00:00Mr. President, last night, law enforcement apprehended the man suspected in the assassination
00:08of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting
00:14of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. We in the Senate thank our law enforcement
00:19for their remarkable work in bringing the attacker into custody. As we've all seen,
00:24the attacker plan to continue his killing spree had he not been thwarted, and had a
00:29list of over 70 public officials potentially targeted for violence, including members
00:35of the Senate. Naturally, a number of members in the Senate remain profoundly shaken.
00:41The victims were friends of our colleagues from Minnesota. Some of them were together at
00:48a dinner the night before the shooting, to think that one moment you can celebrate each
00:54other's company. Laugh and joke, share a meal, a drink, only for violence to strike the next
01:01moment makes us all sick to our stomachs. It's haunting.
01:06My prayers are with the families of the victims. I'm heartbroken for the loss of
01:12Representative Hortman and her husband. I can't get their faces, those nice pictures of such
01:18nice people out of my mind. On the other hand, I'm glad to hear Senator Hoffman and his wife
01:24are making progress towards recovery. May God bless them all and their loved ones.
01:29Now, as we convene, I want to start with this. My highest priority right now is working with
01:36the Senate leadership on both sides, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police to ensure
01:43everyone's safety. This weekend, I asked Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to increase
01:48the security for members, including Senator Padilla and the Minnesota Senators. Knowing
01:54that the Sergeant at Arms, her entire operation, the Capitol Police are there to help us right
01:59now is comforting. Tomorrow, the Senate will hold an all-members briefing organized at my request
02:06and that of Senator Thune with the Sergeant at Arms to talk about security for members.
02:12The Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police are doing an outstanding job and have bent over
02:17backwards under very difficult circumstances to keep everyone safe. Tomorrow's briefing will
02:23be a chance for them to convey what they're doing for members to keep them safe.
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