Cabinet Nominations

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, later today, we are going to have the first set of votes on the nomination of Pam Bondi to serve as Attorney General of the United States. Before we do, I would like to speak in support of her nomination.

Ms. Bondi made history as the first woman elected as Florida attorney general. She served for 8 years and was easily reelected to a second term because she did such a great job.

She fought against pill mills, eliminated the backlog of rape test kits, and stood for law and order.

There is no doubt that Ms. Bondi is highly qualified. She is capable of doing the job well, and she represents mainstream views shared by at least 77 million Americans who voted for change in the 2024 election. This should earn her the same bipartisan support this body gave to Attorney General Garland, including this Senator.

I am disappointed that none of my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee voted for Ms. Bondi, and I hope the full Senate takes a different approach. If my colleagues won't cross the aisle for this qualified nominee, they will show that their intent on opposing President Trump's picks are for purely partisan reasons.

Ms. Bondi is ready and able to serve our country, and she will work with President Trump to restore faith in the Justice Department. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting Ms. Bondi.

Later today, we will be working on the nomination of Christopher Wright of Colorado to be Secretary of Energy. I rise now to speak in support of that nomination.

In his confirmation hearing, Mr. Wright affirmed that he would testify before Congress when called upon. And I would also expect him to answer any questions from me and my colleagues here in the Congress.

I did not have the opportunity to meet with Mr. Wright, but if I had met with him, I would have told him about the importance of whistleblowers and the need to listen to whistleblowers--any of them-- in the Department of Energy.

Mr. Wright has spoken of the need to build out domestic energy through the use of multiple sources. I subscribe to an ``all of the above'' energy philosophy.

Some people only like all of the above the ground--wind and solar, as an example. Others only like all below the ground, like oil and gas. But when I say ``all of the above,'' I mean all of the above the ground and all the energy that can come from below the ground.

Iowa fits into this philosophy as a leader in alternative energy production. Over 60 percent of Iowa's electricity comes from wind turbines, which also sustains over 4,000 jobs across the State. Iowa is the No. 1 State for biofuel production. Ethanol and biodiesel contribute nearly $5 billion to the Iowa economy, often supporting rural communities.

Renewable natural gas is also a growing industry in Iowa, and I am hopeful to have nuclear energy join the generation mix once again as well.

I look forward to working with Mr. Wright to continue supporting America's energy dominance through an ``all of the above'' approach.

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