and perhaps even more importantly, the way that that staff, those individuals who work for a united states senator treat their boss. and what i saw from those who work for senator mccain was abiding respect, love and care and compassion for united states senator john mccain. it told me a lot about his staff but told me even more about the person and character of senator mccain. i also discovered in my time working in the senate with john mccain his abiding love for the people of arizona. senator mccain could be a national figure, was a national figure, could be only a national figure if he desired. he had the stature to be a person that was known not only in the state he represented but in the nation and around the world. and while senator mccain represented the united states well, here in the united states senate and in countries around the globe, you could tell that senator mccain cared and loved the people he represented at home. he respected them. he recognized that they were the ones who gave him the opportunity to perform on a national stage. and he never forgot arizonans. i appreciate the w

i failed world geography and i think i might be the first united states senators fail civics. the study of politics. i will concede, however, five years after entering into the united states senate, i am not the only person to fill civics in the united states senate. a whole of their friends the other side of the aisle might need a little help every now and then. i'm not calling anybody's name. i'm not going to call their name. i'm not going to call their name. i'll write it down for you and leave it for you. not only did i feel world geography and physics i also failed -- civics -- i also failed spanish and english. when you fail spanish and english, no one calls you bilingual, okay? nobody. they all called you by ignorant because you get speaking any language. i appreciated this guy right over here. thank you very much, sir. literally, they would call all kinds of things but i had to amazing blessings in my life. i i had a mother who believe tht prayer is the key come and she prayed for me. she prayed for me. she prayed for me. i am thankful. whatever you believe, i am thankf

i failed world geography and i think i might be the first united states senator to fail civics. the study of politics. i will concede however, five years after entering into the united states senate, i am not the only person to fail civics in the united states senate. i whole lot of our friends on the other side of the aisle, might need help every now and then. [applause] i'm not calling anybody's name. i will write it down for you. world geography and civics. i also failed to spanish. and english. now, when you fail spanish and english, no one calls you bilingual. nobody. they all call you bi-ignorant. literally, they would call you all kinds of names. but i had to amazing things in my life. i had a mother that believed that prayer is the key and she prayed for me and she prayed for me and she prayed for me. i am thankful. whatever you believe, i am thankful. i'm so thankful that my mama prayed for me with her seemed to be no hope. but after several months of praying for me and not seeing the type of change that can be manifested on report cards, she took me outside and she want

and perhaps even more importantly, the way that that staff, those individuals who work for a united states senator treat their boss. and what i saw from those who work for senator mccain was abiding respect, love and care and compassion for united states senator john mccain. it told me a lot about his staff but told me even more about the person and character of senator mccain. i also discovered in my time working in the senate with john mccain his abiding love for the people of arizona. senator mccain could be a national figure, was a national figure, could be only a national figure if he desired. he had the stature to be a person that was known not only in the state he represented but in the nation and around the world. and while senator mccain represented the united states well, here in the united states senate and in countries around the globe, you could tell that senator mccain cared and loved the people he represented at home. he respected them. he recognized that they were the ones who gave him the opportunity to perform on a national stage. and he never forgot arizonans. i appreciate the w

became the navy liaison officer in the united states senate. there is an office that then used to be on the basement floor, members of the military who are assigned to senators when they travel abroad to meet with heads of state or other foreign dignitaries, and john had recently been released a genuineanoi hilton, hero, and became the navy liaison. r some reason we hit it off from the beginning. hadere both ambitious, and an overwhelming desire to make the time we had their worthwhile, to try to do the think about how we could make things better for the country we love so much. and john and i ended up traveling. any time i went anywhere, i took john with me or john took me with him, and we were in china, japan, russia, germany, france, england, turkey, all over the world, tens of thousands of miles. and we would sit on that plane, and late at night when everyone else was asleep we would just talk, getting to know one another. talkuld talk about family, about politics, talk about international relations, talk about promises, the promise of ameri

the loss we are all doing in the united states senate. as we have heard from so many in this chamber all week, this evening in particular. senator mccain's passing represents not only an incalculable loss to his family, his dear wife cindy, his friends and a legion of admirers across the world, but to his colleagues here in the u.s. senate committee democrats and republicans and to the institution of the senate itself where he served as a model of honor and integrity and character for 31 years. mr. president, there are so many people who served with him much longer and knew him much better than i did. i have been watching the speeches. the wonderful, passionate, emotional words from my .olleagues like senator graham lindsey graham, his best friend here in the senate. the white house -- senator whitehouse. good friend of wind who i met through many trips through senator mccain. so many have been coming down to the floor. tributes on the senate floor and in the newspapers across the country have been inspiring and they have been true. talkin

talks about how the president can fill that vacancy subject to the advice and consent of the united states senate. one hundred united states senators arguably have the last word on any nominee. unfortunate to serve on the judiciary committee where we get the first chance to review nominees and take a look at their backgrounds and vote as a committee before it's brought to the floor of the senate. i've listen to my colleagues who support judge kavanaugh and sending onto the bench to. i'm troubled by one aspect of the nomination. it is different than any nomination in the history of the united states. different in this respect, this president made it clear that any person wanted to be eligible for the united states supreme court needed to pass clearance by two organizations, one is called the federalist society and the other is the heritage institute. both are conservative organizations which reviewed all of the potential supreme court nominees produced a list of 20 or more men and women who would be eligible for the supreme court by their judgment. is there judgment important? all point to one fac

it will not work in impeachment hearing and not a trial in the united states senate where the lester holt interview about the firing of james comey will be played in its entirety for the united states senate if they sit as jurors in a trump impeachment trial. the president knows that fudging my tape lie won't work in the real world and so when it comes to his actual legal defense today's tweet is probably best read as a trumpian variation on what rudy giuliani said a month ago about the lester holt interview. the part about the president knew the investigation would continue after he fired comey so that couldn't be obstruction of justice. now let's listen once again to a portion of the unedited video in which donald trump describes to lester holt what he was thinking after he got the written recommendation from rod rosenstein to fire fbi director james comey. it is even more extraordinary to listen to now because the president begins his explanation with praise of rod rosenstein saying he's highly respected, very good guy, very smart guy. this is the part of the video that you will be

a year ago, we probably would not be talking about a path to a democratic majority in the united states senate. that path has gotten larger. primarily because of the big victory we had an alabama last december. doug jones, now the united states senator. now as you look around the country, you see a lot of energy among democrats and independents are now going strongly for democratic candidates and you also see a lot of republicans, including republican women in suburban areas, supporting democrats. i think we have got a very good agenda to run on the most of all in the senate races, we have senators who are really standing up for people. alexander: are you optimistic about taking back the majority or is that too ambitious? sen. van hollen: i think everybody knows that the odds are tough. but the odds are getting better. by the day. the path was narrow and it is getting wider. nicolas: why is that changing? what is shifting in the democrats favor? is it the energy we have seen over the year now, frustrated with the president? are there individual races that you are thinking about? sen. van holle

he was true north for the united states senate. he cared deeply about relationships between members of both parties. he cared about legislating and about finding a way to govern. and while he is gone, we do not need to forget the lessons and the lectures of senator mccain. he is an example for us to follow. and that is as true today as it was in any of his 32 years of service to the senate. we will miss him in this chamber where he cast a long shadow with moral clarity whenever he spoke. this week our hearts are with his mother, roberta, his wife, cindy, his children and his grandchildren, and to all those who loved him. may his memory be a blessing. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, last week we lost an incredible patriot, senator, and american, our friend and colleague senator john mccain. my heart goes out to his wife cindy, his mom, his daughters, and family. in the navy, john exemplified heroism and bravery and in the senate he was a me

collins: madam president, the united states senate -- indeed, our entire nation -- is mourning the loss of a great leader and american patriot, our colleague and friend, senator john mccain. madam president, i first met john mccain when i was a young staffer in senator bill cohen's office, and john was serving as the

he was someone who represented the values of the united states senate as someone who was his own man. that's the one thing about the united states senate, it was said, you have 100 senators who think they should be president. that's pretty much the case. every senator goes out and tries to cut their own swath. john mccain represented that. that would be a great tribute to him and an appropriate one. >> in his book, he lamented where we are as a country politically. take a listen to some of that. >> before i leave, i would like to see our politics begin to return to the purposes and practices that distinguish our history from the history of other nations. i would like to see us recover our sense that we are more alike than different. >> ambassador, is there a chance we can come back to that? are we past the point of no return? there have been some folks who have said, sadly, this era of john mccain ended before his passing. >> i don't believe that. i think skron john mccain had af faith in the american and belief in the american people. i think we are still there. we do need to demand

senator mccain violated no law of the united states or specific rule of the united states senate.mmittee concludes no further action is warranted with respect to senator mccain on the matters investigated during the inquiry. >> i was found guilty of bad judgment. that will always be a black mark on my record, even if it was only using, quote, bad judgment. it was wrong. >> until we abolish soft money, americans will never have a government that works as hard for them as it does for special interests. that is a sad but undeniable fact of contemporary politics. >> i think campaign finance reform was a result of what happened. he saw a system that was really corrupt and really needed to be reformed. >> the process must begin. campaign finance reform has contributed to the level of cynicism that is prevalent in the american citizens today. >> he stepped out, he stepped away from most members of his party. he formed a bipartisan coalition with russ feingold and others. and he fought like hell for it. >> i think we're doing the right thing by trying to do this on a bipartisan basis beca

slave market, and yet today, you heard from cory booker and kamala harris, to members of the united states senate. [applause] sen. harris: that is who we are. that is our american identity. that is the one we will own and fight for. aat is what makes this fight fight that is born out of love of country. out of love of country. and knowing it is worth fighting for.

[applause] >> i am on her to stand before you as your republican nominee for the united states senate -- honored to stand before you as a republican nominee for the united states senate. it is tempting to celebrate, but let's keep something in my. this is not our objective. our objective -- mission is in 70 days. we have 70 days to get the seat. it is difficult to celebrate anything this week as we mourn the loss of senator mccain. we prepared to honor him in arizona and in washington, d.c. before letting him to rest in annapolis. he paid an unfathomable price for our freedom. he continued to serve with conviction, honor, and sacrifice his whole life. from a early days as a cadet at the air force academy, we studied him as an example of courage, leadership, and honor. came to an event for me when i first ran for congress, and he told the crowd that the main difference between the two of us was that my landings,qual my unlike him. and that i shoot down airplanes and he gets shot down, in his words. here was this larger-than-life patriot joking about being shot down, and taking his time

more thoughts on the passing of senator mccain from yesterday's session. >> president, the united states senate in the, our entire nation is mourning the loss of a great leader and a american patriot. our colleagues and friend, senator john mccain. >> president, i first met john mccain when i was a young staffer in senator bill collins office and john was serving as the navies liaison officer. >> as a fellow senator for the past 21 years, i knew him as a trusted colleague, a courageous, legislator and a close friend. john wasn't a true american hero who devoted his life to serving his country. courage and character were the hallmarks of his military service as well as his work in congress. in the senate, he was a consequential leader. on the most critical ssissues facing our country. john mccain was one of our congresses most respected voices for a strong national defense and for good government o. his words were as much as bob and washington as it was to his brothers in arms in vietnam. man president, i like to share with my colleagues a story that i believe demonstrates the essential characte

president of the united states for more importantly for today's discussion, in accordance with article one, section three of the constitution, he serves as president of the united state senate. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the 40th president of the united states, -- the 48 vice president of the united states -- [laughter] 48 vice president of the united states, vice president, vice president, we are only on 48th vice45 -- the president of the united states, mike pence. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] >> thank you, john, thank you for that kind introduction and your leadership of a great organization and let's give another round of applause to the 2016 republican lawyer of the year. congratulations, john. [applause] really is an honor to be with you today here at the republican national lawyers association. i came here today to say thank you. thank you for the work you have done supporting this administration, thank you for the work that each and everyone of you do to hold up republican ideals and principles in the profession of the law and before i get started let me bring greetings and thanks as well from the 45th president of the united

because just as america is not the sum of her cities, so too the united states senate is not the sum of its buildings. the united states senate is not the places where we meet. as john reminded us in his farewell charge read posthumously yesterday, as john reminded us, america is an idea. america is a cause. america is about liberty. america is about justice. america is about universal human dignity. and even though john could often run over you when you were having a debate and argument if you were in his way, probably more than any person i've ever met, john actually believed in universal human dignity. the reason he was so big on the global stage is because he stood in the tradition of 230 years long announcing what america believes about 7.5 billion people that are created in god's image with universal dignity and that implies to everybody everywhere. it isn't america's job to fix every problem everywhere but it is part of america's mission in the world to proclaim that universal human dignity and that's what john did. that was a huge part of his calling. unfortunately we all know

early on in my time in the united states senate, i would pick up the phone and call my dad to tell him whenever i had a substantive conversation with senator mccain because he was that much of a giant. and now he's gone. mr. president, we all need people in our lives who ask us to do more, who remind us that we are capable of doing more and doing better. the world needs heroes. and we have lost one with the death of senator mccain. he once challenged the leader in his party to, quote, set an example for what our country can and should represent. that was also his challenge to the senate. he demanded more of the senate and more from ourselves and for that especially, he will be missed in these chambers. who will hold us accountable when we fall into a destructive pattern? when he lectured us, and he did lecture us, we took it to heart. he was true north for the united states senate. he cared deeply about relationships between members of both parties. he cared about legislating and about finding a way to govern. and while he is gone, we do not need to forget the lessons and the lectures

i want to continue to fight for you in the united states senate. continue to make life better for nebraska families. i thank you for your partnership and support, and i would humbly ask for your vote on november 6. >> thank you, senator. councilwoman raybould: i would like to thank kmtv, omaha world-herald, and the state fair in grand island. i am running for one reason, washington is broken and our politicians are failing nebraskans. ourtor fischer is failing farmers by voting against a bill that would stop tariffs. she is against legislation that increases health care premium spirit she is failing our seniors cut she voted for the privatization of social security and cutting medicare that is important to them. she is failing veterans because she is not making sure they have the benefits they need and deserve for serving our country. nebraskans are independent-minded. we care about the checks and balance enshrined in our democracy. wantebraskans i talked to to chance and what a level playing field. they want a government on their side, that listens

as a united states senator from the great state of arizona. [cheers and appl >> thank you, everybody. thank you. wow. >> thank you from the bottom of my heart. i'm humbled and honored to stand before you for the very first time as your republican nominee for the united states senate. [cheers and applause] >> it's tmenting to celebrate but keep something in mind, it's not our objective, our mission is in 70 days. we have 70 days to win this seat and candidly, it's difficult to celebrate anything this week as we mourn the loss of senator mccain. and we prepare to honor him here in arizona and in d.c. before he's laid to rest at annapolis. senator mccain was an american hero. he paid an unfathomable price for our freedom and upon returning home continued to serve with conviction, honor and sacrifice his whole life. from my early days as a cadette at the air force academy, we studied him as an example of courage, leadership, and honor. senator mccain came to an event for me when i first ran for congress and he told the crowd there that the main di

it wasn't until well after 1994. 1994 i ran for the united states senate. now, it was kind of interesting because it was a democratic state. i had this guy that was kind of the darling of the democrat party, my opponent. nobody would come out and help. only three senators came out and helped me during that race, and they were senator grassley, senator bob dole and john mccain. now, john mccain came out and i always remember this because we had a lot of things that we had in common, but i hardly knew the guy, but he came out, not just once, he came out twice. but the first time he came out because he has a background in aviation. i have a background in aviation, and i remember, i have a nice air conditioned, twin engine plane, but i lost an engine the night before so i had to fly my kids' plane. it's called a grummond tiger and it doesn't have any air conditioning. it was in the 90's, got close to 100 that day and we started out and i wrote down the different places we went. and we first went to oklahoma city and then to shawnee where he visited the vietnam m

. 100 united states senators ultimately have the last word on any nominee. i am fortunate to serve on the senate judiciary committee where we get the first chance to review any nominee and take a look at their backgrounds and vote as a committee before the matter is brought to the floor of the united states senate. i have listened to my colleagues who support judge kavanaugh ascending to the bench to a lifetime appointment to the highest court of the land. i am troubled by one particular aspect of this nomination. it is different than any nomination in the history of the united states to the supreme court, different in this respect. this president made it clear that any person who wanted to be eligible for the united states supreme court needed to pass a clearance by two organizations. one is called the federalist society, and the other is the heritage institute. both of these are conservative organizations which reviewed all of the potential supreme court nominees and produced a list of 20 or more men and women who would be eligible for the supreme court by

in 1994, i ran for the united states senate. it was a democrat state. i had this guy kind of the dar darlene of the democratic party. only three senators came out and it was senator grassley, senator bob dole and john mccain. now, john mccain came out and i always remember this, we had a lot in common, but i hardly knew the guy. the first time he came out because he has a background in aviation, i have a background in aviation. and i remember i had a nice air conditioned twin engine plane, but i lost an engine the night before so i had to fly my kid's plane. it's very hot -- it's called a little gruman tiger. it doesn't have any air conditioning, it was in the 90's, it was close to 100 that day. i wrote down the places we went that day. first we went to oklahoma city, then to shaney, then to lawton, which is the home of fort sil, which is the number one area in the world for ar till tri, and we did our thing there all the time. he was campaigning for me, a guy who couldn't win. we went from there to altas air force base, and that is one still one of the

he has spent the last 42 of his life representing utah in the united states senate. e has led a very shelters life as a mormon bishop and as a united states senator. he seems to know as much about new york city as he knows about mars. this week orrin hatch said most people realize that donald trump comes from a different world. he comes from new york city. he comes from a slam, bang, different world. it is amazing he is as good as he is. and with those words, no one has ever delivered a nastier insult to the nine million americans living in new york city, many of whom can trace their families back to the dutch founders of new york city who were very busy building this country long before anyone other than the native tribes knew that the place now called utah even existed. they're not all like donald trump in new york city. nicholas cristoff will join us next. but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your c

senator mccain stood for. and that comes across very strongly today. the president of ukraine, a country that's looked again to the united states for support recently, sadiend of ukraine. senator john mccain. we will never forget his valuable contribution to the development of dros and freedom in ukraine. and the support of our state. condolences to the family and all american people. and strong words from the president of israel today, strong words from the prime minister of israel as well for senator mccain. prime minister benjamin netanyahu saying i'm deeply sat end by the passing of john mccain, a great american patriot and supporter of israel. i'll always treasure the constant friendship he showed to the people of israel and to me personally. his support for israel never wavered. it strang frfrong his belief in democracy and freedom. we salute john mccain. john mccain's legacy, if you will, is this understanding of the international community that he was going to champion their causes in the united states, that he was a defender of democracy and freedom. and i think these are the values that many people around the world look towards the united stat

going to prioritize arizona media over nationala, meut we'll do them all." ♪ >> this man is a united states senator u are about tohe re him say something that very few senators have ever said before. listen carefully. >> it was a very serious mistake on my part. the appearance of a meeting with five senators was bad and wrong and i agonized it over the time. >> this was the beginning of a pattern that he has developed at ments of crisis. he'll stand there until the last reporter sits down. and i think it's worked well for him. >> narrator: the press backed off and the congress all but cleared him of wrongdoing. >> senator mccain has violated no law of the united states or specic rule of the united states senate. >> narrator: they said he was guilty of poor judgment. >> most people said, after having gone through what he went through in the keating fiv i that his chances of any national office are over, are done with. and by the way, he's probly not going to be very successful in the united states senate. he proved them wrong. his life has been proving people wrong. >> narrator: in the wake of the s

united states senate the latest targets of hackers linked to military intelligence. microsoft stopped the attack last week. the company took control of six web sites operated by the same group of the dnc hack of 2016. let's bring in fred pleitgen. fred. >> reporter: good morning, dave. the group fancy wear was behind the attack. that group is directed by russia ya 's military intelligence. they targeted conservatives and two think tanks close to the party, but both of which are critical of the politics of vladimir putin. there is no evidence these attacks were successful, but it comes a month after attorney general rod rosenstein indicted 13 members of russia's intelligence for meddling in the 2016 election. of course, we know president trump a short time after that cited against the intelligence services together with vladimir putin in helsinki. in an interview with reuters he would be willing to look at sanctions relief if he helped on syria and ukraine. i was in syria with the russian military last week. they would like to cooperate with the u.s., but they want to

senators up close. before our friendship, my closest brush with him was over, teammate during a debate on defense policy when he said that long island was, quote, regrettably part of the united statesi blasted john's pejorative which of course prompted him to apply from the senate floor quote, i'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues they can't take a joke. i apologize if i offended him, and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor. like many, i was a victim of sender to mccains acerbic wit. now, things begin to defrost when we worked together during the gang of 14 to avoid a change in the senate rules during the bush administration, and a real tight and lasting friendship emerged from our collaboration on immigration reform. we worked in close quarters for nearly a year. our after hour, day after day, week after week, i'm tuning the only piece of major immigration reform to pass this chamber in decades. we visited the southern border together to assess the gaps in our security up close. we were doing what the senate was supposed to do, grappling with the biggest challenges, working in a bipartisan way to find solutions, overcoming obstacles that have so long bedevile

president of the united states, but more importantly for today's discussion in accordance with article one, section three of the constitution he serves as president of the united states senate. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the 48th president of the united states -- the 48 vice president of the united states. [laughter] 48th vice president of the united states. president of the united states. were only on president 45. mike pence. [applause] ♪ vice pres. pence: thank you all. thank you. thank you for that kind introduction. thank you for your leadership. let's give another round of applause to the 2016 republican lawyer of the year. congratulations. [applause] it really is an honor to be with all of you today here at the republican national lawyers association. i came here today just to say thank you. thank you for the work that you have done supporting this administration. thank you for the work that each and everyone of you do to hold up republican ideas and principles in the law and before i get started, that may bring greetings and thanks as well from the 45th resident of the united states of america, i bring greetings from president donald trump. [applause] vice pre

[applause] just ask doug jones, now the united states senator from the great state of alabama. [applause] and in november as we organize and mobilize, we know what is at stake. medicare for all is at stake so let's use our power. protecting our dreamers is at stake here let's use our power. voting rights are at stake. let's use our power. women's reproductive rights, climate change and common sense gun laws are at stake. let's use our power. [applause] and in so doing, netroots nation, as we use our power and get be on -- beyond this dark chapter, and we will get beyond it, but when we get beyond this dark chapter, part of it will be because we also agree that in this moment it is critically important that we speak truth. it is critically important that we speak truth. now, here's the thing. there are a lot of people in our country right now who are rightly distrustful of their government, its institutions and its leaders. .. >> you give trust. and one of the most important ingredients in a relationship of trust and in trust itself is truth. but it's a funny thing about truth.

were lucky to have him as their senator from arizona, john also remembered our titles say united states senator. he worked across the aisle on the select committee on powmia affairs whose work helped heal the wounds of war and normalize relations with vietnam. he led congressional delegations and overseas travel that were famously as grueling, as grueling as they were educational. john was seemingly immune to jet lag and he was never more excited that when he had an opportunity to share american values abroad. and of course he was singularly devoted to the men and women of our armed forces from countless visits with deployed units in iraq and afghanistan to his committee meetings right here in this body, john honored their sacrifices in a way that only he could. he never forgot that notwithstanding the grandeur of our military might and technical prowess, our armed services are made up of people, of our constituents, of volunteers, of the brave. john's favorite novel was ernest hemmingway's for whom the bell tolls. i suspect we'll hear it quoted quite a bit in the days ahead. the lead character

just ask doug jones, now the united states senator from alabama. in november, as we organize and mobilize, we know what is at stake. medicare for all of -- is at stake. let's use our power, protecting our dreamers is that date. -- at stake. let's use our power. voting rights are at stake. let's use our power. women's reproductive rights of climate change and common sense gun laws are at stake. let's use our power. [applause] in so doing, network nation, as we use our power and get beyond this dark chapter, and we will get beyond it. but when we get beyond this dark chapter, part of it will be because we also agreed that in this moment it is critically important that we speak truth. it is critically important that we speak truth. now, here is the thing. now, here is the thing. there are a lot of people in our country right now who are rightly distrustful of their government, its institutions and its leaders. there is no trust. let's remember something about the nature of a relationship of trust. we know it in our personal and professional lives. by

in 1994, i ran for the united states senate. it was a democrat state. i had this guy kind of the dar darlene of the democratic party. only three senators came out and it was senator grassley, senator bob dole and john mccain. now, john mccain came out and i always remember this, we had a lot in common, but i hardly knew the guy. the first time he came out because he has a background in aviation, i have a background in aviation. and i remember i had a nice air conditioned twin engine plane, but i lost an engine the night before so i had to fly my kid's plane. it's very hot -- it's called a little gruman tiger. it doesn't have any air conditioning, it was in the 90's, it was close to 100 that day. i wrote down the places we went that day. first we went to oklahoma city, then to shaney, then to lawton, which is the home of fort sil, which is the number one area in the world for ar till tri, and we did our thing there all the time. he was campaigning for me, a guy who couldn't win. we went from there to altas air force base, and that is one still one of the

even two years later when i was first elected and joined him here in the united states senate, he would introduce me to the reporters in the hall and say, that's the jerk that played obama. the john mccain that i got to know during the incidentty of -- intensity of the campaign was compassionate and his heart was in the right place. he had a sense of humor that was in tact. when a bad poll would come out, he would gather us around and say, don't worry, it's always darkest before it's pitch black. one of the memories i will never forget was during a debate preparation in a theater in new york city. at start of the debate practice i was backstage because i wanted to be realistic coming out behind the curtain and to the podium. it was september 24, twiet, just as -- 2008, just as the financial crisis was hitting. it's difficult to go back to that moment today, but the mind-set at the time was that we were in a true crisis. the stock market had crashed. the country was mired in financial turmoil, and so i stood there behind the curtain getting ready to come out. john mccain and two of his t

john became the navy liaison officer in the united states senate. s an office that used to be on the basement floor, members of the military who are assigned to senators when they travel abroad to meet with heads of state or other foreign dignitaries. john had been recently anointed a genuine hero, and he became the naval liaison. for some reason, we hit it off from the beginning. we were both full of dreams, and ambitions. and an overwhelming desire to make the time we had worthwhile. to try to do the right thing. to think about how we could make things better for the country we love so much. john and i ended up traveling, every time i went anywhere, i took john with me, and he took me everywhere. we went to china, japan, russia, germany, france, all over the world. tens of thousands of miles. we would sit on that plane, late in the night when everyone else was asleep, and talk. getting to know one another. we would talk about family, we would talk about politics, we would talk about international relations, we would talk about promise. the promise

so they worked side-by-side for more than 30 years in the united states senate. there is chuck schumer who actually requested the opportunity to change the name of the russell senate office building into the mccain senate office building. he does have one republican cosponsor, senator flake from the state of arizona, which is where senator mccain was from, but again a very moving tribute from senator mcconnell who is with him, with mccain for more than 30 years. >> we do have the president right now who just released a statement, quote, despite our differences on policy and politics, i respect senator john mccain's service to our country. in his honor have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the united states at half-staff until the days of his internment. i asked vice president mike pence to offer address at ceremony honoring senator mccain at united states capitol this friday, at the request of the mccain family i authorized military transportation of senator mccain's remains from arizona to washington, d.c., military pallbearers and band support and horse

removing an impeached president from office requires 67 votes in the united states senate. when senators cast those votes in bill clinton's impeachment trial, they all checked the polling on impeachment in their states, every one of them. tonight the polls have very bad news for the president. 60% agree with trump supporter paula duncan that the president should not pardon paul manafort. 62% say the president should not pardon michael cohen. 66% think it should be legally permissible for sitting presidents to be formally charged with a crime. and here is the most frightening response in this poll released today which included this question, should congress begin impeachment proceedings to remove president trump from office? right now, tonight, it is a tie. 42-42. and there is only one direction that that poll question is going to go. the more we hear from michael cohen and from all of the friends and business associates of donald trump who now have immunity, the more ready the country will be for impeachment. in his column today in the rupert murdoch owned "new york post," f

it should be taken up and passed with a majority vote in the united states senate. this counterproposal asks that a 60-vote threshold be set for the paul amendment which obviously would make it much less likely that it would actually pass. i think that makes a whole lot more sense is having a vote on the paul amendment as a stand alone to defund planned parenthood with the majority vote of 50. but i also believe that the manchin amendment has problems as well. first, this manchin amendment inserts itself into pending litigation led by my home state of texas by intervening as a party only a few weeks prior to oral argument in a lawsuit pending in federal court. this is a role that's generally reserved to the executive branch, and i believe that the legislature, the senate, should exercise caution and deference to the constitutional role of other branches before injecting ourselves into a contested lawsuit at a late hour. secondly, the manchin amendment would assert that the senate should defend all provisions, all provisions of the affordable care act. while that may

states, including oregon. how many times, colleagues, have we heard senators come to the floor of the united states senate virtually pound on their chest and say, the states are the laboratories of democracy? basically, on climate change, senator whitehouse, what the trump administration is saying is they're for states' rights if they think the state is right. that is their position on climate. so, it's clear we're not seeing any real movement from the trump administration. two weeks ago the president tweeted several times that water from northern california is being diverted to the pacific ocean rather than used for fire fighting. state officials and republicans, california veteran republicans, said essentially that this was nonsense. when the president asked his press office about the tweet, they really went completely silent. the megafires are the new normal, so westerners are going to have to embrace new cooperative and collaborative ways of dealing with the effect of climate change p. our priority ought to be to work with the state. government at all levels should continue to develop more efficient, low-carbon