[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2621-S2623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Trump Administration First 100 Days

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, this week, we honor and celebrate the 
100th day of our 47th President, Donald J. Trump. I don't know about 
you, but it has been a blur to many of us, but I believe it has been a 
bold blur.
  As I searched over the last week to think about the words to describe 
these first 100 days, I think of the word ``consequential,'' that these 
first 100 days have been some of the most consequential we have ever 
seen in America's history. And I think about a vision. I think my 
vision is this big ship we call America, and she is slowly changing 
course back into the wind, and it is a good direction. At times, we 
have to tack into the wind, but the direction is positive. And it is 
exciting for me to see an 11-point surge in optimism in this country in 
January of this year alone.
  But to sum it up, what I have seen in these first 100 days is a 
return to American greatness--a return to American greatness. And I 
think I see a theme of ``promises made, promises kept'' by this 
President.
  You know, first and foremost, President Trump campaigned to secure 
our border. That was his top priority, to secure our border. Think 
about what has happened since he was sworn in. Under Joe Biden, we saw 
on days 10,000 people crossing our border illegally. Some days, it was 
11,000. But under President Trump, we are now averaging less than 300 
of those border crossings a day. We went from 10,000 a day to 300 a 
day. That is a promise made and a promise kept.
  President Trump also campaigned that he would make your families 
safer and more secure. To that end, he has deported 130,000 violent 
criminal aliens. As I travel the State and talk to law enforcement 
officers, to a person, they tell me that the number of violent crimes 
is down, that fentanyl poisoning is down. Indeed, the President's plan 
of securing our border has led to the health and safety of our 
families.
  President Trump promised that he would roll back regulations. To that 
end, of his 135 Executive orders, many have done just that--cutting 
redtape and saving American families some $2,000 each. Another promise 
made and another promise kept.
  President Trump said, ``We are going to drill, baby, drill''--one of 
my favorite expressions from his campaign, ``drill, baby, drill.'' 
Indeed, America once again is drilling. We have seen gasoline prices 
drop across America. It was common just a couple years ago under Joe 
Biden to see gasoline at over $4 a gallon. Today, all across the State 
of Kansas, it is averaging under $2.60 a gallon. So it has dropped from 
$4 to $2.60 a gallon. That is a promise made and a promise kept.
  Well, what about groceries? you ask. Last month, we saw the smallest 
increase in the Consumer Price Index since the spring of 2020. Since 
COVID, since the start of COVID, this is the smallest increase in 
grocery prices we have seen.
  Now, it would take 30 minutes, maybe an hour, for me to talk about 
all of the things that President Trump has accomplished in these first 
100 days, but I want to just highlight a few more. He terminated the EV 
mandate. He has slowed the green energy transition. He has ended boys 
in girls sports. Under DOGE, he has cut over $100 billion, saving 
American taxpayers money. He got America out of the World Health 
Organization and out of the Paris climate agreement, establishing once 
again that he is an American-first President.
  But one thing I am really excited about is this economic boom we are 
starting to see that President Trump talked about, the $7 trillion of 
investment into America that has been promised, and so much of that is 
going to lead to good-paying manufacturing jobs, jobs with benefits, 
and we are seeing that already across the State of Kansas.
  These last 2 weeks, I was very purposeful, visiting several of our 
manufacturing companies, probably a dozen of them. To a company, each 
one was describing the increase in sales they are having, a big 
increase in the number of products that are wanted in the future. Why? 
Because they are American-made, because they are using American steel 
and American aluminum. I think that is what we can do with this Trump 
economy, is that his tariffs are bringing those manufacturing jobs back 
to this country, and, indeed, they are great jobs.
  I want to take a second here and put up a poster, Mr. President.
  You know, much has been made about the stock market the last week or 
two, but I think this chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average over 
the last 100 years is another sign of American greatness. You know, 
there have been days that aren't as good, but the trend here is what? 
It is upward. And you look at just the last several days,

[[Page S2622]]

the last week here, there is a small little blip, a very small blip, 
but in relationship to what?
  I would remind Americans that the Dow today is up 5 percent compared 
to a year ago. The NASDAQ is up almost 10 percent compared to a year 
ago. The trend is the right way. And I don't know about you, but I am 
betting on America. We have had 5 days in a row now of the Dow Jones 
increasing in value. That is the longest winning streak we have seen in 
almost a year. And who knows--maybe today will be the sixth day where 
we have seen the Dow go up as well. But, to me, this stock market is 
another example of American greatness, and I wouldn't bet against us.
  Look, my belief is that President Trump has declared the apology tour 
is over with, that we are boldly putting America and Americans first. 
Gone is the despair of the Biden era. Today, families are safer, life 
is more affordable, and traditional family values are now thriving.
  Young Americans now have a renewed hope that they can chase their own 
American dream. That dream was gone the last 4 or 5 years, but today, 
the American dream is alive and well. What does that American dream 
look like? Raising a family, owning a home, and building a brighter 
future.
  I think a lot of this is due to President Trump's leadership because 
he is delivering strength, prosperity, and opportunity to Americans.
  Again, 100 days--promises made, promises kept.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, if you look clearly at the facts as they are 
today, by any measure, Donald Trump's first 100 days have been 
disastrous--not a success--for regular Americans and our Constitution.
  His administration has been marked by mismanagement, poor leadership, 
prickly egos, and policies that punch down rather than offer a hand up. 
In fact, that is reflected in the polls--not in January but today--
where his approval rating is the lowest of any President at the 100-day 
mark, I believe, in the history of this country. And as a result of 
these policies, America's economy and our standing in the eyes of our 
allies have fallen significantly.
  He has granted Elon Musk free reign to enter any Federal Agency and 
ferret through the data and files and personal information of every 
American citizen. And my impression of Mr. Musk: He doesn't do anything 
unless there is a profit connected to it.
  Musk and DOGE are rifling through our IRS and Social Security 
records. Meanwhile, Americans can't get their questions answered about 
their Social Security benefits because Mr. Musk and DOGE and President 
Trump have cut staff and administrative funding. They have even tried 
to cut the phone lines for basic services. And Trump officials just 
laugh it off.
  Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, a billionaire--which is not 
unusual in the Trump circuit--said on a podcast:

       Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this 
     month. My mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and 
     complain. She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed 
     up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes 
     the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining.

  Well, that is very easy for a billionaire and his family to say: I 
don't think they would miss their Social Security check. But for 
working Americans who depend on Social Security, their retirement 
benefits, their disability benefits--just to make ends meet, to have 
food on the table--they would certainly miss the delay of a Social 
Security check.
  And it is not just the Social Security Administration. We also know 
President Trump has purged Federal employees by the thousands, without 
regard for their job performance or the importance of their work--every 
agency, from the office that runs the LIHEAP program to the National 
Weather Service, to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
  LIHEAP is essential to my constituents in the wintertime. That is how 
they stay warm. That is how they are able to live.
  The National Weather Service is renowned for its incredibly accurate 
and detailed and scientifically based forecasts. In fact, we all depend 
upon it and, I am told, particularly farmers in the Midwest, because if 
you are trying to figure out the day to plant your crops, you better 
know what the temperature is going to be in the morning and at noontime 
and in the evening.
  And the National Nuclear Security Administration is critical to 
protecting our nuclear weapons and developing them. I was in the 
airport in Providence, RI, and a young woman came up to me and said: 
Excuse me, Senator, but, 5 days ago, I was fired from the NNSA because 
I was a provisional worker. I got a call last night to get back as soon 
as possible--because the ability to protect and to develop our nuclear 
weapons could not be sustained without the presence of that lady and 
many others.
  And yet, given all of these issues, he has populated his 
administration with leadership that, at best, is uninterested in the 
challenges facing average Americans and, too often, unqualified to do 
the jobs they were hired to perform.
  He has withheld funding that was legally and constitutionally 
appropriated by Congress. He, in fact, has ignored the Constitution and 
Congress. One of his first acts was to fire the inspectors general 
throughout the government. Such a measure, by law, requires notice to 
Congress and 30 days' wait. He ignored that. And why? Well, if you are 
going to systematically break the law, you might as well get rid of 
those people who are checking on whether the law is properly enforced.
  He is defunding libraries and Head Start centers and halting critical 
medical research.
  He has closed the Agency for International Development and even 
withheld funding to feed starving children here in America and across 
the globe, and he has done incredible damage to our standing in the 
world.
  And as a result of his efforts to completely undermine the USAID, 
what is happening? Well, I will tell you what is happening: China is 
moving aggressively to take our place. And so, to people across the 
globe, when they look around and ask: Who is our friend? China?
  That is not good for us, and that is not what we, as Americans, have 
done for many, many years.
  He has also essentially extorted law firms to represent him and his 
causes for free.
  He has attempted to dictate how our colleges and universities are 
run, whom they hire and what they teach, essentially changing a 
prosperous knowledge-based economy--that is what we were talking about. 
That is how we would compete in the world. We are the knowledge-based 
economy. We are the innovators. We are changing everything. When you 
destroy our university systems and our health research systems, you 
turn a knowledge-based economy into a failing, ignorance-based economy.
  He has deported American citizens, threatened to annex Greenland, 
boosted Russia, and somehow found a way to alienate Canada, our 
neighbor and ally.
  Each of these items on its own would be a cause for outrage, but 
Trump hopes that he will overwhelm Americans by ``flooding the zone'' 
with one stunt after another. But the inescapable fact is, his policies 
are hurting the American people, and they see it--not last January at 
the inauguration but today when they are looking at prices that are 
still too high; when they are evaluating his promise of ending 
inflation on the first day and solving the Ukrainian crisis on the 
first day. They see it in the prices they pay at the grocery store, in 
the cost of a new car or a new home.

  Sadly, it looks like it is going to get worse for American families. 
Researchers at Yale University estimate that Donald Trump's current 
tariff regime--not including the tariffs he announced then backed away 
from--the current tariffs in place today will raise costs by $4,900 for 
families this year while increasing inflation as high as 5.5 percent 
and cutting economic growth.
  Other analysts project new car prices will rise by as much as $12,000 
and new home prices by more than $9,000. I have spoken to multiple 
Rhode Island companies whose suppliers are already sending them higher 
quotes for their goods.
  Goldman Sachs estimates that the President's baseline 10-percent 
tariff on

[[Page S2623]]

all imports would lead to fewer--not more--American jobs. Goldman 
estimates that this tariff will lead to roughly 400,000 fewer jobs 
nationwide.
  Markets continue to move wildly as he erratically threatens schemes 
like doing away with the independence of the Federal Reserve, firing 
the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and trying to seize the power to 
lower interest rates themselves, manipulating interest rates themselves 
and future tariffs. We are still in this uncertain period because he 
just suspended them for 90 days. If these future tariffs come back, it 
would rock the market again.
  And by the way, when the market was collapsing after his grand 
announcement, where was he? He was in Florida at his golf course where 
the Saudis and others have sent millions of dollars to him so they 
could host a tournament, and he could play golf with them. That is not 
the definition of Presidential leadership.
  Before Trump undertook his campaign of economic chaos, the economy 
was on a good trajectory. In fact, that chart illustrates the 
trajectory. These Trump tariffs have been a huge blunder. Instead of 
implementing a thoughtful policymaking process to boost key domestic 
manufacturing, the President has chosen a blunt, blanket-tariff 
approach. In doing so, he has treated allies like enemies and driven 
global partners into the arms of China.
  What we are seeing now and what we will experience in the coming 
months: higher prices for families, fewer jobs, smaller retirement 
accounts, and a weaker economy. And it is entirely on the shoulders of 
the President. It is a self-inflicted wound on the economy and the 
American people.
  But it appears that the President isn't done. He wants a ``big, 
beautiful bill.'' And what is in that ``big, beautiful bill?'' Big cuts 
for Medicaid and SNAP, which feeds children and disabled Americans, and 
big giveaways to the donors who financed his campaign and populate his 
administration. The American people see it, and survey after survey 
proves they do.
  The question is whether my colleagues, Senate Republicans, will go 
along with that. Will they listen to the people of America or will they 
still be under the thrall of Donald Trump?
  Americans deserve better than cuts to Medicaid. They deserve an 
economy headed upward, not backward. And they deserve a President who 
respects the Constitution and the rule of law that made our society and 
our economy the ``shining city on the hill,'' as President Reagan once 
said.
  The first 100 days of chaos and self-inflicted damage must end. It is 
time for America's business leaders and congressional Republicans to 
stand up and join us all in saying enough is enough.
  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. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.