What Marsha Blackburn said, and what was done

“Mr. President, before I begin my remarks, I commend each of my colleagues who has come to the floor to speak on the Russia sanctions bill and how important it is that we get this passed.”

“Mr. President, on Monday, we saw yet another example of what has become disturbingly common, and that is an act of far-left terrorism. Outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, a man poured gasoline on the entrance, set it ablaze, and tossed fireworks into the raging flames.”

“KGB, and ``slave patrols.'' They have called them a ``clear and present danger,'' a ``reign of terror,'' and ``nondescript thugs.'' They have accused them of ``mayhem and death,'' ``terror and violence,'' and ``scar[ing] the American public.'' These are not statements from fringe figures.”

“Mr. President, I rise today with a very simple request: I am asking that the Senate speak with a unanimous voice in condemning one of the worst acts of judicial misconduct we have seen in years.”

“Mr. President, I think it is clear what Senator Durbin is doing today. He is seeking to protect a Democrat-appointed judge, appointed under President Obama, and trying to distract from her clear misconduct.”

“Mr. President, several of my colleagues and I are going to talk tonight about the importance of passing the SAVE America Act, and this is an issue the Senate should willingly take up.”

“Mr. President, America lost a fearless patriot in our friend Lindsey Graham. He devoted his life to serving the people of South Carolina and this Nation. He never shied away from a difficult fight, and he always stuck to his principles.”

“Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4329.”

“Mr. President, you know, it is always so interesting to hear the objections of my colleagues when it comes to something that is considered a pro-life measure. And pushing this bill forward and listening to my colleague--it just shows me that once again, they are not standing with that right to life.”

“Mr. President, I feel like I have probably worn the carpet out in this Chamber talking about Big Tech and what happens to our children when they are on different social media platforms, because it seems that repeatedly Big Tech makes the decision to put profit over the safety of our children.”

“Mr. President, I was doing a little bit of work this past weekend when I was in Tennessee and talking with Tennesseans about what is important to them.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to honor an exemplary leader, dedicated public servant, and distinguished soldier: Brigadier General Scott D. Wilkinson. Since 2024, General Wilkinson has served as both military deputy chief of legislative liaison and as chief of legislative liaison.”

“Mr. President, before I begin my remarks that I wanted to speak on today about law and order, I do have a couple of comments I wanted to make that came to mind as my colleague was speaking.”

“Mr. President, we are looking at Memorial Day weekend and certainly on Monday taking that time to pause and reflect on the brave men and women from Tennessee and, indeed, across the entire country who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedoms right here.”

“Air Force base which is in Tullahoma. In Millington, we have the naval air station. We also have our Army and Air National Guard facilities across our State.”

“Mr. President, here in DC this week is Police Week, and we are reflecting on the brave men and women who serve us in Tennessee and also across this country, where they are serving our communities every day with courage, with integrity, and with honor.”

“Well, they continue with this political charade, and we have now passed a budget resolution that is going to open the path for us for a targeted public safety reconciliation bill that is going to fund these issues through President Trump's term.”

“Mr. President, every American should be grateful that President Trump, Vice President Vance, the Cabinet, and thousands of other attendees were not harmed during Saturday's disturbing shooting that took place at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.”

“Mr. President, well here we are. And for more than 2 months, our colleagues and friends across the aisle have decided that they were going to hold the Department of Homeland Security shut down, kind of hold them hostage.”

“We should be prioritizing our Nation's security. And time and again, as I answered these questions, I would tell Tennesseans the Democrat agenda is completely at odds with the interests of the American people.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a milestone for one of west Tennessee's greatest treasures, the Memphis Zoo. Earlier this month, on April 4, 2026, the Memphis Zoo celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding.”

“Mr. President, well, today is tax day. It is not a day that conservatives usually celebrate, but this year it is a little bit different. And that is thanks to the working families tax cuts, the Big Beautiful Bill, that are allowing individuals to keep a lot more of their hard-earned money.”

“Mr. Bisignano is that they are really executing the mission that was put before them to drive efficiency, to process these claims, to answer questions, and to make certain that people know they can set those withholdings lower, and when they have got a deduction coming, they know how to claim that deduction, and that they get those refunds faster.”

“Madam President, I so appreciate our colleague from West Virginia and his commitment to our Nation's veterans and today, on Medal of Honor Day, that he was taking the time to recognize them.”

“Agencies; our U.S. marshal; our U.S. attorney. And, yes, a difference is being made. Residents had talked a lot about Memphis in 2024. They honestly could not walk outside their houses.”

“Mr. President, we are having quite a debate, and I do believe that the American people are learning quite a bit about the Democratic Members of the Senate and the Republican Members of the Senate as we go through this debate on the SAVE America Act.”

“I have had enough of that. He did an Executive order banning men from competing in women's sports. Secretary McMahon, who is doing a fabulous job as our Education Secretary, is investigating educational institutions all across the country that are violating title IX and are allowing men to compete in women's sports and thereby take away the opportunities from women.”

“Mr. President, you know, it is so interesting that we are finding ourselves here on a Thursday, and one of the pressing issues is DHS funding for Homeland Security.”

“Mr. President, I am so grateful that we are having this discussion on the floor. I will note that our friends across the aisle wanted a unanimous consent just to pass pay for TSA workers.”

“Mr. President, I am going to have some comments on the SAVE America Act, and I think it is appropriate that we move forward on that legislation. First, I want to talk a little bit about what has happened with the Department of Homeland Security.”

“Mr. President, one of the things I noticed about today is that it is March 4. That means it was exactly 8 months ago that President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cut Act.”

“Mr. President, new court documents that were made public last week revealed that nearly one in five--one in five--young teenagers have reported seeing ``nudity and sexual images on Instagram'' that they did not want to see.”

“We have had quite a feisty afternoon here on the floor, and I am so pleased that my colleagues have called out some of the actions that we have witnessed from the other side.”

“Mr. President, today, I rise to commend faith groups across the country for joining together in prayer for our Nation, as we near America's 250th anniversary. Causes like the Nehemiah Alliance's National 52-Day Rebuild Initiative offer a meaningful opportunity to unite in reflection on the enduring values that have guided our Nation since its founding: faith, family, freedom, hope, and opportunity.”

“Mr. President, 12,937 is the number of homes and businesses in Nashville that are still without power in the wake of Winter Storm Fern. Eleven days after the storm hit, still, 12,937 customers of Nashville Electric Service are still in the dark.”

“Guardsmen, first responders, local and State law enforcement who are working around the clock to keep people safe and get them out of the cold. As we work to recover from the storm, I am grateful that Elon Musk has donated generators to hundreds of Tennesseans who are still without power.”

“Mr. President, I would like to take a moment and express my gratitude for the Tennessee National Guard, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, our Governor, our electric power distributors, and our first responders, who are in every county, for working around the clock, as well as local elected officials.”

“The reason is simple: If Live Nation enforced its ticket-purchasing limits, then Ticketmaster would lose $220 million in resale revenue. But by working with the scalpers, it was able to collect fees at three different points in the purchase and resale process.”

“Mr. President, with all of this upheaval in Minnesota and certainly with some other States, Tennesseans are learning a whole lot more about what is happening in this country with fraud and how people are defrauding not only the Federal Government but many State and local governments as well.”

“For more than 20 years, Mr. Clark served as a store manager for Lowe's in Clarksville, TN, always looking for ways to give back to the community, including to the brave men and women who serve at Fort Campbell.”

“Mr. President, I think we are all pleased to be back with a new year and hard at work. One of the things that has really captured the attention of the American people in this new year is the amount of fraud that has been uncovered in Minnesota.”

“Mr. President, we heard so much over the weekend from Tennesseans who were reaching out, just so saddened by the series of truly devastating attacks we saw in Syria.”

“Mr. President, I am so pleased that my colleague from Oklahoma is on the floor and is talking about this issue that affects so many Americans. Indeed, in Tennessee, we have seen the impact of this.”

“So you have got 100,000 duplicate numbers enrolled in the program. In one case, a single Social Security number--one number--was used to apply for more than 125 policies.”

“Mr. President, last week, the day before Thanksgiving, our Nation's Capital experienced a horrific tragedy. Just blocks from the White House, two National Guard members were ambushed by a gunman.”

“Mr. President, what the Senator fails to mention is that the cities with the high crime problem are blue cities. They are blue cities. Also, what he should know is that 63 percent of the residents of Memphis support having the Memphis Safe Task Force fighting the crime that is there.”

“Mr. President, SNAP benefits have been in the news and a topic of much discussion, and those benefits for over 40 million Americans lapsed over the weekend because the Democrats have chosen to hold government funding hostage for political ``leverage''--their word--at the American people's expense.”

“Mr. President, today marks nearly a full month since the Schumer shutdown started. That was really the time when the Democrats decided to just go on strike and filibuster a clean CR.”

“The reason they are doing this is Democrat leader Chuck Schumer is holding the government hostage to ram through hundreds of billions of dollars in inflationary spending. In other words, we are not spending enough--$38 trillion in debt is not enough.”

“Mr. President, earlier this month, we discovered one of the worst abuses of government power in our Nation's history: The FBI, under President Biden, spied on eight U.S.”

“Mr. President, we know that under Joe Biden and Chris Wray's leadership, the FBI, it turns out, was truly rotten to the core. In many ways, they oversaw the worst political corruption of the justice system in our Nation's history, and now we have proof.”

“Mr. President, well, I am coming to the floor today as we find ourselves in the middle of the Schumer shutdown, and this is a time where, indeed, instead of being in the Schumer shutdown and having these shenanigans taking place, we should be in the middle of working hard for the American people.”

“Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Florida for bringing this resolution forward and for taking the time to honor a true American patriot Charlie Kirk. He was a champion for freedom, and he was a role model for millions of young people across our country.”

“Mr. President, I want to say right off the top, it was truly an honor to join President Trump at the White House on Monday. He assembled Senator Hagerty and I and some of the Federal Agencies in the Oval Office to sign an Executive order and to announce the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis.”

“Mr. President, we have known for years that Big Tech puts profit over our children's safety. Every parent will tell you this is an issue of concern for them.”

“Mr. President, over the last few weeks, I have spoken with countless Tennesseans who are really appreciating the One Big Beautiful Bill because they are learning of the impact that it is going to have on their families, on their businesses, and on their pocketbooks.”

“Mr. President, today marks day 212 of this new Congress under Republican leadership. I would offer to my colleagues this has been the most successful--the most successful--beginning of a Congress.”

“Look at the border. What we are seeing is a border that is secure. We know that we have some of the best numbers--the lowest illegal crossings that are coming across those borders.”

“Mr. President, if there are four words to describe the first 7 months of the Senate Republican majority, they would be ``promises made; promises kept.'' The American people gave us a mandate to secure the border, strengthen the economy, rein in wasteful spending, and make America great again, and that is exactly what we have done while working with President Donald Trump and his administration.”

“Mr. President, in November, President Trump and the Republicans really received a very powerful mandate from the American people. They wanted to make certain that our border was going to be secured and that we were going to strengthen the economy, get inflation under control, rein in wasteful government spending, get ourselves back on track, and make America great and prosperous and safe and secure once again.”

“Mr. President, I am so pleased that we are going to move forward today on the rescission package that has come over to us from the House. As I talk to Tennesseeans, one of the No. 1 things they talk about is the debt; what are we doing to stop the out-of-control spending and to get this national debt under control.”

“So in this document, we are going to remove $135 million from the World Health Organization, and from the U.N. Human Rights Council, $8 million. The reason to do this?”

“Mr. President, on Independence Day, it truly was an Independence Day for the citizens of this Nation. And our President, President Trump, made history. He signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill, a once-in-a-generation victory that fulfills his promise to make America great again.”

“Mr. President, yes, indeed, there were problems with the language in this amendment. And I regret that we weren't able to come to a compromise that would protect our Governors, our legislators, State legislators, our attorneys general, and, of course, House Members who have expressed concern over this language.”

“Mr. President, I do want to thank Senator Cruz for the work and the time that he put in trying to find a resolution to this issue. I do appreciate that.”

“Mr. President, last week, our Nation lost a revolutionary business leader, a committed philanthropist, an incredible Tennessean; his name, Fred Smith. Like all great leaders, Fred had a vision for a better future, and he did everything possible to make it happen.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand in recess under the previous order, following the remarks of my Democratic colleagues.”

“Mr. President, every day, our Nation's ICE officers are putting their lives on the line to get criminal illegal aliens out of the communities, and I wanted to see firsthand what they were going through.”

“Leader Jeffries said ICE agents should be unmasked ``no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes.'' This appalling effort from Democrats comes at a time when, as I said, these agents are facing a 500-percent increase in assaults--500 percent.”

“Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of the very patient Senator Cantwell.”

“Mr. President, recently, the American people have witnessed something that is truly disturbing to them. While President Trump is making America safe by getting criminal illegal aliens off the streets, what they have seen is some on the left are trying to stop the removal of criminal illegal aliens.”

“Mr. President, what we have come to realize is, under the last administration, the American people really suffered from open borders, crime, and lawlessness. And they spoke out about this, and, in November, they issued a mandate to President Trump.”

“Mr. President, for years, I have come to this floor and I have talked about what Big Tech is doing to our children in this country. There is an entire generation of children that have become the product when they are online on some of these social media platforms.”

“Drug dealers have used platforms from YouTube to Telegram to sell lethal drugs like fentanyl to teenagers, fueling our Nation's drug epidemic. The list goes on and on.”

“Mr. President, 100 years ago this November, the world of American music changed forever. Nashville's Grand Ole Opry hit the airwaves for the very first time. Today, fans across the country know it as country music's most famous stage.”

“Mr. President, when it comes to healthcare access, one of the biggest issues that Tennesseans face is rising costs, especially on prescription drugs. I will tell you, this comes up in meeting after meeting, questions about why our pharmaceuticals are costing me so much.”

“Mr. President, yesterday did indeed mark the 100th day of President Trump's second term, and I think, if you were to pick four words that really describe his first 100 days, it would be promises were made, and promises are being kept.”

“If you want to go through some of these, let's start at the southern border. Under President Biden, criminals, terrorists, and traffickers were flowing across that border, but because President Trump on day one took Executive action to secure that border, illegal crossings are at their lowest level in decades.”

“Mr. President, in recent days, Middle and West Tennesseans have faced severe storms that have truly upended the lives of many of our communities and our citizens. Over 4 days, parts of our State saw more than 12 inches of rainfall.”

“Mr. President, to speak on my objection, I think it is important to note that the resolution I presented does not mention Elon Musk. The ``Resolved'' title in this--and by the way, it is really short is that the Senate condemns the horrific acts of violence, arson, and domestic terrorism committed against electric vehicles, car dealerships, and charging stations across the United States.”

“Mr. President, there can be no doubt, Elon Musk is a patriot. He has revolutionized entire industries, whether it is PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink. Across his businesses, there are so many things that he could be working on, but when President Trump asked him to join the administration, he answered that call.”

“Mr. President, last week, our Nation lost a fearless entrepreneur, beloved cook, and Tennessee institution: Miss Daisy King. For more than five decades, Miss Daisy blessed our State with her incredible talent for southern cooking.”

“Madam President, last month Tennessee lost a great man, public servant, and community leader: Sheriff Wayne Potter. For almost three decades, Sheriff Potter served the citizens of Morgan County as a member of law enforcement.”

“Mr. President, since Hamas's barbaric attack on Israel on October 7 of last year, many of our Nation's top universities have abandoned their Jewish students. Instead of providing a place to learn, they have become hotbeds of anti-Semitism, anti-American hatred, and open support for terrorism.”

“Mr. President, I think everyone so enjoyed listening to the State of the Union Address last night, and for so many Tennesseans--we have heard from them today--they were excited, they felt hopeful, and they also are watching very closely what the actions of the House and the Senate are going to be.”

“Mr. President, last November, the American people returned President Donald Trump to the Oval Office with a mandate to restore common sense in government, and in many ways, this common sense was most needed on the issue of protecting women and girls.”

“Mr. President, I find my colleague's comments so very interesting, and I think it would have served him well to actually read the resolution. So I am going to read part of it so that my colleagues know what this does because it does talk about celebrating these athletes.”

“Mr. President, there is an issue that I have spoken about so often on this floor, and it is one that should concern each and every one of us; and that is the issue of human trafficking and sex trafficking that is happening in this country.”

“Mr. President, today, after 4 years of reckless spending and decades of high inflation under the Biden-Harris administration, our national debt now sits at $36.4 trillion. In many ways, this number represents one of the biggest threats to our Nation, as interest payments on the debt now eclipse our country's total defense spending.”

“Mr. President, nothing is more important than our national security and this Nation's sovereignty, and that means we must control our borders. That is why, in November, the American people gave President Trump an overwhelming mandate to finally go secure these borders.”

“Day, for example, President Trump restored many of the successful policies from his first administration that former President Biden had ended, including the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy, border wall construction, and enhanced vetting of all aliens trying to come into this country.”

“I also have a bipartisan bill, the National Human Trafficking Database Act. It would establish a national human trafficking database at the Department of Justice and incentivize State law enforcement agencies to report crucial data.”

“Mr. President, I concur with the remarks of my colleague from Alabama. We are looking forward to confirming Pete Hegseth. We are looking forward to working every single day until we get this Cabinet completed.”

“Mr. President, 100 years ago this November, the world of American music changed forever: Nashville's Grand Ole Opry hit the airwaves for the very first time. Ever since, ``Country's Most Famous Stage'' has hosted the music tradition's biggest stars, from Hank Williams and Dolly Parton to Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash.”

“Mr. President, I have to say, I think the remarks I planned today are so pertinent to what is taking place in our world as we are hearing about the Trump effect actually bringing forward a deal with Israel, Hamas, and the hostages because my remarks today are centered on UNRWA, the U.N.”

“Mr. President, last week I joined one-third of this Chamber in taking the oath of office so that we could start a new term of Congress and celebrate what it means to be able to say: This is our new start.”