after a record government shutdown of 41 days and 14 rollcalls failing to reopen it, the situation was clear. Donald Trump and the Senate Republican leadership were unwilling to do anything to reduce skyrocketing health insurance premiums…

I have one word for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and on my side of the aisle--one word: enough. It is time for us to get down to the business of agreeing on some basic things. I think we can. The first thing we need to do…

we are here debating a central Constitution precept, and I am glad. Throughout my career in the House and Senate, I have tried to be consistent on this issue and respect the Constitution and its wisdom. I am going to say six words I very…

I want to thank my friends Senators Padilla and Blumenthal for putting together this floor block. Yesterday was election day for many Americans. They stood at the ballot box and voted their consciences, but they weren't just voting for a…

my friend from Wyoming, my colleague on the Republican side, just gave a litany of accomplishments of the Trump administration. That is his view of the political world, and he is certainly entitled to it, but the vote results from last…

I am fortunate to live in a State with some outstanding people in law enforcement. I stand behind the men and women of law enforcement, which includes, of course, our State police, our county officials, and local law enforcement as well…

I wanted to check and see, based on the statements made by my friend and colleague the Senator from Wyoming, whether the Congressional Record printed yesterday contained the efforts of Democratic Senator Ben Lujan of New Mexico to fund the…

Mr. LaCour is another judicial nominee selected by President Trump for his extreme views. As the solicitor general of Alabama, Mr. LaCour has repeatedly put politics ahead of the rule of law. He has resisted the orders of Federal…

I disagree with him, and I think several things that he said were incorrect and need to be clarified on the record. First, the notion that we are providing health insurance for illegal immigrants is wrong. Let me tell you why it is wrong…

Judge Pratt has repeatedly demonstrated his partisanship and extreme views over the course of his career. While working in the Florida Department of Legal Affairs, he argued in support of restrictions on abortion rights and voting rights…

for the last 2 months, the people of Illinois have been living under President Trump's so-called Operation Midway Blitz. I have watched it up close. I have seen its victims, and I have seen its methods. I want to tell you that this…

I make a point now, since the arrival of the military from President Trump into the Chicago area, to go home each weekend and visit the neighborhoods that are under assault from the ICE agents. I did that last weekend. I visited a suburb…

I am sure that those who are following the opening remarks of the Senate today can sense the frustration, bordering on anger, with the current situation, the current status quo. It is shared on both sides of the aisle. I have had the good…

local papers are the lifeline of our communities. They inform citizens of not only what is going on in their city halls, but their wedding halls as well. These papers connect Americans and remind us that we are part of a community greater…

I strongly oppose the nomination of Stephen Chad Meredith to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Like several of President Trump's other judicial nominees, Mr. Meredith has a long history of…

Over the course of my service in the Senate, one of the things that I was proudest of and am still proud of was the formation of the so-called Gang of 8--four Republicans and four Democrats who sat down to write a comprehensive immigration…

In the nature of a question, I ask the Senator from Oregon, is he aware of the fact that we have approximately 700 immigration judges facing that backlog you just described, and the Trump administration has dismissed 100 of them? So…

My State, my home State of Illinois--the State that I am elected to represent in the Senate, a State that I love--is under siege by this administration. If you think I am exaggerating, imagine, if you will, for a moment a President who has…

I often think about times when government resources played an important role in my family's life, long before I became a U.S. Senator. When I was in high school, shortly after my father passed away, my family received a Social Security…

--in the nature of a question. Just a few feet away from where we are in the Chamber is my Capitol office, and on my credenza behind my desk is my mother's naturalization certificate for all to see. I am a proud immigrant. She came to this…

In the nature of a question, when it comes to the issue of due process, the question is whether or not we can, in this country, offer due process to the people who are asking for their fate to be resolved. That has been part of our…

last Friday, I went back to the city of Chicago, which I am honored to represent, and over the weekend, I had two experiences I want to share with you. There was a real contrast, but there was a recurring theme in both. The first was at a…

Last week we learned that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. She did so for her steadfast and courageous fight for democracy in the once-proud Nation of Venezuela that, unfortunately…

the Republican Party controls the Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Despite that trifecta, the government has been shut down for 15 long days and counting. As Americans suffer, Majority Leader Thune and Speaker Mike…

last Friday, Senator Tammy Duckworth, my colleague from Illinois, and I went back home to Illinois, to Broadview, which is a suburb of the city of Chicago. It has become quite well known around the country because it is a detention…