Instead, this administration allowed a lack of effective screening of Afghan evacuees to endanger our communities and is now seeking to fast track their citizenship through the upcoming appropriations process.
Rob Portman
The Public Record
Rob Portman is an American politician and attorney currently serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio, a position he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Portman previously represented Ohio's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005. He also served as the U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2006, where he focused on trade policy and international negotiations.
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November 29, 2025
As I have said repeatedly, I support the resettlement of Afghans who stood in battle with us and our allies over the last 20 years but...…
— Rob Portman
Most widely reported
by number of sources- I rise today in strong support of Jeffrey Rosen to be the Deputy Secretary of Transportation. It is my understanding that later this evening we will have a vote on that nomination. It will be the first of a couple of votes. I would just ask my colleagues on the Democratic side and on the Republican side to look carefully at his qualifications and to be in a position to support this good public servant to be the new deputy at Transportation. I recall that this body overwhelmingly supported Elaine Chao to be the Secretary of Transportation. She is doing a terrific job, in my view. She needs help, and she needs a deputy in place. Jeff has gone through the proper process. We have had hearings, and he has been voted on in committee. It is time to get him there to help Secretary Chao to be able to have her team in place and accomplish the goals that so many of us share. Jeffrey is a graduate of Northwestern University and Harvard Law School. Here in DC, where there are lots of lawyers, he is one of the most respected ones. He has 30 years of experience handling very complicated, high-stakes cases. He has litigated in more than 20 States. He has been in just about every setting imaginable: jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, appellate arguments--on every topic--contracts, antitrust, securities, business torts, enforcement actions, product liability, and class actions. You name it, and he has been involved. He has a lot of experience.…8 sources2017govinfo.gov
- I want to start by commending the Presiding Officer and Senator Cantwell for getting this bill to the floor. They say the third time is the charm. I think this may be the fourth or the fifth time. But I will say that I marvel, Senator Cantwell and Senator Murkowski, at your patience and your persistence. You have never lost sight of the goal, which is to actually move legislation that will help us create jobs, make our economy more efficient, as Senator Cantwell has said, and improve our energy policies at a time when we are desperate to be able to address some of the new changes we see in our economy and in our energy situation in particular. So thank you for your persistence. I also want to commend you and thank you for including as title I of this legislation the energy efficiency legislation, the Portman-Shaheen energy efficiency legislation that we just talked about. Senator Shaheen is here on the floor with me. I hope she will talk about this bill in a second. This is something we worked on a long time--I think over 5 years now. It is an opportunity for us as a body to actually move forward with sensible legislation that makes our Federal Government more efficient and our factories more efficient, as Senator Cantwell has talked about. It improves our ability to create jobs and to be able to be more energy independent. It is the kind of win-win legislation that we do too seldom around here.…3 sources2016govinfo.gov
- I rise today to express my strong support again for Judge Neil Gorsuch. I spoke on the floor the other day about Judge Gorsuch. I just heard my colleague from Georgia talk about him, and he did a terrific job. This guy, Neil Gorsuch, is the right person for the job. He is qualified. He is smart and he is fair, and a bipartisan majority of the Senate will vote for this worthy candidate tomorrow. Let me underscore that. A bipartisan majority of the Senate will vote for this worthy candidate tomorrow. He will end up getting on the Court. I must tell you that I regret that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refused to provide him that up-or-down vote without going through the process we had to go through today. As someone who has gone through two Senate confirmations myself, I know they are not always easy. But I will tell you, it is a whole lot better for this institution and our country when we figure out ways to work together-- in this case, to continue a Senate tradition of allowing up-or-down votes. I like to work across the aisle. I have done that through my career. I can point to 50 bills I authored or co-authored that have become law in the last 6 years. They were bipartisan, by definition, because they got through this body and were signed into law by President Obama. I have voted for President Obama's nominees before President Trump. When President Obama had a well-qualified judge here on the floor, I voted for that judge.…2 sources2017govinfo.gov
- I strongly urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation. Most of you are cosponsors already. It strikes the right balance. It helps to allow victims to get the justice they deserve and, lastly, to hold these websites accountable through prosecution, while at the same time protecting the free and open internet. I would like to yield my remaining time to my coauthor and colleague Senator Blumenthal. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.2 sources2018govinfo.gov
- I thank the majority leader, and I thank the Presiding Officer for allowing me to speak this evening. I just returned from the southern border and want to give a brief report and talk about some potential ways forward to deal with what is happening on the Mexican border. I went with Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas and also with the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, my colleague from Michigan, and also with my colleague from West Virginia and my colleague from Connecticut, who are the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee. We had a bipartisan group and those of us who were involved on the authorizing side and on the appropriations side. You probably heard that the situation is bad, and it is. There is a record number of unaccompanied children coming to our border today, being let in, and ending up in Border Patrol detention facilities. Just yesterday, CBP reported that there were more than 15,500 unaccompanied kids in Federal custody. That is a record. But it is not just children. More than 100,000 migrants were apprehended in February alone. This is a 15-year record, representing a 28-percent increase just since January. All the numbers from March look even higher. We won't know the final numbers for another couple of weeks, but the point is, it is getting worse, not better.…2 sources2021govinfo.gov
- first of all, I appreciate the clarification by my colleague from Virginia, and, Senator Warner, you are correct in your understanding. I would also ask Senator Warner to clarify the intent of the proposal with respect to the application of the bill to persons solely engaged in the business of validating distributed ledger transactions through proof of work, often called miners. Am I correct that under our provisions it is our understanding that Treasury and the IRS will not treat these miners as brokers?2 sources2021govinfo.gov
We recommend that to help reverse bird declines the Joint Ventures be allocated $20 million.
We recommend that to help reverse bird declines the Joint Ventures be allocated $20 million.
We recommend that to help reverse bird declines the Joint Ventures be allocated $20 million.
That is what we have lost, that art, the art of the deal that was talked about earlier.
We have got to get back to a system where we are serving the people, and that means agreeing on that objective.
I come to the floor tonight as we are hearing media reports that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine will be coming to Washington tomorrow to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. I hope that is an accurate report. I think it is…
I am here on the floor to congratulate my friend from North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. We go back a few years. He is from Winston-Salem, where my wife is from. Our spouses actually waitressed together back in Winston-Salem during high…
I come to the floor for the 28th consecutive week since the Senate has been in session to once again discuss the war in Ukraine and why it is so important that all of us-- the United States and our allies--stand up for Ukraine at this…
12 years ago, I stood on this Senate floor for my maiden speech. I was new to the Senate, but I had a sense of what I thought was possible to achieve for my constituents in Ohio, having served in the House for 12 years and in two…
we have talked about more important legislative measures, and I just want to say thank you to all of my colleagues and to my colleague from Illinois who spoke and to the others who were overly generous in their comments. I appreciate it. I…
OK. Done. So to my colleagues, I have worked with every one of you in one way or another. Thank you for that privilege, and Godspeed as you continue to serve your constituents and continue to carry that torch of freedom forward. Thank you…
I come to the floor for the 27th consecutive week since the invasion of Ukraine to give another update to the American people on the brutal, illegal, and totally unprovoked attack by Russia on its neighbor Ukraine. This is at a time when…
The Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage as a constitutional right way back in 2015, and the overwhelming majority of Americans support that group. According to Gallup, over 70 percent of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be…
I come to the floor today for the 26th consecutive week that the Senate has been in session to highlight the very latest from Russia's illegal, unprovoked, and deadly assault on Ukraine. This continues to be a critical time for Ukraine and…
I come to the floor today in support of the Respect for Marriage Act. I want to summarize my remarks, though, and ask unanimous consent that my full remarks be printed in today's Record. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so…
I have come to the floor today to talk about legislation that is going to come before this Chamber this afternoon called the Respect for Marriage Act. I hope the Senate will consider this legislation and pass it. I think it is good for our…
I come to the floor of the Senate tonight for the 25th consecutive week while the Senate has been in session to talk about the brutal and illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine by Russia--Ukraine, a democratic nation, an ally of ours who…
This is not the time for us to back off. In fact, it's a time for us to redouble our efforts because the Ukrainians have shown through their bravery, their courage on the battlefield, that they are making progress, have made tremendous…
before I rise to talk about Ukraine tonight, I want to join my colleagues in extending my prayers to all those who are currently in Florida, in the area, and those with loved ones and family there who are in Hurricane Ian's dangerous path…
What are we doing about it? Well, we are helping the Ukrainians militarily, and I think that has been extremely helpful to the successes we have seen on the battlefield.
I think General License 8C is more effective. I understand what you are trying to do with the price cap.





