[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Administration Policies

  Mr. SCHUMER. Now, if there is one word to describe the State of the 
Trump administration, it is ``chaos.'' The administration's policy at 
the border is in chaos; the administration's foreign policy is in 
chaos; and the Trump administration itself is in chaos: the vacancies 
in so many agencies, people within the administration fighting with 
each other, and the President tweeting away, even if it is unconnected 
to the people who actually administer the policies.
  So even though this has been a constant theme in the Trump 
Presidency--the chaos within--it is getting worse and more alarming.
  On the border, the President announces a new cockamamie policy almost 
every day: a national emergency to build a wall, tariffs with Mexico, 
shutting down the border entirely, mass arrests and deportations inside 
in our borders. Many of these ``policies'' were announced by tweet with 
little or no thought or force of action behind them. Not one of them 
has been implemented, even though the President could implement many on 
his own. Most were tossed aside as casually as they were announced, and 
it is easy to see why. The policies he has announced at the border are 
cruel, inhumane, ineffective, and most are impossible to carry out.
  Meanwhile, the Trump administration is cutting off security 
assistance to Central American countries--the one thing his 
administration was doing to stem migration and address the root causes 
in the first place. Even on the issue the President talks about most, 
the chaos of his administration is making the problem exponentially 
worse, not better.
  It doesn't get any better when it comes to the administration's 
foreign policy. In response to increased activity from Iran, the 
President has now announced two deployments of 1,000 troops or more 
without even explaining to the American people what is happening and 
why. As Commander in Chief, he owes it to the American people, and 
especially our troops, to clarify what he hopes to achieve in the 
Middle East. What is the strategy? What is the goal? What is the limit 
of what we will do, and what are the things we will do? Any foreign 
policy expert will tell you outlining these things helps the strategy 
and helps build support for it. Does the President have clear goals? 
Does he have a strategy or, once again, when he wakes up in the morning 
and thinks--one day, he tweets about it, and the next day he thinks 
something else and tweets something different or even contradictory.
  We have no earthly clue to the President's strategy or goals because, 
like everything else in his administration, his foreign policy is 
wracked by chaos.
  The Trump administration, in terms of its personnel and leadership, 
is in chaos as well. Yesterday the President's choice for Secretary of 
Defense withdrew. Where was the vetting? Why wasn't this known by the 
White House long before he got to this level? So now the most powerful 
military in the world has been without a Senate-confirmed Secretary 
since Secretary Mattis resigned in December of last year--6 months 
without a confirmed head of the DOD. How can we conduct a foreign 
policy, a military policy with no head of DOD?
  The administration is escalating tensions in Iran and sending troops 
overseas without a permanent Defense Secretary, someone who is really 
in charge and thoroughly vetted at the helm. It is not just the Defense 
Department where chaos reigns. The positions of Homeland Security 
Secretary, OMB Secretary, SBA Administrator, Ambassador to the U.N., 
and even the Chief of Staff in the White House are all in the acting 
capacity.
  It is a revolving door. People want to leave. Most people of 
substance can't stand the chaos and misdirection from the President, 
and we have had less focused attention to issue after issue from this 
President than any in a very long time because of chaos. The 
institutions of our government under Donald Trump lack steady and 
experienced leadership. It is a crisis of competence. The President is 
making decisions without proper counsel, preparation, or even 
communications between the relevant agencies. It is policy by whim. The 
withdrawal of his Secretary of Defense nomination is only the latest 
example of an administration in chaos.
  I raise these points not to disparage the President but because the 
swirling chaos in his administration hurts the American people. It has 
frustrated our ability to find real solutions at the border and stunted 
progress on issues Americans care about, like infrastructure and 
healthcare. Above all, I fear the chaos in the White House could lead 
our country closer to a conflict with Iran that most Americans want to 
avoid.
  In short, the amateur hour must end. The U.S. Government is not an 
episode of ``The Apprentice.'' It is real life with real consequences. 
It is deadly serious business. For the sake of the country, the Trump 
administration needs to get its act together.