Joni Ernst: “We have just a couple more to go as we wrap up the evening. We have been reading off these nominations as fast as our…”

“We have just a couple more to go as we wrap up the evening. We have been reading off these nominations as fast as our staff could get them to us, and I guarantee that my colleague, Senator Sullivan of Alaska, and I would go all night if we could. We won't keep you in the Chair, Mr. President. But we have seen a number of really incredible human beings come in front of us. Before I move on these nominations, that is what I want all of us to remember. For those who might be viewing this evening, those who will read through this tomorrow, I want them to understand that these are human beings. They are men and women who serve our country for all different reasons. I can't speak for Col. Dan Sullivan, but I know that when I decided as a young woman to serve my country, it was truly because I wanted to serve my country because I believe that our country provided great opportunities for kids like me who came from nothing. I literally came from nothing in Southwest Iowa. I am the first in my family to graduate from a 4-year school. My brother did not have the opportunity to go to college. He went into the workforce. My sister has an associate's degree from a community college. My parents are both high school educated, and I am blessed that they were high school educated. I had the great opportunity to attend an agricultural exchange while I was at Iowa State University, and that ag exchange took me to the USSR in 1989, to a place we now know as Ukraine.…”