Legislative Agenda

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate confirmed David Tapp of Kentucky to serve on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Today, we will turn to more of President Trump's impressive nominees for the Federal Judiciary.

Last week, Senate Republicans had hoped to proceed to the urgent priority of funding our national defense, but for the second time in 2 months, Senate Democrats filibustered defense funding. They blocked the Senate from funding our Armed Forces.

Over the summer, the Speaker of the House and my colleague the Democratic leader both signed onto a bipartisan, bicameral budget deal that Democrats hammered out with President Trump's team in order to avoid exactly--exactly--the kind of partisan stalemate that we are now experiencing and avoid a 12-bill omnibus. The agreement laid out specific top-line numbers and ruled out poison pills--the agreement we all reached just a couple of months ago.

With respect to Presidential transfer authorities, the agreement that we all agreed to 2 months ago specifically stated that ``current transfer funding levels and authorities shall be maintained.'' The President's transfers authorities as they relate to border funding, or anything else, were to remain exactly as they existed in current law. This is the deal we signed off on just 2 months ago. The deal just simply preserves the status quo that was established by bipartisan legislation last fiscal year. The same transfer authorities, by the way, would also be preserved if Democrats tank the appropriations process and we end up with a continuing resolution. That was the deal. Democrats were onboard. I entered the terms into the Congressional Record and both the Speaker and the Senate Democratic leader posted the terms of the deal in their press release, but now our Democratic counterparts have gone back on their word.

Contrary to the agreement, Democrats are now insisting on poison pills and, thus, blocking the resources and certainty our men and women in uniform need.

While Senate Democrats block defense funding, House Democrats continue to hold up USMCA and the 176,000 new American jobs it would create. All their time and energy seems to go to House Democrats' 3- year-old impeachment journey and the unfair, precedent-breaking process by which the House has conducted its inquiry so far.

Last week, House Democrats passed their first votes on impeachment and codified their irregular process. They passed a resolution that fails--fails--to provide President Trump the same rights and due process that past Presidents of both parties have received.

Here is what the Democrats' resolution effectively says: No due process now, maybe some later, but only if we feel like it. I repeat: No due process now, maybe some later, but only if we feel like it.

Well, while we wait for our Democratic counterparts to come back to the table and allow this body to complete urgent bipartisan legislation, we are going to continue confirming more of President Trump's impressive nominees and giving the American people the government they actually voted for.

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