McConnell: We’ll Keep Delivering on Legislation to Make America Stronger, Safer and More Prosperous
‘Sixteen months into the Trump Administration, Senate Democrats persist in their unprecedented campaign to obstruct the president’s nominees for a wide array of executive and judicial positions… This isn’t due diligence. It isn’t good government. It’s what happens when our friends across the aisle put political slogans about “the resistance” ahead of the country’s needs.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the cancellation of the Senate’s regularly-scheduled August recess due to historic obstruction from Senate Democrats:
“Yesterday, I announced that the Senate’s regularly-scheduled August recess will not occur this year. Members will be able to meet with our constituents during a standard one-week state work period at the beginning of the month. Then, we’ll come right back here and get back to work. The reason is simple: We have too much left to do for the American people.
“Sixteen months into the Trump Administration, Senate Democrats persist in their unprecedented campaign to obstruct the president’s nominees for a wide array of executive and judicial positions.
“Let’s get a little historical perspective. During President Obama’s first two years, the Senate only needed twelve cloture votes on nominations. In President George W. Bush’s first two years? Four cloture votes on nominations. For President Clinton? Just eight. But less than a year and a half into this administration, the Democratic minority has stalled progress through one hundred and one cloture votes -- and counting -- on nominations.
“One hundred and one cloture votes. This used to be a rare tool of last resort, only used in a tiny handful of cases. Not these days. In many cases, the nominees in question are completely uncontroversial. Not a single Senator in either party voted against confirming Robert Wier or Fernando Rodriguez to serve as district judges yesterday. They were confirmed unanimously. So were Walter Counts and Karen Scholer, two more district judges we considered back in January.
“But Senate Democrats forced us to invoke cloture on each of these nominees, and then made sure they soaked up Senate floor time -- even though literally no Senator opposed them. This isn’t due diligence. It isn’t good government. It’s what happens when our friends across the aisle put political slogans about ‘the resistance’ ahead of the country’s needs.
“Now, we’ve gotten a great deal done this Congress. We’ve bolstered our economy with historic tax reform and regulatory reform. We’ve delivered critical resources to communities affected by the opioid crisis -- with more on the way. We’ve undone harmful spending caps to fully equip our military. We’ve taken action to combat human trafficking and school violence. We’ve repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate tax and its Independent Payment Advisory Board, and delayed several other health care taxes.
“But Republicans are still working to do more. We need to confirm more of the president’s team and judicial nominees. We need to take up regular appropriations bills. We need to tackle legislative priorities like the water infrastructure bill, the farm bill, the defense bill, and many others. So the Senate will remain in session this August. We’ll work on legislation. We’ll confirm more nominees. We’ll keep delivering on the agenda that has already done so much to make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”
Related Issues: Back to Work, Senate Democrats
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