John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate execute the order of January 30 in relation to the Wright nomination.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, February 4; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume Executive Calendar No. 12, and that all time during morning business, recess, adjournment, and leader remarks count postcloture; further, that at 12:15 p.m., the Senate execute the order of January 30, in relation to the Collins nomination and the Senate recess following disposition of the Collins nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, 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, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Schatz.

Mr. THUNE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 11.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 50, which was submitted earlier today. The clerk will report the resolution by title.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, before I begin, I want to comment on last night's horrific tragedy. As most now know, last night, around 9 p.m., a passenger flight out of Wichita, KS, coming into Reagan National Airport collided with a Black Hawk helicopter based out of Fort Belvoir. As recovery efforts continue, authorities confirmed that they do not expect any survivors. Mr. President, there are few words in instances like this, only our heartfelt prayers for those who have received unbearable news over the past few hours and our gratitude for rescue personnel who spent the night searching for survivors and remain on the river. It is too early to know why last night's crash occurred, but we are going to find out. Congress and Federal Agencies will be closely examining this tragedy to ensure that America's skies are safe. My prayers today are with all those suffering, with our first responders, and with our Kansas Senators and everyone affected by this terrible event.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 12.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have six requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 48, which is at the desk.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, February 3; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business for debate only with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each until 5:30 p.m. and that at 5:30 p.m., I be recognized; further, that at 6:30 p.m., the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Bondi nomination; finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed during Monday's session, 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. Madam President, for the information of all Senators, Senators should expect three votes starting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday; a procedural vote in relation to the Vought nomination; a confirmation vote on the Wright nomination under the order of January 30; and cloture on the Bondi nomination.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 49, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, my Democratic colleagues--and when I say ``my Democratic colleagues,'' I mean all of my Democratic colleagues, with one exception--chose to block legislation to sanction individuals at the International Criminal Court who participated in investigations or prosecutions of American or Israeli citizens. In the wake of the vote, a number of my Democratic colleagues put out a statement expressing their concern at the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. I suppose it is nice that they are concerned. They should be concerned. But it would be even nicer if they had done something about it. It is hard for me to fathom how Democrats could vote against this commonsense measure. In fact, they wouldn't even vote to have a debate. I am not sure if they are afraid of antagonizing the anti-Israel wing of their party or if they are simply too beholden to Big Tech, which lodged some tenuous concerns about this legislation. But whatever their reason, Democrats chose to vote no--no to standing up for our ally Israel and, even worse, no to standing up for our own citizens. Apparently the ``America last'' playbook is alive and well in the Democratic Party. Mr. President, Republicans tried to the very end to accommodate Democrats in hopes of finally getting this legislation over the finish line, nearly 8 months after the Republican-controlled House first passed the bill. But Democrats kept moving the goalpost, and Republicans were not going to just gut the legislation to get Democrat votes. If Democrats decide that they want to take real action to address the targeting of our allies and prevent future targeting of American citizens, Republicans are here. Until then, we will continue to do what we can without Democrats to defend our allies and our Nation.

Mr. THUNE

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

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.