Senate Needs to Confirm More Judges, Confirm Key National Security Nominees, and Pass the President’s Funding Agreement This Week
‘In addition, the Senate is not going anywhere until we confirm two impressive nominees… Ambassador Kelly Craft is President Trump’s excellent choice to serve as our Ambassador to the United Nations. David Norquist is his pick for Deputy Secretary of Defense… And finally, we must also pass the bipartisan government funding agreement that President Trump’s negotiating team worked out with Speaker Pelosi.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding this week’s agenda:
“The Senate has a lot of important business to attend to before we adjourn for the August state work period. As a reminder to all our colleagues, here’s our considerable ‘to-do list’ for this week: Later this morning, we’ll vote to confirm two more of President Trump’s impressive nominees for district courts: Michael Liburdi for the District of Arizona and Peter Welte for the District of North Dakota.
“They are just the first two in a significant group of judges – 19 in all – that the Senate needs to process before we wrap up the week. We can’t head home without making another big dent in the backlog of qualified district judge nominees whom partisan obstruction has already kept waiting too long.
“In addition, the Senate is not going anywhere until we confirm two impressive nominees to executive-branch positions that play a vital role in U.S. foreign policy and national security. Ambassador Kelly Craft is President Trump’s excellent choice to serve as our Ambassador to the United Nations. David Norquist is his pick for Deputy Secretary of Defense. Needless to say, these are troubling times in a troubled world. We need to get both of these highly capable public servants on the job this week. And finally, we must also pass the bipartisan government funding agreement that President Trump’s negotiating team worked out with Speaker Pelosi.
“Given the realities of divided government, it is a strong deal that achieves my Republican colleagues’ and my number-one priority: Continuing to invest seriously in rebuilding the readiness of our Armed Forces and modernizing them to meet the challenges of today. The Trump Administration has negotiated their way to a major win on defense. The House has passed the compromise legislation. The president is ready and waiting to sign it.
“Once the Senate passes it later this week, he can sign it into law, take funding crises and long-term continuing resolutions off the table, and pave Congress’s path toward a regular appropriations process that will provide the resources our military commanders and our service-members need to keep us safe. I urge all my colleagues to join President Trump in support of this legislation when we vote later this week.”
Related Issues: Judicial Nominations, America's Military, Nominations, Budget
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