[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S505-S506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Cabinet Nominations

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I would like to start by thanking 
Leader Thune for pushing to confirm all of President Trump's Cabinet 
nominees so far. President Trump is on the verge of having his full 
team. We have confirmed Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Scott Bessent, and 
many others who are doing an outstanding job implementing President 
Trump's America-first agenda. But there are more critical nominees that 
President Trump still needs confirmed. This includes Robert Kennedy, 
Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard, along with a few others.
  I have gotten a chance to meet with each of these nominees and have 
been very impressed. They are all outstanding choices and should be 
confirmed to President Trump's Cabinet as soon as possible.
  First, I would like to express my complete and total support for 
Robert F. Kennedy's nomination to be the next Secretary of Health and 
Human Services.
  Last November, we saw millions of Americans--especially young 
Americans--flock to the MAGA movement after Bobby Kennedy endorsed 
President Trump. Both my sons, 28 and 30, Tucker and Troy, were huge 
fans of RFK, and I know there are just millions of young people who RFK 
has brought to the table and into the fold, opening their eyes towards 
something they had never really been involved in, and that is the 
health of their generation and all generations across the country. As 
we know, Bobby started the Make America Healthy Again movement, known 
MAHA, which eventually joined forces with President Trump. MAHA is not 
just a political slogan; it is a movement that has swept our Nation.

  For the first time, important issues like the effectiveness of 
vaccines, the dangers of prescription medicines, and the chemicals in 
our food and household products are part of our national political 
disclosure, as they should be. And it is all because of the work of 
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
  You know, before entering the arena, Bobby spent four decades in 
environmental law and in healthcare policy, specializing in issues like 
water pollution, vaccines, and food safety--four decades. He is an 
accomplished attorney who attended Harvard, the London School of 
Economics, and the University of Virginia. And he has authored multiple 
best-selling books that I would suggest anybody that is concerned about 
the health of our country should read.
  Throughout his career, he has committed to discovering the truth 
about what is causing the chronic disease epidemic in America today, 
and his Presidential campaign exposed the fact that we have a serious--
a very serious--public health crisis facing our country today and in 
the future. For example, in his hearing yesterday, Bobby Kennedy laid 
out that over 70 percent of adults and one-third of our children are 
overweight or obese. The rate of diabetes is 10 times more prominent 
today than it was in 1960. Cancer among our young people is rising by 1 
or 2 percent every year. Autoimmune diseases, neurodevelopmental 
disorders, and addiction cases are hugely on the rise. Depression and 
anxiety rates are absolutely through the roof.
  Meanwhile, more Americans are relying on pharmaceutical drugs than 
ever before. I saw that in my former life of being a coach of players. 
Years ago, very few of them were on any kind of drug, such as Adderall 
or Ritalin, for attention deficit. But in the last few years, there was 
a huge uptick in prescription drugs for many, many young people across 
the country. These findings are alarming, and they should and they had 
better shock all of us.
  Thank God, Bobby has dedicated his life to getting to the bottom of 
what is causing these trends. As he did in his hearing yesterday, Bobby 
is an expert on the health issues facing our country and has the facts, 
the data, and the evidence to prove it, and he will bring his 
commitment to evidence-based science transparency to our national 
health Agencies.
  And it is simple. Americans want access to all the facts so they can 
decide what is best for themselves and for their families. Bobby has 
committed to giving Americans the information that they need to be 
informed and make informed decisions.
  Recently, I have seen the mainstream media and some politicians 
attempt to smear Bobby Kennedy as anti-vax, anti-industry, or an enemy 
of food producers. All of this couldn't be further from the truth. It 
is just a political attack.
  We have even heard from prominent Republicans, like former Vice 
President Mike Pence, who is running ads on TV criticizing Bobby 
Kennedy for not being sufficiently pro-life. Bobby addressed this 
himself yesterday. He believes every abortion is a tragedy, and he will 
work with President Trump to implement his pro-life policies.
  These attacks are nothing more than dishonest attempts by the DC 
establishment to tank his nomination. We have seen that in the last 
couple of weeks on all nominees.
  Sure, Bobby Kennedy may not be the typical pick for the job, but the 
American people don't want a typical pick.
  The one we picked 4 years ago for President Biden was a lawyer living 
in California and very seldom came to Washington, DC. He worked from 
home. We got nothing done in Health and Human Services.
  They gave us a mandate in November--77 million people--to deliver 
President Trump's agenda, and that includes making America healthy 
again.
  As far as I am concerned, Bobby is not part of being the healthcare 
establishment class. That is a really good thing. We don't need that. 
Look at where it has gotten us.
  The pharmaceutical industry and the industrial food complex won't be 
running the show anymore when Bobby Kennedy is confirmed. Instead, he 
will restore our health Agencies to the gold standard of specific 
research and explore historic healthcare alternatives as part of our 
efforts to end chronic disease epidemics across this country.
  Ultimately, this will lower costs for Americans and ease the burden 
on our entire healthcare system, which is being overrun by all of the 
conditions that we have popping up today. With the many public health 
crises we are facing as a country, we have no time to waste.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting Bobby for HHS 
Secretary and help President Trump make America healthy again.
  For our next nominee, I would like to turn to Kash Patel. He is on 
the Hill today going through his confirmation hearing.
  Kash is President Trump's pick to be the FBI Director, who testified 
in front of the Senate all morning long. Kash is an excellent choice, 
and he has my full support.
  It is clear to the American people that the culture at the top of our 
top

[[Page S506]]

police Agency in this country, the FBI, is rotten. It is rotten to the 
core. We have some good people, but the people in charge have made 
devastating decisions against a lot of people across this country. It 
is far past time to clean house at the FBI.
  Over the last 4 years, we have seen the Bureau become politicized and 
weaponized. The Biden administration turned the FBI into the ``Fake 
Bureau of Investigations.'' The scales of justice were never fair and 
balanced under the last administration.
  Christopher Wray, the Director, went after parents and school boards, 
pro-lifers. He went after Catholics. He went after grandmas who 
peacefully protested right outside this building on January 6. He went 
to their homes and arrested them--not to mention the unprecedented raid 
on President Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago, FL.
  What we have seen unfold at our Nation's premiere law enforcement 
Agency over the last 4 years is a complete and absolute disgrace to the 
American people and our Constitution. Not only has the public's trust 
in the FBI been completely eroded, but it has been a disservice to all 
the great men and women in the FBI who commit every day to defending 
the Constitution and protecting us as American citizens.
  It is going to take a lot of hard work to right this ship. Trust has 
to be put back into the FBI. Kash Patel is the right man to do the job.
  He is qualified and has an impressive resume. He served in several 
national security and intelligence roles as a Federal prosecutor and as 
a public defender.
  Not only is Kash qualified, but he also has the courage and the 
resolve needed to restore our faith in the FBI.
  Despite the media's lies, Kash won't have his enemies list when he 
takes the job--unlike the Biden administration. If crimes are 
committed, he will open investigations, follow facts wherever they 
lead--no bias, no partiality. Kash will bring back truth and 
transparency, uphold the rule of law and the Constitution, and protect 
Americans against its enemies, foreign and domestic. He will ensure 
that the government works for the American people, and not the other 
way around.

  Let's confirm Kash quickly and give President Trump an important 
component of his national security team. I look forward to supporting 
Kash Patel and hope my Republican colleagues will do the same.
  Finally, we need to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be our next Director of 
National Intelligence. Like Kash, Tulsi will play a critical role on 
President Trump's national security team.
  She just had her hearing in front of the Senate Intel Committee this 
morning. Her hearing only further confirmed to me that Tulsi is the 
perfect candidate for the DNI role.
  She is a decorated lieutenant colonel, with over 20 years of service 
in the military. Tulsi served in combat in the Iraq War and is 
currently active in service.
  She has a top security clearance, having passed five background 
checks to receive it. Tulsi served in Congress for 8 years, where she 
sat on the Homeland Security, Armed Services, and Foreign Relations 
Committees. And as a Member of Congress, she consistently participated 
in high-level intelligence briefings.
  As she has displayed throughout her entire career in the military and 
as an elected official, Tulsi will bring a fearless spirit to the DNI 
role.
  I have to tell you, my meeting with Tulsi was one of the most 
impressive meetings I have had since I have been in this office, going 
on 5 years. Her depth of knowledge and expertise is unmatched. I have 
no doubt that she will keep our country secure while protecting the 
Constitution and the constitutional rights of all Americans.
  She will help us return to ``peace through strength'' and put an end 
to America's costly foreign wars.
  The attacks on her, questioning her loyalty to the United States, are 
absolutely disgusting. It is insulting. Tulsi has devoted her entire 
life to serving this country, the military, and in public service.
  To the Senators criticizing Tulsi for not fitting the typical mold of 
a DNI director, might that be a good thing? Have the last several years 
shown us that the status quo is working? I don't think so, and I don't 
think the American people think so either, and they are the ones that 
count.
  Tulsi brings a fresh perspective to the job and the America that we 
all want and deserve. We do not need another James Clapper.
  Like the FBI, we have seen our intelligence community weaponized to 
target opponents of the regime. The IC conspired to take down President 
Trump in 2016 and 2020 and, maybe, most recently, in the election a 
couple months ago. For that reason, I think Tulsi is exactly the change 
agent we need leading our intelligence community.
  Like Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi switched her party affiliation because she 
saw the status quo as a threat to the American people and our 
constitutional rights. As Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi will 
check her politics at the door, just like she has done the last 20 
years serving in our military. She will come to DNI without any bias. 
She will fix our broken intelligence community--and, folks, it is 
broken.
  I look forward to confirming Tulsi to DNI. I urge all my colleagues 
to join me in voting for Tulsi. She will play a major role in President 
Trump's team and restoring faith in our intelligence community.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.