What John Cornyn said, and what was done

“Mr. President, Mr. Fetterman and I appreciate the work being done to advance the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, H.R.5334, in the Senate.”

“Mr. President, 4 years ago, Congress passed our legislative response to one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. It happened in Uvalde, TX, at Robb Elementary School.”

“Another misconception I heard on the campaign trail or saw on social media was that we somehow created a mandatory waiting period before somebody could access a firearm if they were going into a store to purchase it for those under 21.”

“Mr. President, I just wanted to say there is one thing that Senator Tillis said that I disagree with, and that is that he said he is not a statesman.”

“And one of the things that I learned back, years ago, when I had a protective detail and I was the whip, is my Capital Police officer said there is this phenomenon, which I never fully appreciated before.”

“Mr. President, there is an old Chinese saying attributed to Deng Xiaoping that goes: Hide your strength, [and] bide your time. Hide your strength, [and] bide your time.”

“Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 410, S. 736; Calendar No. 411, S. 825; Calendar No. 412, S. 3041; Calendar No. 414, S. 4394; Calendar No. 419, S. 1890.”

“Mr. President, I ask further unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments, where applicable, be agreed to; and that the bills, as amended, where amended, be considered read a third time.”

“I now ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered and read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”

“I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.”

“Mr. President, the Senator from Oregon is prepared to let this essential foreign intelligence surveillance tool go dark unless we accede to his demands. And frankly, the demand for a warrant to search lawfully collected foreign intelligence makes no sense whatsoever.”

“Mr. President, once again, the Senator from Washington is objecting to a clean extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, section 702, which would prevent us from going dark on foreign intelligence risks and threats to our country.”

“I apologize to my friend the Senator from Oregon. I do know the difference between Oregon and Washington, and I am not confused about that. Mr. President, there is a risk of this necessary and critical intelligence tool not being extended.”

“Mr. President, all we are asking for is an extension--a clean extension--of the current law, which includes a lot of the reforms that the Senator from Oregon has advocated for and gotten included in the current state of the legislation.”

“Mr. President, as one last response, there is absolutely no justification for risking this program going dark on Friday. These negotiations can and should continue. That is how we solve problems around here on a bipartisan basis, but we don't risk catastrophe with our national security in exchange for demands that could well be addressed during an extension until July 2.”

“Committee hearing, some of our colleagues suggested that the United States started a war against Iran 92 days ago. I believe the facts are to the contrary. Iran started a war against the United States and our ally Israel in 1979 from the date of the Iranian Revolution.”

“We know that peace is not just the absence of war. We don't want a phony peace or a frail peace. We didn't go in pursuit of some kind of illusory detente.”

“Mr. President, eight decades ago, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement now known as the 1944 Water Treaty to govern the sharing of waters in the Colorado River and the Rio Grande.”

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today to seek unanimous consent that the Senate pass H.R. 4371, the House companion to my Kayla Hamilton Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.”

“Mr. President, as I listen to our colleague, he basically says: The perfect is the enemy of the good. So the good thing about this legislation is it would protect a lot of innocent, vulnerable children, something the Biden administration turned a blind eye to during 4 years of its open border policies.”

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor to talk about a law that most people will have never heard of, but it is very, very important to our national security.”

“And no one knows that better than President Trump, who is the daily consumer of this information. Again, 60 percent of his daily intelligence brief is composed of section 702 intelligence.”

“Mr. President, today I rise to honor a program that has helped shape generations of Texans who come to Washington not simply to observe public service, but to participate.”

“The Archer Center's mission is to educate the next generation of leaders and promote civic engagement, civil discourse, and public service. These foundational principles have united our country for 250 years, and it is essential now more than ever to instill them in our students.”

“Mr. President, we are almost at the end of April, and the Department of Homeland Security has been shuttered since February. It is incredible to me that at a time when the geopolitics of the world make the likelihood of domestic terrorist attacks greater than usual, that our Democratic colleagues would simply reflexively oppose funding for the Department of Homeland Security because they don't believe immigration laws should be enforced.”

“In recent years, the scientific community has also expressed its own concerns. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released a statement earlier this year recommending against gender transition surgeries for minors.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate a historic milestone in one of our Nation's oldest diplomatic partnerships as we look toward America's 250th anniversary. Recently, in The Hague, Netherlands, the United States Ambassador's residence was officially designated as Adams House.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent in a few minutes that the Senate pass my legislation, the No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act. Last month, America was shocked to learn that Cesar Chavez, who was famous for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement, had a long history of preying on women and children.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, so if I understand the Senator correctly, on the same day that two Members of Congress have resigned as a result of sexual misconduct, we are going to not address this travesty that Cesar Chavez has inflicted upon his victims--women and children--out of concern for the farmworkers movement.”

“Mr. President, we can do what the Senator from New Mexico suggests. We can have a discussion about what would be an appropriate way to recognize the contribution of farmworkers in this country without honoring a monster in the process.”

“Madam President, Democrats' radical base and the leftwing media have made it abundantly clear that Trump derangement syndrome has clouded their ability to call a spade a spade and to actually recognize reality.”

“Mr. President, as you and we can all see, the cherry blossoms are popping out along the Potomac River and around the Capitol and are approaching peak bloom.”

“Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Cornyn amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”

“Madam President, I am glad the Senate has agreed with this commonsense bill to prevent those of us who pass laws--or, in this case, refuse to pass the laws funding DHS appropriations--to prevent us from receiving special privileges.”

“Mr. President, I am back again to address the SAVE America Act, and what I can't really get my brain around is the fact that in a recent poll, 71 percent of Americans support the SAVE America Act.”

“Mr. President, I came back to Washington, DC, on Monday afternoon and decided I was going to leave some hamburgers--some Whataburgers--it is a famous hamburger from Texas--with some of the TSA agents who have not received a paycheck now for two pay periods.”

“Of course, we are all familiar with the incidents that have occurred in New York, in Virginia, in Michigan at the synagogue, and numerous other places which will be repeated time and time again as long as Democrats decide not to pay the very people whom we are depending on to investigate these cases and protect the American people.”

“I have been taking the time in recent days to walk through some of the lesser known provisions of the Working Families Tax Cut Act that, all of which combined, will make life more affordable for the American people and the people I represent back home in Texas.”

“Mr. President, with the change of our clocks in recent days, the Sun seems to shine later in the day and days are getting longer. We are even starting to feel signs of spring in the air here in Washington, DC.”

“We also built on these successes by bolstering the employer-provided child tax credit. This credit rewards businesses that provide childcare to their employees, whether by constructing an onsite daycare center or by assisting employees with subsidies or other options that help them afford childcare.”

“Mr. President, there is an old saying that you can tell a lot about a person by who their friends are. It is also the case you can tell a lot about a person by who their friends are not, and this could easily be said about many within the Democratic Party at this time.”

“State of the Union when many Democrats couldn't even find it within themselves to stand up and celebrate the U.S. Olympic hockey team who had just won a gold medal in an epic victory against our neighborhood to the north.”

“Mr. President, as the whole world knows, yesterday evening President Trump gave his State of the Union Address. It is one of our country's finest traditions that the President personally gives an update to the American people on what he has done over the last year, before a joint session of Congress, and what he intends to do in the future.”

“Through the Working Families Tax Cut Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, we were able to extend and make permanent many parts of President Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

“Mr. President, just over a month ago, a video went viral on the internet that exposed a shocking fraud scheme by Somali nationals in Minnesota. An organization that went by the name of ``Quality Learning Center''--or ``Quality Learing Center,'' as they misspelled it--was receiving massive amounts of Federal funding--by some estimates, more than $1 million--under the pretext of providing childcare.”

“But the notion that this young man should be somehow ashamed for shining a light on this fraud that occurs in Minnesota is simply absurd. The mainstream media once again is failing the test of objectivity.”

“I would like to talk about a topic that may seem irrelevant to the average person at first glance, but it actually affects all of us a great deal more than we might imagine.”

“Mr. President, I know the midterm elections aren't until November 2026, but there have been some surprising results recently in some of the special elections that have been held around the country, most recently in a State senate seat in Texas, over the weekend.”

“Make no mistake, our Democrat colleagues have a well-organized ground game, and they will stop at nothing to undermine the gains we have seen just in a single year, since President Trump came into office.”

“Mr. President, my Republican colleagues and I spent a great deal of time this Congress focused on securing justice for victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens. Unfortunately, during the last administration, the Biden administration was completely what I would call willfully blind to the threat posed by people coming unvetted across our borders.”

“Mr. President, we are back for a short workweek, following the holidays, and, boy, is our plate full. But I think it is appropriate to take just a few minutes to reflect on the incredible progress we have made last year under the leadership of President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Thune, and Speaker Mike Johnson.”

“Mr. President, I honor today Mr. Dennis E. Nixon for his commitment as one of our Nation's leading banking authorities and executives, particularly for his 50 years of extraordinary service to the broader Texas communities and Texas banking industry.”

“Center, where he serves as a senior member of the board of visitors, demonstrating his commitment to improving the health and quality of life for all citizens. In 2006, Mr.”

“Mr. President, after Mayor Mamdani was elected in New York City, the word ``affordability'' became all the buzz among the political classes and among the media as if this were something new.”

“Mr. President, I have long been, like many of us, an advocate for protecting the victims of child sexual abuse, and I have long believed that anybody who commits such a heinous crime must be held accountable.”

“Madam President, a few weeks ago, I spoke about the tragic death of a National Guard servicemember here in Washington, DC, on the eve of Thanksgiving. While I salute and we should all salute the bravery of those who risk their lives to keep us safe, we can't ignore the reality that this woman was yet another unnecessary victim of President Biden's careless immigration policies.”

“We must expose the previous administration's mistakes so we can learn from those, and together we can ensure that the awful tragedy that happened on November 26 will not happen again.”

“Mr. President, in Texas, my constituents who are on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, otherwise known as ObamaCare, are experiencing an 18-percent increase in their insurance premiums. Now, if you look at employer-provided coverage, which covers many, many more Americans, those increases in costs are going up, roughly, in the 5- to 6-percent range.”

“Mr. President, one of the things we have to do before we open our Christmas presents in a couple of weeks is to pass the National Defense Authorization Act.”

“Mr. President, we have a little over 2 weeks before the Christmas recess, and we still have a lot of work to do here in the U.S. Senate, including passing a fully conferenced National Defense Authorization Act bill--by that, I mean reconcile the differences between the House version and the Senate version and get it to the President for his signature.”

“Mr. President, I spoke earlier this week about the tragic incident that happened over the week of Thanksgiving here in Washington, DC, when two National Guardsmen were shot in the line of duty, and one of them died of her wounds.”

“TANF; and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. So not only did they come in unvetted and were allowed to stay here for 2 years, but they were given a work permit and given benefits that are paid for by you and me and the rest of the American taxpayers.”

“Madam President, on another matter, we have only three scheduled workweeks before Christmas. Compared to what the Senate had left on its plate last year, I think a great deal of praise is in order for our leadership--Senator Thune and Senate Republicans generally--for getting so much done in the last 11 months.”

“Madam President, as we all know, we are back from the Thanksgiving holiday where most of us--I hope all of us--had a chance to spend some time with our family and show thanks for the blessings that we have experienced, first and foremost of which is to live in a country like the United States of America.”

“Mr. President, next July, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great country. As we approach this monumental commemoration, it is worth reflecting from time to time on the enduring principles that have made our Nation unique in the world.”

“Mr. President, we are now over a month into a shutdown caused by the refusal of Senate Democrats to vote for a short-term, stopgap spending bill that expires November 21.”

“Madam President, the name ``Hezbollah'' has become increasingly familiar in recent years to Americans as one of Iran's main proxy groups committed to the destruction of Israel and even the United States.”

“Nicolas Maduro, was indicted in the Southern District of New York for facilitating cocaine and weapons trafficking between his own government and Hezbollah. A Venezuelan businessman was also found to have provided resources to Hezbollah, including ideological and military training and networks for illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, it is an amazing picture to me to see our Democratic colleagues resisting restoration of law and order in these communities across our country, including in the Nation's Capital--here--where the Mayor, Mayor Bowser, has welcomed the deployment of National Guard to help keep the peace and support local law enforcement in enforcing the law.”

“Bowser as an example, here in DC, of how to work with the Federal Government to enforce the laws and make their cities safer. As I indicated earlier, here in the District of Columbia, it is like day and night, compared to how it was under the previous administration.”

“Madam President, today is the 20th day of the Schumer shutdown, and people around the country are beginning to feel the effects of the shutdown. For example, here, nearly all Federal employees from government Agencies to those working here in the Senate Chamber will have missed their first paycheck.”

“Mr. President, after more than 2 years of bloodshed, 20 living hostages and the remains of at least 7 deceased hostages were recently returned to their families in Israel by Hamas.”

“If this amendment sounds familiar, it is. It passed the 118th Congress by a vote of 91 to 6. Simply stated, this is a transparency bill that will give us some insight into the amount of money being invested in the People's Republic of China and the extent to which those investment dollars are directly flowing into the arsenal of our greatest strategic adversary: the People's Republic of China.”

“Madam President, here we go again. Three days ago, Democrats voted against a stopgap spending bill that would keep the government open for the benefit of 320 million American citizens.”

“Mr. President, I would like to ask unanimous consent that the following Commerce Committee detailees be granted floor privileges for the remainder of Congress: Thomas Hastings, Joseph St.”

“Mr. President, for a long time, the United States has benefited from free and competitive global markets. For too long, we have relied on conventional wisdom that engaging with China--in particular, the Chinese Communist Party--by bringing them into the global marketplace would be mutually beneficial.”

“China decided to begin rapidly subsidizing their own rare earth industry. China benefits from some unfortunate advantages in this competition. They have lower labor costs because they are less concerned than we are in the United States about ensuring that workers are paid fairly and kept safe.”

“Madam President, I want to begin my remarks this afternoon by reflecting on the tragic shooting at the Dallas ICE Facility that happened this last week. One detainee was killed and two others were injured by a 29-year-old shooter who was later found dead on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

“Keeping the government open will mean no poison pills or reckless partisan posturing. This is what he said just last year about a government shutdown. Where is that man today?”

“Mr. President, since he was sworn into office on January 20 of this year, President Trump has done more for the cause of peace in Eastern Europe than the Biden administration did in the 3 previous years.”

“Mr. President, I want to begin by thanking our colleagues--particularly from Oklahoma and Alabama--for leading the working group that was appointed by the majority leader to try to solve this problem.”

“Mr. President, of course, I am disappointed that our colleague from California is objecting on behalf of the Democrats in the Chamber, but I just want to summarize what I think I heard him say.”

“Mr. President, I know all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, are anxious to be able to go back home and talk to their constituents, perhaps have a long-delayed medical procedure or doctor visit, or simply take a family vacation during the traditional August recess.”

“Mr. President, in the United States, we justly pride ourselves on being a nation of laws. This is one of the things that makes our country different from the rest of the world.”

“States, illegal aliens are not entitled to the same range of due process as U.S. citizens, especially when they neglect or refuse to show up in the first place when the notice to appear has been given, but they simply reject it.”

“Mr. President, I know I am not the only one who feels like time flies, but it is hard for me to imagine that it has only been 6 months since President Trump was sworn into office--6 months.”

“Mr. President, next year, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation's founding, and I am glad that in anticipation of this great celebration, President Trump has issued an Executive order outlining preparations that our country will make to celebrate this anniversary.”

“The second-floor popular culture exhibit--probably the most popular in the museum--is a Marxist struggle session. Every single exhibit is interpreted through a race-class-gender lens. Is that really what we want to be teaching the upcoming generation of Americans at our most esteemed museums?”

“Madam President, time flies these days, but it was just over a week ago when the House and the Senate passed what President Trump called the One Big Beautiful Bill, just in time for him to sign it before the deadline that he himself requested of July 4th.”

“Madam President, 2 days ago, I came to the floor to speak about the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, and I would like to update my colleagues on the status of those recovery operations and also to express my gratitude to many of them who have reached out and offered their condolences--not to me but through me to my constituents and the people who are still grieving and who were so adversely affected by this natural disaster.”

“Mr. President, I was here in 2017, when we passed the original Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and what ensued was, perhaps, the greatest amount of economic growth and the greatest reduction of unemployment among all sorts of folks who historically have suffered high unemployment rates.”

“Mr. President, as every high school student of government knows, the Constitution of the United States of America provides for three coequal branches of government: the legislative branch under article I; the judicial branch under article III; and the executive branch under article II.”

“The President can also enter into executive agreements with foreign nations which do not require Senate approval but are binding during that President's term. The President, as part of his diplomatic powers, also serves as our primary representative in international relations.”

“Mr. President, one of the most important innovations that President Trump has brought to the Nation is the Department of Government Efficiency. And, of course, this has been headed by Elon Musk, during his term as a temporary government employee.”

“Madam President, before we left last week for the recess, of course, the House did what it was supposed to do by passing President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.”

“Secretary Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, began her tenure as the head of President Trump's Homeland Security agenda by sending a clear message that she intends to enforce the laws that prevent illegal immigration.”

“Mr. President, Jocelyn Nungaray was a 12-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered just north of Houston last June. The two suspects who committed this ghastly crime were illegal immigrants who never should have been in our country in the first place.”

“Madam President, America is an exceptional nation: freedom of religion, freedom of speech and of the press; private property rights; free and fair elections; the rule of law and an independent judiciary.”

“One particular event in Bucha stands out. Russian troops intentionally massacred more than 400 civilians, apparently as part of a systematic clearing operation to secure their path to the capital, Kyiv.”

“I am going to be very interested to see how our Democratic colleagues react to some of these sensible spending cuts or rescissions. So far, what they have done is they have been in complete opposition to anything and everything that the Trump administration has proposed, including the Department of Government Efficiency.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 3:23 p.m., adjourned until Monday, May 5, 2025, at 3 p.m.”

“I now ask for a second reading and, in order to put the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.”

“Mr. President, the Senate has made good progress on implementing President Trump's agenda. After just 100 days, we have confirmed his Cabinet. We are now working on a number of Ambassadors, and we have passed budget resolutions in the House and the Senate.”

“Well, we know President Biden--I think unwisely--granted work authorizations to many of the illegal immigrants that were released into the interior of the United States, which further incentivized illegal immigration.”

“Mr. President, I want to start my remarks today by thanking President Trump, Secretary Rollins, Secretary Rubio, and Deputy Secretary of State Landau for their efforts in securing a new agreement with the country of Mexico to send much needed water to South Texas.”

“Madam President, on another matter, we have just arrived back in the Nation's Capital following a couple weeks back home, and I am glad to report that I was able to put that time to good use.”

“Mr. President, there has been a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth in the mainstream media about President Trump's commonsense immigration enforcement agenda. That is one of the reasons he got elected on November 5.”

“So we have to get this bill over the finish line by sometime this summer. In addition to preventing the biggest tax increase in history, this bill will provide an opportunity for us to take important steps in controlling spending and addressing our national debt.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 148. There being no objection, under the previous order and pursuant to the provisions of S.”

“Mr. President, I have spoken before about my constituent, my fellow Texan, Elon Musk here on the floor and recounted the fact that it was really, maybe, probably--at least 15 years ago, maybe a little longer, when he came to my office here in Washington, DC, and said he had a new company called SpaceX, and he wanted to compete for the business of NASA and commercial space.”

“Mr. President, I was happy to be back home last week, as were, I am sure, all the Members of the Senate. And as typically happens--as I was explaining to my constituents--typically, we are in session here about 3 weeks out of the month, and then we have a week back home where we can travel our States.”

“In addition to desalination, we had a great discussion about the importance of the Port of Corpus Christi and the product that passes through that port that helps America's energy independence and helps our friends and allies around the world.”

“Mr. President, a lot has changed in Washington, DC, in the last 6 weeks. That is an understatement, perhaps. But one of the things that President Trump has done is shifted the Overton window when it comes to the People's Republic of China.”

“Mr. President, last night, the House of Representatives passed a short-term government funding bill that would extend funding through the end of this fiscal year. That is the end of September.”

“Madam President, last week, I came to the floor to debunk some of our Democratic colleagues' myths, disinformation, mistaken information about the work of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.”

“I guess nobody likes to talk about taxes because, on one hand, people say: Well, you know, people need to keep more of their hard-earned money. On the left, what they like to say is, you are giving billionaires a tax cut and leaving average wage earners and working families high and dry.”

“The stark reality and the fact is, if Congress fails to extend the Trump tax cuts that expire at the end of this year, the average family of four making $75,000 a year will face a $1,500 tax increase next year.”

“Mr. President, I was glad to see President Zelenskyy clearly express his gratitude to President Trump and the American taxpayer for our support for the country of Ukraine over the last 3 years.”

“Mr. President, there is a lot going on here in Washington, DC. That is an understatement. But I want to highlight the meeting that I had--that I attended, along with many of my Senate colleagues--last week, with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency team.”

“Mr. President, as everybody knows, tonight, President Trump will give an address to a joint session of Congress. I look forward to attending the President's address, and I am happy to welcome my friend Abraham George, who will join me as a guest tonight.”

“President Biden refused to enforce other laws. After undoing the successful Executive orders made by the first President Trump administration, President Biden then decided to circumvent Congress and attempt to make illegal immigration legal using temporary programs that were never intended for that purpose.”

“There is a reason why Secretary Mayorkas, the former Secretary of Homeland Security who was responsible for implementing the border security measures of the Biden administration--there was a reason why he was impeached by the House of Representatives.”

“Mr. President, I know there is a lot going on in Washington, DC, these days given the speed and the aggressiveness with which President Trump and his administration have attacked his agenda, and I use that in a very positive way.”

“Time is running short to make any potential conflict with China undesirable from their standpoint--in other words, to reestablish deterrence. But the good news is, we have a number of tools available to us and a track record of success on confronting the threat of the CCP during the Trump administration.”

“Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, President Trump issued an Executive order titled ``Protecting Second Amendment Rights.'' This Executive order reaffirmed constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, which, of course, is part of the Bill of Rights--the most precious of those rights and liberties that have been protected since the beginning of our country.”

“Mr. President, last week, the Senate voted to confirm Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General. I was proud to support her nomination both at the Senate Judiciary Committee level and on the Senate floor.”

“Mr. President, the Governor of the great State of Texas, Greg Abbott, has made a request to the U.S. Congress to reimburse our State for the expenses we have incurred in attempting to combat the Texas-Mexico border security crisis during the 4 years of the Biden administration.”

“Madam President, last week, the Senate voted to confirm Chris Wright as President Trump's Secretary of Energy. The United States has been blessed with incredible natural resources, and it is something, frankly, that it seems like President Biden sought to deny the American people the benefits of that endowment with vast natural resources.”

“Last month, an illegal migrant from Mexico was caught with a blowtorch near the side of the Kenneth fire--one of the deadly fires that was ravaging Los Angeles.”

“Mr. President, I want to start by thanking my friend and colleague Senator Lankford from Oklahoma in organizing a colloquy here recognizing the importance of protecting the lives of the unborn and to bring us together today to make a statement about the importance of standing up for the right to life.”

“Mr. President, as the world knows by now, yesterday, President Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. I think he is only the second President who has been sworn in on two different occasions.”

“Mr. President, yesterday, I highlighted some of President Biden's final actions as he leaves--parting gifts, if you will. Today, I would like to highlight another of his parting gifts.”

“Madam President, yesterday I came to the floor of the U.S. Senate to talk about the importance of promptly confirming President Trump's Cabinet. The American people having voted for President Trump, having said that they are unhappy with the direction the country is going in is entitled to his team to help him actually do what he said he would do during the campaign.”

“Mr. President, we just locked in a vote on my amendment. I would like to call up my amendment No. 14 to Senate amendment No. 8 and ask that it be reported by number.”

“Mr. President, I want to offer an amendment that would add one more crime to the list covered by this legislation, and that would be assault of a law enforcement officer.”

“Madam President, last week, I had a chance to lay out some of my top priorities for the new Congress as Republicans take the helm. Today, I want to elaborate on the first of those priorities, which is to confirm President Trump's Cabinet.”

“Mr. President, with the new session of the Senate and a new majority in the House and the Senate--actually, the House had the majority but the Senate has a new majority--and President Trump in the White House, one of the first things that Members of the Senate had to do is to choose which committees to serve on.”

“But there is still about $700 billion of mandatory spending that the Federal Government spends each year that is, essentially, on autopilot. We can address these mandatory spending programs by implementing commonsense reforms to programs like SNAP--otherwise known as food stamps--that have grown unchecked for years.”

“Mr. President, as you know, last Friday, the Senate swore in new leaders for the 119th Congress, and in 2 weeks, the new Commander in Chief will be sworn in for a second time.”