00:00Credit Leader. Are we in a quorum? We are. I ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed. Without objection. Mr.
00:06President, earlier this morning, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court took another step towards resurrecting the Jim Crow South
00:16in a decision that for all practical purposes upends half a century of precedent, defies the spirit of the American
00:26Civil Rights Movement and reverses generations of
00:29progress towards racial justice. The right-wing court today essentially declared it valid and appropriate for states to discriminate against
00:40racial minorities in drawing districts. The Voting Rights Act, a law written in the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of
00:49Americans who marched, who fought and died for the right to vote and to prevent racial discrimination, has been diminished
00:57once again.
00:58The consequence of this decision is as clear as it is dangerous. Fewer protections for voters. More power for politicians
01:07to draw maps that silence them, particularly historically disenfranchised voters.
01:12Now the conservative court has tried to make it seem like its decision today was narrow and tailored. But let's
01:19be very clear. In the words of Justice Kagan, this decision is a demolition, a demolition,
01:26of Section 2 of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It opens the floodgates for states across the South
01:33to redraw their congressional districts and make voters of color essentially invisible in our democracy.
01:42By some estimates, this decision could lead conservative state legislatures to draw as many as 19 additional seats that favor
01:50Republicans in the House.
01:52So far from being a narrow decision, this MAGA Court is trying to give Republicans a leg up, an illegitimate
02:01leg up, in future elections.
02:04Let me say it again. This case is the MAGA Court trying to give Republicans a leg up in future
02:13elections.
02:13It is a knife to the heart of some of the most important civil rights legislation that past generations marched
02:21for, organized for, and bled for.
02:24It will bring back the old sinister practices, long discarded to the dustbin of history.
02:33State legislatures diluting, erasing, and overpowering voters of color.
02:38State legislatures diluting, erasing, and overpowering voters of color, shame on the high court, shame on the MAGA justices rigging
02:43our elections.
02:44And this did not happen all at once. For years, this court, beginning with the Roberts decision and the awful
02:51Shelby County decision,
02:54chipped away at the Voting Rights Act, decision by decision.
02:59Chief Justice Roberts bears a lot of the blame for this awful decision.
03:07And the commitment of equal representation has been broken before.
03:13But every time Americans have forced it back into the law, Senate Democrats will fight it once again to reverse
03:21this awful, awful decision.
03:25And even before this Russia decision, we knew the MAGA far right was hell bent on trying to undermine our
03:31democracy.
03:33And so, we know that MAGA right is trying to rig our democracy. We knew it long before this decision.
03:40Donald Trump knows, his party knows, that they're going to lose this election in 2026, which is why they're working
03:49round the clock to tilt their scales unfairly in their favor.
03:53Trump issued another executive order a month ago to subvert our elections.
03:58Last week, they took aim at the Southern Poverty Law Center to chill speech and suppress actions from organizations that
04:04protect democracy.
04:06Trump continues to push for his SAVE Act to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans.
04:12And he stacked his administration with election deniers.
04:16So, today, I am launching the Democratic Party's most expansive effort to date to protect the 2026 midterm elections and
04:27to shield them from the direct threats posed by Trump and MAGA Republicans.
04:31This afternoon, a group of senators and I will meet with former Attorney General Eric Holder, Mark Elias, and some
04:38of the country's top election experts to talk about how we can be ready for any and all threats that
04:44might come against our elections this fall.
04:47And I want to thank my Senate Democratic colleagues for joining in today's meeting.
04:52We know that some on the extreme right will try to rig the system.
04:56Donald Trump said it. He said he can't win the election except by rigging it.
05:00That's more or less what he said.
05:02Donald Trump's Justice Department sought to seize state voter rolls.
05:07Right-wingers raided election offices in Georgia.
05:10They pressed election officials in Arizona to turn over documents.
05:14Online radicals are threatening poll workers, spreading lies about voter fraud.
05:19And here in Congress, hard-right Republicans are trying to pass Jim Crow 2.0 in the SAVE Act.
05:28These threats are only going to intensify the closer we get to Election Day.
05:34So our Election Fraud Task Force represents the most aggressive and coordinated effort to date to make sure our elections
05:41this fall are protected.
05:44The goal of our task force is to ensure that every vote counts and every American can participate in our
05:49democracy without coercion, intimidation, or threats from Donald Trump or anyone else.
05:55Now, on DHS, a lot's happening today.
05:59Last night, Donald Trump confirmed what I've been saying for weeks.
06:03Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
06:10They are holding it up. The Republicans. Not Democrats.
06:14The White House said it, in effect.
06:17The White House put a memo urging House Republicans to stop dithering and pass the DHS bill that every Democrat
06:24and every Republican in the Senate passed unanimously, not once, but twice.
06:30For weeks, Republicans have tried to pin the blame for their shutdown on Democrats.
06:36The Trump administration just exposed how preposterous that lie is.
06:42Republican dysfunction is endangering our national security.
06:45House Republicans have been so busy fighting one another in the House that FISA may expire.
06:52Republicans, get your act together.
06:54Our national security depends on it.
06:58While Democrats have been trying to fund the Secret Service, TSA, Coast Guard, CISA, FEMA, and other crucial agencies,
07:05Republicans have been trying to jam through as much as another $140 billion for Trump's rogue agencies.
07:12And while Democrats have been working diligently and assiduously to try and lower Americans' costs,
07:19Republicans want to splurge on a $400 million gold-plated ballroom for the president.
07:26The last thing Americans want us spending their tax dollars on is a gilded palace for Donald Trump.
07:34What will Trump ask for Americans to pay for next? A moat?
07:40What else could $400 million get Americans? A year of childcare for 30,000 families,
07:45skills for training, 50,000 new electricians, plumbers, and welders,
07:49disaster loans for 10,000 households, and so much more.
07:53Keep in mind that just one month ago today, Donald Trump said, quote,
07:58there's not one dime of government money going into the ballroom.
08:03Then put your money where your mouth is, President Trump.
08:07Stop trying to waste Democrats' hard-earned tax dollars on this extravagance,
08:12and get your party to work with Democrats to keep the American people safe.
08:16And finally, on Iran and gas prices. As I said, there's a lot going on.
08:22Just hours ago, Pentagon officials told Congress that Trump's disastrous war has cost taxpayers $25 billion.
08:32Can you believe it? At least $25 billion, and we're less than two months into this war.
08:38$25 billion is just the sticker price.
08:41Americans are also paying for this war at the pump.
08:45This morning, average gas prices in America hit $4.23 a gallon.
08:51That's a record high since the start of the war.
08:53Let me repeat, U.S. gas prices hit its highest level since beginning of war in Iran.
08:59It's now $4.23, up 40% since Trump started his costly war with Iran.
09:09The price of gas has the highest been in four years. There's only one person to blame.
09:14Donald J. Trump.
09:17Trump says he's bleeding... Trump says he's bleeding Iran economically,
09:21but he's draining the pockets of American families, and for what?
09:25The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The Iranian regime is still radical.
09:29Our service members are still in harm's way.
09:31Trump still has no idea how to end this blunder.
09:34Instead, we hear reports that Trump's telling his aides to prepare for a protracted blockade.
09:41This morning, Trump warned that Iran better get smart soon.
09:44Well, it's Donald Trump who better get smart soon and end this war.
09:48Unless he wants Americans to continue paying $4.23 at the pump.
09:53This week, Democrats will force a vote on our War Powers Resolution for the sixth time.
09:59We'll continue to force votes every week as this war rages on.
10:05I urge my Republican friends, you can help bail Donald Trump out of his mess.
10:13Vote with us to end this war, or you, Republican senators, will continue to face the outrage of the American
10:21people.
10:24This Friday marks 60 days since Trump officially notified Congress that he had launched this reckless war.
10:31Under the War Powers Act, Trump must seek authorization for his war to continue beyond 60 days.
10:37After that deadline, Republicans will have no place to hide.
10:40No more hollow excuses to let this fighting continue.
10:44Republicans know Trump's handling of this war has been a disaster.
10:49They see how much the American people are hurting right now.
10:52How many war power resolutions do Democrats need to put before Senate Republicans until they do what's right?
11:00How many Americans will have to go bankrupt?
11:02How many days do our service members have to spend apart from their families?
11:06And how many people will have to die before Trump realizes that this war must end?
11:14I yield the floor.
11:16Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the
11:24clerk will report.
11:25Nomination, Department of Justice Robert Cicada of Florida to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
11:33The question is on the nomination.
11:37Is there a sufficient second?
11:39Is there a sufficient second?
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