Executive Session
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we continue to read reports containing additional information about the nature of President Trump's phone calls with Ukrainian President Zelensky and his administration's conduct in the weeks and months before and after those communications.
Ignoring for a moment the political reporting, we know that someone inside the intelligence community found the President's conduct alarming enough to warrant an official whistleblower complaint. The complaint was so alarming that the inspector general of the intelligence community, appointed by President Trump, said that it was credible and urgent and a complaint that by law must be submitted to Congress. This is not one of those discretionary moments; the law says this must be transmitted to Congress.
We still have not received the whistleblower complaint, and Congress has been advised in writing by the inspector general of the intelligence community that the Trump administration is preventing us from getting this report. So later today, I will request the unanimous consent of the Senate to pass a resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, as prescribed by law. Let me repeat that. Later today, I will request the unanimous consent of the Senate to pass a resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, as prescribed by law.
It is our job in the Congress to provide the necessary oversight of the executive branch, to take these matters--matters of foreign policy, national security, and constitutional integrity--with the utmost gravity, to seek the facts, and then grapple with them.
I made several requests of the majority leader yesterday in an effort to collect the facts, to which I have received no response. Today, I will seek approval for a simple resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be transmitted to the relevant committees in Congress. I hope the majority leader and Senate Republicans will not block it. I hope they will rise to the occasion and realize that this is their constitutional duty and realize that this involves the security of the United States.
I will have more to say on the matter before requesting my colleagues' consent to pass this resolution later today. Declaration of National Emergency
Madam President, on the national emergency--another issue that involves rule of law and the President's overreach--this week, as early as tomorrow, the Senate will vote on whether to terminate the President's national emergency declaration, which he has used to steal from our military to build the border wall--a wall President Trump promised over and over again that Mexico would pay for; not American taxpayers, not American troops, not their families--Mexico. That was the President's promise to the American people. It is a promise he broke. But that is what it has come to.
If my Republican friends choose to stand with President Trump on this vote, they will be supporting the President's taking money from our military and their families to fund a border wall. I imagine that even many of those who support the wall--and that is not a majority or close to a majority of Americans--would not want the money to come from the military.
Later this morning, Democrats will have a press conference where we will talk about this. We will remind people that the consequences of the President's emergency declaration are far-reaching. He is taking money away from military readiness, military families, and the children of servicemembers. He is taking money from military medical facilities in North Carolina and hurricane recovery projects in Florida, money from programs we use to combat Russian cyber aggression and money to upgrade storage facilities that are decrepit and pose a risk because of the munitions that are stored there.
What the heck are we doing here? Congress appropriated these funds with a specific purpose. In our Constitution, the President doesn't get to decide where the money goes; we do. He gets veto power. He tried to shut down the government and failed. If he can get around the constitutionally sanctioned balance of power--that is what a dictator does, not someone who believes in democracy and rule of law.
What he has done here far exceeds any overreach that my Republican colleagues complain about that President Obama did. But, remarkably, too many are silent. Too many are willing to go along. The fear of this President, who many of my colleagues know privately does not have the honor, morality, honesty, and actually competence to do this job--they know that, but they go along with just about everything he does.
On a policy basis, you can shrug your shoulders. That is the differences between the parties. But when it comes to defending the Constitution and rule of law and not letting the Executive overreach-- the No. 1 fear of the Founding Fathers--we are above that. Where are our Republican colleagues?
I am sure if the shoe were on the other foot and a Democrat were President and declared an emergency to reappropriate funds, my Republican colleagues would be up in arms. As I mentioned, when President Obama did far less, they were screaming bloody murder. But now they are remarkably silent.
So it is about time our Senate Republicans stand up for the rule of law, stand up for our Constitution, and stand up to the President when he is wrong. It is time to reassert the powers of the legislative branch, the people's branch of government. Senate Republicans will have that opportunity this week, likely tomorrow, and the American people will clearly be able to see whose side each Republican is on--the people's side, the Constitution's side, or the President's side. Nomination of Daniel Habib Jorjani
Madam President, finally, on the Jorjani nomination, later today, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Daniel Jorjani to serve as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior. By all rights, Leader McConnell should withdraw this vote from the floor. Mr. Jorjani's career is out of step with the agency's mission, and it has come to light that Mr. Jorjani likely lied to Congress about his role in the Department's adherence to transparency laws.
Under President Trump, the Interior Department has been mired in several investigations about the ethical conduct of its political appointees, including former Secretary Zinke. It is obvious that the Interior Department sorely needs transparency and public accountability, especially when the stewardship of our public lands is at stake. But at the Department of the Interior, political appointees have instituted policies to stonewall and squash transparency. It is likely that Mr. Jorjani played a key role in shaping these policies and is at this moment one of the subjects of an Interior Department inspector general investigation.
Despite his sworn testimony claiming no role in reviewing public records requests, public documentation has shown that Mr. Jorjani was regularly made aware of FOIA requests involving high-level political appointees. If confirmed, Mr. Jorjani would play an even larger role in overseeing the Interior Department's public releases.
The President said he would clean the swamp. Nomination after nomination that he makes, makes the swamp even filthier, stinkier. He seems to have no morality. He seems to have no honor. This is a man who is loaded with conflicts of interest, ethical concerns, and is likely an ideologue opposed to the very missions of the agency to which he is nominated. Mr. Jorjani is another bright red example of the lack of honor, of decency, of morality, and of honesty in Trump appointees. I urge Senate Republicans to join Democrats in voting to reject this sordid nomination.
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