thank you and eric. eric: while long to the break nicole case the group the nation arthel neville, decades ago in the first russ, 1996 shooting, of the popstar tupac on the las vegas strip and outside of las vegas police say they have a suspect duane davis this long been on the radar but they recently stepped up the investigatio

. >> i want to be very clear with senator thune and everybody else. it's time to secure the border. play whatever process game you want, but i'm telling you, the people of our country need our border secured. republicans, democrats, independents. they need our border secured. that is the job that congress must do. >> martha: so you're saying there's a bill that could secure the border and passed in both houses that could secure the border? is that what you're saying? >> oh, yeah. listen, the house already passed it. it's h.r. 2. we can do this tomorrow. you have senate democrats that by the wayed, america, they're up for election. if they're not going to do their job and securing our nation, why are they in the senate? enough of the politics, enough of the games. it's time to get down to business. securing our border is federal law, number 1. number,2 it's the requirement of every official that takes an oath to uphold the constitution. we need to do our job. >> martha: we know there's broad support on both sides of the aisle when it comes to americans that they want a secure border.

thune, but tie him into decisions made by conservative governments going back as far as 2010.d her saying there has been 13 -- the results of 13 years of cutting corners and botched jobs. we heard later in another debate saying it was a fitting metaphor for conservative rule, britain is falling apart, we need nothing short of a natural renewal. that will be the opposition labour party theme heading towards an election about this time next year. from the government side, what we heard was mr. sunak trying to fend it off by saying it was a small proportion of schools, and trying to say he and his government took quick action once the severity of the problem was recognized. the difficulty they had was this question this issue has been around for two decades at least and they want to say there was a school building program that was canceled. the government saying that was a labor program, so it is somewhere where the opposition sees the mileage they can make. >> out in the real world, in the schools, this is happening -- having a significant impact for pupils and billing federer u

i talked to senator thune many times and i thought senator thune did a tremendous job. i had worked with mcconnell early on in a lot of this. but i didn't get to talk to him today. [ inaudible question ] >> let's understand, there's different ways bills come up. if i bring a bill up under a rule, it only takes 218 to pass. if it's on suspension, it takes republicans and democrats together. we had the majority of the republicans voting for it. but let's put it in perspective. what happened prior to the bill? the democrats first wanted to adjourn. can you imagine, hours away from shutting down, and they wanted to adjourn? then they came down and all voted to delay it, delay it. then the leader went and took a magic minute to keep talking and delaying it and delaying it. so i think at the end of the day we kept the government open, kept paying our troops, to finish the job we have to get done. yes, sir. [ inaudible question ] >> i think ethics should look at this. this is serious, when you think of how people are treated when they wanted to come in and change the course of

thune: mr. president, no end in sight.hat's how one border patrol chief described the influx of migrants in the rio grande valley sector of the southern border in march 2021. no end in sight. that was two and a half years ago, mr. president. and there's still no end in sight to this crisis. on friday we learned that 232,972 individuals were caught trying to illegally cross our southern border in the month of august. 232,972. that is the highest august number yet for the biden administration. and all signs suggest that we're on track for a third record breaking year of apprehensions at the southern border. roughly 11,000 individuals were apprehended trying to cross the southern border in 24 hours this past weekend. 11,000 in 24 hours. if the white house really thinks its, quote, stopping the flow at the border, as the white house press secretary said last month, it should think again. and, mr. president, it's important to note that the numbers i've mentioned only reflect individuals who were actually apprehended. they don't

senator thune, good to see you. appreciate it. well, sandra, that was an action-packed thursday. >> sandra: i think we sensed it, we sensed it this afternoon was going to pick up. >> john: we had a sense something was coming, didn't know when. >> sandra: quite a news afternoon and our coverage will certainly continue. president is about to speak on the economy, john, and certainly listening for news from that. >> john: you can bet that reporters will be shouting questions at him when he finishes his remarks even if he mentions this. >> sandra: great to be with you, john. thanks for joining us on "america reports". i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. we will see you again tomorrow when it's fri-yay, meantime, martha with "the story." >> martha: lots to pick up on here as "the story" continues to break this afternoon. i'm martha maccallum. good to be with you, everybody. a huge turn of events today for the president's son, hunter biden. he has now been indicted on federal charges. that as his father right now is about to ta

thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, blumenthal, cantwell, cardin, coons jicialtiond, -- gillibrand, hickenlooper, kelly, lujan, menendez, merkley, peters, shaheen, smith, tester, van hollen, warren, and welch. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, braun, britt, capito, cassidy, cotton, cramer, crapo, daines, grassley, hawley, johnson, kennedy, lankford, lee, marshall, mcconnell, mullin, paul, ricketts, risch, romney, rubio, and vance. the clerk: ms. ernst, no. ms. collins, aye. mr. carper, aye. the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. mr. king, aye. the clerk: mr. warner, aye. mr. barrasso, no. mr. hoeven, no. mr. thune, no. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mr. bring to a close man -- mr.. the clerk: mr. boozman, no. the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. the clerk: ms. lummis, no. mr. reed, aye. mrs. feinstein, aye. mr. sullivan, no. mr. fetterman, aye. mr. schumer, aye. mrs. murray, aye. mrs. fischer, no.

thune, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. mrs. blackburn, aye. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: mr. menendez, aye. mr. romney, aye. mr. sanders, aye. mr. wyden, aye. ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. braun, no. mr. welch, aye. mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. the clerk: mr. reed, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, aye. the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. mr. mullin, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, aye. ms. cantwell, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, no. mr. murphy, aye. mr. crapo, aye. the clerk: mr. daines, aye. the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. paul, aye. mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. the clerk: mr. barrasso, aye. mr. tuberville, no. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. mr. kennedy, aye. mr. padilla, aye. ms. rosen, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. the clerk: mr. preerts -- mr. peters, aye. mr. hagerty, aye. vo

leadership, allies who would be in line to replace him should he leave the senate, john cornyn, john thune, all saying they trust leader mcconnell and the trustee is in good health and cited this doctor's note that the attending physician released yesterday which said mcconnell is not suffering from a disorder among other things. there are couple other dissenting voices in the gop conference, rand paul was one member i spoke to yesterday, he has a doctor ophthalmologist and said he does not by the judicial expo nation by the doctor. he said to cite these episodes as dehydration is not about diagnosis, he thinks it is a neurological event. we heard josh hawley, another conservative republican saying the fitness and health of the leader is important. he has concerns as well as tommy tuberville, another conservatives senate republican saying he is concerned about the health. host: this was one of the things we talked about and it fell by the wayside a little bit but as far as senator tuberville's hold on military appointments, is that stone place? guest: it is very much in place and has been

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority whip. mr. thune: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: officer without objection. mr. thune: i want to associate myself with the remarks of senator from wyoming and it is long time overdue that this senate get back to regular order. if you look at the way that you govern a country and have as much spending and debt on an annual basis as this country does, you need to do it in a way that reflects each individual bill being considered so that individual senators, not just those on the appropriations committee but those in the entire senate, have an opportunity to have their voices heard. in the last few years what we've ended up with, as the senator from iowa end pointed out, a huge omnibus spending bill at the end of the year, cobbled together by a bunch of people in a back room. that's not the way to run a government with as many parts as we have. we need the fiscal responsibility and restraint hopefully that comes with a regular appropriations process. and so i would ech

i traveled some with john thune who did more before 7:00 a.m.t of us did for the entire day. there must be something about south dakota you guys and gals start off working. maybe come out of the nursery working? >> this is tough country, trey. these summers are hotter than heck the winters are as cold as it gets. both days of fall are beautiful of course. the reason i bring that up as the people who settled here the people stopped her, looked around at the sometimes difficult environment and said guests i'm going to pioneer here and going to grow crops and winter raise my family those are really hearty folks. we are the grandsons and granddaughters and great grandsons and great granddaughters of those folks. their work ethic still lives within us. that makes us an outstanding state. trey: congressman, and the grandson of somebody who wanted to play golf year-round. [laughter] which is why i chose the south carolina and not south dakota. but i am glad you are there. i'm glad you joined us on labor day weekend. my best to you and your family thank

thune, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. ms. ernst, aye. mr. barasso, aye. mr. tuberville, no. mr.ye. mr. kennedy, aye. mr. daines, no. mrs. capito, aye. mr. grassley, aye. mr. tillis, aye. mr. vance, no. ms. hirono, aye. mrs. blackburn, no. mr. budd, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. cornyn, aye. mr. johnson, no. the clerk: mr. peters, aye. mrs. fischer, no. mr. booker, aye. mr. lankford, aye. mr. warner, aye. mr. merkley, aye. the clerk: mr. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. mr. van hollen, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. kelly, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. mr. boozman, aye. mr. king, aye. mr. sanders, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. the clerk: mr. rounds, aye. mr. brown, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. reed, aye. the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. mr. romney, aye. the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

senate republican whip john thune says mcconnell has his support to continue as leader. something echoed by other gop senators. let's ask foreign service member mark wayne mullen what he thinks, great to see you. thank you for being here. it is a very busy time in our history and our economy. a lot going on. do you have confidence mcconnell conserve in that role as republican leader in the senate? >> i do. i had multiple conversations with him. sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't. 's competency level has been higher speaking on the floor, speaking on conferences he will be speaking to the party in just about an hour. we scheduled lunch together and every time i've spoken with him he has been clear and very precise on what he is talking about. i think there are other health issues, neurology, it is funny the media is focusing on mitch mcconnell, we have a president who gets lost when he is at a podium and you've got to have a conversation about both but when you have a clean bill of health there is senator mcconnell. dave: we are covering all sides of the issue of the

republican support including from the lee republicans who could potentially succeed him, senators john thune, john cornyn, john barrasso, all telling me thus eveuesday eveni they continue to support senator mcconnell. so at the moment no threat to his leadership. but the question remains whether he will stay not just beyond this congress but in the next congress which begins in 2025. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. >>> u.s. first lady jill biden will continue to be monitored by the white house medical team after she tested positive for covid-19 on monday. she is currently isolating at the biden home in delaware with mild symptoms. meanwhile president biden tested negative again tuesday but will continue to wear a mask. experts say the first lady should be doing well despite a positive test. >> i think that she should be doing really quite well for a number of reasons. one, she's fundamentally a healthy woman. she has been vaccinated. she's been boosted. and she has had a prior infection as you can recall last summer. which means that she has a hybrid immunity, a good amount of immunity, which

john thune the minority whip was much more -- he was outspoken, like they have a lot to do, there is to be done. there are defense policy that has to be done. there is the foreign bill, there is faa reauthorization. i mean, this stuff has to be done and they are going to try to-of this they are going to end up probably voting on impeaching biden in the house and no chance that the senate will convict him or remove him from office. no chance. but we'll spend months talking about this. so this is what their point is in the senate, they are like we have a government shutdown in a couple weeks and they are talking about impeaching biden. the mismatch between what they think the american public wants and what the house is doing is pretty broad. >>> and shutdown really stands to impact a lot more americans than this inquiry. all right. so john, i want to switch gears and ask but this "washington post" op-ed that was out from david ignatius where he basically says the quiet part out loud, he is reflecting a lot of conversations that you tell me if you are having them but i've heard from a l

>> well, he seems to have a pretty good cadre of lieutenants there, john cornyn or john thune who would be suited to take up the mantle. look, this is a hard choice. these are really plum jobs. he's worked hard, worked his entire adult life to get there, has done a good job since he's been there. he's not the only old political leader in the united states. we have joe biden, who i think at the moment, is not in the kind of shape you would want for senate leader, but is in the most demanding job on the planet. and we're urging mcconnell and republicans to be realistic but the entire democratic party has their heads in the sand about joe biden who is declining in front of our eyes and they want us to believe he can carry out the most demanding job in the up states for another five and a half years or whatever the it is until age 86 and that's a risk for the democrats and for the country. >> rich, i want to play something former governor nikki haley said. i want to ask you to follow up on that point. is part of this concern given what we've seen undercut the political argument against pres

john thune who is the number two.his is just today in the hallway, one thing idol know, i don't think it would be advantageous, obviously, if this thing went further. i just mate to see where this becomes a method every time there's a change in administration trying to throw somebody out of office. i think you ought to win elections. that's how, in my view, you change the direction of the country. >> and, of course, the republican conference on the senate is split on this, mike barnum of indiana came out and saying impeachment is the way to go. donald trump and kevin mccarthy in this effort will have some supporters, but clearly the senate republicans are going to be even more divided than the house republicans on this effort. dana, it's so interesting when you say this. the donald trump piece of this. this is a classic trump tactic, right? he's facing four indictments and nine criminal charges. what does he want to do? m muddy up the opposition so it seems the same. so months and months of news conference, well, what

thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- cardin, feinstein, fetterman, hirono, kaine, and tester. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, cotton, crapo, marshall, rubio, and wicker. the clerk: mr. tuberville, no. mr. durbin, aye. mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: mr. vance, no. ms. baldwin, aye. mr. boozman, no. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. king, aye. the clerk: mr. moran, no. ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, no. the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. peters, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. reed, aye. ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. mr. wyden, aye. mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. brown, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. romney, no. mr. sanders, aye. the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. merk

but in a positive sign for mcconnell, his three potential successors -- senators john thune, cornyn,till support mcconnell staying on as leader. >> manu raju, thanks from capitol hill. scott jennings, what's your reaction to what we heard from senators paul and tuberville today? >> they're going to get a chance to talk to mitch mcconnell at the senate republican lunch. they have it every week. i'm sure, as you heard, mcconnell's going to talk to the conference and answer questions. i know he's talked to a number of the conference on the telephone over the last few days. the vast majority of people who have made comments about it publicly said he sounds great, looks forward to getting back to work, and they support him. so i actually think the letter that came out from the senate physician today talking about the tests that mcconnell had undergone, the neurologists that had seen mcconnell, tells the whole story. i texted with him today, he was feeling good, glad to be back in washington. i expect when he speaks to his conference tomorrow u. you'll see a big vote of conference out of m

the number two senator john thune is said today he has the full support of mcconnell.t will be a topic of discussion among republicans as they meet for their week we conference lunch tomorrow. >> when the house returns, the first order of business will be funding the government before september 30 deadline. or face a government shutdown. two chambers are far from agreement in large part because the far right house republicans are making their demands no impaired what is the latest? >> so, the said it did come back into session. and i spoke to senate majority leader chuck schumer in an interview that published this morning, and he said it is up to kevin mccarthy, the house speaker, and if there is a government shutdown. it is because mccarthy can choose to go the bipartisan route and ensure that there is no shutdown. though mccarthy has not committed to that yet. but it does seem like mcconnell and schumer are on the same page. in mcconnell's statement addressed it, saying the government needs to keep its lights on and it also the government needs to fund money for ukra

john berasso of wyoming and john cornyn of texas and john thune of south dakota, all around leadership donald trump which could come into play if a race for leader. this is a dog fight. and mitch mcconnell has been in that role since 2007. the longest serving party leader in senate history. so it is a seismic shift inside of the gop whenever he does decide to step aside, jake. >> berasso, the trumpist of the three. >> yes. >> thank you so much. >>> and coming up next, the new principle sentences rolling in for members of the so-called proud boys after their violent attack on police officers. and others at the u.s. capitol. >>> plus the origins of the far right group and the ownthers on the radar of the fbi. ♪ ♪ wherever you go. wherever you stay. all you need is one key. earn and use rewards across expedia, hotels.com, and vrbo. my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. ry

putting food in the lunch box, supplies in the backpack -- >> you have senator john barrasso, and john thune and funding for ukraine and gas prices. i'm not sure everybody, gillian, is paying attention to the subject matter here, i think they are paying attention to the condition of the minority leader mitch mcconnell and how he appears to be speaking and that is the focus here and now waiting for the question and answer period and a lot of the questions already directed toward leader mccarthy, i'm sorry, leader mcconnell. >> gillian: and we know they will ask the senator about his health, he did not bring it up in his remarks just now, so leaving that ball in the media's court when it comes to addressing the element in the room. >> trace: bring back bret baier for the conversation and the same thing, bret, some important topics talked about here but everybody's focus is on mitch mcconnell how he looks, how he's speaking, does he seem to be ok, a cavalcade of senators come through and say he appears fine to me. >> bret: yeah, trace, gillian, we don't take the gop conference lunch wall to wal

my seat mate john thune picked up the reins and he had a great team around him.ried about that at all and i think mitch will be able to answer any questions that come up. >> so you're comfortable with him staying on as leader? >> oh, yes. there are a lot of folks that would like to see him go because he's a capable leader and if you could take him out of the leadership role in advance, you might end up in a better position if you were a competitor of his. and the republican side, we understand that he's good for our party and he sees the long road ahead, he looks a long ways ahead and when the rest of us are sitting back, he's the guy that takes the spears and the arrows because we don't have tom and he's the right guy and at this stage of the game, i think he'll continue on. >> i want to ask about the trip that president biden took to florida yesterday to assess hurricane damage. his administration is asking for $16 billion more in fema disaster relief. not just for florida, but also for the tropical that hit southern california, the devastating wildfires in haw

more on that, and other things ahead with south dakota senator john thune. but to andy's point about it being called an illegitimate investigation, i would suspect that even if mccarthy did have the votes in the house to authorize an impeachment investigation, it would be strictly along party lines and the other party would continue to call it illegitimate. >> sandra: and the president himself, remarks begin at 2:45, we'll see if there is specific mention of these or if he takes questions on it, john. >> john: all right, definitely shouted questions after he finishes, whether or not he answers we'll see. >> sandra: we'll be watching for that. a judge ruling that sydney powell and kenneth chesebro will not be tried along donald trump and co-defendants. they were indicted in georgia's 2020 election fraud case. steve is on this for us live at the fulton county courthouse. what else came out of that court today? >> steve: sandra, the really big news, what's going to happen with the prosecution's push to try all 19 defendants in one last trial, including 40 charg

now, amazon and target said they would hire thunes of workers ahead of the busy holiday shopping seasonus what prompted this decision. >> yeah, how do you know you're getting close to the end of the year? well, amazon and target and all the major retailers have decided to increase the number of staff count. so that gives you a clear indication which part of the year you're at. 350,000 new employees are set to be added to both amazon and target. amazon itself said they're putting in what was the exact number 1 billion people as well in order to increase the number of hourly as well. so it's a big push towards the year which quite significant for them. they'll of course focus on significantly as well as thanksgiving, so that time of the year very crucial and important for retailers. >> lastly, arabile, disney has announced it's planning to spend billions of dollars to expand its theme parks. tell us what's behind this push. >> yes, so investors didn't like this, but what's kind of happened is bob iger has really to make a clear push, one, into the streaming part of the business, which has

already there's discussion about potentially senators john thune, cornyn, or very ras sew all vying forig focus. for now, mitch mcconnell hanging on at least for another year. >> manu raju, thank you for that reporting. perspective from cnn political commentator and former biden white house communications director kate bedingfield, also scott jennings. scott, of course you were also mitch mcconnell's senior adviser. i know you saw him yesterday. you've known him your whole life. how was he when you saw him yesterday? >> you know, honestly i saw him last night after it happened and he was perfectly fine. he had come back to louisville from northern kentucky to participate in a fund-raiser for jim banks. he made remarks to questions, and we met for a few minutes. i talked to him for about 15 minutes on the phone this afternoon. and, you know, he sounded great this afternoon as well and was kind of taken through a bunch of different issues that were on his mind today. so, it's interesting. if you hadn't seen the video or you weren't aware that something had happened, you would never have k