[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 43 (Monday, March 9, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S913-S914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, my friend from the State of Oregon is 
correct: We need someone in this position.
  He and many of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle are 
certainly entitled to their opinion that the President made a mistake 
in his considered decision. I think the President was correct in what 
he has done and what he is about to do in Iran, but the fact is we are 
there, and we need a commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and a Director 
of the National Security Agency.
  And I would point out to the Presiding Officer and to my colleagues 
and to anyone within the sound of my voice that General Rudd was 
reported out of the Armed Services Committee by a voice vote. No one 
even asked for a rollcall vote. So there is strong bipartisan support, 
even among people who agree with my colleague, about the wisdom of the 
President's action. Even among those people, they agreed by voice vote 
that General Rudd should be appointed.
  Operation Epic Fury is complex. It is demanding. The President is 
going to dismantle the terrorist regime in Iran, and our capabilities 
in the cyber domain in that regard have never been more important. So 
we need this gentleman in office.
  We will never get unanimity on every issue, but there is huge support 
on this side of the aisle and on the Democratic side of the aisle.
  And so, Madam President, at this point I ask unanimous consent that 
the pending nomination, Calendar No. 655, be confirmed; that the motion 
to reconsider be considered made and laid

[[Page S914]]

upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further 
motions be in order to the nomination; and that the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume 
legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, just very briefly, because my friend is 
on the floor, I think we both agree that this position needs to be 
filled. What I am so troubled by is, on issue after issue, where we 
needed to see experience and savvy in concrete areas to do what Ben 
Franklin said--Ben Franklin said we need security and liberty, and 
smart policies will give you both. And, unfortunately, in the questions 
that I and others asked of this nominee, he simply had no involvement 
in the past in these questions.
  For that reason, I continue to believe that this nomination is a 
mistake, and it is why I am opposing the nomination tonight.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. MORENO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up 
to 3 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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