Where the minority has a voice in our process, and we will do the job that the founders intended us to do in the United States Senate and that the American people intend us to do.
And that right now, after this mandate election coming out of the American people, is to work with this president on an agenda that unwinds a lot of the damage of the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda and puts in place new policies that will move our country forward in a different direction.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was joined by other Democrats at a press briefing on the party's agenda for the remainder of the 118th Congress.
They highlight government funding, passing the National Defense Authorization Act, and confirming judges as some of their top priorities.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome back.
Did you miss us?
Yes, no.
Honest answer, no.
Anyway, I want to thank Senator Murray and Reed for joining me.
Look, I want to start by congratulating Senator Thune on being chosen by his colleagues as the next Republican leader.
I look forward to working with him.
Now, Senator Thune and I have done lots of things together in a bipartisan way here in the Senate.
I'm very hopeful that will continue.
As you know, I strongly believe that bipartisanship is the best and often the only way to get things done around here in the Senate.
And of course, I want to first address the election.
Many across the country, of course, are disappointed, sad, even angry right now.
Now, I understand those feelings.
It never feels good to come up short.
But when you do, you pick yourself up, you dust yourself off, you learn from it, and that's exactly what we intend to do.
This is going to be a period of learning for our caucus.
As I said, we did many things right, we did things wrong, and there are things we must do, and we're going to look at all of it.
As I told my caucus at lunch, we should regard this election not as a challenge.
The American people have presented us with a challenge.
We must learn from it.
We must answer that call.
And we will work doggedly in the weeks and months ahead to do just that.
In the meantime, we have a lot to get done.
First, we have to make sure the government's funded by the December 20th deadline.
As always, bipartisan cooperation is vital to avoid a Christmas shutdown, just as that bipartisan cooperation avoided a shutdown on September 30th.
We'll hear more from Senator Murray about that.
Next, we need to pass the NDAA to keep America safe, to take care of our soldiers, to hold a line against America's adversaries here and around the world.
And Senator Reed will talk about that.
Also, there are other priorities we want to make progress on before the end of the year, which will only happen if there's bipartisan support.
At the top of the list is disaster aid funding, to replenish funding vital to the programs that support communities in times of disaster.
And we've seen this destruction and change in weather and disasters all over the place.
In Tennessee and North Carolina and Florida, which were battered by hurricanes, but there are so many more communities in every part of the country, in the Northeast, the South, the West Coast, Hawaii, everywhere in between.
So I really hope we can get together as two parties and make sure the communities aren't left behind.
We also need to make progress on the farm bill, because if we don't, we go over the dairy cliff.
And really, so many dairy farmers and all their suppliers and workers would be badly hurt.
And that, again, is up to our Republican colleagues to decide if they want to work with us to get it done.
We're ready to get to work.
And finally, a big priority for me has been, still is, and will be judges.
The Senate will continue fulfilling our constitutional obligation to consider and confirm highly qualified judicial nominees and nominees to other agencies as well.
Today, the Senate will vote on the nomination of a U.S. District Court judge for Illinois.
I filed cloture on two more district court judges that we'll vote on in the coming days.
And we're going to work hard to get as many confirmed as possible.
Bottom line, we've got a lot of work ahead of us.
And as a Senate, as a party, Democrats are ready to get to work right away.
Senator Murray.
Thank you, Mr. Leader.
And so I will just cut right to the chase.
Majorities are going to change hands, but one thing that remains the same here in the Senate is the appropriations process will be bipartisan.
Here in this chamber, we have passed our bills out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support.
These are bills that are ready to be signed into law, and they could go to the President's desk today if they had to.
Now, I want to make it clear, it doesn't matter who the President is.
My position has not changed.
As I have said many times over, there is no reason for further delay or to impair government agencies by forcing them to operate on autopilot for months to come.
We should pass our bipartisan full-year spending bills before the end of the year.
Democrats, for our part, have championed priorities in our spending bills that matter to working people, whether that's fighting to lower the cost of child care for parents, working to shorten wait times for seniors who are desperately trying to get their Social Security benefits, or making sure that moms and babies do not go hungry.
Neither chamber will have an overwhelming majority, and these spending bills will be a bipartisan product, just as they always are.
Rest assured, I will be fighting to make certain our democratic values, the values of working families in this country, are reflected in the final bills that go to the president's desk.
I also want to make clear, getting a comprehensive, bipartisan disaster relief package negotiated and passed as soon as possible must be a priority.
So on that note, I want to announce that I will be holding a bipartisan hearing of our full Senate Appropriations Committee one week from today.
Senators on both sides of my committee will have the opportunity to hear directly from top agency heads.
This is urgent work.
The American people must know that in times of disaster, Congress will come together to help every community in every part of this country, no matter what.
I have heard directly from Democrats and Republicans in this chamber about how important this work is.
I expect this to prove true in the Senate, and I will be pushing for serious progress on this front every day until we get every community the help they need.
Thank you.
Well, let me begin by adding my congratulations to Senator Thun on his selection as a Republican leader.
We all know a lot has changed over the last several weeks, but one thing hasn't changed, and that is keeping the people of America safe and secure.
And we must ensure that our military men and women have the resources they need to remain the strongest and most effective force in the world.
And our adversaries are watching.
Right now, Congress has the opportunity, the responsibility really, to step up and show the world that we stand with our allies and partners.
The National Defense Authorization Act is critical to that effort.
And I am encouraged by the progress we've made over the past month in NDAA negotiations between the Senate and House, and I hope soon to produce a compromise bill.
I want to thank my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, as well as Leader Schumer and our colleagues in the House.
We have an NDAA that makes our country safer and stronger.
I also want to commend the staff of both the House and the Senate, Republican and Democrat, for their diligence during the last several weeks.
This is a bipartisan defense bill that addresses the long-term challenges posed by China, Russia, and other adversaries.
It will provide a historic pay raise for our military members and defense civilians.
The NDAA is laser-focused on investing in the people, platforms, infrastructure, and technologies that will define the future.
Specifically, it addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by disruptive technologies like hypersonics, artificial intelligence, drones, and quantum computing.
It also goes a long way towards modernizing our ships, aircraft, and combat vehicles and improving the lives of our women and men in uniform.
The defense bill makes important progress towards achieving our shared bipartisan goals, a safe, secure America in a peaceful world.
And I urge my colleagues to work with us to get it passed quickly.
Thank you.
Okay, questions?
Yes.
What's your initial assessment of President Trump's nominees?
Specifically, are you concerned about Pete Hank's nomination to be Department of Secretary of Defense?
There'll be time to analyze that later.
Yes, as you look at what happened last week, do you, as the leader of the party, accept any blame for the Democrats' bad night?
Look, when you face a setback, you have to pick yourself, examine what happened.
You have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, you have to learn.
We're going to spend a long time learning and then figure out how to go forward and move forward.
And that's what we're going to do.
We did some things right.
We did some things wrong.
There are things we must do.
And as I said, we're going to learn from what happened and move forward.
Yes.
Could you put the two window or the former floor being blocked to the people of Democratic and Georgia?
Look, we're going to try to do as much as we can when it comes to judges and nominees, particularly those nominees where the balance within the agency is affected.
Yes.
Over the last four years, you've expressed support for changing the legislative blow-buster.
Republicans try to get rid of it.
Would you support her of both of those efforts?
Look, the bottom line is we always felt because democracy was so precious, the same thing we did four years ago when we tried to change the rules and make sure that voting rights and citizens united and reapportionment were changed.
But for the rest of it, we said we would study it and look at it and talk to the caucus if we'd retain the majority.
We didn't.
Yes.
Sir, AI legislation is a big part of your AI legislation has been a big problem.
What legislature in here?
AI, sorry.
Is the only AI legislation now going to be part of the NDA?
Are you considering any of these candidates?
Look, we're talking to Speaker Johnson.
We're talking to our, we had bipartisan support for lots of pieces of legislation.
The Commerce Committee did a good job, and a number of the other committees did a good job.
And we're going to try to get as much done as we can.
It would be a very good thing to do that.
And we have a lot of support out there in the communities to do it.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you.
President-elect Trump has announced more selections for his cabinet and administration.
Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gates is his pick to be the next Attorney General.
Speaker Johnson announced during a press conference that Representative Gates has resigned from the House effective immediately.
His resignation comes just two days before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing a report outlining its investigation on him.
The Ethics Committee will lose its jurisdiction over Representative Gates when he leaves Congress.
The president-elect has also chosen Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida to be his Secretary of State.
Senator Rubio was previously a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, facing off in the primaries against Mr. Trump.
And former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has been selected to be the Director of National Intelligence.
The Congresswoman from Hawaii recently announced she's joining the Republican Party.
Representative Gabbard formerly served in the Army National Guard, where she was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait, and the Horn of Africa.
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Coming up Thursday morning, Georgia Republican Congressman Buddy Carter discusses the incoming agenda of the Trump administration and House Republican priorities.
Then, Connecticut Democratic Congressman John Larson gives his take on the new administration, Social Security, and tax policy.
Also, the Wall Street Journal's Jess Braven discusses potential Supreme Court vacancies and how President Trump's second term could shape the High Court.
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Join Book TV this weekend for the Texas Book Festival, live from Austin.
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Highlights include PBS's Race Juarez with his book, We Are Home, on immigration and the process of becoming an American, The Washington Post's Liza Mundy discussing her book, The Sisterhood, on Women in the CIA, former DOD and DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine and his book, Watch Dogs, on the role of an inspector general, and Elizabeth Diaz discussing her book, The Fall of Roe, on Post-Row America.
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