[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3189-S3190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Trump Administration

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we are entering the sixth month of 
Republican leadership in Washington. We have already delivered some 
significant wins for the American people, and there is so much more on 
the way. When this Congress began, we got right to work getting 
President Trump's Cabinet in place. We confirmed 21 Cabinet positions 
at a faster pace than any administration since George W. Bush.
  The Republican Senate has confirmed 68 civilian nominees so far this 
year, the most since the Obama administration--Secretaries, 
Administrators, Deputies, Under Secretaries, 11 Ambassadors to postings 
around the globe--the most diplomats confirmed at this point since 
2001.
  And our committees continue to work hard to refer additional nominees 
to the floor.
  The Senate has also passed a number of bills already this year. In 
the first few weeks of this year, we took up the Laken Riley Act, a 
bill to require that law enforcement detain an illegal immigrant caught 
shoplifting or stealing. We had an amendment process on the floor, a 
process that made the bill stronger. And the bill that the Senate 
ultimately passed and President Trump signed into law requires 
detention for illegal immigrants who assault law enforcement or 
seriously injure or kill a person, as well as for those caught stealing 
like the illegal immigrant who murdered Laken Riley last year.

[[Page S3190]]

  We also passed the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently schedule 
fentanyl-related substances as the most deadly type of drug and give 
law enforcement a critical tool to prosecute those who bring these 
deadly substances into our country and peddle them in our communities.
  Last month, President Trump signed Senator Cruz's TAKE IT DOWN Act 
into law to combat nonconsensual explicit images made with AI and 
shared online.
  And the Senate is continuing consideration of the GENIUS Act this 
week so that the United States can continue to be a leader in financial 
innovation and Americans can exercise financial freedom with 
confidence.
  The Senate has also been working to repeal burdensome Biden-era 
regulations. We have now passed 18 Congressional Review Act resolutions 
targeting regulations that would raise costs, destroy jobs, and reduce 
choice for the American people. That includes resolutions to block 
President Biden's natural gas tax, eliminate burdensome new standards 
for appliances, and block the California electric vehicle mandate that 
would drive up prices and reduce consumer choice across the country.
  I am grateful to my Republican colleagues for all the hard work they 
have put in over these past 5 months. We have made excellent progress, 
but needless to say, there is still a lot more to do starting with the 
reconciliation bill we have been working on now for months. This bill 
is critical to delivering on President Trump's priorities and the 
promises that we have made to the American people. It will prevent 
trillions in tax hikes for hard-working families and small businesses. 
It will invest in our border security to safeguard the progress the 
Trump administration has already made, and it will strengthen our 
military and unleash American energy for a stronger and safer America.
  And as I said yesterday, the Senate will consider the bill on the 
floor this work period with the goal of getting it on the President's 
desk before July 4.
  Appropriations season is also upon us, and we will be working to 
consider as many appropriations bills as possible under regular order. 
Work on the annual National Defense Authorization Act is also underway, 
and I hope Democrats will work with us to move the NDAA and 
appropriations bills through committee and consider them on the Senate 
floor.
  When the American people elected President Trump and a Republican 
Congress last November, they expected us to deliver. We have worked 
hard to deliver on our mandate, and we are not taking our foot off the 
gas. There is too much to do.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.