Chuck Grassley: “Today, I will vote for the new Secretary of Homeland Security. The entire Senate will confirm our colleague the junior…”

“Today, I will vote for the new Secretary of Homeland Security. The entire Senate will confirm our colleague the junior Senator from Oklahoma as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary. Senator Mullin is a welcome addition to the Cabinet. He is a consensus builder and, most importantly, has Oklahoma dirt under his fingernails. I am confident that he will use his business experience-- and, more importantly to this farmer, his rancher experience--to get things done in the Department of Homeland Security. I am confident, as I talked to him today about the importance of congressional oversight, and I hope he will take congressional oversight very seriously. My advice to him is: Be transparent and responsive to the American people. Answer our letters. Protect whistleblowers. Hear whistleblowers out. There is no way a Secretary can know what is going on in the bowels of the Department; and that is why, when people come to you saying, 'Things aren't right, money is not being spent right, and the law is not being followed,' listen to them. And as I always say, run the Department; don't let the Department run you. I wish Senator Mullin all the best as he takes on this new role. I know he will serve his country with distinction. I urge my colleagues to support his nomination.”