speak for ticket inventory to take them the bureaucracy. >> what is your name to permitting review in compliance to prevent it penalties for inefficiencies? >> we have a tremendouss team ad putting in an actor controls make sure we are streamlining and all the processes we around america. >> and they often have the most.

>> you can finish watching expand.org. we will take you live to the u.s. capitol. the senate is about to gavel in health and human services secretary. live coverage on c-span. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, sustainer of humanity, we thank you for commanding light to shine out of darkness, for stretching out the heavens,

and laying the foundation of the earth. we praise you for calling us to be your people, for revealing your purposes in your holy word, and for extending to us your mercy and faithfulness. bless the members of this body all who support them. give them such trust in you that holding onto your word, they may be strong in this and in every time of challenge, grief, and pain. impart to them grace to permit you to order their straps and, lord, bring peace to our nation

and world. we pray in your merciful name, amen. >> if you would please join me in the pledge. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each.

i recognize the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: today, i come to the senate to recognize june as national elder abuse awareness month. i'm introducing a resolution with democratic senator blumenthal for this very purpose. this is a time to shed light on a crisis that too often remains in the shadows. last year, an estimated one in six older americans experienced some form of abuse in a community setting, whether physical, emotional, financial, or neglect. for every elder abuse case that's reported, as many as 24

go unreported, it is estimated. these aren't just numbers. they're our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors, and our veterans. elder abuse isn't limited by geography or income. it occurs in nursing homes and private residences, the very places meant to offer these elderly people care and protection. with a fast-growing senior population in our country, the urgency to act has never been greater. this month, we recommit to building a society that views aging not as a burden but as a source of wisdom, experience, and continued contribution. we recommit to raising awareness

of elder abuse and implementing protections for those in our society who protected us first. i urge my colleagues to join me in honoring older americans this month. in the senate judiciary committee, which i chair, i'm working to support and protect our signors -- our seniors. so tomorrow, i'm holding a hearing to examine how scammers are targeting older americans. this continues my effort to ensure that seniors are protected from financial predators and can live with security and the dignity that these seniors deserve. i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. mr. president, welcome to canada. happy birthday. a few days short. happy birthday to the u.s. military. this is the 50th birthday of the g7.

this marks the 50th birthday of the g7. the g7 is nothing without the u.s. leaders and your personal leadership to the united states, many issues in geopolitics, economics, technology, and working hand in hand with the united states. thank the other g7 partners. it's great to have you >> i appreciate it. we've developed a very good relationship. we will be talking about trade and many other things. we have a whole group of people, some traders and some other people. we have a very talented group of people, you do too and i know they work together very well. i look forward to that. the g7 used to be the g8, barack obama and a person named trudeau didn't want russia to end and i would say that was a

mistake because i think you wouldn't have all are right now if you had russia and you he wouldn't have a warrant if trump for president four years ago but it didn't work out that way. used to be g8 and i guess what over nine years ago eight years ago it switched. they threw russia out. i think that was a very big mistake. you spent so much time talking about russia. he's no longer at the table. it makes life more complicated. other than that i think will accomplish a lot i expect to end our primary focus will be trade and trade with canada. i'm sure we can work something out.

>> i'm a tariff person, it's easy, it's precise and it goes very quickly we will look at all seen messages from intermediaries that iran wishes to be a conflict?what have you heard from the iranians? >> they should have done that

before. >> what would it take for the same not to get involved in this militarily. >> i don't want to talk about that. >> do you think he should have a seat at the g7 and it should be the g8.>> i'm not saying he should at this point because too much water has gone over the dam at this point. obama didn't want him and the head of the country, the proud head of your country didn't want him this is a big mistake. you have your enemy at the table i don't even consider that he was an enemy at that time. if i were president would've never happened.

likewise if he were a member of what was called the g8 at that time it was always the g8 you wouldn't have a war right now. >> we've always supported israel. is really doing very well. [inaudible] >> it's not a bad idea. if somebody wants to see just china coming in you want people you can talk to. putin speaks to me he doesn't speak to anybody else. he was very insulted when he got through out of the g8. as i would be as you would be as anybody would be. he was thrown out by toradol who convinced one or two people along with obama he was thrown out and he's not a happy person about it.

[inaudible] >> i don't know what you're saying. i want to focus on the city's. that's where the people are. i look at new york i look at chicago you got a really bad governor in chicago. and a bad mayor the government is probably the worst of the country. but i look at how that city has been overrun by criminals and new york and la, look at la, that's the focus. biden allowed 21 million people to come into our country.

of that, vast numbers of those people are murderers, killers, people from gangs, people from giles, they emptied their jails out to the u.s. most of those people around the city's. all blue cities all democrat run cities and they think they're going to use them to vote. it's not that i happen. >> i'm going to exercise my role we have a few more tariffs with the president and his team then we have to start the meeting to address some of the big issues. >> that's it, thank you very

much. [inaudible]

suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: over the weekend while most of the country slept, a gunman targeted two state legislators in their homes. he pretended to be a police officer, and he gunned down democratic state legislator john hoffman and his wife. we pray for their full recovery. and then the gunman attacked

another state legislator with over 20 years of speaker, melissa hortman and her husband mark. they leave behind two children. this is not only horrifying minnesota but a tragedy for america. this heinous act of political violence defies american values and democracy. unfortunately, we've seen a disturbing increase in political violence in recent years, seemingly as a misguided and sickening attempt to strike fear and intimidation in the american people and those engaged in public service. violence and hate have no place in america. leaders on both sides of the aisle must speak out and condemn these violent acts. i've said this repeatedly, it bears repeating. political violence from the right or the left is never,

never acceptable. it is never the answer. we must condemn these violent acts when they happen but we must also speak out against the radical language we see online and even language coming from our colleagues. one member of this body tweeted a picture of the minnesota shooter and wrote this is what happens when marxists don't get their way. he tweeted another picture and wrote nightmare on walz street, attempting blaming minnesota governor tim walz. another colleague from the other side of the aisle said, the extreme on which the left has become violent is terrifying. this is unacceptable. this is beyond dangerous and insights even more violence.

it is reprehensible and it must be called out on both sides of the aisle. both sides of the aisle. because in the land of the free and home of the brave, everyone should feel expressing their political views and they must never do so in a way that condones violence or intimidation. i pray for minnesota during this heartbreaking time and vow to denounce political violence of any kind. on another topic. over the weekend, president trump hosted a military parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the u.s. army and coincidentally his 79th birthday, spending up to $49 million on this while at the same time proposing ale budget to eviscerate medical research for the military and take health research from 16 million americans is not a cause for

national celebration. meanwhile the president's crypto business unfolds durings first presidency, he was skeptical of crypto currency. in the past he said i'm not a fan of bit coin and other crypto currencies, it is based on thin air, unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful activity, and that is from the president in his first term. once the president figured out how to personally make this part of his investment portfolio, his tune changed. this is how president trump is using the unregulated crypto industry to enrich himself and his family. three days before he took office, president trump launched his memecoin, a noeflt novelty

item. they hold no intrinsic value. meme coins are risky and highly volatile. despite the risk, many investors purchased president trump's memecoin and in the first few weeks the president profrtd up to $100 million in trading fees while more than 200,000 investors lost money. there's never been a precedent for this in the history of the presidency. and then he auctioned himself by hosting a crypto dinner, he made $480 million off this dinner from 220 investors willing to pay for his time. many were still losers.

95 attendees had a loss by purchasing president trump's memecoin. in total, 764,000 investors lost money to president trump's memecoin scam, but his corruption does not stop there. his family started its own crypto firm now, world liberty financial and in march they launched their own stablecoin while the senate was working on the genius act to regulate the stablecoin market. this legislation allows the president and his family to continue owning and issuing stablecoins. there's never been anything like this in the history of the presidency. passing the genius act will help to stablecoin market grow tenfold to a trillion dollar market. i will vote no when it comes up

this week. we prohibit congress from crypto currency, why do we have two different standards? i think the answer is obvious. if the senate passes this legislation tomorrow, it would give congress's blessing for president trump and his family to further enrich themselves with very little protection for consumers. president trump's crypto dealings reportedly account for nearly 40% of his net worth. all of the years and decades of investment notwithstanding, 40% of president trump's net worth has been generated in just a few months in the second term of his presidency with his crypto currency. in a few months the trump family pulled in approximately $1 billion from crypto, $1 billion. tomorrow's vote on the genius act could bring us closer to enabling president trump's latest scam. this is shameful. it is corrupt.

especially since we could have stopped this from happening if we would have conducted an open amendment process as leader thune promised. we could have had amendments on the floor that would have brought real regulation to this industry, instead we have phony regulation. i filed an amendment to crack down on tax scam operate -- atm operators, who have been scamming seniors. this would have prevented guardrails for crypto fraud. ten states have done so, we should do so on a national basis. they have we won't have that opportunity. we can't even ask for a vote. the genius act will allow the crypto scam to continue at the expense of unsuspecting americans and to the enrichment of the president and his family. i yield the floor.

.

good morning everyone. welcome to the 2025 g7 leadership. in my home province of alberta

in the heart of the canadian rockies i note that we are also meeting on treaty seven territory, the traditional lands the blackfoot confederacy, the stoning accommodations and took seen our ation's. those discussions led to a long period of decisions and

prosperity. at that time. >> we are fortunate enough to have president micro as the seven gathered to integrate those countries. 23 years ago the g7 met here in kananaskis that was after the world was reeling from 9/11. another turning point in history. hostile states and terrorists have expanded the capabilities and the reach threatening global security in the local

communities. global commerce, energy systems and intelligence are all being rewired. the g7 must adapt in order to fulfill its ission.

we will have open frank discussions over the course of the next two days. we not not agree on absolutely every issue but where we will cooperate make an enormous difference for citizens and the world and bring the next era of prosperity i hope to the benefit of those we erve.

devises in middle east studies. what is your biggest concern as we sit here today and watch the latest out of iran and israel? >> certainly when it comes to the fighting between iran and israel i worry about the fighting breading i worry about israel not being able to complete its objectives. when you have a hornets nest, you have two good options get rid of it and leave it alone. but the lasting you want to do is sit underneath it.

>> you wrote last week about potential opportunities that the u.s. should be prepared for hearing. as we try to find out what

happened. how do we know how do we go about doing that and what a position to do it. >> when it comes to the iranian people we should be asking who's actually representing that government right now we see that the government has been largely decapitated, the question we need to ask is are we going to recognize the islamic republic as the legitimate representatives of the iranian people. we've seen this similarly with venezuela as well. what i would suggest is that we simply suggest that we no longer recognize the islamic republic as legitimate government of iran and sit on

the sidelines and see who else is emerging that can take charge would it be the head of the labor union in iran would it be the head of the retirees union. the women's movement are there parliamentarians in place. there's a lot we should actually be discussing even if it's not clear answers at this moment. >> who are some of those potential players and what do we know about what's happening inside a ron right now? >> one of my biggest regrets, when i used to work in the bush administration between 2002 and 2004 is for the first time during that period iranian bus drivers went on strike it might not seem important but the middle east is a country that is a region that doesn't really have independent labor unions.

the bus drivers themselves, once you start referring to solidarity in poland back in 1981 with the bush administration mistake. if you have organize labor, which is able to act independently, that itself suggests much more legitimate leadership from inside the government, at least institutionalization of leadership that could help within a transition. first thing i would suggest we do is reach out to the labor unions which has now expanded tremendously. what i don't know about, for example, some of the afl-cio some other international labor unions is why they are willing to help organize labor everywhere in the world except for a ron. likewise in iran the environmentalist movement is important and scares the regime

to death because the islamic republic has been scared of any sort of movement that can unite people across socioeconomic backgrounds. why is it the greens in europe won't support the greens those shore up the national grassroots organizations are those with whom i think we could be working in the future. >> in the past grassroots uprising run directly into the teeth of the military and security apparatus in iran but what do we know about is there any sort of daylight between the security apparatus is there any indication that the commitment has been shaken in the wake of these attacks? >> you are absolutely right, one of the reasons that never worked was the islamic guard was charged not just with territorial defense. charged with the fence they

could be internal. so the informants could never muddle through the reports. one of my other criticisms of u.s. policy is, we talk about what we do know about hardliners and reformers and so on but we don't talk about what we don't know intelligence analysts don't like talking about what they don't know what one of the things we don't know is with regard to the factual divisions in 2007 the islamic revolutionary guard reorganized itself so they put one unit every province to keep control. we don't know whether the people stuffing the units are native to the provinces in which they serve. what we've been seeing over the last 24 hours militarily is usually important.

the israelis have been going after the apparatus of repression. this was the person responsible for the murder of mosso and mimi, the 22-year-old woman whose death sparked woman life freedom movement. they've been going after other elements of the interior ministry in the secret police. what it seems is happening is that israel has shifted from not only targeting the military and nuclear programs but also targeting the mechanisms of state repression hoping the iranian people will now rise up, if they don't need to fear the islamic revolutionary guard or the ministry of intellect. >> marco rubin as our guest this morning with the director of policy analysis at the middle east forum. and happy to take your phone call. ast

violence no matter where it comes from. and to work together to eradicate its root causes. we cannot be silent because silence only serves to enable more violence. and in the meantime, i will continue to work with leader thune, with the capitol police, the sar jentsz at arms and -- sergeant at arms and all my colleagues to ensure the safety of every senator and our staffs. this is a dark moment for america, but i believe firmly in my bones we will endure. now, on senator padilla. what happened last week to senator padilla was beyond the pale. i don't care who you are or what your views are, there is never

justification for federal agents to put their hands on a member of the u.s. senate, throw him onto the ground and cuff him for no reason other than he was doing his job o the way agents treated senator padilla is what he see in towtarian regimes. it is outrageous that secretary noem let this happen and then lied about the incident after the fact. neither the senate nor any member of government can tolerate a member of this chamber to be treated in this way. secretary noem has proven herself to be did he recall libertying in her -- early libertying in her responsibilities. i -- derelict in her responsibilities. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. we are very long time partners and allies and friends and we become friends in a short period of time. more liberal than i am. >> worried despite all of the

russians. >> have nothing to do with it except biden stupidly let me get into this. 350 billion it despite that, you saw the middle east $1 trillion we have $15 trillion almost and invested in the u.s. of the money is not the thing in this case. 5000 young people in russia -- nine. they are ukrainian and they are russian. >> it is irrelevant.

>> the uk was very protected because i like them. that's why. it's the ultimate production.

i don't know what they are saying. let them say it to other people to listen a lot of them. a lot of them.

the theology aspect is the difference between the sunnis and the shiites after mohammed about who was going to take over leadership of the muslim. they end up with a more familiar session. sometimes brother in these 44 iran, 12 didn't die, he disappeared and what they are and yemen the type we have iran and lebanon the end of the day they will return jesus christ set aside as a first convert

islam and they will usher in a period of just and divine and corruptible islamic government on earth. traditional shi'ite look at this until messianic figure returns by definition, all society is corrupt and therefore we don't want the clergy involved in this is why they have a separation between mosque and state. he said mohammed didn't differentiate we will see the one to say in the deputy so that's what they. good to the hurt if you remember in 2005 president 2005 2013 he

was the first iranian resident from a military background in one of the first things he did was build a highway, which many the hidden will reemerge, but he is putting in preparation this infrastructure to show they were helping the return and many people leave they will only return after great work you have a combination of the nuclear weapon they believe in the return to. that's one concerned. the other issue, however, is

that until the return all government is by definition corrupt. and at the time they would say trying to bring corruptible government on earth so is killing two birds with one stone. at the same time right deal. and the nuclear program. >> his aei bio former pentagon official and lived, and pushed i had run in pre-and post war iraq before 9/11 the end, iran, was

that experience like. >> i'm still in touch with many, including iranian officials. what i was doing in the 19th century iranian history i will middle east book group and family, marion so you have and i am fascinated by iran. a lot of people don't realize in the 1950s as a world study so gail got iran and russia. it is no longer like that but each of the school's library are still one direction or another.

a guy who wrote the book history basically set we talked about the conflict but it's late in the game it comes to the middle east and there's so much more 2000's and talking about iran fascinated. it's like peeling off layers of an onion and amazing living back iranians with call me but iran has this cosmopolitan culture so people understand what's going on and one thing i realized is 10% of the country took part in this revolution in 1979, compared to the u.s. revolution for only 1% took part or 2%

democracy but never really defined itself what i was hearing his we joined this figure of the dictator by the time we realize we were, it was too late so a lot of the iranians who took part peeled away in about six months and ever since, but even though iranians have been that is a trajectory they haven't been always revolutionary because from this perspective but have they have a little vision they killed a million people and network attached a lot to transform that one will be no if this is different but.

>> ultimately i think this time very well may be different places legally. such a perfect storm. for lunch beside israeli attack on from of it. may 22 truck drivers were not expressed the you have truck drivers 125 different houses that is everyone iranian what led the 1979 islamic was the labor action is letter to the teachers and oil workers before writing the truckers to lift right that a single one. his name is courtney progression. specific unit involved in the freedom movement the you have

back and the economic downturn and iran where inflation is running people are upset and they were upset before this public that 86 results we touched cambridge publicly and partially paralyzed from a 1981 foundation. people were already starting to talk whether he would be able to have a smooth succession in the only other time was 1989 when there was that he paid so way down but the situation now and

iraq, afghanistan, they could say concept. iranians don't look at it as a foreign concept. they had something called the constitutional revolution model of the world happened in russia, you know that to 1915, 16, you have a thriving democracy iran and they will look back and say you want to get back to. e presi objection.

mr. thune: and i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 130. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of homeland security, rodney scott of oklahoma to be commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection. mr. thune: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of rodney scott of oklahoma to be commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection, department of homeland security, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask i ask consent the reading of the names be waived and move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. thune: mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 1345. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. the presiding officer: the ayes appear to have it. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: department of health and human services, gary andres of virginia to be assistant secretary.

it's a great question and i'm thrilled i'm getting questions from across the political aisle. i argue the animosity is localized. when we look at the conflict started israel foundation in 1948, which took on religious overtones.

in iraq pre-and post war. i don't like my religion and i find people are fine but that because they look at me as a person. the happen episodes that led to what they saw based on status and there are examples, jews and christians of the exhibit and they constrained and so forth the complicated question but i'm not as pessimistic as you may

be. >> security journal israel around for dry run with turkey. explain. would like to understand in the across the administration barack obama the focus is what's going to happen in the next 24 hours and what just happened afghanistan you have the flexibility. for the navy when i talked they were only interested in what might happen over the next six months : of the work so it was

truly fascinating. when i look at the future we are focused on iran right now the nuclear program i see keep going down a path site made against israel minorities a nuclear power station turkey developed a domestic weapon industry which is one of the reasons why weaponry not just about destabilizing, it's reverse engineering technology and undercutting our own industry. for that very reason.

in terms of syria and hamas and hezbollah led iran to back off groups for practical purposes, i can't get there without being killed at a new patient in turkey to run operation to get. when you have this perfect storm i worry if turkey is going down the same level even though the situation now and it can happen down the pike focused short-term

and the long-term patterns to build starting in the from of the george w. bush administration dancing with the devil order it will that is the book but it looks like diplomacy is so so that's what north korea

did, they did it successfully and one reason benjamin netanyahu was so frustrated diplomacy was because he thought iranians were following the north korean playbook but not sure there is anything about the. >> court aei's work, vice president of the cato for libertarian ideas and policy discussion.

what is the return approach to this? >> to recognize legal immigration, primarily because it's so difficult to call into the country illegally in the first place. american employers, american sellers, americans demand interact with foreigners economy and buying goods and services. however, the government gets in the way and makes it difficult to come lawfully in the second most collocated portion is the immigration system. the wait times for some categories to come is literally over 100 years, which is a joke. so as a result, we have a large problem merely people seeking to

work and the make it easier legalize those. >> in crimes compared to citizens in this country, and the term criminal and illegal alien is put together all the time of the trump of administration? we don't have the best data research with them in wide illegal immigrants happen criminal incarceration rate about half the of nativeborn americans. immigrant population and find

they have a criminal conviction rate half that of nativeborn americans and drill down crimes like homicide 40% less than nativeborn americans. and talk about illegal immigration and crime and criminals like that and most of them are immigration offenders, illegal reentry and that is most of what criminals are what they have to offense the last time there's a crackdown like we are seeing now let's make the last time 19 or 1930s there was a

program under president eisenhower they are deportation but it was different. driving down will come back to the u.s. involvement different than what they are doing today in the 19 30s illegal immigrants, primarily in places in michigan to follow. in taking office, what we know first? carolina. mr. graham: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to waive

the mandatory quorum call with respect to the andres nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. . the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of gary andres, of virginia, to be an assistant secretary of health and human services, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the mandatory quorum call under rule 22 has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of gary andres, of virginia, to be assistant

secretary of health and human services shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. alsobrooks. ms. baldwin. mr. banks. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. ms. blunt rochester. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mrs. britt. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. curtis. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley.

lecture american journal. the bench united states ambassador with us tonight oral history of the justice

department and appeals on the u.s. foreign intelligence. and president bush awarded. all these reason, many more honored by the board and reagan administration senior fellow on foreign policy and regulatory perform and the rule of law and will consider the. many years later approved

enthusiastically conferences option i of the cost and the legacy it is the lecture on law for the first we are gratefully joined by the family honored and grateful joined by william barr and supplements values in the 77th united states attorney general were senator george h w bush and hundred donald trump

deputy attorney general in the justice department on work and after his first of service, the general counsel and executive vice president twice appear before the supreme court the communication eloquently. is also dedicated much of his work american national security and proceeded his career to 22 memoir one of the meeting with his high school guidance a career and diligent strategy is

to make myself an attractive candidate by becoming an expert on china but it wasn't for. he would attend libya the best edit it never will light of america's cars indispensability. he returned to speeches on challenges in the justice department at the presidential exam. and. cofounded in the group.

and national really honored and grateful to join me in welcoming william barr. [applause] >> good evening. it's good to see silverman family here legacy project for his leadership on this debate on, a privilege on this lecture

international security. i was honored to know terry. we met during the transition of the reagan administration are mutual fund my life a great lawyer and purest just because of his powerful intellect and practical affairs experience in government and the public and highly principled but also a practical statesman who

understood in the abstract exercises and part of the business of governing the public. today, it sometimes late middle ages and unfit to grapple with practical reality, especially in the realm of national security. and we need more jurors like larry and only wanted lost both but. they violated my day. 71 there were roughly ten

lawyers in the building. my responsibility, historical programs directed countries to figure out in the 40s and 50s and the carbon. and they are very picky. also write. at the authority as the commander-in-chief under article two very prominently in this.

the article two and the government structure contemplated by the constitution provide the common defense in a dangerous world. it is a vast utilization securities here. in the security establishment and at the same time and ask the loaded so-called national security law. judges have been the rights of

individual are not advocated. not cases the government proposes the american citizen national security state uses its powers and they are considered. our records and insert

themselves into defense and foreign policy matters in traction in the late 19. notice as an hour of domestic

actors. because of the massive burden of having. health possible for the 9/11 talk has ever asked in 1940 eight beginning this lecture in

german. when i look at the judicial decisions of the past 50 years i see judges to strengths and weaknesses mandated and domestic law enforcement transpose and apply these sometimes suddenly in a very different context of military and national security and approach virtually every case and a mindset. if there will is to protect the individual against the government and service in this

consideration. and take account and say they owe from the when it comes to wielding defense powers against adversaries the president. his judgment is entitled

do with it it is combatants in purely military judgment which civilian judges no view.

in afghanistan and pakistan and held in guantánamo. no connection of them being confronted by. with the military has sufficient basis. under domestic criminal justice. this was a radical departure from both purpose and history of this. in the matter of system practice, but privilege is only available subject as a means of

ensuring the liberty rights are not infringed by arbitrary. misconduct put them under protection or establish the degree of allegiance and local subject. one thing is historically clear, over hundreds of years and knew that the united states or england has about one combatants challengemm as prisoners of war and open the floodgates for prisoners after the global war on terrorism, allowing for the litigation and hundreds of cases. the scrutiny of quality and persuasiveness of the

government's basis for holding in court ordered released of prisoners of war the ruling degraded the capabilities of u.s. military the decision came down and prisoners of war has been paralyzed by the that once detained a constitutional right, military bases and guidance on the kind of due process rights they are supposed to have what they require collecting disposing evidence and protection. stay with the standard is.

in the criminal justice process and carry them over on nations activity and armed conflict. arbitrary government. in the middle justice cases cornell of enemies. fidelity to freedoms first. and separation of power.

they're talking about their rights and freedoms of every on earth. note concerned the light of people. millions of prisoners of war inside perspective country, not

a single case or 25. as soon as and we are not part of that. war in the subject claim service

of the privateer and then was captured. the court entertained position only to extend establishing that he was being held as a prisoner of war. and only so far as the identity

status as a prisoner of war. his mother. the judicial supervision domestic law enforcement and or purpose. and it establishes government community and this laid out in our own constitution to employee

federal government law enforcement for the common defense and national security were defense powers, two distinct realms of activity in the. they take on the leader of the people. he admonishes them on their way.

within the community from outside aggression. the disc domestically, members of role it plays from outside aggression and its law enforcement capacity disciplinary function, tranquility, punishing the number of society and well understood. leasing will planes the

federalist. the ultimate goal is to protect the liberty of those makeup are many, but discipline its own numbers, they can also use its power and the oppressor of the people's liberty and guaranty no schmidt can be weeded out. contain specific constraints on the executive law enforcement powers. nuclear garbage or check on the

executive power. in this realm, the executive suggested judgment irrelevant scattered and present evidence for satisfying standards that stage we have to avoid mistakes that cost collateral damage. the underlying premises as part of the society to suffer the going free and face the democrats a bunch of star. protect the liberty of the american people by overweening

government but these are inexplicable and the government is defending the country from aggressors outside. protecting people requires the maximize the government power against them. the constitution is concerned with one thing, preserving the freedom of our political community by discerning destroying the external threats. ...

it does this by testing responsibilities in the political branches. which are the branches that are accountable to the people for protecting society. when the country is defending itself against the external aggressor, courts have no role to play when it comes to the interaction of our military and our foreign adversary. the judicial branch does not sit as a neutral arbiter as between our society and our foreign enemies. or as a second gas or of military decisions. the idea the judiciary acts as a neutral track on the political branches to protect the foreign enemies from government overreach is insane. now, not only does or

constitution contemplate supervision, not contemplate judicial supervision, against the supervision of military decisions against foreign adversaries, but, the very nature of the military decision-making precludes judicial administration and supervision. they are simply no judicial bleat managed standards to govern or evaluate military operations and judgment. we have lost sight of the fact that many critical decisions and lives are not a medical bolt to the judicial model for they cannot be reduced to evidentiary standards and specific quantum's of evidence in an adversarial process. they require what we used to call prudential judgment. for most of our history military decision-making was seen as the classic example of the kind of

decision-making that was political or illegal in nature. even the most cursory consideration shows the nature of decision-making is profoundly different than the kind of decisions we make in the domestic law enforcement arena. either international law nor the constitution or any other domestic law reports to specify a particular quantum of evidence satisfies a particular standard as a predicate to either killing or capturing a suspected enemy. what would the standard be probable cause? substantial evidence? or beyond a reasonable doubt. these decisions are not acceptable to being reduced to evidentiary standard. they necessarily involve prudential judgments made on incomplete information.

it will always be incomplete and necessarily involved awaiting a wide range of competing risks and making predictions about the future. indeed the military decisions commonly involve what is called precautionary principle or at least a variant of a precautionary principle. this is the principal where there is so uncertainty at their waking to action is warranted but the cost to your site of failing to act could be very serious. it is best to take the action because it's better to be mistaken and safe event mistaken and sorry. that is the precautionary principle and a good example of that was portrayed, was in fact the rate in pakistan to kill or capture osama bin laden. there's the zero dark 30.

some of the participants in that decision to launch the operation have said repeatedly the evidence that obama-that he was in that house was 50/50 a key scene in the movie, this is an excellent screenplay but a key seat in the movie the senior cia official tells the national security advisor kept asking for more and more data that should stop worrying solely about the cost of being wrong and start considering the cost of failing to kill osama bin laden when he has the opportunity. that is a precautionary principle. that is the kind of thinking that's constantly present in the military realm that could never occur in dealing with criminal suspects. another dramatic but less successful example of a precautionary principle is the allies a desperate effort in the italian campaign in 1944 to break through the winter lines

they can move up the valley to capture rome. overlooking was a huge amount inside a monastery one of the great treasures of western civilization tank from the tenth century and from saint benedict himself. to save the monastery he would not let his troops enter or use it. the americans did not think the germans were in the monastery wanted to spirit but the lead assault troops their commander argued that it had to be destroyed because of the germans were in it the chances were not that high. but if the germans were edit his troops will be decimated and thus the risk of failing to destroy it was just too high. eisenhower reluctantly went along better safe than sorry

reasoning. unfortunately the decision proved to be a mistake for the germans were not using it and the only people killed for the italian civilians taking refuge and ultimately destroyedk: targt proved to be a much better defense and position than the germans. the precautionary principle also comes into play in framing rules of engagement. such rules involve a trade-off between a degree of certainty when using force and what that might entail both and reducing military effectiveness and american casualties. generally when a commander tightens the rules he is sacrificing efficiency and risking american lives. that is an appropriate balance to undertake. the key point of the constitution does not perform that balance there's simply no law that would tell a judge or any one precisely how that should be struck. it is a judgment call that's

left to the political branches. the extension of due process concepts of fundamentally changes the nature of the war and is incompatible with the war itself to the extent decisions to detained persons are based in part on the circumstances of the initial counsel on the batter battlefield front-line troops will have to concern themselves with developing and preserving evidence as to each individual they capture. at the same time they are trying to confront the enemy forces. it would be diverted from their primary mission the rapid destruction of the enemy by all means at their disposal taking notes on the conduct of a particular individual's field of battle. further under this habeas corpus regime the military take on the further burden of detailed

investigation of detainees, factual claims once they're taken to the rear this would radically cape the nature nature of the military enterprise make the conduct of war especially regular or warfare vastly more cumbersome for every platoon of combat soldiers the united states would have to field three legions of lawyers, investigators and paralegals. this would divert resources from waiting the war into demonstrating individuals of persons confronted on the field of battle. one of the absurdities of trying to impose the law enforcement model on detainees is that unlike domestic law enforcement, our military forces do not have access to evidence on the other side. and the domestic setting the presumption of innocence and evidentiary rules we have make it modicum of sense because that government has the authority to

gather all relevant information through compulsory process. and has nothing better to do. that is the job of law enforcement but in war we don't have access to the information. we cannot subpoena al qaeda's records and our military personnel have better things to do like fight the war this is particularly galling in the context of a regular or fair our adversaries are violating the rules by specifically not differentiating themselves from civilians. not wearing uniforms that clearly mark them as enemy combatants but hiding among the civilian population. and the rule that we have to sort this out and build a case essentially allows them to use this device to the detriment of

the american people and their safety. i think we all treasure the role that the independent judiciary plays in protecting our liberties. it is vitally important the courts remain ready, willing, and able to stand up against overreach by our government when it infringes on our rights. and less they do, those rights mean nothing. the rights the judiciary is charged with protecting are the rights of those that are part of our political community. the constitution is not written for the world at large. it was written to secure the rights of the people of this great union. i think we all have to stand up and defend the courts when they are performing that role and resisting government action in the trenches on her liberty. but, at the same time the

supreme court and the judiciary have frequently been over leaning power to themselves that they do not have. in many ways we have come through half a century of judiciary imperialism. i hope we are through, and i think we are paid by intruding into areas that it has no business in and second guessing decisions of the political branches the court has done a lot of damage. damage to their own prestige and damage to our country. the recent absurd opinion coming out of california denying the president's authority over the national guard reminds us there is no proposition that is too crazy that you could not find some federal judges somewhere to embrace it. it is good this supreme court has adopted a more conservative approach. but in many areas is leaving in its wake a lot of destruction

and chaos. it would be nice to see the courts show a little more energy and straightening out some of the confusion it has contributed to over the years. unfortunately, part of the court's conservatism involves some avoidance in some areas where there is pressing need to remedy past mistakes and clarify the law. one of those areas is national security. the solemn duty of our government, the judiciary included, is to preserve and to protect the freedoms of the american people. sometimes our freedoms are threatened not by our government by external enemies when that happens we depend on our government mounting the biggest

defense. in these circumstances the courts have the power to restrict the government's decision about how to best defeat the threat is an abomination. thank you. [applause] thank you. [applause] cooked that was great and you've given us a lot to think about. i have a few questions. i have a few questions about some of the issues you raised. members of the audience may have a few questions. i went to the back to the very, very beginning. in your memoir you sketch out this great story of how you became interested in these things as that young man, as a boy even. how did you come upon that so

early so much so we dedicated career to public service. >> there are two things about my planning. one, i do believe in looking ahead and doing some planning. i was always interested in intelligence. my father was oss during world war ii. it was obvious everyone was that everyone in the field of foreign affairs and policy. i said wait a minute, china is going to be a formidable threat ahead. are going to be the next big problem. the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i rise today to discuss senate bill 1582, the genius act.

i believe that this legislation, as it is currently drafted, is fundamentally flawed. it exposes taxpayers, consumers, and the financial system to unacceptable risk. and it creates venues for criminals, terrorists, and rogue governments to finance their illicit activities. despite these dangerous flaws, we will not have the opportunity to offer one single substantive amendment. the legislative process, i think, would require with a bill of this significance and nature a very vigorous amendment process. this legislation before us places the government's stamp of approval on so-called stablecoins, which are crypto dollars that could be minimum micked by anymore -- amazon,

walmart, facebook, x, the trump family, and even foreign countries. it gives stablecoin issuers an enormous privilege -- a u.s. government license to effectively create dollars. without demanding very much of anything in return. and here's how the business works. you give a stablecoin company a dollar. the company gives you back an iou that is recorded on a blockchain. the stablecoin company takes your dollar an invests it in various assets that generate interest and yield. the company keeps that interest and yield. but it is supposed to give you back your dollar whenever you ask for it. you can also take the iou which you receive for your dollar and transfer it to other people, and you can use it to buy other things -- mostly other crypto. if this sounds similar to a

bank, that's because it is. banks allow customers to send and receive money. stablecoins allow customers to do the same thing. just outside the banking system and purportedly in a faster and cheaper way. now, competition can force banks to do a better job, and it should be more convenient for consumers to transfer funds. however, i believe that competition should come from the merits of the product and the underlying technology, not from regulatory arbitrage, as provided in the genius act. the light-touch regulatory regime in this bill is premised on two faulty assumptions -- first, it assumes customer funds are safe because they are fully reserved with one-to-one backing of all customer liability.

and, second, it assumes that stablecoin issuers are inherently risk-free because they engage in only one activity -- issuing stablecoins. but experience tells us that these kinds of assumptions are flawed. during the 2008 financial crisis, we saw institutions with very similar, if not exact, characteristics fail and get billions in taxpayer bailouts. we were assured that money market funds were low-risk because they were fully. we were assured that derivatives weren't innovative tools that didn't need heavy-handed regulation. and we were assured that fannie and freddie were safe because they engaged in one simple business. however, taxpayers needed to backstop $2 trillion in money

market fund liabilities. the government gave aig, an insurance company involved with derivatives, a $200 billion bailout and taxpayers still stand behind $8 trillion in fannie and freddieie liabilities. now, mr. president, i do not believe it is appropriate to apply the full spectrum of banking regulations to stablecoins. but many more elements of the banking laws and the money transmission laws must be imported into this bill in order to make it work. there are dozens of sensible and basic rules that apply to similar firms that handle people's money. the genius bill says that stablecoin companies no longer need to comply with many of these consumer protection laws. instead, they can comply with a

federal framework containing very few of them. now, met me highlight a few specifics that i think the public should be aware of. first, stablecoin companies could operate with near-zero capital. the bill says that capital requirements shall not exceed what is sufficient to maintain the ongoing operations of the issuer. this established a ceiling, not a floor. not a minimum level of capital that regulators would deem appropriate given the business activities. this repeats the mistakes of the 1990's and the 2000's when nonbank financial institutions like lehman brothers operated with barely 3% capital ratios. when the firm got in trouble, there was no cushion to bail

losses. customers and taxpayers had to step in. and strong capital is critical. indeed, in march 2023, when silly convalley -- when silicon valley bank failed, taxpayers bailed out the uninsured deposits of a stablecoin company it the tune of $2.3 billion. second, the audit requirement is calibrated so narrowly that it does not cover a single existing stablecoin company, not one. independent audits make it harder for companies to cook the books or dip into customer funds. i can't imagine why we wouldn't require these types of audits for stablecoin companies holding vast amounts of cash and securities. third, there are no merger or change and control rules. these rules, if in place, could

prohibit felons convicted of financial crimes and fraud from acquiring a stablecoin issuer. now with this bill, if it passes, they can go ahead and acquire it. fourth, the enforcement provisions are dangerously weak. the government will need to wait until wrongdoing has already occurred before it can act. it would be powerless to intervene early to prevent people from getting harmed in the first place. and even then there is no power for regulators to revoke a company's charter. if one of these companies brazenly mishandles customer funds, the regulators will not have adequate tools to stop them. fifth, when a stablecoin company fails, it must go through ordinary bankruptcy, and that, i believe, is a mistake.

we've seen other crypto firms like ftx and celsius go bankrupt recently. customers have been waiting for many, many months, and in some cases years, to get their money back. instead, we should set up a bank-like regulation regime guarantying with customers immediately get their money back up to a limit and the industry should pay for that insurance to satisfy those customers who have been denied their funds. sixth, regulators have no express authority to issue new rules to address emerging threats as they arise. without the ability to issue updated rules, the genius act will become outdated very quickly. given the speed of innovation

and acceleration in all areas, particularly financially, these regulations would probably be out of date maybe within a year or less. together these flaws make the genius bill worse than the status quo. and that brings me to what i consider one of the biggest problems in the legislation, the effect on national security. genius allows foreign-based stablecoin companies to operate freely in the united states. today the world's largest stablecoin -- in other words, the world's largest crypto gala -- is not issued in the united states but p in el salvador. the stablecoin is called tether and it is the biggest beneficiary of this bill. let me tell you a bit about tether. tether was fined by u.s. regulators in 2021 for

misleading customers into thinking that their funds were fully backed. despite this misconduct, tether has never undergone an audit and this bill would not require one. tether is used by north korea. according to fbi indictments in 2023, north korean i.t. workers have, quote, obtained illegal employment in the tech and crypto industry and then asked to be paid in stablecoins like tether after receiving payments, they funneled their earnings back to north korea, close quote. according to government reports, north korea has used at least $5 billion of stolen crypto to fund its weapons of mass destruction programs. this comprises between 40% and 50% of its budget for these programs.

tether is also used by terrorists. according to the treasury department's 2024 national terrorist financing risk assessment, quote, isis and other terrorist groups have used towards using stablecoins, including tether, to move or store funds. in october 2023, the senator from wyoming asked then-attorney general garland to open up a criminal investigation into tether because it has, quote, facilitated significant illicit finance activity including significant terrorism financing for hamas' malviolent attack on israel. and tether is used by russian arms dealers. according to testimony before the banking committee by the deputy treasury secretary in 2024, we've seen russia increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms,

including the stablecoin tether to try to circumvent our sanctions and continue to finance its war machine in ukraine. tether is also used for human trafficking, scams, and frauds. according to a report published by the "nation" in 2024, tether, quote, has become a preferred choice for south asian cyber fraud operations and money launderers alike due to stability and the easy and amenity and low fees of its transactions. during a single year from the middle of 2022 through the middle of 2023, a blockchain analysis company uncovered $17 billion of tether transactions connected to various criminal activities, including human trafficking and romance scams.

and the list goes on. iranian diplomats, venezuelan oil companies, drug traffickers, ransomware attackers -- all are drawn to tether and other cryptocurrency. under the genius bill, tether could be offered and sold in the united states without being required to meet any u.s. anti-money laundering or sanctions compliance requirements. tether would just need to demonstrate the ability to freeze its coins if they fall into the wrong hands. a technological capability that tether already has and that it has apparently refused to use because it still tolerates illicit activities. tether would not be subject to full-blown licensure imposition. tether would need to meet

home-country requirements. but this term is ill-defined and may be weaker than the standards of the united states, in fact i would suggest those standards are highly subjective given the arrangements we've seen in el salvador with its president and its legal system. these weak restrictions will not even kick in for three years after enactment. that means business as usual for tether and other cryptocurrencies. it means more, practically speaking, wmd proliferation, more iranian oil sales, more russian arms deals, more tax evasion, more black market drug sales, and more human trafficking. further, if tether chooses not to meet these bare requirements, then it could not be offered or sold on centralized trading venues in the united states. but there is a huge exception

allowing tether to offer its stablecoins in the united states through decentralized trading venues, also known as defy, which is where north korea trades crypto and the bulk of illicit activity occurs. according to the treasury department, north korea laundered at least $455 million in stolen crypto on one defy platform, called tornado cash, as of 2022. last year, north korea laundered at least 147 million through the same platform. if these trades occurred with real dollars, in real banks, the government would have tools to stop them. but because these trades occur using foreign-issued crypto dollars, outside the banking system, the government lacks

these tools, and the genius act would not give them those tools. as we place, in effect, or by default, the u.s. government stamp of approval on tether, i think it's entirely sensible to be providing treasury with new authorities to address how tether issues for illegal purposes around the world. we should also be looking at the stronger approach taken in europe, where tether may not be offered or sold, full stop, unless it is fully licensed and meets all e.u. laws. if someone is in the business of creating dollars in any form, they should be subject to the full u.s. jurisdiction. if someone creates a platform that is used by north korea to launder stolen dollar alternatives, they should be within the reach of u.s. sanction laws.

i hope republicans and democrats can at least agree on that. but this bill does not respigot these commonsense principles. last congress, department of the treasury sent up a legislative package with new authorities to crack down on tether. the deputy secretary testified before the banking committee about that package. i worked across the aisle, with senators warner, rounds, and romney, on legislation to implement some of these provisions. unfortunately, we could not get it enacted. the bill before us contains none of these provisions. i have filed an amendment to provide these tools to treasury, but regrettably, as i've indicated before, we will not have an opportunity to vote on any amendments. mr. president, there's another aspect of this bill normalizing

the operation of tether. it turns out that trump's commerce secretary, howard lutnick, has millions of dollars in financial interests tied to tether. the investment bank cantor fitzgerald that mr. lutnick ran and owned manages tether's reserve and generates millions of dollars in feet. cantor has provided tether with working capital through a hybrid debt equity investment. has been reported that cantor owns 5% of tether, a stake worth millions of dollars. cantor and tether have just announced a new bitcoin fund for retail investors. now, mr. lutnick, secretary of commerce and someone that will have i think some influence in how this bill is regulated or turned out, says he has divested from cantor. what he has really done is turned ownership and control

over to his adult children, who are in their 20's. now, i invite the american people to judge for themselves whether mr. lutnick no longer has any financial exposure or business ties with tether. just a few months ago, the trump family began issuing a stablecoin called us-d1. this token has already been used by a foreign government to funnel money to trump. let me say that again. a foreign government has funneled money to the president of the united states. turns out an abu dhabi sovereign wealth fund made a $2 billion investment in a crypto company called bynance. instead of real dollars, they used usd1, the trump crypto currency. that raises, i think, serious questions about a president of

the united states receiving significant millions of dollars from a foreign country. and rather than doing something about the president's obvious conf conflicts, the bill expressly affirms that he is able to call his stablecoin usd1. there is actually a provision green lining this name. we have given legislatively the president sole use of this name. for his benefit, his financial benefit. and the bill empowers the president's handpicked regulators to write the rules that will govern the stablecoin business. by authorizing money creation by shadowy offshore firms associated with the president of the united states and the

secretary of commerce, this bill undermines our economy's most valuable asset, if not immediately i think eventually, and that's the u.s. dollar. the dollar is the world's reserve currency because the united states is considered stable, predictable, an open society with a strong rule of law that countries and businesses want to trade and partner with. when the united states becomes less stable, less predictable, and less open, when politically connected people get special treatment, when congress normalized financial self-aggrandizement by the president, all of that makes the dollar less attractive and makes this country look like a third world despot. however, proponents claim this

bill strengthens the dollar by stimulating tee manned for -- demand for treasury security. that cannot be justified at this point by the data. the entire stablecoin market is only 0.01% of the treasury market. and according to an investor letter from the elliott hedge fund, now, that firm is run by a major republican donor, so i don't think this is a partisan description, the dollar enjoys an immense advantage as the world's reserve currency. they point out if the u.s. government encourages adoption of crypto alternatives that will, quote, marginalize the dollar and be, quote, profoundly dangerous. even as legislation would modestly strengthen the dollar, it could not offset the erosion to the dollar that the

administration is engineering through complementary actions, like sky-high tariffs and a trade embargo on china. and it could accelerate the erosion of the dollar if one day stablecoins become legal tender. for example, legal tender that can be used to pay taxes, and it wouldn't surprise me if one day the president sat at his desk and wrote a presidential order that crypto can pay taxes. i offered, actually, an amendment in the committee which would prohibit this by declaring that the legal tender of the united states was the dollar, and the amendment was defeated. mr. president, we need to apply real guardrails that will protect consumers and provide real tools for our national security agencies to address this new technology.

real guardrails and real tools, not words on a page to give the false appearance of protection when things go wrong i would urge my colleagues to oppose this fundamentally flawed bill. mr. president, i would yield the floor.

mr. banks: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. banks: mr. president, ten years feels like a lifetime ago. in may 2015, i had just returned from serving a tour in afghanistan and had just started my campaign, my very first campaign, for congress. but not even a few weeks later on this day, june 16, ten years ago today, donald trump came down that golden escalator in trump tower in new york city and changed american politics forever. he took the republican party and the country by storm, and our country is better off for it. no one in the history of this country has dominated american politics for an entire decade like donald trump has, and it

has been a wild ride. the republican party is better off because of that. our country is better off today because of that too. remember when president trump came down that golden escalator, we were in the political wilderness. republicans hadn't won a national election in 12 years, and republican experts, you might recall, gathered in 2013 to do an autopsy report. what did they say? they said the best way to win a national election was to embrace amnesty. boy, were they wrong. mr. president, it may seem like a lifetime ago, but it wasn't too long ago when republicans and democrats in this chamber were working together to pass so-called comprehensive immigration reform, or also known as amnesty. remember, the gang of eight. president trump shifted us away

from that ideology and mindset. he changed the republican party from one that wanted to pass amnesty to one that would fight to save jobs from illegal labor. donald trump was the first republican in my lifetime to say that immigration should put the interest of the american workers first and foremost. it's one of the reasons he was so different from other republicans back in 2015 and 2016 when he came down that escalator, talking about putting american workers first. it turns out, mr. president, that all working class voters, whether they were black or white, latino or asian, all they wanted was a shot at the american dream for themselves and their kids, just like every other generation of americans had before them. and today, the new republican party is that multiracial working class coalition, thanks

to donald trump. working class americans are now the backbone of the gop, and those are the men and women president trump stands up for every day and fights for, and i'm proud to stand up with him. it wasn't that long ago as well that leaders in both the republican and the democrat party ignored the fact that china was ripping off our country and stealing jobs from american workers. those same experts who assured us that allowing china into the world trade organization and establishing permanent normal trading relations with china would gradually turn the communist china into a liberal democracy, once again, they couldn't have been any more wrong than what they were. the political class completely ignored communist china's ambition to destroy our manufacturing base. for decades, they stood by and watched as china stole our

american technology, copied our products, broke trade rules, and built entire industries on the backs of slave labor. they supported a trade similarity that made our -- a trade system that made our country poorer and more dependent on enemies abroad. president trump from the moment he came down that golden escalator recognized this was a bad deal for american families, workers, and for our national security. nfks, at -- in fact at his first campaign stop in fort wayne, indiana, he used stronger language about china than any political leader before him. in his first term, president trump rewrote the national security strategy and named china a national security threat for the very first time. and this time around president trump's trade agenda is working. his tariffs are already bringing

back manufacturing jobs to the u.s. and encouraging companies to invest trillions in american manufacturing and getting out of china instead. in the last few months, thanks to this president's america first agenda, we've seen honda announcing they're going to build their next generation civic in greensburg, indiana. general motors announced it would increase truck protection in fort wayne. eli lilly plans to invest $27 billion in american manufacturing. novartis just announced a $23 billion investment in their american facilities, creating more good-paying jobs for hoosiers. president trump's policies are strengthening americans' economy and bringing critical manufacturing back home while weakening china's economy. imports from china have already

dropped 35% and china's economy is struggling because of it. and president trump has got their attention. the chinese are begging him to make a deal. he is the first president, you see, in my lifetime to understand china's economic and military threat. every president before president trump played footsie with china but president trump is the only person tough enough to be in that negotiating room with communist china. we finally have a president who is putting american workers and their families that they provide for first. our country is stronger and more secure because of it. no other president since reagan has done more to protect our national security. president trump projects peace through strength and puts the american people's interests first in our foreign policy as well. he is rebuilding our national defense and our industrial base

after his predecessors depleted it. he got our nato allies to step up to the plate and invest more in their collective defense when other presidents tried and failed to do the same thing. and president trump is the greatest peacemaker of my lifetime. he is the only president not to get our country into a new war in the last four decades. our enemies respect us again. they fear us. our allies respect us. the american foreign policy is working because president trump rejected the failed thinking of the past. mr. president, i thank god that president trump came down that escalator ten years ago today. it is a date that we should all mark on our calendar and never forget. american politics hasn't been the same since. i don't think it ever will be again, and for the better. and for all the reasons that i've already mentioned, our country is stronger and more

united today. our workers and families are better off. our streets are safer and opportunity and the american dream is within reach. the american people are charting our country's future again. not china, not the elites, not multinational corporations. the american people. it's a new direction and it never would have happened without president trump's leadership and coming down that escalator ten years ago today. mr. president, i'm proud to stand with president trump. i yield back.

thank you thank you thank you. thank you for your leadership. the work not only comes at a time of the world so desperately needs it. it's vital to addressing the emerging threats to religious liberty and protecting america's first amendment rights. i know we will all continue to pray it has been a very long weekend given what is happening in israel and iran. and also the horrible horrible murders in minnesota. i know we will continue to keep all of them in our prayers. hi doctor carson. chairman patrick, your dedication to faith and freedom make you uniquely qualified to

share this it. thank you again for your friendship for all of these years. and for chairing this. and pastor paula, i think this is the first time in our history the office of faith is located in the west wing of the white house of thank you. [applause] i am profoundly grateful to the members of this commission and to the advisory board for generously offering your time, your insights and your commitment to such an important topic. your willingness to serve speaks volumes about your passion of humanity's most sacred rights which has come under attack. on may 1 to president trump took bold action and signed an executive order establishing the religious liberty commission. president trump's action or reaffirms our nation's enduring commitment to that freedom of our founder. it reminded us that faith was not built-that faith was built

into the foundation of our nation's founding documents. there was no mistake when it was included in the first amendment. our founding fathers understood that every individual must be free to worship without fear, without coercion and without government interference. they also understood the liberty of conscience is a cornerstone a well-formed conscience to discern right from wrong and good from evil. james mattis referred to one's unconscious for the most sacred of all property. from the start, the united states of america the freedom to discern good from evil without

the heavy hand of the government weighing in. president trump has a charge of this commission with helping all americans become and i quote reacquainted with our nation's superb experiment and religious freedom in order to preserve it from emerging threats. sadly over the last four years that promise came under assault with the federal government became complicit in sheltering these threats, becoming the greatest threat itself. pro-life christians were arrested for peacefully break near abortion clinics and violentradicals blocked access o synagogues and religious services were shut down under the guise of safety. the fbi surveilled catholics in their places of worship permits to build mosques were slow walked or disallowed without cause. this past year prison invited mark easter sunday the holiest

day in the christian calendar as transgender day of visibility. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, at 12:00 noon on tuesday, june 17, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on executive calendar number 98, olivia trusty, and if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time be expired, and the senate vote on confirmation of the nomination at 4:30 p.m. further, at 2:15, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on executive calendar number 99, olivia trusty, and if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time be expired, and the senate vote on confirmation of the trusty nomination at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the democratic leader on wednesday, june 18. further, with respect to executive calendar number 145, gary andres, all postcloture time be expired and the senate

vote on confirmation of the andres nomination following the cloture vote on executive calendar number 99. further, following disposition of calendar number 98, the senate execute the order of june 11 with respect to calendar number 66, s.1582, and if agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. finally, if any nominations are confirmed during tuesday and wednesday's sessions of the senate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent mr. president, i ask unanimous the judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 247. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 247, designating may 2025 as national wildfire preparedness month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the committee is discharged and

the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 279, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 279, designating june 2025 as great outdoors month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding without objection. the senate will proceed to the measure. sna mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moreno: mr. president, i have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. moreno: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its

business today, it stand adjourned until 11:30 a.m. on tuesday, june 17. that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of calendar number 98, olivia trusty, under the previous order. further, following the cloture vote on executive calendar number 98, senator padilla be recognized to speak for up to 20 minutes, and following his remarks, the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moreno: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the senate lawmakers worked on the nomination of gary to serve a

assistant health and human services secretary. thiseek lawmakers are expected to work on the stable coin, crypto currency regulatn. when the senate returns watch live coverage here on cspan2. ♪ i happen to listen to them, he was on c-span one. that is a big upgrade, right? quick site read about in the history books. i have seen the c-span footage. if it is a really good idea, presented in public view on c-span. >> every single time i tuned in on tiktok or c-span or youtuber anything there and tens if not hundreds of thousands of people watching. >> out home after the speech and i turned on c-span. >> i was on c-span just of this week. >> to the american people, and now is the time to tune into

c-span. quick said something to dollars and 50 cents a gallon i saw on television a while ago in between my watching might great friends on c-span. >> c-span sl business right now live. we are not just speaking to los angeles. we are speaking to the country. [applause] ♪