Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, it may genuinely be impossible for Trump to be more out of touch with the American people than he already is. After Trumpflation reached a record high yesterday, Donald Trump said: The numbers are great . . . I love the inflation. That is what he said. Those are his words. The numbers are great . . . I love the inflation. That is when inflation hit a record high, long-time high of 4.2 percent. Look at this guy. How out of touch is he? Donald Trump, the American people hate the inflation. They are shouting it from the rooftops every day: Bring costs down. And Donald Trump says ``I love the inflation.'' What is wrong with him? How out of touch is he? It is sickening, and you can't even make this stuff up. Americans are losing their homes. Parents are working multiple jobs just to feed their kids. Workers are walking to their jobs because they can't afford to fill up their tanks, but Donald Trump has the audacity to say ``I love the inflation.'' In fact, I was told that a veteran in New York one night had to choose between feeding his child and feeding his service dog. Isn't that--doesn't that make you sad? What we are seeing from Trump isn't just benign neglect or blind indifference. Trump is actively rooting for the financial demise of the American people when he says ``I love the inflation.'' What is Trump thinking? Did Trump lose a bet where he had to say the most asinine, tone-deaf thing imaginable on national television? Trump has torched the American economy with his tariffs, with his disastrous war in Iran, and with his unprecedented cuts to healthcare and other vital services. Now most arsonists flee the scene of the crime; Donald Trump calls a press conference. The only thing Donald Trump loves more than inflation is the corruption. As Americans live through a financial nightmare, Donald Trump is living out his billionaire dreams: golden ballrooms, lavish gifts from foreign countries, sweetheart deals for his family business, taxpayer- funded cash payouts for him and his cronies through the slush fund. Apparently, Senate Republicans love the inflation too, helping Trump every step of the way as he drives up costs and lines his pockets. You would think given how out of touch Trump is, given how he talks about loving inflation while the American people are suffering, that some of our Republican colleagues would have the guts to cross the aisle and join us in fighting this inflation. But instead, silence, fear, knees knocking because they are afraid of Trump. Well, we will see how much Trump and the GOP love inflation come November.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on Bill Pulte. The whole job of the Director of National Intelligence is to keep America safe, but Trump's decision to appoint Bill Pulte--someone with absolutely zero relevant experience--is going to put Americans in danger. Let me repeat, America. With Pulte in charge, we are in danger. This job is so sensitive, we need real leadership in the intelligence community, not a national security novice sent to undermine the work of intelligence professionals. That is what Pulte is expert in. Trump has an enemy, he goes after them, even if the facts don't merit it. Look what he did to my attorney general in New York Letitia James, and with so many others, including Cook at the Federal Reserve. He is just a hit man in a certain sense, a financial sense. And it is outrageous. He has no fidelity to fact. He is just a yes-man to Trump. Trump says: Go after one of my enemies--and Pulte does. No one in their right mind would trust Bill Pulte, a person nicknamed ``Little Trump'' by his administration colleagues to speak truth to power, to conduct objective analysis, to resist efforts to politicize the intelligence community. In a job where facts are so important and the President knowing the real facts is so important, to have this man who has no fidelity to facts in this job, again, is very dangerous for the American people. Trump and Republicans need to put an adult in the room. Bill Pulte is not the man for the job, and my Republican colleagues know it.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Iran, for weeks, Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio have insisted their disastrous war in Iran is over. How stupid do they think the American people are? This morning, Trump said he plans to take Kharg Island, which could even mean putting American boots on the ground. It doesn't take a military genius to see that Trump's fiasco of a war with Iran never ended, not with American helicopters being shot down, not when American bases are being attacked and American troops are coming under fire. Saying this war is over is an insult--an insult--to the brave American servicemen who are risking their lives every day to fight it. The only thing more absurd than the Trump administration's lies about the Iran war is that Republicans accept them at face value and just go along--too many, too many of them. For months, Democrats have urged Republicans to support our War Powers Resolution to end this war for real. And for months, Republicans have failed to do so. Americans have made it clear they don't want this war. They don't want the high costs, gasoline and fertilizer and everything else that comes with it. And Trump has made it clear he is incapable of cleaning up this mess. You just have to listen to his statements over a period of a few days, and they completely contradict each other. Typical of Trump. He doesn't care if he says one thing one day and says the total opposite thing the next day. The American people know he is lying to them. He doesn't care. Trump is incapable given his way, his lack of concern for facts, his only concern being his own ego. He is incapable of ending the war, incapable of cleaning up his own mess. Republicans need to stop buying the BS, show some spine, and help us bring our servicemembers home. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on stock buybacks, you know costs are skyrocketing, but corporations are making massive profits. And instead of using the profits to create jobs and invest in growth, corporations too often buy back their own stock to increase its value and reward executives. I am introducing legislation today with Senators Wyden and Warren to rein in the stock buybacks that corporate executives use to line their own pockets to the detriment of the American people. Americans need more jobs and higher wages right now, not more privileges for millionaires and billionaires. Our bill would quadruple the tax big corporations pay on these stock buybacks, which will both push companies to invest in their workers in the future and allow us to invest more in lowering costs and helping working families get ahead, with some of the money we could use when you collect that 4 percent on stock buybacks. While Trump and Senate Republicans don't have any plan to lower Americans' costs--in fact, their policies are doing the opposite-- Democrats continue to fight back against corporate giveaways and push for solutions to help the American people deal with skyrocketing costs in Trump's economy. Let's not forget, if you are the CEO of a company and you are often measured by your stock price, buybacks raise that stock price. The damn shame of it all is those buybacks don't create a single new job or an investment in workers or an investment in equipment to increase productivity and produce more. No. They simply raise the stock price, which benefits corporate executives and shareholders but not the American public. So we ought to, at the very minimum, raise the tax which was put on at 1 percent to now 4 percent. And in addition, it will bring in revenues to the Federal Government, hopefully, that we can use to help lower costs for the American people. That is certainly what we would do.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning's inflation numbers reaffirm what the American people already know: Trumpflation is getting worse and worse, with no end in sight. Trumpflation hit 4.2 percent last month, a 3-year high. Another month of Trump's illegal Iran war, another month of Trump's tariffs, another month of Republican control of Congress, and what does America get? A new alltime high for Trumpflation. Just about everything is getting more expensive. In the past year, the price of fresh produce has gone up 6 percent; meat, 7.6; electricity, 6; airfare, 26.7; and gasoline by a staggering 45-percent increase. Is it any wonder that polling this week found that 70 percent--70 percent--of American voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the cost of living? That number includes a whole lot of Republicans. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one, but nearly 17 months since taking office, he and his MAGA majorities in Congress haven't lifted a finger to lower Americans' costs. But let's be clear. Republicans aren't just failing to address the affordability crisis; they are making it worse--actively making it worse. Republicans are driving up costs with their expensive tariff tax, with their disastrous war with Iran that is leading to recordbreaking gas prices, with their trillion-dollar cut to healthcare, and with the rest of this radical, hard-right agenda that so misserves the American people. Trump's tariffs are costing American families more than $1,700 a year on average. American families have had to pay an additional $750 on average during these past few months just to meet skyrocketing costs of gasoline because of the Iran war. Instead of focusing on helping Americans weather this dire financial moment, Republicans are helping Donald Trump get even richer. As Americans' costs go up, Donald Trump keeps putting his hand into the till to make money for himself and his family. Republicans are more concerned with Trump's golden ballroom than with helping Americans afford housing. Republicans would rather give taxpayer-funded payouts to Trump and his cronies through his MAGA slush fund than help Americans put food on the table. Republicans continue to fight for Trump and his corruption rather than lower costs for working families.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am sure I speak for everyone in the Senate and in the country when I say I am relieved that the two American helicopter pilots shot down over the Strait of Hormuz earlier today have been safely rescued. The U.S. helicopter that went down over the strait is a stark reminder that every second Trump's disastrous war continues is another second that our troops remain in harm's way. Our servicemembers are the best and the greatest in the world, and they deserve better than to risk their lives in a reckless, aimless war. The only sure way to protect our troops is to end this war as soon as possible--something Donald Trump is clearly incapable of doing. Senate Republicans need to step up, advance our War Powers Resolution to end the war, and bring our troops home.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, well, just about everyone in America hates Trump's slush fund, but every Senate Republican but one is culpable for allowing Trump to go forward with the slush fund. Again, people in America hate the fund. Every Senate Republican allowed Trump to go forward with the slush fund. They supported a reconciliation bill that had no restraints on Trump's corrupt slush fund even after Democrats forced vote after vote in trying to ban the fund. The American people will remember how Senate Republicans sided with Trump instead of them, and it doesn't bode well for the GOP. Yesterday, Trump showed how empty Todd Blanche's promise is to drop the MAGA slush fund. Asked whether he would stop trying to give cash payouts to his corrupt cronies, convicted criminals, and January 6 insurrectionists, Trump said: If it was up to me, I'd pay them the kind of money that they deserve. What they deserve? The only thing January 6 insurrectionists deserve for maiming police officers is to sit in a prison cell, but Donald Trump and Senate Republicans think the rioters deserve a cut of Americans' paychecks. Trump went on to say: I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. Listen to that, America. Donald Trump has no intention of dropping his slush fund. You don't have to be a Senator to see just how corrupt--just how crooked--Trump's slush fund scheme is, but Senate Republicans chose not--not--to outlaw Trump's plan to line his pockets with Americans' tax dollars. Senate Republicans are complicit in Trump's corruption. Democrats set up a procedure and used reconciliation to show exactly where Republicans stood on the slush fund, and the American people were aghast. Republicans could have supported Democratic amendments to ban the slush fund permanently. Republicans could have voted for our amendment to prevent taxpayer-funded payouts to violent January 6 rioters. Republicans could have stood with the American people, but, instead, they reaffirmed their loyalty to Trump and his corrupt administration.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on the Knicks' playing tonight, New Yorkers love the New York Knicks. Some of us remember the good old days when the Knicks won the championship with Debusschere and Bradley at the forward, with Willis Reed in center, and with Earl the Pearl and Clyde as the point guards. Those were the glory days, and the glory days are back. So, with the New York Knicks set to play the San Antonio Spurs in a few hours, tonight ought to be all about the game, the players, and the fans, but Donald Trump wants to make tonight all about himself like he always does. Midtown has to shut down. Bars near the Garden are about to take a huge hit on what should be their biggest night of the year, and free watch parties near the arena have been canceled because Trump can't bear letting anyone else be the center of attention for one night. After waiting nearly three decades to see the Knicks play in the finals, New Yorkers deserve better than this. Knicks fans would give Trae Young wearing a Reggie Miller jersey a warmer welcome than the one they will give Donald Trump when he walks into Madison Square Garden tonight. Knicks fans know that tonight is about New York, not about any one New Yorker. Best of luck to the Knicks tonight. You will hear us from the streets of New York to the Senate floor: ``Knicks in Four!'' I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday marked 100 days since Donald Trump launched one of the most foolish misadventures in the history of American foreign policy. Trump launched his disastrous war with Iran without a clear objective, without a coherent strategy, and without a care for how it would endanger our brave servicemembers and hurt the American people. One hundred days later, Trump still has no idea how to extricate America from this mess of his own making, and he still doesn't seem to care that the American people are struggling to bear the costs at the gas pump every day. Trump said it himself: I don't think about Americans' financial situation. He doesn't think about it--the No. 1 issue facing the American people, and he doesn't think about it. What kind of President is that? Trump had better start thinking about Americans' financial situation because, as it becomes more and more dire, Americans are becoming more and more livid. Costs on everything from gasoline to groceries to consumer goods are through the roof because of Trump and his war. American families have spent an extra $750, on average, these past 100 days to meet the rising costs of Trump's war, and every time Americans go to the pump and see a gallon of gasoline costing well over $4, they know whom to blame--Donald Trump. For 100 days, Trump has claimed that peace is just days away, only for negotiations to crumble over and over and over again. Trump's efforts at peace by press release won't stop the fighting. Congress need to reassert its powers under the Constitution and end this war. Soon, Senate Democrats will force another vote on a War Powers Resolution to end the war--the ninth opportunity we have given Republicans to do their jobs and dig themselves and Trump out of this hole. The walls are closing in on Trump and the U.S. economy. Republicans need to find their courage and end this war.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, anyone--anyone--who still believes that Trump has any intention of stopping his effort to steal Americans' tax dollars to enrich himself, his family, and MAGA loyalists ought to listen to Trump's comments yesterday. Yesterday, Trump not only refused to commit ending his $2 billion taxpayer-funded MAGA slush fund permanently, he also said of the slush fund: I love it. I think it's so important. It's a beautiful thing. I repeat, here is what Trump said about this damn slush fund. He said: I love it. I think it's so important. It was a beautiful thing. Do you hear that, America? Do you hear that, Republican Senators? Do you hear it? Trump loves giving Americans' taxpayer dollars to his billionaire friends. Trump thinks forcing Americans to fork over their paychecks to line the pockets of his corrupt friends is ``so important.'' Trump says ripping Americans off to give kickbacks to convicted criminals who beat police officers to death on January 6 is a beautiful thing--that is what he said. Trump's slush fund is anything but beautiful. It is heinous, and it won't die until we permanently ban it by law--not by language, not by verbal promises which can just evaporate, but by law. And we have the chance to do that this morning on the amendment I will offer. The very first amendment I will offer in vote-arama today will be to outlaw the slush fund forever, so when Trump wakes up a week from now or a month from now and says: Why don't we try that slush fund again?-- he won't be able to. He won't be able to. With the whole country watching, Republicans will have to choose: either support the slush fund or ban it. They can come up with 10 excuses. It is a yes or no: support the slush fund or ban it. Americans want a big loud voice and vote to ban it permanently--to ban it forever. We are also going to force Republicans to vote on whether to let Trump keep the immunity he granted himself from audits so he can get out of paying his own taxes. This is what he put in the bill. This is what our Republican friends are putting in the bill. Donald Trump has a get-out-of-jail-free card. No audit ever of him and how he is evading taxes. And he has already tried do that a whole bunch of times. There have been court cases about it. Let him do it? Let this level of corruption rise so it is going to drown all of us? Throw away those good old American values that have served this country well for 250 years because Donald Trump wants to take this money in a corrupt fund and scare you into voting yes? Come on. You Republicans are better than that, I hope. Donald Trump is less trustworthy than a snake oil salesman, than a back-alley bookie, than the Nigerian prince in your email spam folder. Are Republicans blind? Are they so far removed from the American people? Do they not even know what corruption is anymore? That is what I think is happening over on that side of the aisle. Donald Trump has immersed so much of America in so much corruption you don't even get it. But that is what America--you are taking the great values of America on our 250th year and flushing them down the toilet because you are afraid of Donald Trump. And, listen, another point: Are Republicans really going to take Todd Blanche--a known liar--at his word? Do we believe that Donald Trump, who has lied to us day in and day out--do we believe that he will able to resist getting his sticky fingers in the slush fund when it would benefit himself and his family? No way. No way. Vote-arama Mr. President, on vote-arama, which is part of this bill, rather than let Republicans try to force through their radical reconciliation bill under the current cover of night, Democrats have made sure today's vote-arama happens in broad daylight because Americans deserve to see what Republicans are prioritizing instead of lowering their costs. Democrats will force Republicans to vote on Trump's MAGA slush fund, his lifetime tax exemption, his billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded ballroom--but that is not all. Amendment after amendment, vote after vote, Republicans are going to have to answer to the American people on tariffs, on skyrocketing costs, on the disastrous war with Iran, on the violence Trump's masked agents have unleashed on our streets. All of that they are going to have to vote on. Will Republicans vote for more affordable housing? Will Republicans require Trump's masked agents to wear body cameras? Will Republicans join Democrats to lower gas prices? Democrats will ensure that every failed Republican policy--every failed Trump policy--that has driven up costs, unleashed chaos, and aided Trump's corruption will face a vote on the Senate floor today. And Democrats are going to show just how terrible this bill is from start to finish. Apparently, Republicans think we cannot afford a single penny to help Americans cover the skyrocketing costs of gasoline, of healthcare, of housing, of food, of energy--you name it--but somehow we can afford to give another $70 billion to Trump's rogue Agencies even though ICE and Border Patrol already have $100 billion cash on hand. Do you hear that, driver? When you pull up to the gas pump, and it is $4.50, or even higher in many places, ask yourself: Why don't Republicans vote to lower those prices instead of giving ICE and Border Patrol, already discredited, more money when they have $100 billion sitting there? Let's take stock of what we could buy with the $170 billion Trump's personal police force would have at its disposal if this bill passed. Instead of shooting Americans dead in the street, the Federal Government could cut a $1,300 check to every household in America to lower gas prices that have been raised so by Trump's unending, it seems, war. Instead of masked agents breaking down your door in the middle of the night without a warrant, we could fund programs that help Americans keep the heat on in the winter and the AC on in the summer 40 times over. Instead of dragging law-abiding parents and children into unmarked vehicles, that $170 billion could fund food stamps for nearly 2 years or Head Start for 14 years or childcare assistance for two decades-- things America wants. America, the contrast is clear: Democrats are fighting for you-- Republicans are kowtowing to Trump and his corruption. I urge Republicans to vote like the American people are watching-- because they are. Todd Blanche Mr. President, on the Todd Blanche nomination, last night Donald Trump said--do you hear this, everybody?--he will nominate Todd Blanche to be the permanent Attorney General. Yech. Trump picked Blanche because he is loyal to the President alone--not to the Constitution, not to the rule of law, and certainly not to the American people--and not to the values this country has had for 250 years. It is people like Blanche and Trump who have ripped those values up of honesty and of fairness and of decency that have been the hallmark of America that we are seeing them try to wipe away. For years, Blanche has been Trump's personal lawyer and attack dog, and that didn't stop when Blanche joined the Department of Justice. Blanche orchestrated Trump's self-dealing MAGA slush fund and granted his boss the audit immunity that gives the President free rein to commit tax fraud. Blanche has blocked the release of more than half the Epstein files, withholding 3 million--3 million--pages from the public. Maybe Epstein's friend Donald Trump could tell us why Blanche went to such lengths to cover up the files. Blanche also lied to Congress under oath when he claimed he had met with the Epstein survivors--something they said never happened. Blanche not only shields Trump from the law, he uses the justice system to go after his boss' political enemies, bringing baseless charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center, Jim Comey, and others. Trump and Blanche are cut from the same crooked cloth. Democrats are going to oppose Blanche's confirmation as vehemently as we have opposed the slush fund and every other corrupt act Trump and his top fixer have committed. Unless Republicans want to remain complicit in Trump's corruption, they ought to oppose Blanche as well. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. I withdraw my request for a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, my very first amendment offers Republicans a choice: Do you support Donald Trump's $2 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund, or do you want to protect the American people and their paychecks by outlawing this criminal, crony, cash-back program permanently? America has never seen a more clear-cut case of corruption. America has never seen a more clear-cut case of corruption than Donald Trump's slush fund: Trump sues Trump. Trump settles with Trump. Trump gives Trump Americans' taxpayer dollars. Trump won't give Americans a penny to help offset the skyrocketing costs he brought on our country, but he is more than happy to charge them nearly $2 billion to line the pockets of his family, his billionaire friends, and the criminals who mauled police officers on January 6. If Republicans truly oppose this corruption, then prove it.

Mr. SCHUMER. Support my amendment and ban the slush fund permanently by law. Instead, Republicans are trusting the word of Todd Blanche, who built a career on lying--

Mr. SCHUMER.--that the administration will just drop the slush fund.

Mr. SCHUMER. Trump hasn't even pretended to promise that the slush fund is done. Instead, Trump said of the slush fund: I love it. I think it's so important. . . . It was a beautiful thing.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 30 more seconds.

Mr. SCHUMER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed an additional 30 seconds to conclude my remarks, which we traditionally always give that courtesy.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I know my colleagues are afraid to hear the truth and that is why they objected, when it is almost never--there is never an objection when the leaders speak. But let me finish my remarks. Republicans are trusting the word of Todd Blanche, who built a career on lying, that the administration will just drop the slush fund. Trump hasn't even pretended to promise that the slush fund is done. Instead, here is what Trump said of the slush fund: I love it. I think it's so important. . . . It was a beautiful thing. Republican Senators need to stop playing dumb. They need to listen to the truth and stop trusting these fools, like Todd Blanche, who lies to the American people repeatedly. Do we believe--do any of us believe--that Donald Trump, who has lied to us day in and day out, will be able to resist getting his sticky fingers in the slush fund, when it would benefit himself and his family? No way. For something as corrupt as this slush fund, toothless guardrails, meek reforms, and empty promises won't cut it. We need to outlaw it permanently. Vote on Motion to Commit

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. I will join my colleague and all of my colleagues in congratulating Susan Collins, who will cast her 10,000th consecutive rollcall vote in a few moments. No matter what has been going on in the world or in her life, Senator Collins has never--never--missed a vote in her entire Senate career. This is truly a remarkable milestone. Many of us try hard to make every vote; Senator Collins has actually done it 10,000 times in a row. Senator Collins and I belong to different parties and do not always see eye to eye, but 10,000 consecutive rollcall votes is an extraordinary streak by any measure, and I congratulate her on reaching it. (Applause, Senators rising.) I yield the floor.