On the recordFebruary 5, 2025
Mr. President, thank you for being here. Thank you to the floor staff, to the clerk, the entire Capitol team here who has been here overnight. This is actually the first time that I have ever spoken on the floor. I am a freshman Senator, newly elected from the State of Michigan. I did not anticipate doing my maiden speech so quickly and in reaction to what is going on right now in the country. They tell us that the maiden speech is supposed to be something you think about and you build up to it. In the first 3 or 4 months, you give your first speech. And I find myself here early in the morning, participating in an attempt to stand up on behalf of something very, very simple, which is the U.S. Constitution. Before I was a Senator, I was a dedicated career public servant. I was a CIA officer. I am what is called a 9/11 baby. I happened to be in New York City on my second day of graduate school when 9/11 happened. It completely changed my life. I got recruited by the CIA right out of grad school, and within a year, I was on my first of three tours in Iraq alongside the military. I worked at the CIA, I worked at the Pentagon, and I worked very proudly for both Democratic and Republican administrations. I was detailed to the Bush White House, the George W. Bush White House. I was there the Friday that he left office and the Monday that Barack Obama walked in. I did the same job proudly for two very different Presidents from two very different parties.…
Source
govinfo.gov




