Business Before the Senate

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Inauguration of a new President and the start of a new administration always brings a flurry of activity to our Nation's government, but rarely-- rarely--has so much piled up for the Senate as during this particular transition. Over the next several weeks, the Senate must accomplish three essential items: a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump; the confirmation of President Biden's Cabinet and other key officials; and legislation to provide much needed--almost desperately needed--COVID relief.

Again, there are three essential items of business. No. 1, as mandated by law and Constitution, once the House of Representatives delivers Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, we will conduct and complete a trial of Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection against these United States.

No. 2, the Senate will confirm key members of soon-to-be President Biden's Cabinet. Those Cabinet officials in charge of national security must be confirmed quickly, as well as those in charge of responding to the current health and economic crisis.

No. 3, the Senate will take up legislation to provide the country additional relief from the pandemic.

On impeachment, the Senate has solemn responsibility to try and hold Donald Trump accountable for the most serious charge ever levied against a President: the incitement of an insurrection against the United States of America.

The events on January 6, make no mistake about it, were not a spontaneous demonstration. President Trump invented the lie that motivated these criminals. He exhorted them to come to Washington. He then directed them at the U.S. Capitol, and his demagoguery whipped them into a frenzy.

We need to set a precedent that the severest threat ever committed by a President will be met by the severest remedy provided by the U.S. Constitution: impeachment and conviction by this Chamber, as well as disbarment from future office.

In 230 years, the House of Representatives has impeached the President of the United States only twice. In just the past 13 months, it has impeached President Trump twice more. President Trump is a threat to our constitutional order whether he is in or out of office. Even now, he has not accepted responsibility for what he has done and still falsely maintains that the election was stolen.

Once he leaves office, do we really expect him to change his tune and accept the truth? Of course not. He will continue spreading lies about the election and stoking the grievances of his most radical supporters, using the prospect of a future Presidential run to poison the public arena at a time when we must get so much done. After what he has done, the consequences of which we were all witness to, Donald Trump should not be eligible to run for office ever again.

All of us want to put this awful chapter in our Nation's history behind us, but healing and unity will only come if there is truth and accountability, not sweeping such a severe charge, such awful actions, under the rug.

So let me be clear. There will be an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. There will be a vote on convicting the President of high crimes and misdemeanors. And, if the President is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again.

Now, the Cabinet. As I mentioned, the Senate must also fulfill its constitutional duty to advise and consent on soon-to-be President Biden's executive and judicial nominations, particularly his Cabinet. Today, there are no fewer than five Senate hearings on Cabinet-level officials for good reason. The violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 showed us we need qualified Senate-confirmed people in key national security positions on day one. That means tomorrow.

The Senate will be in session tomorrow after the conclusion of the Inauguration of the 46th President of the United States. With cooperation, we can confirm key national security nominees at State, the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, and the intelligence community. The health and economic challenges our Nation faces and the need to get vaccines out quickly also require having key health officials and key economic nominees confirmed and on the job as soon as possible.

In 2017, the Senate confirmed President Trump's Secretary of Defense and his Secretary of Homeland Security on Inauguration Day. President Biden should have the same officials in place on his Inauguration Day at the very least. That is the expectation and tradition for any administration, but especially now in the midst of a Homeland Security crisis.

As I said, the way the Senate works, it will take cooperation from our Republican colleagues to swiftly confirm these highly qualified national security officials. But make no mistake, the Senate will move quickly to consider and confirm President Biden's cabinet.

Finally, on COVID and the legislation that is needed, once the Senate has confirmed key nominations for the incoming administration, it will turn to the subject of additional COVID relief items, including key items such as an increase in direct payments to American families; strong, further support of vaccine distribution which must be improved; help for small businesses, schools, and State and local governments. Very soon, the country will pass another tragic milestone: 400,000 American deaths from COVID-19. There is no issue more urgent then defeating this pandemic, and the Senate will immediately set to work on that goal as the first order of legislative business.

There will be much more work for us to do in the following months. Working with President Biden and our House colleagues, the Senate will finally address the major challenges facing our country that have for too long been ignored. We will consider bold legislation to defeat the climate crisis by investing in clean infrastructure and manufacturing, which will create millions of good jobs for Americans, regardless of ZIP Code. We must move significantly to improve our healthcare and childcare systems. To fix and restore our income and equality problem, we will fight to restore workers' rights and fairness in the Tax Code.

Today, we announce the first bill, S. 1, which will be a package of long overdue reforms to protect our democracy after it has been so attacked in 4 years and will guarantee every American's right to vote.

One issue that has been long important to me is immigration reform. I always felt that comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship is one of the most important things a Democratic Congress can do. To me, passing comprehensive reform is a very high priority, so I was pleased that President-Elect Biden has crafted a proposal and will call on Congress to take up this important subject. I am studying the President-elect's proposal, and I look forward to working together with him and the new administration and with my colleagues in Congress to get comprehensive immigration reform signed into law.

As I said at the beginning of this talk, the next several months will be very, very busy and a very consequential period for the U.S. Senate. Let us begin our work in earnest.

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