I wish to talk a little bit this afternoon about the way my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are, unfortunately--and with no reason--delaying and delaying the confirmation of heads of critically important agencies, Cabinet Secretaries, for our country. Now, we have differences of opinion in this body. That is often a good thing. We debate, we share ideas, we agree, we disagree, we give the voters the very best we have, and then we let them make their own decisions, which they do at the ballot box. On election day, the American people chose President Trump and Vice President Pence. The American people did so knowing they would appoint a new Cabinet and be focused on the issues they ran on, but the American people did not vote for delay and they did not vote for obstruction. They voted for action and they voted for a smooth transition, which is what this body has traditionally done. It has been a longstanding tradition of the U.S. Senate, working hard, to confirm Cabinet nominees of a newly elected President in a timely fashion, particularly when it comes to the President's national security team. For example, in 2009, upon the election of President Obama, 7 of his Cabinet members were sworn into office on the first day, 5 more were confirmed by the end of the first week--14 Cabinet officials inside of a week. Where are we right now? Two Cabinet officials and one CIA Director. That is not what the American people expect.…
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