Nominations of Vanita Gupta and Lisa O. Monaco

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I understand a couple of my colleagues are on the way. I will defer to them when they arrive. But I want to thank, first, Senator Stabenow for her statement about Vanita Gupta.

This is an extraordinary person. The Presiding Officer, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was there for her testimony and knows her personally, and I have come to know her. When you read and learn of her personal story, it is amazing, nothing short of amazing.

She was 6 months graduated from law school when she was sent down to Texas, a town called Tulia, TX, to tackle an assignment that a veteran civil rights lawyer would have thought twice about tackling. There was a group of over 30 African Americans who had been falsely accused of drug dealing and convicted and were imprisoned when she was sent down there to try to do something after their conviction. It is an incredible story, the courage she showed 6 months out of law school, and she ultimately was successful. Those African Americans and others were pardoned by the Republican Governor of Texas, Governor Perry. They were given a cash award for damages they had suffered as a result of it.

Her commitment to civil rights is more than just a cerebral commitment; it is a commitment where she has risked many times her personal safety to show how much she cared for the rights of others.

Thank you for saying those kind words about her. I am hoping that the Senate will give her a chance to continue to serve our Nation. Nomination of Lisa O. Monaco

Mr. President, I would like to speak now, if I can, to a vote that is coming up momentarily, and that is the vote for Lisa Monaco to be the next Deputy Attorney General.

The Deputy Attorney General--commonly known as the DAG--is the second highest ranking official in the Justice Department. The DAG is effectively the DOJ's chief operating officer, overseeing the Department's day-to-day operations.

Lisa Monaco may be the most qualified individual ever nominated to be Deputy Attorney General. That is saying something, but I think we can back it up. Her credentials include a wealth of experience, her commitment to restoring independence and integrity at the Justice Department, and the broad, broad range of support she has garnered.

Let me begin with her experience. She has served at nearly every level of the Justice Department. She knows that Agency, and she knows what it can do. She was an assistant U.S. attorney, counselor and chief of staff to the Director of the FBI, Associate Deputy Attorney General, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.

She is also one of the Nation's foremost national security experts. That is when I first met her, working in the Obama White House. As President Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor, Ms. Monaco coordinated the Federal Government's response to major security threats, including pandemics, terrorism, mass shootings, and cyber attacks.

Our Nation is facing serious challenges today: the COVID-19 pandemic; a gun violence pandemic; a surge in hate crimes; domestic violence extremism, which culminated in an assault on the U.S. Capitol and this very Chamber just a few short weeks ago; and global threats and challenges from Russia, China, and elsewhere. Ms. Monaco's experience responding to security threats has prepared her to oversee DOJ's operations at this critical moment in history.

But it is not only Ms. Monaco's national security expertise that makes her the right person for this role. After President Trump used the Justice Department to serve his own personal and political agenda, we need to restore a well-functioning, independent Department, committed to the principle of equal justice under the law. It is just that basic.

Ms. Monaco understands the importance of protecting DOJ's independence. She has praised two of her mentors, Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Bob Mueller, for their ``reverence for the institution, for upholding the norms and traditions of independence and of doing justice without fear or fervor, and never, ever letting politics or partisanship influence an investigation or prosecution decision.''

She committed to me that she would have the same reverence. That is precisely the attitude we need to restore the Justice Department's integrity.

It is no surprise, then, that individuals from across the political spectrum support Ms. Monaco's nomination. The Judiciary Committee received scores of letters from a broad range of advocacy groups: the Alliance for Justice, gun safety organizations, law enforcement groups, environmental organizations, victims and survivors of crime, and so many more.

We also received a letter supporting Ms. Monaco's nomination from 29 former senior DOJ officials who have served under Presidents of both parties, including Attorneys General Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, who served in the Obama administration, and Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, who served in the George W. Bush administration. She has that kind of bipartisan support.

Those DOJ officials wrote of Ms. Monaco: ``She has the values, temperament and strength to perform at the highest level of the Department.''

They went on to say: ``Each of us knows how demanding this job is, with its extraordinary span of control and the need for strong principled leadership. We believe that Ms. Monaco is highly qualified for this role. She knows the Department from every angle. She understands the job. And she has prepared well for it. We urge her confirmation.''

Attorney General Garland has praised Ms. Monaco's selection as the next Deputy Attorney General. He told us in the Judiciary Committee that he needed her on his leadership team at the Department, and so does the Nation. I look forward to voting for Ms. Monaco and urge all of my colleagues to do the same. Anniversary of Oklahoma City Bombing

Mr. President, it was an idyllic spring morning in Oklahoma City 26 years ago. Downtown, the Alfred P. Murrah Building was bustling with activity as people went about their morning routines. Parents dropped off their children at the daycare center on the second floor, office workers sat at their desks, with fresh mugs of coffee in hand--and parked under the building was a truck containing nearly 7,000 pounds of explosive materials.

At 9:02, the truck exploded, killing more than 165 people and injuring hundreds more. Oklahoma City and America would be forever scarred by the bombing. It was the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in modern American history. For most people, that day--April 19, 1995-- is a somber day in our history, but for some, it was an opening salvo in a war against America.

More than a quarter century after the Oklahoma City bombing, the threat of violent extremism looms larger than ever before. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security warned that violent, White supremacy is now the ``most persistent and lethal threat in the homeland.''

Among the hundreds of Americans arrested for suspected ties to violent White supremacy in recent years, a common theme has emerged: The FBI has uncovered references to Timothy McVeigh and his attack on Oklahoma City in ``several'' of these investigations. In the eyes of far-right extremists, McVeigh's attack on Oklahoma City is a lodestar, and like McVeigh, many of the violent extremists active today are motivated by baseless, anti-government conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories like the ``Big Lie,'' which inspired a mob of extremists to storm the Capitol on January 6.

More than 400 people are facing Federal charges for their involvement in the January 6 insurrection. Last week, we received word of the first guilty plea in that case. The defendant, who has agreed to fully cooperate with the Federal Government, is a founding member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group that helped plot the insurrection.

The defendant's affiliation with the Oath Keepers highlights an important distinction between the extremists of yesterday, like Timothy McVeigh, and the extremists of today. Today, violent White supremacists are not only peddling debunked conspiracy theories or disproven race science; they are organizing online, on radical platforms like 8chan and Parler, and coordinating attacks under the cover of anonymity. Worse yet, these radicals have easy access to high-grade military weapons designed for one purpose: human slaughter.

The extremists of today are galvanized. They are organized. And they are deadly. We must equip our law enforcement officials and intelligence agencies with new, modernized resources to combat the growing threat of violent White supremacy.

There are a number of steps we can take to weed out the threat of domestic terrorism. This week, the Senate is considering one such step: the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. It would direct Federal resources toward addressing the rise in hate crimes against members of the Asian- American and Pacific Islander, AAPI, community. This legislation must be passed immediately. Nearly 3,800 hate incidents against members of the AAPI community have been reported between March of last year and February of this year.

We also will consider Senator Blumenthal and Senator Moran's NO HATE Act, which has been added as an amendment to the bill to improve hate crimes reporting. In addition to that legislation, there are more comprehensive steps we can take to address the broader threat of domestic terrorism. In March, I reintroduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. It will enhance the Federal Government's ability to prevent acts of extremist violence. By establishing dedicated offices to combat domestic terrorism at the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act will bring the Federal Government's efforts to weed out violent White supremacy into the 21st century.

Congress must also take steps to limit access to the weapons of war favored by violent extremists. This is a no-brainer. The House recently passed a bipartisan bill to close existing gaps in the background checks system. I certainly hope we can find 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster and get that signed into law. Let me be clear: Background checks are table stakes for combatting the public health crisis that is gun violence in America. We are just 4 months into 2021, and already there have been more than 150 mass shootings in our country. It is time to put politics aside and save American lives.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I was honored to gavel in the confirmation hearing for the man who led the government's investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing: Attorney General Merrick Garland. Yesterday, with a slightly greyer head of hair and the full authority of the Justice Department behind him, Attorney General Garland returned to the site of the bombing. He promised the residents of Oklahoma City that ``the Department of Justice is pouring its resources into stopping domestic violent extremists before they can attack . . . prosecuting those who do . . . and battling the spread of the kind of hate that leads to tragedies like the one we mark here today.''

The question for us here in the Senate is, Will we help Attorney General Garland lead the charge against the largest threat we face today? Will we work together to save future lives against attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing?

In Attorney General Garland, we have a leader who is committed to weeding out the threat of domestic terrorism. Are there enough leaders in the Senate who are willing to do the same? I sure hope so. I hope they will join me in taking immediate, meaningful action to combat the crisis of violent extremism.
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