Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first, I thank my colleagues, the ones I have heard so far--Senator Blumenthal, Senator Coons. I know Senator Klobuchar will be great as always, as will Senator Baldwin. But I thank them all for coming. Democrats are holding the floor late tonight to expose the disaster of Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. We will be speaking for several more hours. This week marks the 100th day of Donald Trump's second term as President of the United States. It has been 100 days from hell, and people are fed up. One hundred days in, the legacy of Donald Trump's second term is already set: chaos, corruption, costs. It is chaos, one fiasco after another. One minute, Donald Trump and his people say one thing, and then they say it is the opposite, and then they say something else entirely. Nobody ever seems to know which way is up, and many of them just lie outright to the American people. It is corruption. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans are highjacking the government, raiding the public's piggy bank, and picking the pockets of the American people to enrich themselves. These billionaires are using the government to even make more money. It is despicable. We have never seen anything like it, the level of corruption and self-dealing, in America before. MAGA grifters are getting rich off meme coins, and the White House lawn has been turned into a Tesla dealership. It makes Americans cringe. This is not the American way. This has not been a hallmark of our history. Maybe most of all, it has been 100 days of costs--costs going up and up and up because of tariffs; costs to working people because programs vital to them--Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, veterans' benefits, housing, SNAP--are being threatened or even already taken away to some extent, and it will be a greater extent once we see their reconciliation bill. So Donald Trump promised a golden age on the day he took the oath of office. What Americans are learning instead is it is fool's gold. Americans got corrosion, erosion, and rot--corrosion across this administration, erosion across this economy, and rot within the foundations of our democracy. So tonight, Senate Democrats come to the floor to expose this administration for what it is: a full-frontal attack against the fabric of America, a full-frontal attack on our economy and on people's pocketbooks, and a full-frontal attack, finally, on working people in the middle class to take away people's Medicaid, their Social Security, veterans' care, healthcare, and more--all to give tax cuts to the very wealthy. Another way to describe this administration: Billionaires win, American families lose. There is a cabal of very greedy people who run the White House. They are rich. They have no understanding of what average Americans go through. And they plunder the government, then slash programs we so desperately need for average families--all for tax cuts for the rich. And there is a second thing they are doing. They are destroying the guardrails of government. They are destroying every part of anything that opposes them, all so they can take more money away from working people and give it to themselves. Let's talk about it. First and most urgently, maybe--they are all very urgent; that is the only reason I say ``maybe.'' But the first 100 days of Donald Trump have meant 100 days of rising costs. For months before he became President, Trump promised that if elected, costs would go down, that America would be affordable again. Well, prices haven't gone down. Quite the opposite. Groceries up; gas and energy prices up; clothing, cars, homes up. What about retirement savings? Down. What about consumer confidence? Down. In fact, consumer expectations are at their lowest level in over a decade. The stock market is on pace for its worst 100 days of any Presidential term since Nixon. What happened to Donald Trump bragging about the stock market like he always liked to do? There is not much to brag about these days. No President in history has promised more on day one and delivered less by day 100 than Donald Trump. In record time, the President has turned his golden promise into an economic ticking time bomb. It gets worse every day. He is trying to call it progress. He says to people: Americans won't mind paying more. That is the arrogance of a billionaire--the arrogance of a billionaire. Thanks to Donald Trump's stupid trade wars--which have failed to rein in countries like China--CEOs and small business owners are warning about rising prices, empty shelves, disrupted supply chains. We urge national retailers to be honest with their constituents, with their customers. I urge national retailers, when you post prices online for your products, show the consumer exactly how much tariffs are added to the total price. Cars would have been X dollars, but now they are X plus Y dollars. Show it to the American people because it is hurting you, retailers. Don't let them blame you. They should be blaming Trump. Be honest with your customers. Show them exactly how Donald Trump's tariffs are making prices go up. Americans deserve to know who is picking their pockets. And smaller businesses shouldn't take a downfall of Donald Trump either. His policies are forcing them to an impossible choice: hike your prices or risk shutting down your doors. On Long Island, a small business owner told me she is losing sleep over tariffs. She proudly voted for Donald Trump but told me she is seeing her costs rise 30 percent. She is frustrated--frustrated that the President she supported put her whole business, which she put everything into, at risk. Donald Trump's tariffs are a MAGA double whammy. Not only are they eating the people's bottom lines, his chaotic approach makes it harder for people in businesses to plan ahead at all. If you are a business, you don't know what he is going to do 2 weeks from now or 5 weeks from now, so you don't spend. You don't build a new plant. You don't hire the new worker. Small businesses have to cut back because they don't have a cushion. Every business is getting clobbered by Donald Trump's chaotic tariff policies. And even if Donald Trump ended Trump's tariffs tomorrow, the damage is already done because leaders don't know what he is going to do next. It is not just the tariffs, the prices, and recession. Americans are worried about the costs of cutting to their healthcare, cutting their Social Security, cutting Medicaid. They are going to slash Medicaid. I was in six of the Republican districts in New York State last week. All six had Democrats, Republicans, Independents frightened to death about what will happen if Medicaid is cut. They could lose their jobs. Elderly people could be kicked out of nursing homes. Healthcare would diminish for everybody. And when they are cutting the healthcare of veterans, these people who served us are told: ``Go away.'' And the cruelty with which they are firing people in the VA and other Agencies--I know one woman who was a former veteran. She served our country, risked her life, got injured. She was helped by the VA, then decided to work there. She saw the good work they were doing. She loved her job. She didn't get paid that much, but she loved helping her fellow veterans. One night, Friday night, she comes home and on her computer is: You are fired. Don't show up to the office until further notice. This woman was distraught. Why was she fired? What did she do wrong? What of her services serving the veterans at the Buffalo VA home--what services were not needed, were superfluous, were waste? There were none. She was just cruelly fired. Only an administration that exhibits a meanness--almost a viciousness--would do it. But that is what Trump, DOGE, and Musk and all their henchmen who work there are doing. This is just a terrible, terrible 100 days for anyone who depends on Medicaid. And that is a huge number--tens of millions of people in America. And there is also chaos in so many other places. Every single day, Donald Trump's administration lurches from one crisis to the next. For all their talk of bringing back meritocracy, their administration seems addicted to chaos and incompetence--hardly meritocratic. Every day, there is a new decision, new reversal, new course correction, only to give way the next day to whatever impulsive decision comes next. Tariffs are a great example. One day he says yes to tariffs. The next day he says: No, I am negotiating with countries. Oh, no, maybe I am not. This tariff is going to stay in place. This one will be reduced. Then he flips it. Again, no sound businessperson is going to plan ahead. That is why, not Democrats, but places like the big banks and big analysts say chances of a recession could be as high as 60 percent. What does a recession mean to the average family? You could get laid off. If you need to find a job, it is harder. Costs go up. Stagflation is likely to occur. It is nasty, brutal to people. So chaos is there; and chaos, of course, is in foreign policy. I was amazed last week on one day when Donald Trump was over at the Vatican, he says he had a great talk with Putin and acted like there was going to be a deal. Next day, he says: I had a terrible talk with Putin, and he didn't even talk to Putin in between. He makes it up. Whatever he thinks will appeal to people that moment, he says. And he doesn't even know what appeals to people. It is really what appeals to his own ego, which seems to be governing this country more than any rational policies or caring. The chaos makes Americans' heads spin--firing people who manage our nuclear arsenal, then saying: Never mind, oops. But, you know, when you fire people, they don't all come back. Of course, their morale is shaken. These are good people who worked so hard for so long. The long and short of it is this: Donald Trump's 100 days is 100 days of corruption, cronyism, of higher costs--much higher costs to the American people. It really is awful. The poll numbers show it. But we don't need the poll numbers to tell us. We have all been back in our districts. We are hearing it. We are not just hearing it from Democrats. We are not just hearing it from people who are out on the streets protesting. We are hearing it from average folks who don't really care about politics but are getting hurt, and it is making them look at Donald Trump and say: Whoa, this is not what I bargained for. And, of course, last but not least is the threat to our democratic republic. He is acting like a King, a mob boss, a wannabe dictator. He said he wanted to be a dictator on day one; it looks like he is extending it. Any quarter of opposition that might say something in our tradition of free speech and debate, he tries to crush--crush the law firms, crush the universities, go after the judges which have been a foundation of our Republic. The judges are independent and are able to stop an executive that is going too far. When the Founders drafted our Constitution, they feared a man like Donald Trump who sees the rule of law as a nuisance, considers the truth an inconvenience, regards his fellow citizens as little more than subjects: Kiss the ring, bow before the throne, or watch your back. That is the ethos of Donald Trump. He has moved with lightning speed to weaponize the Federal Government against anyone he thinks might oppose him. He doesn't believe in democracy, debate, or honest disagreement. He simply wants to crush his opponents. That is what dictators do. What is so interesting, Madam President, Americans are as angry about that as they are about their higher costs because the roots, Donald Trump, of democracy go deep in the American people. And the American people will not tolerate--will not tolerate--your disruption, your threat, your trying to end, in a sense, our democracy. Good news is this: Donald Trump's destructive agenda has one great weakness--the American people themselves. Most Americans vehemently reject the path which he is trying to take our country on costs, on chaos, on corruption, on democracy. The American people are not giving up. They are standing up. They are organizing. They are resisting, and Democrats are standing with them shoulder to shoulder and with our country. As America marks the first 100 days of the worst President of our lifetimes, I ask Americans to look at this administration for what it is--a full frontal attack on the core elements of what makes America truly great: The rule of people over kings and oligarchs; the rule of law, not the dictates of an authoritarian; respect for the rights of all people, respect for all people; and a commitment to promoting the general welfare for the whole, not cruel and cheapskate voting. Let us commit ourselves, all of us--Democrats here in the Senate-- against this administration and to uphold the core values and principles of this beautiful Nation which we must fight to preserve and protect. I yield the floor.

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, last week, our dear friend, the senior Senator from Illinois and the Senate Democratic whip, announced he will not seek reelection next year. I will have a lot more to say about Dick Durbin--one of my close, close friends and someone I roomed with for close to two decades--before he departs, but for now, let me say just this: Senator Durbin has left an indelible mark on the Senate, on our caucus, on Illinois, and on all of America. He has been a champion for justice and helped Senate Democrats confirm a record number of Federal judges last Congress. He has been a tireless advocate for Illinois families and people in need, and he has been a close and trusted member of my leadership team. I know Senator Durbin will spend every remaining minute of his term fighting for Illinois and America and fighting for justice. I look forward to fighting alongside him, as we always have together.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the first 100 days. Well, this week, President Trump marks 100 days as President. It has been 100 days of hell for American families, for our economy, and for our democracy. The start of Donald Trump's second term has been the worst start of any President's in modern times. He now has the lowest approvals any President has seen through his first 100 days since they started polling 80 years ago. Tomorrow night, Senate Democrats will take to the floor to highlight the disaster of Donald Trump's first 100 days. We will expose his broken promises. We will expose his lies. We will expose the ways he is threatening democracy. So we will take to the floor and expose Donald Trump as a disastrous President in his first 100 days. We ask America to listen. On the day he became President, Donald Trump promised a golden age for America. Today, that seems laughable. Instead of a golden age, what Americans have gotten is one of the most chaotic, corrupt, and harmful starts to a Presidency in modern history. Before our very eyes, the man who occupies the Oval Office is destroying the foundations of our democracy. Federal law enforcement is arresting people with little due process, even going as far as arresting a judge in Wisconsin. At least four U.S. citizens--all of them children, two suffering from cancer--have been illegally deported. It is sickening. It is immoral. Arrest a judge to try to threaten and scare judges, which he has done before, saying he is about impeachment and other things? Freedom of expression and the rule of law are under attack. Government has been weaponized against the free press, against academic and judicial independence, against anyone who might disagree with Donald Trump. Donald Trump doesn't want to be President of a democratic republic. He has said he wants to be a King or some kind of dictator. He said: Let me be a dictator for one day. But his actions show he wants to be one for much longer. Meanwhile--meanwhile--billionaires like Elon Musk have been handed the keys to the Federal Government with little accountability. Donald Trump claims he is a better President than George Washington, but he takes inspiration more from the likes of Viktor Orban or worse. So 100 days into Donald Trump's second term, what exactly do Americans have to feel good about? Is it that Donald Trump's trade war has pushed our country to the brink of recession? Is it that his tariffs will cost families an average of $4,700 annually? Is it that CEOs and business owners are warning about rising costs, empty shelves, and an economic downturn? Maybe it is that the Dow Jones is on track for its worst April since 1932. The truth is, Donald Trump's Presidency is no golden age; it is a disaster--the worst start to a new administration in modern times. Americans are already fed up. Americans are already beginning to see that Donald Trump has betrayed them, that Donald Trump's campaign promises before he won election and his actions as President are almost in direct contradiction on issue after issue after issue. They are seeing that Donald Trump is not on their side; he is not on the side of working families. He is on the side of the billionaires, and we are all suffering for it. What happened during recess corroborated all of this. For the last 2 weeks, my Democratic colleagues and I have seen Americans' frustrations firsthand. During the Easter recess, I traveled from one end of my State to the other. I visited six of seven congressional districts represented by Republicans in Congress in New York, and I spoke with small business owners, seniors, healthcare workers, veterans, local electeds, Republicans, Democrats, Independents--people from all walks of life. People are anxious about tariffs driving up their costs, about inflation eroding their paychecks, and are fearful for the future of Social Security. Last week, I met with the owner of a women's clothing shop in Suffolk County, a well-known woman in Suffolk County, the head of a very successful business, Tandy's clothes, and a longtime fan of the President. She said she proudly voted for him--right when I was standing there--but now she said her small business wouldn't be able to absorb the shock of a prolonged trade war, that her costs were already up 30 percent. This is a Donald Trump voter who is angry at these tariffs. No one I met over the last 2 weeks believed we were entering the golden age Donald Trump promised. Instead, I heard worry; I heard frustration from Republicans; I heard a lot of buyer's remorse. Republican Members from those districts I visited are nervous, worried, and scared as could be. They know their voters don't agree with Trump, but they are too scared to buck him. In the upcoming reconciliation, we will see what they do. Will they side with Trump against what Americans need and want or will they have a little courage? We are very, very worried about the future of this country with so much at stake.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, so let's talk about what is going to happen in the Senate in this period, in this work period. Now, we convene at the start of this pivotal work period. This week, Republicans are expected to begin marking up the text of their reconciliation bill. With so many problems facing our country, with a threat of recession on the horizon, with tariffs driving costs up, and Elon Musk taking a meat cleaver to Social Security, to veterans' care, and to cancer research, what are Republicans in Congress spending their time on? They want to cut taxes for billionaires and make working people pay for it. They want to add over $52 trillion--trillion dollars--to the national debt. I think of my grandson when I think of that. They want to make the biggest cuts to Medicaid ever. This is the Republican agenda: Billionaires win. American families lose. Republicans have gotten by so far with a bunch of empty and deceptive promises that none of the outrageous cuts they propose will come back to harm ordinary Americans. But their rhetorical runway is quickly going to run out. Soon, they will have to show everyone the real details of their legislation, and it is not going to be pretty. Even if Republicans pass a fraction of the cuts they are proposing to Medicaid, it would devastate communities--urban, suburban, and particularly rural. The cost of healthcare will come up for those least able to afford it. Healthcare workers would lose their jobs. Millions could lose coverage. And for what? So billionaires can pay less in taxes. It is a revolting--thoroughly revolting--agenda. Democrats will vehemently oppose this bill and all the harmful elements of the Republican agenda at every opportunity. Tomorrow, as I said a moment ago, Senate Democrats will take to the floor to highlight the disaster of Trump's first 100 days. On Wednesday, we will take to the Senate steps and join in one voice with our House counterparts to decry the ways this President has already--already--only 100 days in, failed our country. In the coming weeks, we will continue to oppose deeply unqualified nominees who have no business serving in government. We have seen that already, for instance, with the antics of Mr. Hegseth. We will also fight Donald Trump's disastrous trade war. Soon, the Senate will vote on bipartisan legislation I cosponsored with Senators Wyden, Kaine, and Paul that nullifies Donald Trump's trade war. To nobody's surprise, the President has already threatened to veto this bill. Senate Republicans who know how bad tariffs are for their States should join us to nullify Donald Trump's trade war and ignore his veto threat, and, if necessary, we should override the President's veto. These tariffs are so bad and are already pushing America into recession. ``Recession'' is an economic word for shrinking growth. But what does it mean to American families? More likely to lose a job, harder to find a new job, more likely to have prices go up and not be able to afford those price increases. Finally, Senate Democrats will do what Senate Republicans refuse to do: conduct oversight on this administration. We will do it on our own. That means pushing for investigations into the leadership failures at the Pentagon. What Hegseth did there was horrible. It means pushing back against attacks on Social Security. It means resisting the defunding of public resources like PBS. It means exposing the chilling arrests of Americans without due process. Day after day after day, we will hammer home the Republican agenda, and Americans will see the difference between Democratic unity and Republican disarray. It is no wonder Republicans are in such disarray--House Republicans fighting with one another, Senate Republicans fighting with one another, and Senate and House Republican leadership not even on the same page. That is incredible. Why? Because their programs are so unpopular with the American people. Democrats are united in our mission to lower costs for families, protect healthcare, defend American democracy. Meanwhile, Republicans are at loggerheads with each other. As I said, House Republicans are fighting among themselves. Senate Republicans are fighting among themselves. Leadership in both Chambers are at odds. And why do Republicans face this situation where they are so at odds with one another? The simple answer is, again: because their agenda is so unpopular with the American people, and neither House--and no Republican Senator--wants to be left holding this hot potato. The backlash Republicans are getting from the public--whether it is town halls, in the streets, or through dismal polling data--should serve as a warning to our colleagues on the other side: If they proceed with their agenda, the political outcry will be enormous, just enormous. So as long as Donald Trump pushes America down the dangerous road we are already on, he will face resistance from Democrats, from the courts, and, most importantly, from the American people themselves. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning, I will take a little more than the usual time because I want to review what happened, over the past 8 days, with Trump's tariff tax so that it can be preserved in the Record and so that we as a nation can try to process the reckless, unnecessary damage President Trump has created. The past 8 days have been an absolute embarrassment for President Trump and for everyone who truly cares about this country. During these 8 days, the world saw the President of the United States reveal his total lack of understanding of international trade, macro- and microeconomics, and foreign relations. The world saw the American President issue a tariff ultimatum so ill-conceived and so flawed that it was mocked from here to the Heard and McDonald Islands. This whole episode is so ridiculous that even the writers of ``Veep'' and ``House of Cards'' would have shredded their drafts. Yet it was real. It had real effects, lasting effects on real people. Donald Trump's tariff fiasco caused real damage to the confidence other nations have in America. It had real effects on the uncertainty we feel every day that Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office. It had real effects on people's retirements. Let's start with his announcement on April 2 that that would be ``Liberation Day,'' a day of massive worldwide tariffs. Rather than providing a coherent explanation for such a substantial policy change, the stated justification for this massive tariff application varied, depending on the moment or who the administration spokesperson was. Depending on the day, President Trump claimed that tariffs would either balance the budget, enable the elimination of the income tax, or bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. While Peter Navarro gave full-throated support to all three of those goals, most of the rest of the administration ignored the first two goals and focused on bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States--a worthy goal; one the Democrats, including myself, have been advocating for decades. However, even administration officials couldn't get on the same page. While Navarro and Secretary Bessent were talking about the return of jobs, Secretary Lutnick was espousing that manufacturing would be coming back but that it would be automated, he said. So are we bringing manufacturing jobs back or displacing them with machines? It is clear, Mr. President, as April 2 approached, no one--not even the most devoted Trump apologist, except maybe only Ron Vara--believed the President had an actual plan. Nevertheless, he persisted, and on April 2, President Trump, against all semblance of common sense, announced tariffs beyond what even the most isolationist Republican could have envisioned. The President made some outlandish claims, and he held up a chart with a lot of numbers on it. And his claims and those numbers were a surprise to pretty much everyone--everyone--who understands the language, the theory, and the mathematics of trade. Putting aside the idiotic tariffs applied to penguins who produce nothing but guano and baby penguins and consume little more than krill and fish and putting aside tariffs on countries that make products Americans crave but lack the purchasing power to buy our products in return, we all quickly realized that the numbers on Donald Trump's chart were so nonsensical that it took some of the world's greatest economic minds to reverse engineer it to determine the formula. And yet, in perfect Trumpian fashion, his administration released the ``actual'' formula and the assumptions behind the chart. Again, it quickly became clear that he based his entire tariff scheme on a formula so flawed, so economically incoherent that he had to insert some random Greek letters and assign them phony values just to make it look like something out of ``A Beautiful Mind.'' But instead of a stroke of genius, what we got was gibberish--not genius but gibberish. Remember back in 2019, when Hurricane Dorian was approaching Florida and President Trump used a Sharpie to alter a NOAA map to try and cover for his mistake? Well, this phony formula is the 2025 reincarnation of Sharpiegate, except the economic consequences of this fraud will affect millions and millions of Americans. I won't stand up here and say I oppose all tariffs. I don't. I appreciate my supporters on Twitter reminding everyone that I have long championed tough trade policies on China, going back to my early days in the Senate. But I and the American people oppose a whimsical, nonsensical approach to international trade, especially one that so clearly will increase costs on American families. It is one thing to target tariffs on bad actors like China; that makes sense. But to raise tariffs on allies such as Canada and Israel? Everyone knows that makes no sense. To raise tariffs on random islands as the Falklands, Heard and McDonald, and Svalbard? Everyone knows that makes no sense. To raise tariffs on countries like Madagascar that import little from us but produce products wanted by millions of Americans? Everyone knows that makes no sense. And yet he persisted. Trump persisted, and the world's financial markets melted down on Thursday and Friday. Now, that meltdown may not have mattered to President Trump, but it certainly mattered to millions of Americans. While the big financial players can hedge against an ignorant, erratic President, everyday Americans who have their hard- earned nest eggs in pension funds, IRAs, and 529 accounts to help pay for their kids' college tuition don't have that luxury. While the President and his family can create new meme coins and sell cheap made- in-China swag, so that bad actors and sycophants can funnel the money, most Americans don't have that luxury. No, Mr. President, most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. If they are lucky, they put a little away each month for retirement or college savings. Some of them keep that money in interest-bearing accounts for the stability. Their savings are probably doing OK, but costs are going up, so that they may have to dip into those savings. The President let them down. Some Americans put that money in mutual funds that depend on stability and predictability. The President let them down as well. Of course, some Americans have no exposure to the stock market. Their only hope for retirement is Social Security, which congressional Republicans want to gut, and Elon Musk calls a Ponzi scheme. But the President also let them down because they may not be exposed, but their employer probably is, as are their neighborhood grocer and hardware store, and they will be affected if any prices rise. When the financial markets closed on Friday with one of the biggest drops in history, President Trump was golfing and dining with his Saudi friends. On Saturday, while the Nation was stressing over their financial instability, the official White House Press Office gleefully announced that the President would, on Sunday, compete in his club's golf championship. This was the Trump version of ``Let them eat cake''--``Let them eat cake.'' Then on Sunday, after a week of uncertainty, a weekend of stress, while small business owners, retirees, and young families across the country were sitting at their kitchen tables trying to figure out how they were going to handle this dramatic increase in costs, what was the President doing? He was, of course, still golfing. And to the surprise of no one, except for maybe the actual tournament winner, President Trump tied for his own club championship, a remarkable achievement, to be sure. In fact, so great is that achievement that, if the President would make public his scorecard, I would gladly enter it into the Congressional Record and ask for its preservation at the National Archives, though I am sure his caddy would be reluctant to testify under oath. I know the President likes to talk about his handicap. Over the weekend, his administration tried to cover up for his indifference by claiming that ``more than 50 countries'' had reached out to start negotiations. That claim may have temporarily calmed the futures market, but its unbelievability certainly harmed the White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett's credibility. Adding to the uncertainty and lack of faith was the incoherence within the administration that was in full public effect over the weekend. In between golf swings, the President found time to post: WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy. Meanwhile, America's de facto President, Elon Musk, told a globalist conference in Italy he wanted a ``zero-tariff situation'' between the United States and Europe. That aspiration was quickly and directly rebutted by the tariff architect, Peter Navarro, which led to a public spat the likes of which the Presidency has rarely seen. On Monday, the markets started low but quickly skyrocketed because some ``verified'' Trump Twitter account announced that an administration official said Trump would pause tariffs for 90 days. The world and the markets rejoiced, but the administration quickly refuted that assertion, and the markets fluctuated downward. Tuesday started with great optimism and a quick market rise, but China's retaliation and the rumors of a European equivalent turned the rally bearish, which brings us to yesterday, Wednesday, April 9. Mr. President, history will likely record this day as America's actual ``Liberation Day'' because it is the day that President Trump backed down--backed down. Of course, as with anything Trump does, his backing down created a few private winners and several public losers. We may never discern who the private winners are, but we do know that, at 9:37 a.m., President Trump posted, in all capital letters:

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on July 16, 2007--a while back--I hired a legislative assistant to handle our healthcare and education policy. I didn't know it then, but this new member of my team, this native of Hawaii who came to work for a Senator from New York--she did live in New York for a while and went to high school there. I always tease her about the high school she went to, Brearley--would, in time, become my legislative director. She would stay with my team not just for years but for almost two decades--two decades. She would become one of the most talented, most effective, and most trusted advisers I ever, ever had--and I have had a lot of good ones--this person, of course, who is sitting next to me right here, Meghan Taira, the best legislative guru I could have ever asked for, the best legislative director in the business. That says a lot because there have been a lot of good ones there too. Tomorrow, after 18 wonderful years, Meghan will move on from her time in the Senate. She sat in this chair many times directing me, helping the Senate move forward. This will be her last time sitting in that chair, and we are the lesser for it because she is so great. We won't dwell on the goodbyes--that is too bittersweet--and instead we will all say thank you to Meghan Taira. Thank you for 18 wonderful years--18, wow, amazing. Now, Meghan, one thing I will say, and you will shake your head in agreement, thank you for putting up with me--not so easy--every day, all day, on the phone. I will call Meghan at 6 in the morning. I will call her at 11 at night, after she had put her beautiful boy to bed, again and again and again. Thank you, Meghan, for being the field general of our team, the field general we needed all those years. Meghan likes astrology. She is a Leo. Like all great Leos, she is a natural leader, fiercely loyal, not just to me but to everyone in her office. She exuded confidence every single day, no matter what problem lay before us. I would see these problems, and I would say: Oh, my God, how are we ever going to solve that? She would walk in, have her solution, and poof, it was solved. She was by my side in some of the most pivotal moments of my time in this Chamber. Meghan counseled me and my whole team as we worked to pass the Affordable Care Act in 2009. It wouldn't have been as good of a law as it was without Meghan Taira. Seven years later, she was at my side again defending the ACA from repeal, leading our caucus to hold the line. No one thought we would, but we did. It wouldn't have happened without Meghan Taira. Meghan, if the rest of the world could see you in action like I have, from the way you set the tone each morning to the way you walked all of us through the bills, taking this complicated legislative language and putting it into normal language that we can understand, the way you talk about each vote, each floor fight, the way you are able to predict--how do I shut this off? This is something Meghan is used to, being interrupted by my cell phone at every moment. Somehow I can't shut the thing off. Anyway, everyone would think what I think if they could watch you, and that is, thank God there is a Meghan Taira around. I know there are lots of ``Schumerland'' alumni watching right now, our great staff team, running along the whole top place there, many more are watching on TV--hello, Schumerland. You are a big, wide group, but almost every one of you have been trained and been made a better staffer by Meghan Taira, and all of Schumerland thinks the same. Maybe they think I am not being superlative enough because on a good day, getting things done in the Senate, they know--our staff knows--it is hard. On hard days, getting things done seems nearly impossible. And then you have the strange days, like we just went through with vote- aramas. How many vote-aramas have you been through, Meghan? Have you counted? Thirteen, a lucky number, in this case, for us. It takes a special talent, a bit of a mad genius to keep nearly 50 U.S. Senators facing in the right direction at 3 a.m. during an amendment vote. But that is typical. We had every Democrat unified on all--what was it, 27 amendments? Maybe more, but at least 27 amendments. But that is what Meghan has been doing all these years, a compass pointing us in the right direction, the animating spirit of my leadership and legislative team. Most importantly, it takes a really special person to dedicate so many years of their life--nights, weekends, holidays, life events--to work in the Senate. She and her husband Gerry--they met on my staff; they were a Schumer marriage--are so dedicated to their boy George. It is such a beautiful thing watching him grow up. She was always both busy with George and paying attention to legislation at the same time. I would hear George in the background on many of our calls. One day, maybe he will be a great legislative leader as well. But it takes a special person to dedicate so many nights, so many weekends, so many holidays, and so many life events to work in the Senate. So, Meghan, you have made your mark on the Senate, on the State of New York, on the United States of America, and even the world. There are, undoubtedly, people living happier and healthier lives on all the continents because Meghan Taira sat in this chair and the chair at her desk in her office for so many years. Without Meghan, none of our greatest accomplishments of the last 18 years would have been possible: no infrastructure bill, no Chips and Science, no IRA, no gun safety, no marriage equality, and so much more. Without her, pandemic relief would have been half as strong, half as generous, half as sweeping as it was when America needed the whole thing; it needed boldness. There would be no paid family leave for Federal workers. New York hospitals wouldn't have gotten their lifeline to stay afloat during COVID. Hundreds of thousands of people owe their jobs to Meghan because they would have closed down if we hadn't done that during COVID. Under Meghan's tenure, we negotiated the first bipartisan budget deal, in 2017, where we finally raised domestic spending to parity with defense. She was 8 months pregnant when she negotiated that bill-- superlady, superwoman, superperson, super everything. Meghan helped orchestrate 13 vote-aramas. I had asked her that before. She saw 2,000 bills--2,000 bills--become law and helped me write and introduce no less than 260 pieces of legislation. She has done it all. She has seen it all. And I am just so lucky that she did it all as a member of my team. So, Meghan, you have checked out perhaps more books than anybody from the Library of Congress or more than any staffer I know, but now you will get to check out books that you want to read, not that your job requires you to read, because I know you love to read. And I am happy that George and Gerry will get to see mom around the house more. Though you are going to move on to greener pastures, Meghan, a piece of you will always dwell in these Chambers, in these halls, in this great institution, and in my heart. We love you, Meghan. Am I allowed to stand up and hug you on the floor of the Senate? Well, I will. The great Meghan Taira, America. She served you well. I yield the floor. (Applause.)

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I object.

Mr. SCHUMER. Does the Senator yield the floor?

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, Donald Trump's trade war has many casualties. Families will be hit with the largest tax hike in over half a century--$5,000 extra a year. Prices will go up for food and for medicine, for clothing and for furniture, for gasoline for cars, for travel, you name it. The economy is in danger of a recession--60 percent odds. Yesterday, a leading person on Wall Street said the majority of CEOs he has spoken to believe the recession is already happening. A recession means small businesses will shutter, Main Streets will ossify, and all the progress we have made since COVID will disappear. But one of the biggest casualties of Donald Trump's trade wars are American seniors and Americans planning retirement in the near future. If you were planning to retire this year or thinking about retiring soon, Donald Trump's tariffs are like a brick over the head. This year, 4 million Americans will turn 65--that is a record. Another 80 million Americans are between 45 and 60 and thus approaching retirement and keeping their eyes on the future. And right now, Americans are watching helplessly as Donald Trump lights their retirement accounts and their dreams of a secure future on fire. To put it in perspective, for Americans nearing retirement, Donald Trump's market crash has vaporized a whopping $104,000 from the average retirement account. That is when you factor in the 17-percent drop in the Standard and Poor's 500 since the middle of February. Let me say that again. For Americans nearing retirement, Donald Trump's market crash has vaporized a whopping $104,000 from the average retirement account. That is years--sometimes decades--of people's savings gone in a flash. That is money retirees need to pay for healthcare, for prescription drugs, to see the grandkids, to buy groceries, and to live with a little bit of dignity--a little bit of dignity. Meanwhile, as tariffs eat away at the 401(k)s, Elon Musk and DOGE are taking a blowtorch to people's Social Security--the last safety net for Americans in retirement. They are crashing the website. They are closing down local offices. They are disconnecting services done over the phone. It is a pincer. Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Vice President Vance continue lying about rampant fraud within Social Security without any evidence. Even DOGE's handpicked head of Social Security admitted that some of their claims--like saying checks are going to 150-year-olds--are wrong, dead wrong. So Donald Trump is coming at American seniors from every direction. He is draining 401(k)s. He is sabotaging Social Security. He is gutting healthcare. He is driving up inflation. He is hitting seniors six ways from Sunday. Even if you are not thinking about retirement right now, things are still awful. According to Bloomberg, the chaos of Donald Trump's tariffs has more and more Americans tapping into their 401(k)s early. Hardship withdrawals are about 15 to 20 percent above historical averages. That means eating into savings at the worst possible time. The damage of the past few days will take a very long time to heal, but millions of seniors hoping to retire soon don't have that kind of time. They may not have enough to ride out a recession. They may never recover. What makes this particular market crash especially painful is that it was wholly unnecessary. Donald Trump did not need to start a global trade war with no plan whatsoever. Donald Trump did not need to send the markets reeling. Of all the ways he could have gone about these tariffs, he picked perhaps the single dumbest, most destructive approach possible. Americans wanted Donald Trump to focus on one thing when he became President: costs, inflation, keeping the economy whole. Donald Trump has spectacularly failed already at the one thing people wanted him to do. Instead of lowering inflation, he has made it much worse. Instead of strengthening the economy, he has singlehandedly teed us up for a recession. And few will suffer as much and as quickly as the millions of seniors who were planning to retire this year and in the years to come. Retirement is supposed to be sacred in America. Part of the American dream is working hard all your life, chipping in, saving little by little, knowing that when you retire, there will be something there-- not to make you rich but so you can live a life with some degree of dignity. But Trump has stolen years from people's retirement with his boneheaded tariffs. For them, the damage could be permanent. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Welch), are necessarily absent.

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, I would like to begin by reading a quote from Bill Ackman, the billionaire well known for his support of Donald Trump. He said: We are headed for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down. Preston Caldwell, a senior economist from Morningstar Research, likewise, said: If they're maintained, the tariff hikes announced April 2 represents a self-inflicted economic catastrophe for the United States. Meanwhile, Larry Fink of BlackRock says, most CEOs he has spoken to would say we have already entered a recession. The damage of Donald Trump's tariff tax has already been done. And regardless of what the markets say from one hour to the next, there are no signs that the chaos is changing at any time soon. Americans are anxious. Nobody, looking at their retirement accounts today is feeling anything close to liberated. It has been a hellacious few days for people worried about their 401(k)s and their savings and their kids' future. And that is not changing anytime soon. Before things get worse, Donald Trump should immediately reverse his reckless trade war. He should halt his tariff tax at once, and he should start focusing more on America's actual trade adversaries, like China, instead of picking a fight with the entire world and causing chaos and steering us toward a recession in the process. The chaos within the Trump administration was shown a few minutes ago, when Elon Musk called Peter Navarro--the chief architect of these tariffs--a moron. That is Musk's word. He called him a ``moron.'' Their plan is so crazy, so controversial that this administration cannot get its act together--with them calling each other names--regarding this tariff plan. This is perhaps the most significant task for the Republican congressional leadership since Donald Trump became President. The choice in front of Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson is simple: Choose Donald Trump or choose American families. Stand up to Donald Trump or watch him trigger a recession. So this morning, I am writing to Speaker Johnson, urging him to put the Senate-passed resolution undoing Donald Trump's tariffs for a vote in the House. Let me quote from the letter: Plain and simple, the Trump Trade War is a Trump Tax on families, raising their costs by nearly $4,000 per year and devastating small businesses, forcing them to raise prices or lay off staff. It is a dangerous, foolish exercise that is wreaking havoc on the American economy and could very well tee up a recession. If the president doesn't back off, Congress must take action--the Senate has already taken action to provide relief from tariffs on Canada, and the House should follow immediately. Remember, this resolution affects Canada. Nobody understands what the heck the President is doing with Canada. It was bipartisan. It got four Republican votes and passed the Senate. So the Senate has done its part. Now the Speaker must act if he cares about avoiding a recession, if he cares about American families. I am confident that if Speaker Johnson were to put the Senate's Canada resolution on the floor, the bipartisan resolution we passed, that it would pass the House as well.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on the budget, we are not even 100 days into Donald Trump's second term, and his Presidency is already a dumpster fire. His tariffs were one of the largest tax hikes on American families in half a century since the Vietnam war. His bumbling trade war wiped trillions of dollars from American retirement savings. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is crashing the Social Security website, shutting down local offices, and disconnecting phone services. All these closures and firings show his real desire is to decimate Social Security. In March, employment for U.S. small businesses with 1 to 9 employees decreased by 98,000 jobs. Consumer confidence is at a 4-year low. Outlook for the economy is at a 12-year--a 12-year--low. The odds of a recession are at 60 percent. Some have argued--Larry Fink--that the recession has already started, according to the CEOs he has talked to. What are Republicans in Congress doing about all this chaos, all this mess, all this severe harm to American families? Here is their answer: Cut taxes for billionaires. And why are they doing that? How are they going to pay for that? By taking away Americans' healthcare, making it harder for working families to put food on the table, slashing veterans' assistance and help for rural communities, kids, and Americans with disabilities. With the threats of a recession on the rise because of these tariffs, do House Republicans really want to sign their name on a bill that adds $37 trillion to the deficit? They should tread carefully. I said last Friday that for all the hand-wringing so far, the hard part for Republicans remains in front of them. The Republican agenda suffers from a fatal flaw. Its various pieces are all unpopular on their own, but when pieced together, it is even worse. That is why the Republicans are having such trouble coming together. It is not even to deal with Democrats, the House and Senate Republicans are at loggerheads. Members within each Republican caucus are at loggerheads. Why? Because the two policies are both unpopular. Slashing Medicaid, reducing taxes on billionaires--Americans don't like it so the Republicans are tying themselves in a knot in trying to get this done, against the will of the American people. Republicans in Congress want to cut taxes for billionaires and pay for it by taking away Americans' healthcare, making it harder for working families to put food on the table. This is incredible. With the threats of a recession on the rise because of these tariffs, do House Republicans really want to sign their name to this bill, as I said before? The bottom line is, sooner or later, Republicans are going to have to face the music. There aren't enough procedural gimmicks in the world to change the reality. The Republican agenda on both sides--slashing programs like healthcare people need, tax cuts for billionaires, it is unpopular on both sides. It is not going to get any more popular moving forward, and the Republicans will have to tie themselves in lots of pretzel knots to even get a bill passed--such a highly unpopular bill passed.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Social Security, a few days ago, Vice President JD Vance claimed that 40 percent of people calling to get their Social Security ``are committing fraud''--40 percent. First, it was Elon Musk calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Then Donald Trump spent 10 minutes in his congressional address talking about checks to 150-year-olds, which we all know is a lie. And now the Vice President has picked up the ax and is coming for Social Security too. We need to be very clear: What the Vice President said was malicious disinformation. His statement is factually incorrect. In the words of the Washington Post, it is ``absurdity on its face--the kind of twisted logic that turns up at the end of a long game of telephone tag.'' Well, we all know what game they are playing. Donald Trump and his inner circle are howling about fraud with the hopes of discrediting Social Security entirely. Never mind there is no rampant fraud within Social Security; they just want to cut people's benefits. Never mind that it is popular--overwhelmingly popular--with Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, rural people, suburban people, urban people. Why are they doing this, then? Why are they going after something that has been as sacred as Social Security since Franklin Roosevelt put the program together? Why? It is simple: So they can cut taxes for the rich. This is a heist. If JD Vance had any intellectual honesty, he would acknowledge he was wrong when he said ``40 percent of the people who are calling are actually committing fraud,'' but I am not holding my breath. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in an additional matter, this morning, I am proud to be joining Senators Wyden, Kaine, as well as Senators Shaheen, Welch, and Senator Paul to introduce another resolution that would put a halt on all of Donald Trump's global policies. The resolution we passed dealt with Canada. This deals with all of the global tariffs. I am very proud to cosponsor this legislation. The Senate has the power and authority to stop this madness, and we have a duty to act in a bipartisan way to repeal these tariffs. As you know, the previous resolution by Senator Kaine got four Republican votes here in the Senate. Our resolution, this resolution, would terminate the emergency that Donald Trump has declared in order to slap tariffs on 49 percent of products Americans buy from other countries. It would terminate that. Again, instead of picking a fight with the entire world, Donald Trump should be focused on going after America's actual adversaries. The Senate has the power and authority to stop Donald Trump's tariff madness. We Senate Democrats intend on making sure the Senate gets the chance to exercise that power. Senator Wyden's resolution is privileged and will be able to go to the floor of the Senate.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, make no mistake about it, Donald Trump is teeing up a nationwide recession. Less than a week after Donald Trump started the largest, dumbest trade war in American history, all the signs say America is heading toward calamity. A report by JPMorgan entitled ``There Will Be Blood,'' warned these policies, if sustained, would likely push the United States and possibly the global economy into a recession this year. An update of our probability scenario tree makes this point, raising the risk of a recession this year to 60 percent. That is the conservative, cautious JPMorgan--60-percent chance of a recession. Barclays, meanwhile, said Donald Trump's tariffs will cause inflation to nearly double as America enters a recession. HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America all said the same thing--the tariffs have made a recession more likely. And now, today, Goldman Sachs is the one saying ``danger.'' Some analysts say the damage is already done; $6 trillion of value has been wiped out. Any community in America that relies on trade or tourism or farming or energy or any wide range of industries is at risk of a recession. My State of New York, my city of New York, certainly, are at that risk and heading right in that direction, unfortunately. Consumer activity is going to go down. Demand is going to suffer. Unemployment is going up. And maybe worst of all, Donald Trump's tariff tax is the largest tax hike since before the Vietnam war. Families will pay $5,000 extra a year for groceries, appliances, for drugs, for clothes, for cars, for gasoline, and so, so much more. Everywhere they look, Americans are going to see prices going up, going up. Donald Trump campaigned on the fact there was too much inflation, and yet he is going to cause--he is causing already--a ton of it. So let me say it again: Donald Trump is teeing up a nationwide recession. If a recession does happen, it will be known as the Trump recession. I urge the President to back off from his disastrous tariffs immediately. He should put down the golf clubs and pick up the papers because the disaster he has created is anything but great. On the contrary, ``Liberation Day'' is quickly turning into Donald Trump's infamous ``Mission Accomplished'' moment. Congress must immediately take back power from Donald Trump before he causes more damage to the economy. Leader Thune has a responsibility to listen to American families worried about the price of groceries, worried about their retirement, worried about keeping their jobs, and worried about the future. The Republican leader should make passing tariff legislation the top priority of the Senate this week. At his press conference a few minutes ago, Donald Trump just said he is not looking at a pause. Now the only hope the American people have to avoid calamity rests on Senator Thune's shoulders. So Senator Thune has a decision to make: Side with Donald Trump or his destructive policies or side with the American people. I was deeply disappointed last Friday night when Senate Republicans rejected my measure last week to halt any tariffs since January 20 if prices for groceries, medicines, and other essential goods went up. I hope Republicans reconsider their opposition the next time we vote in reconciliation or else they will continue to get an earful from their constituents back home. Talk about canceled townhall meetings that Republicans had to do in the House, they are going to have to cancel a whole lot more unless they start listening to the American people. This shouldn't be a partisan issue. Most Senators know deep down these tariffs are a disaster for the country.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, that is the third thing I want to talk about, the Republican billionaire tax breaks. In less than 3 months, Donald Trump has unleashed more chaos upon the American people than any previous President. His tariffs have hit families with the largest tax hike in half a century. Elon Musk and DOGE are sabotaging Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare from within with massive layoffs, funding cuts, and crashing websites. The market is having its worst day since the COVID crisis, sending 401(k)s reeling. And what are Republicans in Congress doing? They are cutting taxes for billionaires and paying for it by cutting Medicaid. Now the billionaire tax breaks will add $37 trillion to the debt. Adding $37 trillion to the debt was bad enough without having to take into account President Trump's tariffs. But now that these tariffs are making a recession more likely, it would be malpractice--malpractice-- for Republicans to move forward. The ball is in the House Republicans' court. They can see for themselves just how fiscally reckless and ill-conceived the Senate bill is. They should reject it. Republicans' obeisance to Donald Trump's increasingly unpopular agenda will cost them dearly in the future. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Social Security, while markets plunge and retirement accounts reel from Donald Trump's tariffs, Elon Musk and DOGE are taking a blowtorch to Social Security. This morning, the Washington Post reported that the Social Security website is facing widespread and repeated outages. People can't log on and see their benefits. Millions of low-income Americans even received messages saying they are ``not receiving payments'' at all, causing widespread panic. First, DOGE shut down local Social Security offices. Then it shut down phone services. Now seniors can't even go online. What the hell are they supposed to do? Anyone who thinks Elon Musk isn't trying to destroy Social Security should look at how they are crashing the website, how they are shutting down offices, how they are closing phone lines. Now they are even proposing another round of massive layoffs. Make no mistake--no mistake; it is clear as a bell--Elon Musk is cutting Social Security benefits. When he said that it was a Ponzi scheme--so ridiculous, so false, and so mean--he really meant it. He believes it. When offices close down, when websites crash, when phone lines shut off, that is no different than cutting benefits. So when Elon Musk says that Social Security should be eliminated, he is finding ways to make that happen. It is horrible, horrible for our seniors and for all Americans, including the millions who have been putting money in week after week, month after month so they might have a decent retirement. Last week, Senate Republicans voted against three amendments by Democrats to protect Social Security from DOGE, including an amendment by Senator Ossoff reversing the mass layoffs and office closures. What did Republicans do? They said no. Shameful. Social Security is the greatest crisis ever. Senate Republicans are now complicit. The longer Republicans allow Elon Musk to threaten people's benefits, the greater the political blowback is going to be. And with these issues--the tariffs, the Trump tariff tax--destroying so much of Social Security, the American people are learning that Donald Trump is betraying them. Everything he said in the campaign--so much he said in the campaign, he is just doing the opposite. It helps the billionaires and hurts the American people.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Republican bill that now sits before the Senate is poison. Last night, Senate Republicans began the process to pass legislation eviscerating Medicaid, crushing the healthcare of the young and old alike, and squandering their future and our future. First thing this morning, we will talk about why they are doing this, so they can achieve tax cuts for the ultrarich. Slashing Medicaid so cruelly and callously would be bad enough, but as Americans learn that Republicans are doing it simply to give tax cuts to the ultrarich, an electric shock is going to go through the American people, and they will cry out: What the hell is going on? Donald Trump is betraying us. This is the Republican agenda, plain and simple: Billionaires win, American families lose. Republicans have failed to be honest with the country about the true nature of their cuts. Today, this morning, Senate Democrats will come to the floor to put the Republican agenda on trial before the court of public opinion. Democrats will expose the dark corners of the Republicans' plan. We will explain the devastating consequences and highlight the many injustices that the Republicans will inflict on people's health, on their financial security, on their children's future, and, in fact, on their very dream, the very future of the American dream itself. I spoke--many of us spoke--on the issue of Medicaid last night. And I thank my colleagues who did the same: Senators Merkley and Durbin, Baldwin, Hassan, Kim, Reed, Cortez Masto, Slotkin, Klobuchar, Welch, Warnock, and Bennet. We will continue today, this morning, exposing Republicans' morally bankrupt tax breaks on billionaires, and then Donald Trump's dumb and costly tariffs. They have tried to hide Medicaid cuts. They have tried to hide their billionaire tax giveaways. If Republicans won't be straight with the American people about their agenda, Democrats are glad to do it for them. Today, Senate Democrats will come to the floor to put the Republican agenda on trial before the court of public opinion, as I said before. So we continue today; first, by exposing the Republicans' morally bankrupt tax breaks for billionaires and then Donald Trump's dumb, costly tariffs. We will proceed to then talk about the need to stand up for our veterans and national security. Donald Trump has made even the more conservative Republican veterans organizations angry. We will then talk about the unprecedented corruption and self-dealing that Donald Trump has unleashed in our government. He and Musk seem to want to make themselves richer using their government position, and their families as well, to gain even more wealth, and, finally, on the existential fight to protect Social Security from the chain saw of Elon Musk. We will speak on all of these issues as the day goes on. Democrats will expose the dark corners of the Republican plan. We will explain the devastating consequences and highlight the many injustices the Republicans will inflict on people's healthcare and financial security and on their children's future. This is a fight the American people need to see because people's lives and livelihood are at stake. The healthcare that protects our kids is in danger, the benefits that keep our seniors whole are at risk, the investments that unlock America's future are hanging by a thread, and Republicans are about to cut it. Why? Why do they do all of this? What is the purpose of all this nastiness? It cannot be said enough: Republicans are trying to give the ultrarich another tax break--another tax break. They have got plenty of money. Taking away someone's Social Security, cutting their Medicaid, telling veterans they don't get healthcare, all to give tax cuts for the wealthy, what an awful scheme. Why are they doing this? Frankly, they are in a billionaires' bubble. It is a small group of billionaires that run the whole Republican Party. A lot of them have been plotting to do this for over a decade with their think tanks and their rightwing media voices and their taking over other media and social media. But they have been trying to do it for a long time, these superrich, supergreedy billionaires. And with Donald Trump, they have succeeded. These billionaires are running the show, plain and simple. These billionaires who don't have any understanding of what the average family goes through when they sit at the dinner table and say: How are we going to buy the new car? How are we going to go on that little vacation to visit grandma? How are we going to give our kids the best school supplies and education they need? They have no understanding of this; exemplified in Howard Lutnick, one of these billionaires. When told his mother might not get another Social Security payment, he said, ``She doesn't need it.'' Well, of course, if your son-in-law is a billionaire, Mr. Lutnick, yeah, it is easy. What about everybody else? These billionaires are so limited. They only talk to each other. They don't even think of the harm they are doing to average people or they don't want to know about it. So they listen to one another and refuse to understand working people, and that is sickening. When Democrats expose all these cuts to healthcare and veterans and nutrition, the American people will think it is sickening too. That is the fight we Democrats will have on the Senate floor. Today, tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, Democrats will fight every which way against this vicious attack on American families where billionaires win and families lose. We will fight this awful bill and shine a light on these terrible cuts for all the American people to see. And when the American people see it, they won't like it; they will despise it. Senate Republicans, your embrace of the billionaires' agenda puts you on a path of despair and defeat--despair among the millions of Americans you cruelly flay and defeat for you and your agenda. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Oregon for his outstanding words on this issue--on tax issues and so many other policies, trade, and everything else. He is one of our real experts in the entire Congress, so I thank him. Now, I thank my colleagues for speaking this morning. We now continue to talk about Donald Trump's assault on American families. Last night, we talked about Medicaid; this morning, about taxes. Now we move on to Donald Trump's dumb and costly tariffs--the Trump tariff tax. After that, we will proceed to talk about the need to stand up for our veterans and national security. Then, on the unprecedented corruption and self-dealing that Donald Trump has unleashed on our government, helping his billionaire friends make money off the government to become richer, and, finally, on the existential fight to protect Social Security from the chain saw of Elon Musk. Tariffs Mr. President, now on tariffs, the Trump tariff tax. This week, Donald Trump made one of the dumbest decisions he has ever made as President--and that is saying a lot. Instead of fixing inflation, which he promised to do, Trump unleashed a wave of tariffs that will make inflation much worse. How do Senate Republicans respond to Trump's tariffs? By cutting Medicaid and giving billionaires a tax cut. That is why he is doing this. Why would he raise the cost on American families by $5,000, as it is estimated? Simply because his very wealthy billionaire friends want greater tax breaks. Here is what Chairman Powell just said about the Trump tariff tax. Powell said: It would increase inflation and slow growth. And then Donald Trump responded in his billionaire bubble, he asked Powell to lower interest rates. What planet is he on? The nonpolitical, bipartisan, nonpartisan Chairman of the Fed says it is going to raise inflation and slow growth, and Trump says lower interest rates. It is going to do just the opposite. That is what the Chairman of the Federal Reserve said. And what Donald Trump has created with these tariffs is a brutal pincer move with American families trapped in the middle. Trump's tariffs raise costs on one side, and Trump's budget cuts rob people of healthcare, nutrition, and Medicaid on the other and squeezes them in a pincer. There are smart ways to use tariffs, and there are dumb ways to use tariffs. Donald Trump is using tariffs in the dumbest way possible. In fact, Trump slapped tariffs on penguins but not on Putin. Yep, that is true. He sanctioned the Heard and McDonald Islands, only inhabited by penguins, but he left Putin's evil Russia alone. That is what happens when you have no clue as to what you are doing. You fire air traffic controllers and dismantle disease outbreak monitors, sabotage Social Security, the VA, and censor climate data, defund public schools, and now declare a trade war on penguins. These tariffs are a massive tax hike, pure and simple. JPMorgan, themselves a conservative banking organization, called them equivalent to the largest tax increase since 1998. Everything is going to go up, my colleagues. This is 10 percent across the board, plus a whole lot of other tariffs; fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, more expensive; clothing and shoes, more expensive; gasoline and new cars, more expensive; electronics, like iPhones and TVs, more expensive. Donald Trump has singlehandedly started a financial forest fire. Yesterday, the markets reported their worst day since the pandemic. The Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ dropped 4, 5, and 6 percent. Today is getting even worse because, quite naturally, other countries, including China-- and I have no love for China and its policies--well, they put on a retaliatory tariff. We could be going into the greatest trade war in history. We all know that the Great Depression was caused by a trade war like this when Herbert Hoover slapped on these tariffs and the whole world responded, and the Great Depression, which had started, was greatly worsened. Donald Trump seems to have never--he doesn't even know history. He hasn't learned history. But we could be on the edge of the greatest trade war the world has ever seen, and who will pay the price? The average American family because not only will prices go up, but the economy will decline. Already, estimates that the recession is more likely than before are upon us. Today's actions by China make a recession even more likely, and the American people suffer all because he wants to give tax breaks to the billionaires. What bubble do these billionaires, including Donald Trump, live in? How could they not understand how this affects American families? He is imposing these tariffs, raising the costs on American families, an average of about $5,000--the number is probably going to go up after what China did today--all to give tax breaks to billionaires. The American people are learning this. They are realizing Trump doesn't--he is not on their side. They are realizing that Donald Trump is not keeping any of his campaign promises, such as prices go down on day one. They realize Donald Trump is betraying the working class all for his billionaire friends. I yield the floor.