Business Before the Senate

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Now, I have spoken about the Senate's agenda for the next several weeks. We have three essential items on our plate: one, the confirmation of President Biden's Cabinet and other key officials; two, legislation to provide desperately needed COVID relief; three, a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The Senate must and will do all three--COVID relief, confirmation of nominees, and an impeachment trial.

Now, the first order of business is to fulfill our constitutional duty to advise and consent on the President's appointments to his Cabinet. This morning the Senate will vote to confirm President Biden's nominee for Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin. Mr. Austin will be the first African American to ever helm the Defense Department in its history--a powerful symbol of the diversity and history of America's Armed Forces.

Mr. Austin has a storied career in the Army, but those days are behind him. As Secretary of Defense, he has promised to empower and lift up his civilian staff, and I believe he will be an outstanding Secretary of Defense for everyone at the Pentagon--servicemembers and civilian employees alike.

The Secretary of Defense, of course, has a hugely important task ahead of him. He must once again demonstrate to the world that the U.S. military will always support our friends, deter our adversaries, and, if necessary, defeat them.

Lloyd Austin is the right person for the job. He has the experience, the vision, and the competence to run the largest agency in our government. I look forward to confirming his nomination shortly.

Afterward, the Senate must continue to install President Biden's team by confirming Secretaries of State, Homeland Security, and Treasury. We need Republican cooperation to confirm these nominees, but we expect that cooperation to continue. The continuity of our national security, military, and intelligence policy, as well as our ability to effectively respond to the current health and economic crises, depend on having these Cabinet officials confirmed.

Now, as I mentioned, the Senate will also conduct a second impeachment trial for Donald Trump. I have been speaking to the Republican leader about the timing and duration of the trial, but--make no mistake--a trial will be held in the U.S. Senate, and there will be a vote on whether to convict the President.

I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi, who informed me that the article will be delivered to the Senate on Monday.

Now, I have heard some of my Republican colleagues argue that this trial would be unconstitutional because Donald Trump is no longer in office--an argument that has been roundly repudiated, debunked by hundreds of constitutional scholars--left, right, and center--and defies basic common sense. It makes no sense whatsoever that a President or any official could commit a heinous crime against our country and then be permitted to resign so as to avoid accountability and a vote to disbar them from future office. It makes no sense.

Regardless, the purveyors of this unusual argument are trying to delay the inevitable. The fact is, the House will deliver the Article of Impeachment to the Senate. The Senate will conduct a trial of the impeachment of Donald Trump. It will be a full trial. It will be a fair trial. But make no mistake, there will be a trial, and when that trial ends, Senators will have to decide if they believe Donald John Trump incited the insurrection against the United States.

Now, over the course of elections in November and January, the American people chose to retire four Republican Senators and elect a Democratic majority to this Senate. The Senate must now take the basic step of passing an organizing resolution and setting up the rules for a Senate where there are 50 Members of either party.

Luckily, we have a clear precedent for what to do in this situation. In 2001, then-Majority Leader Lott and Minority Leader Daschle came together and agreed on a set of rules to govern a 50-50 Senate. We should follow that precedent.

We have offered to abide by the same agreement the last time there was a 50-50 Senate. What is fair is fair. That is precedent. We could organize the Senate today if both sides agreed to abide by the same rules as last time.

The Republican leader, however, has made an extraneous demand that would place additional constraints on the majority--constraints that have never been in place before. In fact, his proposal would remove a tool that the Republican leader himself used twice in just the last Congress to accelerate the confirmation of Republican nominees.

Leader McConnell's proposal is unacceptable, and it won't be accepted. And the Republican leader knew that when he first proposed it.

Only 2 days ago, we celebrated the inauguration of a new President and the turning over of a new leaf. The American people want us to work together and move past the meaningless political fights and gridlock that have plagued us for too long.

It is time to get to work. A first step is for the Republican caucus to agree to follow the same precedent that governed the Senate the last time around.

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