[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 182 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, while our Senate Democratic 
colleagues continue blocking this body from considering funding for our 
Armed Forces, the Senate has taken advantage of the time to confirm 
more of President Trump's well-qualified nominees for Federal service, 
as well as the judiciary.
  Yesterday, we confirmed Chad Wolf to serve at the Department of 
Homeland Security. Following President Trump's decision to designate 
him Acting Secretary, he is now heading up the Department.
  I want to take a moment to thank the outgoing Acting DHS Secretary, 
Kevin McAleenan. His tenure leading the Department of Homeland Security 
capped off a distinguished career in public service, including nearly 
two decades rising through the ranks of the Customs and Border Patrol.
  His leadership at DHS saw significant progress in mitigating major 
aspects of our border security and humanitarian crisis, a strong focus 
on cyber security, and hard work to strengthen the Department all 
across the board. So I thank the outgoing Acting Secretary for his 
years in public service and, particularly, for his leadership in this 
recent chapter.
  Now, today, we will vote on the confirmation of Steven Menashi to the 
Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Menashi won majority support on 
the Judiciary Committee on the basis of strong academic and legal 
qualifications--degrees from Dartmouth and Stanford, clerkships on the 
appellate level and the Supreme Court, and experience in both teaching 
and practicing law.
  I would urge all of our colleagues to vote to confirm this impressive 
nominee this afternoon.

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