[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7563-S7564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Nominations

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am sorry that the Senator from Iowa, 
who spoke before me, left the floor before I could get his attention.
  Senator Grassley is my friend. We have served together for many 
years. We have worked on a lot of things together, and I bet we will in 
the future. I like working with him. He shoots from the hip and tells 
you exactly what he thinks. He has--I know this sounds a little vain--a 
midwestern approach to him that I like a lot.
  He just gave us a little reminder here about the difficulties that 
faced some

[[Page S7564]]

of the Trump nominees on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I remember that. 
There were some that were delayed because of very basic things. They 
had not filed their financial disclosure forms and the ethics reports, 
which were expected of all Cabinet nominees.
  I don't expect President-Elect Biden to cut any corners. I expect his 
nominees to follow the rules and the law, and I am hoping that they 
will have bipartisan support when it comes to the Senate. I want to 
give this President a chance to get off to a good, solid start, and he 
is going to need it.
  We are in the midst of this pandemic. The numbers that roll in every 
single day are frightening. Even in my home State of Illinois, where 
Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot and so many others have worked 
hard to establish standards of conduct that will keep people safe, we 
know that the numbers are just unacceptable in terms of infections and 
hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths as well. Over 300,000 Americans 
have died.
  We want to make sure that President Biden and Vice President Harris 
have the team and the wherewithal and the resources to respond quickly 
when they take office on January 20.
  I hope my Republican friends will join me in that effort. They have 
every right to expect these nominees to answer the very basic questions 
that are required, but I hope that they will also do their best to 
expedite that process so that those going into critical positions to 
keep our country safe from this pandemic are in place, as well as those 
who are going to serve our Nation in critical capacities, whether it is 
Secretary of State or Attorney General or Department of Homeland 
Security.
  But I look forward to working with my friend from Iowa. I take heed 
of his warning that we will hold these nominees to the same standards 
as we held President Trump's nominees