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Floor Speech
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, a few days ago--I think you were in the chair, and I was here--we saw the minority leader stand at that podium and pledge to cooperate with Republicans when nominees, he said, were highly qualified and bipartisan. It took less than 72 hours for the minority leader to violate that pledge.
Senate Democrats seem to be back to their old, tired habits of obstructing and opposing. Look at the confirmation process that we finished yesterday for the Central Intelligence Agency Director, John Ratcliffe.
Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, gave Director Ratcliffe a ringing endorsement. Director Ratcliffe ``is qualified for the job. He's a serious guy, and he's got the background. I've got confidence he'll do a good job.''
Yet Senator Schumer held up the confirmation process for 2 solid days.
Despite the delay, the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed this highly qualified Director--Director Ratcliffe--by a vote of 74 to 25. Twenty- one Democrats voted in favor of his confirmation, yet a 2-day delay.
I want every American to know what is happening here in the Senate. The far-left Members of the Democrat caucus are intentionally delaying the confirmation of President Trump's national security team. It is not advice and consent. It is the Democrats' playbook for trying to deny President Trump his Cabinet.
The Senate is preparing to vote this weekend on more highly qualified nominees. One of them is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Governor Noem is the nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security. She will secure the border.
In the first 3 days of the Trump administration, illegal encounters dropped nearly 35 percent compared to the final 3 days of the Biden administration. Nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants tried to cross in President Biden's final days in office. Under President Trump, the numbers plummeted, and they will continue to plummet. The impact of the Trump policies is real, and this is only the beginning.
Working with Kristi Noem, the Senate is going to secure the border. Governor Noem understands what is needed to tackle the border crisis. As she said in her hearing, she will ensure our Border Patrol agents and our Immigrations and Customs Enforcement group have all the tools, the resources, and the support that they need to carry out their mission efficiently and effectively.
As Governor, she sent South Dakota National Guard troops to Texas to help secure the border--Governor, National Guard troops to help in Texas. Oh, she is going to be aggressive in her mission to stop this flood of illegal immigrants.
I believe she is an excellent and well-qualified choice. After a thorough vetting process, Governor Noem received bipartisan support in the Homeland Security Committee. There are 15 members of the committee. Thirteen voted in favor of her; only two opposed. That is overwhelming and bipartisan.
Senator Gary Peters of Michigan--he is the lead Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee--he voted yes. Will Senator Schumer needlessly slow down a confirmation vote that his lead Democrat supports, just to obstruct President Trump?
When it comes to confirming Governor Noem, there is no time to waste. Few Agencies are more important to this Nation, to our safety, and to our security than the Department of Homeland Security. Any delay denies our country a Homeland Security Secretary at a time when open borders endanger every American in this country today--potential risk to their safety as well as their security.
Here in the Senate, Senate Republicans are working around the clock to confirm qualified nominees like Kristi Noem, like Scott Bessent for Treasury, like Sean Duffy. We will be in the Senate voting as long as it takes. How long it takes in the Senate is up to the Democrats to decide.
Our committees are approving additional nominees on a bipartisan basis and at a rapid clip. We need to confirm them on the Senate floor without delay, and that is what Republicans intend to do.
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