Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Senate is considering the nomination of Mr. Mayorkas to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. I come to the floor at this point, before we vote on that motion today, to raise questions about whether or not he should be in that position as Secretary of Homeland Security and the fact that I will be voting negative. I am familiar with Mr. Mayorkas from my past oversight of the EB-5 investment visa program. From 2009 until 2013, Mr. Mayorkas served as Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers that EB-5 visa program. During that time, more than 15 whistleblowers approached my office to raise questions about Mr. Mayorkas and his management of the EB-5 program. The whistleblowers allege that Mr. Mayorkas was intervening in routine and technical matters that were not typically handled by the Director of that Division. They also alleged that he was doing so at the request of well-connected Democratic politicians and other politically connected stakeholders. As my colleagues are aware, I have long criticized the fraud and abuse that are rampant in the EB-5 program, and I have continually reintroduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Leahy to reform the program. So it shouldn't be a surprise to any of my colleagues that when I hear from 15 different whistleblowers anything about the EB-5 program, I would further investigate it.…”