• 15 hours ago
During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about Republicans' 'accomplishments' since President Trump began his second term.

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Transcript
00:00Mr. President, Senators have been seeing a lot of each other lately.
00:03In fact, too much, some might say.
00:07The Senate is hopefully about to wrap up its 10th consecutive week in session,
00:12the Senate's longest in-session stretch in over 15 years.
00:18Ten weeks that include late nights, weekend work, and even an all-night session.
00:25And we have a lot of accomplishments to report back to our constituents
00:28when we're back in our states next week.
00:31The Senate has confirmed 21 members of President Trump's Cabinet,
00:35and we've done it at the fastest pace since 2001.
00:39That's right, the Senate has gotten through hearings, markups, and floor votes
00:44on 21 Cabinet nominees at a record pace.
00:48As a result, President Trump has more of his Cabinet in place today
00:51than any president since George W. Bush.
00:55And we've also confirmed a lot of sub-Cabinet officials and a new FBI director.
01:02And Senate committees are continuing to hold hearings
01:04and send more of the president's nominees to the floor for a vote.
01:07Mr. President, the Senate Republican majority has also been working
01:12to execute our legislative agenda.
01:15And at the top of the priority list is securing the border.
01:18The first bill we sent to President Trump's desk was the Lake and Riley Act,
01:22which ensures that criminal, illegal immigrants are detained
01:25when they're arrested for certain crimes and not returned to America's streets.
01:31Senator Britt led the debate on this bill on the floor.
01:34And we had an amendment process that made this bill stronger
01:37by adding Senator Ernst's bill, Sarah's Law,
01:40and elements of Senator Budd's bill, the Police Act.
01:43Senate Republicans also passed a budget resolution
01:46to unlock the process to provide resources to carry out President Trump's border agenda.
01:51We've already seen border crossings plummet
01:54in response to President Trump's border security measures.
01:58Criminal, illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported from cities around the country.
02:03But to continue these efforts and maintain a secure border
02:06will require additional resources.
02:09And we're determined to deliver them.
02:12We're also working to address the fentanyl crisis by passing the HALT Fentanyl Act.
02:17The HALT Fentanyl Act will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.
02:23We'll provide law enforcement with a critical tool to go after the people
02:27who are bringing this poison into our country and killing Americans.
02:31And I expect that we'll pass this bill soon.
02:34Mr. President, Senate Republicans are also working to eliminate
02:38some of the Biden administration's burdensome regulations.
02:41As part of our promise to unleash American energy,
02:44we passed Senator Hoeven's resolution to block the Biden natural gas tax.
02:50And we also passed Senator Kennedy's resolution overturning a rule
02:54that would have stifled energy development in America's waters.
02:59To promote financial freedom, we passed resolutions from Senators Ricketts and Cruz
03:04to protect America's financial privacy.
03:08And there will be more regulatory relief to come.
03:12Mr. President, it's been a busy couple of months.
03:15And we've gotten a lot done.
03:18And we could have done even more if Democrats hadn't repeatedly chosen to use the filibuster.
03:24That's right.
03:26A few short months ago, when Democrats were in the majority,
03:30they were making plans to destroy the filibuster.
03:34Now they've been in the minority for 10 weeks.
03:36They've already used the filibuster three times.
03:39And what are the bills that they blocked?
03:42Well, first, there was the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,
03:47a bill that simply requires doctors to give a baby born alive after a failed abortion
03:52the same medical care that any other baby would receive.
03:56Then there was the ICC sanctions bill,
04:00which would have supported our ally Israel and protected American service members abroad.
04:06And then just last week, every Democrat joined a filibuster against Senator Tuberville's bill
04:13to keep biological men out of women's and girls' sports.
04:20And now Democrats are threatening yet a fourth filibuster,
04:25this time to shut down the federal government tomorrow.
04:30I have to say, it's funny how Democrats' opposition to the filibuster changes with the prevailing winds.
04:37Mr. President, I promised last year that 2025 would be a busy year.
04:43And these past 10 weeks are just the beginning.
04:48Republicans are working to deliver for the American people.
04:53We are just getting started.
04:55Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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