[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 23, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Democratic Agenda

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, in November, President Trump and the 
Republicans really received a very powerful mandate from the American 
people. They wanted to make certain that our border was going to be 
secured and that we were going to strengthen the economy, get inflation 
under control, rein in wasteful government spending, get ourselves back 
on track, and make America great and prosperous and safe and secure 
once again.
  By passing the One Big Beautiful Bill, we delivered on this mandate 
by securing the largest tax cut in U.S. history, including reduced 
taxes on tips and overtime, a $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors, and 
the permanent extension of President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. It also 
reduces the burden of the death tax for millions, providing critical 
relief for family-owned businesses and for so many of our Nation's 
farms and farmers. It bolsters our Armed Forces with a $150 billion 
increase in military spending. It provides the largest ever investment 
in border security so that we can, indeed, complete building the wall 
and also hire new Border Patrol agents and officers. It strengthens 
Medicaid by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. It restores fiscal 
sanity by eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars in far-left 
spending, and the list goes on and on.
  These are all enormous wins for Tennesseans, whom I represent, and, 
indeed, for all Americans, but our work here in this Chamber is far 
from over.
  At the top of the list, we have the need to confirm President Trump's 
nominees. The President deserves to have his team in place to enact his 
agenda, but instead of working with us to carry out the will of the 
American people, our colleagues across the aisle have chosen to 
obstruct at any cost. Right now, we have 130 pending--pending--
nominations of people who have been through committee. Their paperwork 
is in, and their questions are answered. All they need is a vote in 
this Chamber. There is absolutely no reason that we should have this 
backlog, especially when you look at the importance of these 
nominations: U.S. ambassadorships to the Vatican, the Netherlands, 
Chile, Greece, and the European Union; seven Federal judgeships; U.S. 
attorneys; Under Secretaries for the Departments of Veterans Affairs 
and the Navy; the Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission. That is just a brief, partial list.
  Our Democratic friends are trying to slow down the process on these 
nominees as much as they possibly can. They lost at the ballot box. 
They have lost in the Halls of Congress. They have tried the courts, 
and they have lost in the courts. So obstruction and stalling are what 
they have left as they try to spite the President.
  They might think that they are hurting just the Republicans or just 
the President, but, you know, what they are doing is hurting the people 
whom they are elected to represent. Every single day that goes by 
without these nominees being approved and getting to work on the job 
means those nominees are not able to work on behalf of the American 
people. Unfortunately, it is the people who suffer because Agencies are 
not fully staffed and can't make responses. You have individuals who 
need help with VA benefits or help with an Agency and an item of 
concern. At this point, they are understaffed.
  With the recent disclosures from DNI Gabbard, we are learning even 
more about how President Obama and the Democrats manufactured the 
Russia hoax to try to derail President Trump's first term. I bring this 
up because their obstruction is nothing new. When they run out of 
different roadways and different avenues and different opportunities, 
they have got one thing left. As I have said, they have lost at the 
ballot box, here in Congress, and they have lost in the courts. So now 
what they do is try to obstruct.
  We know from the documents that have been released concerning the 
Russia hoax that the Democrats were hard at work on this in 2016 and 
2017 with President Trump's first term. For months, far-left activist 
judges undermined our Constitution by blocking lawful orders from the 
Trump administration in a brazen effort to decide nationwide policy. 
Their abuse of power only came to an end when the Supreme Court reined 
in those Federal district judges and said: No, you have no ability, and 
you have no right to issue nationwide injunctions.
  More recently, we have seen Democrats try their best to obstruct a 
core part of the ``America First'' agenda, and that is securing our 
southern border. Americans want our border to be secure, and they want 
criminal illegal aliens removed from their communities. Across the 
country, ICE and Border Patrol agents have been hard at work in 
carrying out this mandate and arresting criminals who have absolutely 
no right to be here in our country.
  Well, the Democrats are working to vilify and undermine our brave 
Federal law enforcement. We have seen congressional Democrats try to 
storm ICE facilities, including a House Member who faces Federal 
charges for assaulting a Federal ICE officer. They have smeared ICE 
agents who risk their lives to protect our country, comparing them to 
the secret police and Nazis. They push legislation that would prohibit 
officers from wearing masks, exposing them and their families to 
targeted harassment.
  This is all happening as ICE officers face an 830-percent surge in 
assaults. That is correct--an 830-percent increase in assaults. Just 
this month, far-left criminals ambushed officers at an ICE facility in 
Texas, shooting one officer in the neck. Three days later, a man sent 
three people to the hospital after firing dozens of rounds at a 
separate Border Patrol facility in Texas.
  These brave officers deserve our total and undivided support, and the 
American people deserve to have elected Representatives who protect 
their interests. That is what Republicans are working to do every 
single day. They are working to protect our Nation's citizens, and 
nothing--not even this obstruction that continues every single day by 
the Democrats--is going to stop us.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. RICKETTS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.