During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) debated Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) after he blocked a series of votes on DoD nominees.
00:05Mr. President, the nominees that I will discuss today were approved by the Armed Services Committee with bipartisan support.
00:12Republican Democrats agreed that they are qualified and ready to serve.
00:17President Trump was elected in a landslide and the American people expect and deserve our support in getting his agenda accomplished.
00:23President Trump and his administration are working incredibly hard to bring back the United States policy of peace through strength.
00:29And to ensure our military is a respected and lethal fighting force.
00:35This is not an easy task after President Biden's weakness allowed our enemies free reign while our military leadership was distracted with being woke.
00:44President Trump needs his full team in place to deliver on his agenda to restore our nation's military to focus on the warfighter.
00:52To that end, I ask that we move to consider the following nominees.
00:56First, I will ask that we consider Dale Marks to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
01:02Mr. Marks is a former fighter pilot and combat wounded veteran.
01:06After his distinguished military career, he continued his service in a civilian capacity, where he rose to the ranks of the Senior Executive Service.
01:15He is currently serving as the Executive Director of the 96th Test Wing Air Force Material Command at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
01:23The position he is nominated for is essential to ensure that our military installations remain strong, our energy policies support mission success, and our environmental strategies enhance, not hinder, operational readiness, and support peace through strength.
01:41I urge the Democrats to drop their misplaced stall tactics and allow for his immediate confirmation.
01:46I ask you now must consent that the Senate proceed to Executive Session to consider the following nomination.
01:51Executive calendar number 109, Dale Marks to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
01:56The Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate.
02:00The motion to consider be considered made and laid upon the table.
02:03That the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.
02:08Is there objection?
02:11Mr. President.
02:12The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
02:14Thank you, Mr. President.
02:15Reserving the right to object, I appreciate my colleague from Florida asking for a competent team of professionals at the Department of Defense.
02:30We all want the Department of Defense to be managed efficiently and effectively.
02:37It's vital to our national security.
02:41What we have right now is chaos, literally confusion, turmoil, turbulence, in part because we have a Department of Defense that is unaccountable.
02:55Last Congress, I led a bicameral letter to then-Secretary Austin demanding answers after a GAO report found significant failures in barracks facilities across the country.
03:09Billions of dollars have been poured into installations for housing and infrastructure improvements.
03:14But again, those investments are being undercut by the mass layoffs we see right now at the Department of Defense.
03:23We expect Mr. Marks to manage the entirety of the installations and environmental programs at DOD.
03:29But the administration, in effect, is undercutting them at every turn.
03:37This Secretary of Defense has created that chaos.
03:42He's shredded the Department's report on climate change, despite it outlining the serious implications it will have on the military in the coming decade.
03:52I wonder whether the Secretary has actually visited Guam or Alaska and seen the effects of climate change in either place.
04:01I wonder whether he understands the equipment, the electronics, the ammunition that are required and that themselves require special storage and resilient infrastructure if we expect them to perform in combat effectively.
04:19As climate change creates more challenging environments for our warfighters, the DOD should be leading the charge in research and adaptability.
04:31I feel especially strongly that the DOD, in firing at scientists and throwing research in the trash, is betraying the values and principles that the Secretary ought to be fighting to apply.
04:48Mr. Marks will be responsible for all of it.
04:52Yet the Secretary hasn't the slightest idea of what he is doing in these areas.
04:59We questioned him for more than four hours during his hearing at the Armed Services Committee, that is the Secretary.
05:06And we all knew that he was the least qualified Secretary of Defense in our history.
05:13And four months later, sadly, unfortunately, we can say confidently, we were right.
05:20What he is doing in slashing personnel, the experts, the scientists, is the reason that I stand here and say that we cannot accept Mr. Marks short-cutting the proper process that provides for debate on all these issues.
05:42And therefore, I object.
05:45The objection is heard.
05:47Mr. President.
05:48Senator from Florida.
05:49I'm not sure I understand my colleagues' objection.
05:52These are well-qualified nominees.
05:54They enjoy bipartisan support.
05:57There are several more nominees waiting.
06:00But it's obvious.
06:03My colleagues across the aisle will do everything they can to undermine President Trump's agenda and delay these nominees.
06:09Next, I would like to consider Keith Bass to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
06:15Mr. Bass, a retired U.S. Navy Commander.
06:18He's also a member of the American College of Health Care Executives, the National Rehabilitation Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.
06:31Prior to the nomination, Mr. Bass served as Medical Center Director for the West Texas VA Health Care System.
06:36The role Mr. Bass has been nominated to oversee, oversees a military health system, has 9.6 million beneficiaries entitled to care.
06:48The military health system is currently undergoing many reforms to improve efficiency, increase readiness, and deliver better care.
06:54I urge my colleagues to allow for his immediate confirmation.
06:58I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed your Executive Session to consider the following nomination.
07:03Executive Calendar 70, Keith Bass, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
07:07That the Senate vote on the nomination without an intervening action or debate.
07:11The motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
07:16That the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.
07:21Is there objection?
07:22Mr. President.
07:23Mr. President, preserving the right to object.
07:27I, once again, agree with my colleague from Florida.
07:31We've worked together, that we have worked together on a bipartisan way for years now.
07:36And I appreciate his leadership on the Sea Power Subcommittee, where we share a number of interests.
07:42I fear that the chaos at the Department of Defense, due to the slashing of positions, the confusion,
07:52the confusion caused by ideological interventions that are harmful, reckless, and unnecessary.
08:02That those kinds of downsides and defects in leadership will hurt the military families, and in particular, their access to health care.
08:12TRICARE provides for the well-being of our service members, their families, and loved ones.
08:22Mr. Bass has a long service record, but this administration is undercutting his potential work.
08:32And we deserve to debate it on the floor of the Senate, without unanimous consent, without short-cutting public accountability.
08:40The administration, now in charge of the Department of Defense, should be held accountable for exactly the health care interests that Mr. Bass will have responsibility for advancing.
08:53And therefore, I object.
08:56The objection is heard.
08:58Mr. President.
08:59Senator from Florida.
09:01The President deserves his national security nominees today.
09:04So let's see if we'll consider this one.
09:06Brandon Williams, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Military Health System.
09:12Mr. Williams is a former nuclear submarine officer.
09:15During his service, he made six strategic deterrence patrols as a strategic military officer, was a nuclear weapons safety officer, nuclear weapons security officer, and nuclear weapons radiological control officer.
09:26Pretty competent.
09:27This role is responsible for the maintenance of a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear stockpile.
09:32Confirmation is critical to President Trump's peace-truth strengths and strategic deterrence agenda.
09:38Hopefully, my colleague will see the wisdom in allowing this confirmation.
09:41This is an individual who is clearly qualified to be confirmed today.
09:46I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination.
09:52Executive calendar number 107, Brandon Williams, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security.
09:57That the Senate be to vote on the nomination without intervening in action or debate.
10:01The motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
10:04That the President be immediately notified of this action and the Senate resume legislative session.
10:09Is there objection?
10:10Mr. President.
10:11The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
10:13Thank you, Mr. President.
10:14On this one, I think the stakes are particularly high.
10:19At the Department of Energy, the Doge-Musk cuts led to hundreds of employees being fired.
10:30They were responsible for overseeing our nuclear weapons stockpile.
10:39That set of moves caused a massive counterintelligence disaster and a logistical train wreck.
10:52After realizing these employees were indispensable, the agency begged for them to come back.
11:01Billions of dollars have been poured into this program.
11:07And what we have seen now is the whirlwind, the confusion and chaos caused by this mismanagement.
11:20We need full accountability.
11:22We need more facts, which we have been denied.
11:26Our Armed Services Committee, along with other committees, should be looking into what the consequences were of those Doge slashing and trashing steps that put our nation in jeopardy.
11:43We're not going to have it if we proceed to this nomination with unanimous consent, short-cutting public debate.
11:52And therefore, I object.
11:55The objection is heard.
11:56Mr. President.
11:57The Senate from Florida is recognized.
11:59One final chance.
12:01I hope my colleagues can agree that we have at least one critical nominee today approved.
12:07So let's consider Bradley Hansel to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
12:12Mr. Hansel is a former Green Beret, senior director on the National Security Council staff, and has previously received bipartisan support.
12:21He will be responsible to exercise the Secretary of Defense authority, direction, and control over DIA, NGA, NSA, NRO, and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
12:33His confirmation is critical to the President's peace through strength agenda.
12:37I once again urge my colleague to allow for the nominee's immediate confirmation.
12:42I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination.
12:46Executive calendar number 108, Bradley Hansel, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
12:52That the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate.
12:56The motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
12:59That the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.
13:04Is there objection?
13:06Mr. President.
13:07Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
13:09I wish I could agree to unanimous consent on this nominee.
13:14And as my colleague from Florida obviously understands, the issues here are bigger than any one of these nominees.
13:25The issues are more consequential than the careers or advancement of any single member of the Department of Defense team.
13:36This Secretary seems more concerned with his own public image than the safety of our service members.
13:45Because he has violated basic security protocols.
13:50We're talking here about an official who will be responsible for securing our national intelligence.
13:59When this Secretary, in effect, has jeopardized them through actions that are currently under investigation.
14:10How is the person responsible for the Office of Intelligence and Security at the Department of Defense supposed to do their job when they face the most serious counterintelligence threat in recent memory from within the Department of Defense?
14:27Elon Musk firing put thousands of highly qualified people out of a job.
14:33Many of them possess security clearances and knowledge of the Department's most sensitive program.
14:39Their service is vital to our national security.
14:42Thousands were fired without cause.
14:45Our adversaries couldn't be happier.
14:48And they may be profiting from those mistakes right now.
14:54These cuts come at a time when we are prioritizing, here in the United States Senate, funding to expand our nuclear triad and to counter China's growing nuclear capabilities.
15:06And these workforce reductions undermine our goals across the board in the Department of Defense.
15:17We need to provide personnel for program oversight, supply chain management, cybersecurity, other critical functions.
15:29And so I think we need accountability.
15:32We need the facts.
15:34They haven't been forthcoming.
15:36I object.
15:38The objection is heard.
15:40Mr. President.
15:41Senator Frum.
15:43So at some point this has got to change.
15:46We have presidential elections every four years.
15:51Our president got elected.
15:52President Trump got elected whether people like it or not.
15:54He deserves the opportunity to put his team together and act as the president and put his agenda in place.
16:01This idea that both parties sit here and delay nominees, the ability to put teams together, doesn't make any sense for the future of this country.
16:11This is not a time that that we there's no risk in the world.
16:15And so at some point we're going to all have to come together and start accelerating this.
16:19We have so many nominees, whether it's a Republican or Democrat president, we have got to allow these nominees to get through and get confirmed in a much more expedited manner.
16:29Otherwise, we'll never or none of our presidents are ever going to get in the position that they can never put a team together during their four year term.
16:35Thank you, Mr. President.
16:37I hear from the other side is essentially give the president whatever he wants in the name of his having the prerogative.
16:49And he should name his own team.
16:51But we have a responsibility.
16:55It's a constitutional obligation.
16:57Advise and consent is more than just saying, give him his own team.
17:02If we'd been responsible in this body, if my Republican colleagues had stood up and spoken out as they should have done, we would have a different secretary of defense right now.
17:11It would have been unnecessary for the vice president to come here and break a tie.
17:16We would have a more competent secretary of defense.
17:21That's the mindset that got us where we are today.
17:25And that is the reason that I have lodged these objections.
17:29Thank you, Mr. President.
17:31Mr. President, let's remember what we just did today.
17:34We're not this is not the confirmation of the secretary of defense.
17:38This is this is confirmation of very competent people.
17:42No one can question the competence of these four people.
17:46No one does.
17:47All right.
17:48These are competent people that have served our country that are that will do a great job.
17:52So what we're doing is we're saying because some people don't like our secretary of defense that we're not going to allow the president put a team together of very competent people.
18:02So what we're doing is now we just have acting people that none of us get to vote on.
18:07None of us get to question until they come to committee.
18:09None of this makes any sense.
18:11We're not it's not helping us put together a team and help and holding people accountable.
