Senate Democrats Live, 12.3.2024

e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e so I'm happy to be joined by our new leadership team Senator Durban Senator kachar and Senator Booker and I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving my mom is 96 and we all went to my brother's a little house in Connecticut all she saw all of her children her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren so that was a true blessing and I hope everyone else had the same good Happy Thanksgiving now as you may know today the den Senate Democratic caucus voted unanimously on our new leadership team for the 119th Congress I I know that this leadership team will help lead our caucus through this time of rebuilding reflection and help serve the American people serving as leader has been one of the greatest honors of my life and a large part of that honor is because my caucus is just an inspiring group of people I love them they work hard they have different views but everyone talks to each other we respect each other and you know over the last four years when I've been Majority Leader we've had one of the most successful senates in decades and that is in large part because our caucus is so good and I appreciate that very much we don't agree on everything we have different philosophies different backgrounds every single member loves his or her country and every one of them strives for Unity and that's one of the reasons as I said we've been successful after four years of the most productive and consequential years the Senate has had in decades it's galvanized by faith in this chamber's ability to get big things done for the country even when there's such division which of course there is now most of the major bills we've passed big bills like chips big bills like Ira um well except Ira big bills like infrastructure and gun safety and gay marriage were done in a bipartisan way and that's a message to the new Senate you get things done you get the most things done in a bipartisan way Senate Democrats will continue to dedicate every ounce of our strength focus and determination to fight and deliver for the American people now as you may know yesterday I sent a letter to incoming Republican leader th urging him to uphold the Senate's constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on the Senate's nominations we're ready to work with the Republicans on the nomination process each nom is do the same fair and thorough consideration that previous nominees of both parties no matter who was president had received let me repeat what we need is to what we need to happen is for all the nominees to go through the same process that past nominees have gone through in the Senate regardless of party including a full FBI background uh investigation and Senate reviewed shouldn't just be the FBI doing it they've got to let the Senate know what they found full hearings where we get to ask the nominees questions and of course the Senate vote and we're going to let that process unfold Senator deran honored to be chosen by my colleagues to serve again as whip in the 119th Congress I want to thank and congratulate Senator Schumer it was a unified Caucus meeting today uh that led to this uh decision and we have moved together effectively in the past and will continue to happy to have my colleague Senator kachar Senator Booker as part of this team I'd like to repeat what Chuck Schumer said about the process mark my words you can't do a speed dating process for the cabinet of the president of the United States without ending up embarrassed and with things that are discovered only through a deep investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation do you know what the ordinary process had been in the past with previous presents they would float the names to the FBI of possible people for the cabinet for a cursory investigation to see if there's anything they missed in the initial look and then if that came up thumbs up they would announce it publicly and a deep dark FBI investigation would ensue the suggestion by some is we're going to do away with that some have suggested well maybe just the Comm will take a look at it the Senate Judiciary Committee does not have the resources of the FBI we want to make certain the people serving this country at the highest and most sensitive positions have no background problems that jeopardize their service to this country that is not too much to ask I can tell you privately many Republican Senators have spoken to me and said for goodness sakes we can't do away with the FBI check that is something that's just integral to the system they won't say it publicly for obvious reasons obvious political reasons but we've got to stand for what Senator Schumer said yesterday the process that has served us so well under previous administrations previous generations and previous presidents has to be honored if they'll honor that we've got to do our job and do it in a diligent fashion Senator kachar all right first she not this is not the first time she hit the mic but first no not my first time one of the four leadership leaders exactly thank you so much chuck and thank you uh to this incredible team uh to Chuck and to dick and to Corey uh Corey and I um were both running for president at one point and it may or may not be true that we wrote notes to each other during a debate across the podiums um and I will never do that to Chuck on your leadership team so I want to um first of all talk about what I hope to bring to this and that is that uh I am someone that believes you need to stand your ground but also find common ground and look for Solutions and the American people are crying out for those Solutions and I have truly appreciated how Chuck has emphasized um that that is part of our goals for the coming year uh that we must chart a course to bring the American people uh what they need and what they want at the same time we have to stand our ground my colleagues mentioned uh these uh nominees and the thought that we require FBI checks uh for line prosecutors in the US attorney's office in Minnesota or for FBI agents in New Jersey and that these people who um are up and nominated to lead these agency wouldn't have the same kind of background review given to us which it is our constitutional duty to advise and consent and our job to protect uh and uphold and support and defend uh the Constitution that's the oath that we take and to exercise that oath we must have that information when we look at these nominees in addition some of these other polic IES with the across theboard tariffs or the additional tax cuts for the wealthy are things that are not in the best interest and we don't have the backs of the American people when we do that so I'm looking forward to a spirited debate with our colleagues but again always trying to use as a touchtone uh that we will find Common Ground I'm going to miss U my buddies in the back row we all sit together for over a decade and that's Bob Casey and John tester and shared Brown and think about that we're all together in one row at the same time I know that in a number of our races in the US Senate thanks to Chuck's leadership and the people uh that worked on these races and are incredible Senators we were able uh to win those races in Michigan and Arizona um and in Nevada and in Wisconsin um and in many ways when you look at this election we defied gravity what was that a reference to Wicked that's right we defied gravity um and uh that is what we will continue to do uh in terms of reaching out to these people in our country to the voters who um maybe didn't hear us as well as they should have and so that's one of the reasons I'm so excited to be working with Corey on this thank you Senator Booker his first appearance as a membership of the four leaders um I just want to thank truck rock and roll group the four leaders was the four something not tops there was another one the four something go ahead Cory thank you um I just want to thank Chuck Schumer really um it's been incredible uh the last four years to work with him and to be included in a lot of the important work of this caucus uh we've had an extraordinarily four years of accomplishment under uh with Joe Biden as the president and Chuck Schumer as the leader of the Senate he is a modern-day LBJ just based upon what we've been able to deliver he and I had conversations over this last year and for him to invite me uh to be a part of leadership and for him to trust me in a new role uh is extraordinary so I want to give him my gratitude and my fellow members of my caucus who by acclamation uh saw that I could play a role and I look forward to serving not just this caucus but really the larger mission of advancing our country and advancing an agenda that really is focused on Americans and their agenda thank you thank you questions yes do you agree with some of your democra colleagues who say that President Biden's pardon hter Biden was wrong or unwise it's personal interest ahead of Duty I got nothing for you on that can I follow up on that um are you concerned with the lack of transparency lack of honesty around as I said I got nothing for you on that noing anyone on the way out of office family members s president thank you I've got nothing for you on that but the question is they talked about January 6 parties that this is a playbook for incoming president Trump isn't this a problem did he not establish a bad precedent for partners I got nothing for you on that any other subjects any other subjects other subject funding go ahead we're trying to get the CR done we're making good progress on it and uh hopefully we'll get things done by the a uh by the 20th deadline I'm pretty confident that will happen leadersh yes on funding was the house antis accurate in reporting thatr absolutely not and the report never said it leaders on the China hack on Le g a short amount of time and sharp differences between the house and the Senate on military pay and and quality of life issues are the prospects for doing a defense well we're trying to get it done but the problem is on the Republican side where the Republicans speaker and the majority lead and the Republican minority leader have different views on a Top Line until they resolve that we can't get it done well hopefully they will do it by next weekers thank you everybody e