[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4865-S4866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Legislative Accomplishments

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, it is July 30--my older daughter's 
birthday--but we are approaching a season that Senators and our staffs 
alike look forward to each year with some anticipation, which is going 
back home, talking to our constituents--more importantly, listening to 
our constituents, hearing what is on their minds, and determining how 
we might do our jobs better.
  I sometimes, tongue in cheek, refer to Washington, DC, as a forward 
operating base in hostile territory, but the truth is, many of the most 
important battles that are fought in our country are fought out here on 
the floor of the U.S. Senate. But, as we look ahead to next month, it 
is worth taking stock of where we have come in the first half of the 
119th Congress, in the first 6 months of President Trump's tenure as 
President of the United States--certainly, in his second term, 
obviously--which has been an amazing record of accomplishment if you 
look back at it.
  We have confirmed President Trump's Cabinet at a record pace--no 
thanks to our Democratic colleagues who have reflexively or, you might 
even say, mindlessly opposed each and every nominee of this President, 
with maybe one exception. That would be the Secretary of State, Senator 
Rubio.
  In the process of obstructing all of these nominees and forcing us to 
burn valuable floor time by not agreeing to any voice votes or to the 
expedited consideration of noncontroversial nominees, they have forced 
us to burn valuable floor time, during which we might have taken up 
other important bipartisan matters. Nevertheless, we have done 
important things--unfortunately, alone on this side of the aisle, 
without any support from our friends across the aisle--like extending 
the Trump tax cuts from 2017 and making them permanent, addressing the 
looming debt ceiling to prevent a national default. We have secured 
many other important wins for border security and law enforcement 
through the One Big Beautiful Bill.
  We also passed our first rescissions package, codifying many of the 
most important spending reforms identified by the Department of 
Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
  While these accomplishments are not insignificant, we are just 
getting started.
  As I mentioned, our Democratic colleagues here in the Senate have 
reflexively and mindlessly opposed President Trump's nominees, but we 
have confirmed 107 of them while 147 lower level but critical nominees 
are still waiting to be confirmed by the Senate--147. These include 
many Ambassadors to key allies around the world that the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee has voted out of committee. They are waiting for 
their day on the Senate floor.
  To date, Senate Democrats have allowed voice votes or given unanimous 
consent on exactly zero--zero--of President Trump's civilian nominees. 
This is the only time in recorded history that the minority party has 
refused to do so on any nominees at this point in a Presidency, and it 
is shameful. It is inexcusable. They are not hurting Republicans; they 
are not hurting President Trump. They are hurting the American people 
because these are people who will serve in critical positions that 
require Senate confirmation not only here in the United States and the 
administration but around the world in representing the United States 
at Embassies all across the planet.
  Senate Democrats' partisan obstruction is making our country less 
safe; it is making American foreign policy less effective; and it is 
ceding the field to our adversaries, who have no problem putting their 
representatives in these countries which currently lack American 
Ambassadors.
  I, for one, believe that if our Democratic colleagues do not relent 
on this needless and mindless obstruction, Senate Republicans will have 
to consider what additional steps we need to take in order to expedite 
this process.
  There is precedent for this. Back in 2017, when Neil Gorsuch was 
nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, our Democratic colleagues refused 
to grant cloture or closing off debate by giving 60 votes for that 
purpose. It forced Republicans to change the Senate rules to lower that 
threshold from 60 down to 51, which had always been the longstanding 
tradition. Even in spite of the possibility of requiring 60 votes, it 
simply had not been required previously.
  And when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was majority 
leader, the Democrats changed the threshold for cloture on all other 
Federal judges from 60 to 51. So in 2017, in order to break that logjam 
on Supreme Court nominees, Republicans returned the favor.
  I believe that some similar process by which we set a new precedent 
on the President's nominees may be necessary before we leave this 
Chamber, before we leave the Senate and Washington, DC, this month.
  The President must have his team in place. Again, our Democratic 
colleagues seem unwilling to accept the fact that President Trump 
actually won the election, receiving a mandate from the American 
people. Why else would they obstruct all of his nominees and force us 
to burn valuable floor time by not agreeing to any sort of expedited 
process, force us to burn all this valuable floor time just to confirm 
107 nominees and leave 147 waiting?
  It is not fair to the American people because these people are 
supposed to serve in important positions of responsibility on their 
behalf. It is not fair to President Trump, who has been denied his 
team. But it is also not fair to the people who agree to serve in these 
important Senate-confirmed positions, many of whom have had to sell 
their businesses, go through a rigorous ethics and legal background 
scrub, and are simply waiting, day after day after day, will they or 
won't they, will they or won't they vote to confirm me to this 
position, which, for many of them--maybe all of them--is an honor of a 
lifetime.
  So we owe it to the American people. We owe it to President Trump. We 
owe it to these nominees who have volunteered to serve their country to 
vote on these nominees without further delay.
  There is more work to do. In addition to confirming President Trump's 
nominees, another task that awaits the Senate upon our return is the 
National Defense Authorization Act. This is the necessary authorization 
that Congress passes each year to support our men and women in the 
military, to make sure that we remain the preeminent military strength 
in the world, and, as President Trump has said time and time again, to 
make sure that our main national security policy is peace through 
strength.
  We don't want to fight any unnecessary wars, but the best way to 
avoid

[[Page S4866]]

fighting wars is through deterrence, and that comes with peace through 
strength.
  The Defense authorization bill is the main legislative vehicle for 
ensuring that our military has the resources they need to achieve the 
missions of today and to rise to the challenges of tomorrow.
  We are, I believe, living in the most dangerous world since World War 
II, and we must take seriously our obligation to authorize additional 
resources and support the men and women and the families who serve in 
the U.S. military.
  We passed the Defense Authorization Act for 63 consecutive years, and 
2025 cannot be the year that we break that streak.
  The Senate Armed Services Committee, under the leadership of Chairman 
Wicker, has done an excellent job on a bipartisan basis. His committee 
has already completed the markup of the Defense authorization bill and 
filed it for consideration on the Senate floor.
  Last year, in contrast, under the Senator from New York, the 
Democratic leader Senator Schumer, we did not see the Defense 
Authorization Act come to the floor until more than 2 months after the 
September 30 deadline. But I am optimistic now, with new leadership and 
with Republicans at the helm, we will pass the Defense authorization 
bill on a timely basis.
  Finally, in addition to confirming the President's nominees and 
ensuring our military readiness, Congress needs to fund the government. 
The end of the fiscal year is the end of September, but our Senate 
Democratic colleagues are already threatening not to work with us on 
funding the government--which perhaps is the most basic responsibility 
of Congress--threatening a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown. 
But it is clear, with their reluctance to work with us to make sure 
that that doesn't occur, that the risk of that happening is squarely on 
their shoulders.
  Their stated excuse is that they don't agree with some of the things 
that the Trump administration has been doing. I will remind our 
colleagues across the aisle that the American people are ultimately the 
ones who will have to pay the price if they continue to persist in 
delay tactics that lead to a government shutdown.
  It is simply mind-boggling to me that our Democratic colleagues would 
choose to impose a punitive shutdown on the American people as some 
sort of partisan payback for Republican efforts to put our country on a 
more sustainable fiscal path.
  Yes, we are trying to look for efficiency. We are trying to avoid 
waste, fraud, and abuse due to the efforts of the Department of 
Government Efficiency and other leaders in the Trump administration, 
but the fact remains that our country is more than $36 trillion in 
debt. The only way to ensure that our social safety net programs remain 
viable for generations to come and that we continue to be the 
preeminent military power in the world and maintain that deterrence 
that I spoke of a moment ago, the only way we can do that is by 
responsibly funding the government, and that has to happen between now 
and September 30.
  As the Senate winds down this week, and with a recess approaching, I 
will remind our Democratic colleagues that our work is cut out for us 
upon our return, and we have important work to do yet before we leave, 
particularly with regard to this backlog of 147 nominees.
  We have had a productive and successful Senate, notwithstanding 
Democratic obstruction. But I look forward to doing even more, not only 
in the remaining time before we leave for the recess but when we return 
from that recess.
  After all, we should not get bogged down by partisan battles that 
cause us to neglect our larger responsibility. We are here to represent 
the 350 million people who call this country home, and it falls to us, 
on their behalf, to do the job that they sent us here to do and not to 
engage in this mindless partisanship and increase the dysfunction and 
inefficiency of that government.
  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. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.