[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6623-S6624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Trump Administration

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, the historic comeback victory for 
President Donald J. Trump earlier this month was one for the ages. His 
overwhelming victory sent a clear message to the ``uniparty'' here in 
Washington, DC, mainstream media, globalists, and elites that Americans 
are fed up with the agenda that was crammed down their throats the last 
4 years.
  A majority of voters decided that the ``America First'' agenda 
championed by Donald Trump and JD Vance is the playbook for American 
greatness.
  As a part of that playbook, President Trump has already put together 
a strong--very strong--list of qualified Cabinet members.
  At Defense, he has tapped Pete Hegseth, a veteran who served two 
tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is Ivy League educated, businessman 
background--that is what we need in the Pentagon right now to restore 
order and our finances.
  At HHS, he has assigned Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has 
singlehandedly brought attention to the many public health crises 
facing Americans.
  He is Harvard-educated, has authored multiple books, and has a four-
decade career in public health and environmental law.
  And as Attorney General, he has nominated Matt Gaetz, a qualified 
attorney who has served in Congress for nearly a decade. Matt Gaetz has 
been a warrior for the Constitution on the Judiciary Committee and has 
exposed the weaponization of the justice system of the DOJ.
  Ask yourself: Why are my Democratic colleagues, the media, and the 
establishment losing their minds over these highly qualified nominees? 
It is because of the dislike of President Trump, the ``America First'' 
agenda, and nearly 80 million Americans who voted to send him back to 
the White House. It is obvious. Panic has set in at the DOJ, the 
intelligence community, and the entire DC swamp. They are finding out--
as Barack Obama said--the elections have consequences. Americans have 
spoken. Not only did President Trump win the electoral college in a 
landslide, he also is the first Republican in two decades to win the 
popular vote.
  In addition to sending President Trump back to the White House, 
Americans delivered a mandate to every single Senate Republican: They 
want President Trump's ``America First'' agenda, and they want it now.
  As a result, Senate Republicans should embrace this mandate and 
support every single one of President Trump's Cabinet picks.
  You would think this would be a no-brainer. Not one Democrat broke 
from their party in supporting Joe Biden's nominees in 2021--not one. 
However, over the last few days, I have heard some of my Senate 
Republican colleagues express concerns about who President Trump is 
picking for his team.
  I would expect this from my colleagues on the left, not on the right. 
What is surprising to me is that I am hearing grumblings from 
Republicans. My advice to them is to get on board or get out of the 
way. The American people have enthusiastically trusted President Trump 
and J.D. Vance with saving our great Republic.
  I am calling on my Senate Republican colleagues to listen to both the 
American people and the constituents in their States and support 
President Trump's vision for his Cabinet.
  Last time around, the Republican Senate took months to confirm 
President Trump's appointments, if not years. As a result, President 
Trump had to govern with one hand tied behind his back because some of 
his Cabinet members were never confirmed.
  That is completely unacceptable this time around. We need to help 
President Trump. We need to help him usher in a new golden age in 
America. Be a team player. It is time to move the ball down the field.
  You know, I spent many years as a head coach at several different 
football programs. Whenever an organization brings on a new coach, that 
coach brings in his whole new staff. It is the head coach's obligation 
to hire the personnel he needs to achieve his objectives for that 
certain program.
  The old staff, by and large, usually gets fired. It is not always 
fun, but that is reality. I had to do it several times. In the same way 
President Trump was just chosen to be America's head coach, he needs to 
be able to hire the assistant coaches he wants. In this case, it is his 
Cabinet and other important high-level personnel picks.
  President Trump has faced two assassination attempts, partisan 
lawfare from a corrupt administration, his first campaign being spied 
on by the Obama administration, and baseless lies from the corporate 
media who tried their best--tried their best--to keep him out of the 
White House.
  The last thing he needs is obstruction from Senate Republicans. He is 
a large part of why we just won the Senate and a lot of these people 
got reelected.
  And 76 million Americans decisively chose President Trump and his 
``America First'' agenda--76 million. This is a record for any 
Republican President in our Nation's history. Let that sink in.
  This is not because of any of us. This is because of President Trump, 
who is the most effective communicator and leader in modern history. It 
is because he is a successful businessman, not a career politician.
  But now, elected Republicans are expressing frustration with his 
Cabinet picks. Who do Republican Senators think they represent? They 
are representing the voters in their States.
  I remember when 20--that is right--20 Senate Republicans voted to 
confirm Merrick Garland for the top law enforcement spot 4 years ago 
for the Biden administration. That is their prerogative.
  As Attorney General, Merrick Garland turned the DOJ into a weapon--a 
weapon--against President Donald Trump, Republicans, and law-abiding 
U.S. citizens.
  The perversion of law that Merrick Garland embraced at the DOJ would 
make third-world banana republics blush.
  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who had no previous 
experience in the transportation sector, received 36--and I repeat--36 
Republican votes. His qualifications for the job? His ``personal love 
of transportation.'' OK. Apparently, liking trains as a kid makes him 
qualified to be in the Cabinet.
  Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in large part responsible 
for the blatant lies pushed in a letter written by 51 former 
intelligence officials right before the 2020 election, received 28 
Republican votes in the Senate.
  Secretary of Education Cardona received 14 Republican votes. 
Secretary Cardona supported mandatory COVID vaccines for schoolchildren 
of all ages. He doesn't believe parents should have any say in their 
children's education; it is up to the teachers. He has also directed 
his department to destroy--and I will repeat--destroy title IX and 
allow men to compete in women's sports. In my opinion, that is a total 
disgrace. And he had 14 Republicans who voted for him here on this 
floor to confirm him.
  Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a Green New Deal and Medicare 
for All career politician, received several Republican Senators' votes.
  I could go on and on and on. But I am not going to do that. Many 
Senate Republicans had no issue voting to confirm the Democrat 
nominations. And that is their prerogative--even though many were 
unqualified, radical, and, in some cases, completely out of their 
minds. I am not going to get into that. Yet many Republicans have been 
quick to voice concerns about the competency and qualifications of some 
of President Trump's picks. It makes no sense.
  I have heard concerns about nominees' personal lives being a focus 
point. Need I remind my colleagues of Rachel Levine, a transgender 
woman, who is the Assistant Secretary of Health at the Department of 
Health and Human Services. Multiple Republicans voted for her. And that 
is their prerogative.
  Or Tracy Stone-Manning, the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management,

[[Page S6624]]

who was literally a member of an ecoterrorist organization that spiked 
trees with metal rods to harm lumberjacks when they cut into the tree 
with a chain saw. She was confirmed.
  Or Sam Brinton, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of 
Nuclear Energy, who repeatedly stole women's luggage at airports while 
traveling on the taxpayers' dime. I didn't hear a peep from Democrats 
or the mainstream media about these disastrous picks.
  So let me ask my colleagues this: If Democrats won the Senate, the 
House, and the White House, do you think a single Democrat would be 
going against Kamala Harris nominations? Absolutely not. Senate 
Democrats would green-light every single one of Kamala Harris's Cabinet 
picks without giving it a second thought.
  That is their prerogative. Democrats, they get in line. That is what 
they do. They did it for Biden, and they would have done it for the 
Harris administration. And believe me, none of her Cabinet nominees or 
other high-level staff would be any more credentialed, qualified, or 
morally upright than President Biden's picks.
  To my Republican colleagues, remember that the media hates Donald 
Trump--I think we all admit that--and they will do anything to sink his 
nominees and stop his agenda. The media will do everything it can to 
keep America from getting back on track. The media doesn't care when 
extreme leftists get important roles in a Democrat administration. They 
don't care. The media doesn't care when establishment figures from 
either political party gets jobs. The media only whips into a frenzy 
when an ``America First'' candidate gets the nod. The media only 
pretends to care about qualifications, credentials, and character when 
their power is being threatened.
  So I encourage my Senate colleagues to listen to the media about as 
much as the American people did this election: not one bit. The 
mainstream media has been completely discredited after this election. 
Treat them as such.
  We need to trust that President Trump is picking the right people for 
the job. That is his job. We should defer to him on who he thinks is 
the best for each position. Of course, we should review his 
nominations, as the Senate always does. That is our job. But don't 
forget that the American people gave us a mandate--gave us a mandate. 
Don't lose sight of the moment and critical situation that our country 
is presently in.
  The American people don't want us infighting about nominees. We have 
a lot more to do than that. They want us focused, instead, on passing 
President Trump's agenda.
  If his nominees can't do the job down the road, along with President 
Trump, we will be addressing that. I promise you that. But until then, 
we need to support whomever President Trump wants on his team. Senate 
Republicans should be thanking President Trump for helping us take back 
the majority here on this floor in the Senate.
  We have a country to save. No more playing games. I, for one, am 
playing for keeps. I encourage my colleagues to think the same way. 
Every single one of President Trump's Cabinet nominees should be 
confirmed. No question. We must save the United States from a total 
collapse at the hands of the globalist-socialist Democrats who have run 
our country into the ground for the last 4 years. I have personally 
witnessed it right here on this floor.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Washington.