vesey: thank you, mr. payne. now i'd like to recognize, also my classmate, from the buckeye state, here to my right, ms. joyce bayhity representing the columbus -- bayhity representing beatty mbus area -- representing the columbus area. mrs. beatty: it is an honor to stand here with these colleagues tonight. but we come tonight with a strong message. we are here to speak out against president-elect trump's cabinet nomination, who based on their records are, in my opinion, too divisive, too extreme, too out of touch, and unable to protect the safety of all americans. individuals like jeff sessions and betsy devos. and trust me, mr. speaker, these nominees need to be vetted. the american people deserve to know who will be in charge of these critically important federal agencies. we are extremely concerned with senator jeff sessions' nomination to be the u.s. attorney general. sessions, as you have heard tonight and you will continue to hear, has continuously obstructed the process we've made with the enactment of t

the second longest serving general officer in the entire armed forces oem only to late general john vesey served longer. when he was energy the end of his tour as south com commander and approaching retirement, he said in an interview that, quote, his greatest fear was that you i'd be offered another job. mr. chairman, i have no doubt whatsoever that general kelly's statement was entirely sincere. those of us who have had the privilege of knowing general kelly for a while and paid attention to his answers to our questions know that john kelly says what he believes to be the truth always, no mart the inconvenience it might cause him. speaking truth to power is something he's known for and no less his respect for the chain of command. secretary gates who is here, one of our great leaders, will mention his relationship with him when they served together. if anyone has earned a peaceful retirement from public duty t's general kelly, but he's a patriot always. like jack vesey, his active duty -- president reagan called -- to get an accounting for americans missing from the war. president-elect