What Ruben Gallego said, and what was done

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: No on rollcall vote No. 196, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 779 Jeffrey T.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: No on rollcall vote No. 177, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 760, Michelle Steel, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to mark an important step in the fight against wildfires with the passage of my Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act. Like many Western States, my home State of Arizona is a patchwork of Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands.”

“Mr. President, imagine this: Your kid is studying abroad, and they call to tell you their laptop has been stolen; they can't do coursework--or, worse, that they were in an accident and ended up in the hospital.”

“The Trump administration withdrew this commonsense guidance, signaling to bad actors that they can engage in deceptive marketing about remittance transfers without fear of facing any real consequences from the current CFPB.”

“Mr. President, when I talk to people in Arizona, they tell me they want their politicians to focus on helping them afford healthcare, buy a home, put groceries on the table, and fill up the tank.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 63, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 696 Markwayne Mullin, of Oklahoma, to be Secretary of Homeland Security.”

“Mr. President, 12 days ago, Donald Trump took us to war against Iran. Since then, 7 American servicemembers have been killed, and 140 more have been wounded. Instead of protecting our troops, Trump is making it easier for enemies to kill them.”

“Mr. President, 25 years ago, I made the best decision of my life and became a U.S. marine. I fought in Lima Company 3/25 alongside some of the bravest men I have ever known, and some of my closest friends didn't make it back.”

“Mr. President, today marks 5 years since January 6, the day a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn a free and fair election and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.”

“I rise today to recognize the recent visit to America of the spiritual leader of the world's second largest Christian Church, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. His All-Holiness has been a leader in the causes of religious liberty, religious tolerance and international peace.”

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor three times now to call for release of the Epstein files. Earlier today, the House voted to release the full files, and later today, I hope, this Chamber will do the same.”

“Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of my good friend and the duly elected Member of Congress for Arizona's Seventh Congressional District, Adelita Grijalva. It has now been 44 days since the people of Southern Arizona voted overwhelmingly to send Adelita to Congress.”

“Mr. President, in closing, the constituents of Adelita Grijalva have voted. They have voted, and they have spoken in the most democratic way that we have established under our Constitution.”

“Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Extension Act, bipartisan legislation led by my colleagues Senator Peters and Senator Rounds. For nearly a decade, this law has been one of our most effective tools to protect Americans from cyber attacks.”

“Mr. President, the authority already is expired. Every day we delay, our cyber defenders have less information to work with, and Americans are less safe. This isn't a partisan issue.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 451, Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 95 Joseph Kent, of Washington, to be Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

“Mr. President, Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. She was a traitor to this country. She was part of the violent mob that tried to overthrow our democracy. I was there on January 6, as so many of my colleagues in the House and Senate were.”

“Mr. President, today, we had a chance to stand with the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country in uniform. Ashli Babbitt is not that.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following vote, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 450, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 182 Thomas Gaiser, of Ohio, to be an Assistant Attorney General.”

“Madam President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 439, confirmation of David Wright, of South Carolina, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall Vote No. 426, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 91, Arielle Roth, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.”

“Mr. President, last week, I stood here and introduced a simple resolution calling on the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, but a Republican Senator blocked it.”

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me explain to the American people what just happened. My colleague from Oklahoma refused to join me in calling on the DOJ to release all the Epstein files.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted yes on rollcall vote No. 306, motion to discharge S.J. Res. 53, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar of certain defense articles and services.”

“Mr. President, the Senate just had the chance to demand transparency and stand up for the truth. Instead, my colleagues chose to protect the powerful and perpetuate years of misinformation.”

“Mr. President, cutting funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would devastate local public media, especially rural and Tribal areas where CPB funds make up the majority of their budgets.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 301, confirmation of Stephen Vaden, of Tennessee, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.”

“Mr. President, I rise today to offer a motion to strike provisions that cut Medicaid funding for substance abuse disorder treatments. Families across the country are facing the heartbreaking reality of loved ones battling substance abuse disorders.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: no on rollcall vote No. 302, motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 117, Andrew Hughes, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.”

“Mr. President, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 308, Confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 173 William Long, to be Commissioner of IRS.”

“Mr. President, on May 14, 2025, I was unfortunately unable to cast my vote on rollcall vote No. 256, the confirmation of Eric M. Ueland to be Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget.”

“Mr. President, we made some great progress this past week. I greatly--greatly--appreciate the work that we have done in a bipartisan manner. I want to thank my fellow colleagues across the aisle: Senator Warner, Senators Lummis, Hagerty, Chairman Scott, Senators Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester.”

“Mr. President, 3 years ago, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, many people, including experts, believed Putin would crush Ukraine's democracy in days. They were wrong. About 1 month before the war broke out, I traveled to Ukraine with a bipartisan coalition of House Representatives to meet with Ukrainian soldiers.”

“Mr. President, since the beginning of the Trump administration a little over 2 weeks ago, my office has heard directly from Arizonans about how the cronies of this President are impacting their day-to-day lives.”