[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on another matter entirely, the Senate, 
this week, will continue confirming President Biden's Cabinet nominees, 
closing the book today on the nomination of Alexander Mayorkas to be 
the Secretary of Homeland Security.
  Mr. Mayorkas's qualifications are unassailable. He is a 7-year 
veteran of the DHS and has already been confirmed by this Chamber 
three--three--times. Like most of President Biden's Cabinet nominees, 
his nomination is also history-making: He will be the first Latino and 
first immigrant to hold the top job at DHS. I look forward to 
confirming Mr. Mayorkas today.
  We have a second outstanding nominee to confirm today as well--Pete 
Buttigieg for Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Buttigieg--known to many 
simply as Mayor Pete--has demonstrated an impressive familiarity with 
the entire Nation's transportation challenges--challenges that are 
pronounced in States like my own, where projects like the Gateway 
Tunnel are a top national priority.
  I know that Mr. Buttigieg is committed to working with Members from 
both sides to improve rail and transit, highways, and more in rural 
communities, urban centers, and everywhere in between. I am excited to 
call him Secretary Pete by the end of the day and get to work with him 
immediately on helping the MTA--the Nation's largest transit network in 
the country--and moving Gateway forward after years of cynical 
obstruction by the Trump administration.

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