John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, yesterday evening, we invoked cloture on the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be U.S. Trade Representative. Mr. Greer is admirably qualified for this position. He spent most of his career specializing in trade law and has extensive international experience. He served as a missionary in Brussels, received a master's degree from two Paris institutions, served as law clerk for the European Court of Justice, and was stationed in both Turkiye and Iraq as a member of the Air Force. Most significantly of all, he spent 3 years of the previous Trump administration serving as Chief of Staff to then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who spoke highly of Mr. Greer's work. He is, in short, very well prepared for this role. One of my top priorities when it comes to trade is expanding opportunities for our Nation's agriculture producers, like the many farmers and ranchers in my State of South Dakota. The Biden administration frequently seemed to have no interest in trade beyond negotiating on climate and labor issues. Witness the fact that there was not a single FTA negotiated during the Biden administration--not a single one--with all the opportunities across the globe to enter into trade agreements to open up and provide access to America's farmers and ranchers and small business people. Well, that was a real disservice to America's ag producers and to our small businesses. Trade is critical to the continued success of American agriculture. Twenty percent of U.S. ag products are exported yearly, and exports provide substantial farm income. Soybeans and corn alone accounted for 22 percent of all U.S. exports by value in 2024. Thanks, in part, to the Biden administration's almost complete inaction on trade, the current agricultural trade deficit is at an alltime high. That is an area of our economy where we have always run trade surpluses historically. Consistently over time, decade after decade, we had always run trade surpluses in agriculture until the last few years under the Biden administration, when we started racking up not only deficits but now record trade deficits. They are at an alltime high. I have to say that is a real problem for our ag producers, especially considering the other challenges that they have been facing, and it is something that needs to be addressed. I know that the Trump administration is committed to meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers, and I am looking forward to working with Mr. Greer to expand opportunities for our agricultural producers. I am very encouraged by the fact that Mr. Greer has expressed his commitment to working closely with the Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a member, and with Congress. President Biden's Trade Representative was completely uninterested in working with Congress. So it is very encouraging to hear of Mr. Greer's commitment to communication and collaboration. I look forward to a close partnership between the administration and Congress in the coming months and years, as we work to expand opportunities for American producers.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, if cloture is invoked on the Driscoll nomination, the Senate vote immediately on the motion to invoke cloture on the Greer nomination; further, if cloture is invoked on the Greer nomination, all time be expired on the Driscoll and Greer nominations and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, no earlier than Tuesday, February 25, with respect to the Driscoll nomination and Wednesday, February 26, with respect to the Greer nomination; finally, if the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, early Friday morning, the Senate passed a budget resolution to lay the groundwork for border, energy, and national security legislation. We considered a lot of amendments from my Democratic colleagues, not one of which, interestingly enough, was centered on border security and very few of which addressed either national security or energy security. But that was, I have to say, not terribly surprising. After all, the Democratic leader seemed to think, to the very end, that this budget resolution had something to do with tax cuts for billionaires, even though it has absolutely and exactly nothing to do with tax cuts of any kind. I am not sure if he was honestly confused or merely felt that he could achieve something messaging-wise by pretending this bill had something to do with billionaires. But for the record, let me review what this bill was about. As everyone here knows, whether they want to acknowledge it or not, the chaos that President Biden allowed to rage at our southern border left a gaping hole in our national security. That is a hole that President Trump and Republicans are determined to close. And since day one of his administration, President Trump has been fulfilling his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration and secure our border. In addition to surging support to the southern border, his administration has been focused on arresting and deporting criminal aliens--from rapists and murderers to child sex predators and dangerous gang members--and they have made a lot of progress already. But as the President's border czar made clear to Republican Senators 2 weeks ago, these efforts cannot continue without additional funding from Congress. So Republicans are moving forward on legislation to fund continued efforts to deport criminal aliens as well as provide other necessary resources to secure our border, discourage illegal immigration, and restore respect for the rule of law. That was what Friday's budget resolution was about. And it is too bad that my Democratic colleagues aren't interested in joining us on border security legislation, but I will tell you, with or without Democrats, Republicans are moving full speed ahead. We owe the American people a secure border, and we intend to give it to them. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. And I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the first amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number, with no amendments in order prior to a vote in relation to the amendments: Schumer No. 454, Klobuchar No. 494, Merkley No. 473.

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I yield back all time.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the first amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number, with no amendments prior to a vote in relation to the amendments: Warner No. 130, Murray No. 878, Hickenlooper No. 925.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the next amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number, with no amendments in order prior to a vote in relation to the amendments: Reed-Shaheen No. 299, Paul No. 999, Slotkin No. 664, Van Hollen No. 233, and Shaheen No. 436.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the next amendments in order, that the amendments be reported by number, with no amendments in order prior to a vote in relation to the amendments: Lujan, No. 699, Duckworth-Booker No. 971, Heinrich No. 101, and Blumenthal No. 659.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I think for the benefit of all Members, I hope that very soon we will have a final agreement that will enable us to wind this down with a finite number of votes. And when that happens, I want to ask everybody to be in their seats so we can move fairly quickly through those. And in the intervening time period, while they are working that out, we have a couple more amendments. I am going to ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the final amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number; that following disposition of the amendments, the Senate vote on adoption of the concurrent resolution, as amended, with no intervening action or debate; finally, if agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table: Markey 911; Coons 1223.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the final amendments in order; that the amendments be reported by number; that following disposition of the amendments, the Senate vote on adoption of the concurrent resolution, as amended, with no intervening action or debate; finally, if agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table: Lujan 957, Warren 734, Kelly 984, King 198, Lee 922, Blunt Rochester 311, Murray- Durbin 880, and Merkley 1207.

Mr. THUNE. And I would further ask consent these be 10-minute votes.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it has been 1 month since President Trump took the oath of office. Since January 20, the Senate has been hard at work confirming the President's Cabinet nominees--18 confirmed so far. President Trump has more of his team in place today than any President has had at this point since 2001, and we have done this despite obstruction by Democrats. Every nominee has received a fair process, as promised, and the Senate will continue to keep its foot on the gas until President Trump's Cabinet table is full. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote to confirm Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI. Mr. Patel will lead the Nation's primary Federal law enforcement Agency at a critical time. We have seen a heightened threat of terrorism in the homeland. Illegal drugs continue to come across the southern border and take the lives of too many Americans. Violent crime spiked in recent years, and it is still a problem in many parts of the country. At the same time, the FBI has lost the trust of many Americans who fear the Agency has become politicized. Mr. President, Kash Patel has spent his career working in criminal law and national security. He spent his first 8 years after law school as a public defender in State and Federal courts in Florida. In 2014, he was brought on as a terrorism prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuting terrorist organizations like al- Qaida and al-Shabaab. From there, he went to work in national security for the House Intelligence Committee and then in the first Trump administration. He worked on the National Security Council, where he handled hostage rescues, among other sensitive missions. He also served as Principal Deputy for the Acting Director of National Intelligence and later as Chief of Staff for the Acting Secretary of Defense. Mr. President, as I said, the FBI has lost trust among the American people in recent years. Much of that stems from a perception that politics has infected the FBI's important work, and it is not hard to see why. In just the last few years, the FBI field office in Richmond, VA, circulated a memo suggesting that traditional Catholics could be violent extremists. In 2021, the Attorney General infamously obstructed the FBI to work with local law enforcement to target parents who attended school board meetings. Of course, there is the FBI's apparent double standard when it comes to investigating President Trump and its repeated failures to cooperate with congressional Republicans. Mr. President, the next Director of the FBI needs to focus on rooting out politics so the FBI can enforce the law, uphold the Constitution, and keep Americans safe. The Bureau also needs a renewed focus on empowering the FBI's field offices to be good partners to local law enforcement. I am encouraged that Mr. Patel has the support of the National Police Association, the National Sheriffs' Association, and multiple State attorneys general-- all of whom will be his partners in law enforcement should Mr. Patel be confirmed. We have unfortunately seen that no community is immune from crime, terrorism, or illegal drugs, and we need all law enforcement working together and focused on the real threats facing our country. I look forward to working with Mr. Patel to restore the integrity of the FBI and get it focused on its critical mission. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Mr. President, one of the most significant accomplishments of the first Trump administration was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This comprehensive bill reduced tax rates for every income bracket, doubled the child tax credit, nearly doubled the standard deduction, and enacted pro-growth policies for American businesses of all sizes. And what were the results? A growing economy, higher paychecks for hard-working families, millions of new jobs, small business growth, higher-than-expected Federal revenues. That is right: higher than expected. Government revenues since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have exceeded projections by roughly half a trillion dollars. An end to corporate inversions, which is the practice of moving U.S. company operations overseas for tax purposes. Practically every aspect of the U.S. economy was strengthened by this pro-growth legislation. Contrary to what my friends across the aisle like to claim, it was middle-class families, not wealthy Americans, who received the largest proportional benefit of the tax cuts. Now, let me just repeat that. It was middle-class families, not wealthy Americans, who received the largest proportional benefit of the tax cuts. Working families benefited from this legislation. Working families ended up with more money in their pockets. Working families had more breathing room because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Anyone who pretends that this wasn't the case is either ignorant of the law or being deliberately deceptive. The income tax cuts for individuals are expiring at the end of this year, along with a key small business tax cut called the section 199A passthrough deduction. And one of our top priorities for this year is extending this tax relief--but not just extending it, making it permanent. As I and several other Finance Committee Republicans noted last week in a letter on this subject, ``A temporary extension of these pro- growth and pro-family policies is a missed opportunity. Businesses need certainty while investing in their companies and taxpayers should not fear tax hikes due to congressional inaction.'' That is it in a nutshell. Hard-working Americans shouldn't have to live in fear of a tax hike every few years, and businesses need a clear picture of the tax outlook so that they can plan for the long term. Making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent would protect hard-working families from uncertainty and ensure that they can keep more money in their pockets, and it would have significant economic long-term benefits. The National Federation of Independent Business reports that making the small business section 199A deduction permanent would result in the creation of an additional 1.2 million jobs annually, with that number climbing as the law goes on. And the Tax Foundation reports that long-run gross domestic product would increase by a substantial 1.1 percent. The President has called for making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, and I am committed to ensuring any tax bill we consider does exactly that. We have a real opportunity to improve the lives of Americans both here and now and for the long term, and we can't waste it. Needless to say, drafting major tax legislation takes time. Senator Crapo, the chairman for the Finance Committee, has been doing an incredible job of laying the groundwork for a permanent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act extension, but there is still substantial work left to do to arrive at a bicameral agreement. We have to take the time to get it and do it right. As we continue to move full steam ahead on this key part of the President's agenda, however, there are other pressing priorities that need to be addressed immediately. When the President's border czar was here last week, he emphasized that the administration cannot sustain its effort to deport criminals here illegally without additional funding. And the last thing that we want is to delay other parts of the President's agenda, like border security, while we do the work needed to arrive at a tax agreement that can pass both Houses of Congress. That is why the Senate is moving forward on a two-part legislative plan to accomplish our--and the President's--top priorities. The first bill we consider will address immediate needs like securing the border and other key national security priorities. The second will focus on making tax relief permanent. The budget resolution we are taking up this week will address the border security part of the equation, and then we will take up a second budget resolution for the tax portion. I want to thank Chairman Graham for doing the work to get today's resolution to the floor, and I look forward to passing it later this week. I look forward to taking up that second budget resolution as well in the not-too-distant future to prevent a $4 trillion tax hike on hard- working Americans and making the individual and small business tax relief from the Tax Cuts and Job Acts permanent. I yield the floor. Waiving Quorum Call

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Patel nomination be waived.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 22.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 21.