Floor SpeechNeutral2026-02-04

TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL

TaxesEnvironmentForeign PolicyTradeInfrastructureAgriculture

Context

On 2026-02-04, Senator Todd Young (R-IN) delivered a floor speech titled "TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL" in the Senate. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, foreign policy. It referenced legislation including S492, S493.

Full Text

TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S492-S493] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to my longtime chief of staff John Connell during his last week of session in the U.S. Senate--or, as John fondly refers to it, the ``House of Lords.'' Since I was first sworn into the House of Representatives in 2011, John has served as my chief of staff. But he is much more than that--a trusted adviser, a talented strategist, an effective leader of our team, and a confidant. John is also a friend. John graduated from Indiana University already a fierce partisan, I have to say; but, in his case, it was as a proud member of Hoosier Nation--more on that later. He then moved to Washington to start his career on Capitol Hill. Despite his family roots in Naperville, IL, and his college years in Bloomington, IN, John quickly learned the ropes of serving in the legislative branch while working for three Kentucky delegation Members of the U.S. House--Representatives Geoff Davis, Ron Lewis, and Brett Guthrie--two of whom were West Point grads, I should add. He also spent time on the campaign trail for multiple Members in Kentucky and Kansas, before we were first introduced in late 2010. Along the way, John developed an amazing golf swing, he made tons of friends, and he started dating a lovely fellow congressional staffer by the name of Marjorie Dornette, who later became his wife. I first met John through an introduction by Congressman Davis. I needed a chief of staff, and Geoff said that he trusted John. And, candidly, I didn't have the foggiest idea what attributes to look for. So I decided to resist everything I had learned in a decade of naval service by trusting the Army guy. And, boy, I don't regret it. From almost that very moment, I came to regard that as one of the best decisions of my life, professional and otherwise. Suffice it to say, John has supported my time in Congress in every meaningful way. He has earned a stellar reputation of his own around this town and back home in the State of Indiana, and he has accrued a remarkable record of achievement, something I would like to unpack here today. For starters, John has identified and hired amazing talent for our team. He has a knack for recruiting, thanks to his extensive network, his instincts, and an amazing eye for talent. He has [[Page S493]] fostered a Team Young alumni network of current and rising leaders and regularly offers his help and counsel to countless individuals wishing to serve, advance their careers, and realize their dreams. John is known for viewing our intern program as the ``farm team,'' and an incredible number of our interns have gone on to serve and to move up in my congressional office and well beyond, thanks to John's efforts. In addition to being a team player on our team, however, he has served the broader team in many important ways. In fact, other congressional offices and several Presidential administrations have regularly turned to John for advice on navigating Congress and overcoming obstacles. John has treated his role of overseeing my DC office and instate operations with great enthusiasm, accessibility, friendliness, professionalism, dependability, and responsiveness--all of which resulted in our team's ability to have maximum impact. Whether through legislative wins or building one of the Nation's best constituent service operations, John's fingerprints are on all of it. Another important role John quickly became adept at was helping me identify talented professionals to be nominated for Federal service and shepherd them into important roles around the world, including an Under Secretary of State, an ambassador to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Chief Management Officer for the DOD. This also applied to our Federal judiciary. From district court to the U.S. Supreme Court, John was always on the hunt for rising legal stars who might be willing to serve. In fact, without John, I know I would not have had nearly as much success in translating my policy priorities into action. He owns a big piece of our legislative victories, having been instrumental at every stage of the policymaking process--from conception, to passage, to implementation--ensuring the State of Indiana maximally benefits from each law we pass: bringing social impact bonds to the Federal level; shoring up our semiconductor supply chain and incentivizing tech innovation through the CHIPS and Science Act; creating Indiana's first national park, the Indiana Dunes National Park. Even into his last days in my office, he has been working on ensuring the Senate appropriately recognizes the IU Hoosiers for winning the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship after completing an undefeated season. To this day, he describes his presence in Assembly Hall in Bloomington on December 10, 2011, as his beloved Hoosiers beat Kentucky in basketball, as the greatest day of his life--except for his wedding, he is always careful to add. That incredible victory occurred during John's first year on Team Young. It seems only fitting that as he departs, we are celebrating an even more improbable IU athletics triumph--a national championship in football. John plays by the rules. He is honest, sincere, dependable, upbeat, and optimistic, but he is always measured, and he is always realistic. He is relational--relational--the opposite of transactional, which can be a rare quality in Washington. Another rare quality: his singular lack of ego in a town known for some big ones. He is skilled at creating a work culture that is serious about public service and satisfying work but is also done by great people in a fun office along the way. If you know John, you know he loves Indiana, and he loves the Senate, but not more than his wife Marjorie and his three boys: Jack, George, and Matthew. He has been a great chief of staff, but he is an even better husband and father. He has found a way to give this job his all, to accomplish more than I could ever expect in a way that I could never improve upon, and he did it without sacrificing any of the relationships he valued most. For me, that is his most important legacy. I will personally miss seeing John at work every day. I am going to miss his daily presence in the office, but I am not anxious about this transition--not for John, not for me, not for Hoosiers. Like a consummate professional, John has institutionalized excellence in our office, making every preparation for us to keep racking up victories for the State of Indiana and continue adding value to the U.S. Senate. I now look forward to watching John apply his many considerable talents and experiences outside of Congress. I know he will continue to impress, continue to hold himself and others to the highest standards, and continue to win in whatever arena he competes. So, John, thank you for your service to this office, to Hoosiers, to our country. On behalf of your many friends, colleagues, and admirers on Capitol Hill, I wish you fair winds and following seas. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The Senator from Michigan. ____________________

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TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S492-S493] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRIBUTE TO JOHN CONNELL Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to my longtime chief of staff John Connell during his last week of session in the U.S. Senate--or, as John fondly refers to it, the ``House of Lords.'' Since I was first sworn into the House of Representatives in 2011, John has served as my chief of staff. But he is much more than that--a trusted adviser, a talented strategist, an effective leader of our team, and a confidant. John is also a friend. John graduated from Indiana University already a fierce partisan, I have to say; but, in his case, it was as a proud member of Hoosier Nation--more on that later. He then moved to Washington to start his career on Capitol Hill. Despite his family roots in Naperville, IL, and his college years in Bloomington, IN, John quickly learned the ropes of serving in the legislative branch while working for three Kentucky delegation Members of the U.S. House--Representatives Geoff Davis, Ron Lewis, and Brett Guthrie--two of whom were West Point grads, I should add. He also spent time on the campaign trail for multiple Members in Kentucky and Kansas, before we were first introduced in late 2010. Along the way, John developed an amazing golf swing, he made tons of friends, and he started dating a lovely fellow congressional staffer by the name of Marjorie Dornette, who later became his wife. I first met John through an introduction by Congressman Davis. I needed a chief of staff, and Geoff said that he trusted John. And, candidly, I didn't have the foggiest idea what attributes to look for. So I decided to resist everything I had learned in a decade of naval service by trusting the Army guy. And, boy, I don't regret it. From almost that very moment, I came to regard that as one of the best decisions of my life, professional and otherwise. Suffice it to say, John has supported my time in Congress in every meaningful way. He has earned a stellar reputation of his own around this town and back home in the State of Indiana, and he has accrued a remarkable record of achievement, something I would like to unpack here today. For starters, John has identified and hired amazing talent for our team. He has a knack for recruiting, thanks to his extensive network, his instincts, and an amazing eye for talent. He has [[Page S493]] fostered a Team Young alumni network of current and rising leaders and regularly offers his help and counsel to countless individuals wishing to serve, advance their careers, and realize their dreams. John is known for viewing our intern program as the ``farm team,'' and an incredible number of our interns have gone on to serve and to move up in my congressional office and well beyond, thanks to John's efforts. In addition to being a team player on our team, however, he has served the broader team in many important ways. In fact, other congressional offices and several Presidential administrations have regularly turned to John for advice on navigating Congress and overcoming obstacles. John has treated his role of overseeing my DC office and instate operations with great enthusiasm, accessibility, friendliness, professionalism, dependability, and responsiveness--all of which resulted in our team's ability to have maximum impact. Whether through legislative wins or building one of the Nation's best constituent service operations, John's fingerprints are on all of it. Another important role John quickly became adept at was helping me identify talented professionals to be nominated for Federal service and shepherd them into important roles around the world, including an Under Secretary of State, an ambassador to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Chief Management Officer for the DOD. This also applied to our Federal judiciary. From district court to the U.S. Supreme Court, John was always on the hunt for rising legal stars who might be willing to serve. In fact, without John, I know I would not have had nearly as much success in translating my policy priorities into action. He owns a big piece of our legislative victories, having been instrumental at every stage of the policymaking process--from conception, to passage, to implementation--ensuring the State of Indiana maximally benefits from each law we pass: bringing social impact bonds to the Federal level; shoring up our semiconductor supply chain and incentivizing tech innovation through the CHIPS and Science Act; creating Indiana's first national park, the Indiana Dunes National Park. Even into his last days in my office, he has been working on ensuring the Senate appropriately recognizes the IU Hoosiers for winning the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship after completing an undefeated season. To this day, he describes his presence in Assembly Hall in Bloomington on December 10, 2011, as his beloved Hoosiers beat Kentucky in basketball, as the greatest day of his life--except for his wedding, he is always careful to add. That incredible victory occurred during John's first year on Team Young. It seems only fitting that as he departs, we are celebrating an even more improbable IU athletics triumph--a national championship in football. John plays by the rules. He is honest, sincere, dependable, upbeat, and optimistic, but he is always measured, and he is always realistic. He is relational--relational--the opposite of transactional, which can be a rare quality in Washington. Another rare quality: his singular lack of ego in a town known for some big ones. He is skilled at creating a work culture that is serious about public service and satisfying work but is also done by great people in a fun office along the way. If you know John, you know he loves Indiana, and he loves the Senate, but not more than his wife Marjorie and his three boys: Jack, George, and Matthew. He has been a great chief of staff, but he is an even better husband and father. He has found a way to give this job his all, to accomplish more than I could ever expect in a way that I could never improve upon, and he did it without sacrificing any of the relationships he valued most. For me, that is his most important legacy. I will personally miss seeing John at work every day. I am going to miss his daily presence in the office, but I am not anxious about this transition--not for John, not for me, not for Hoosiers. Like a consummate professional, John has institutionalized excellence in our office, making every preparation for us to keep racking up victories for the State of Indiana and continue adding value to the U.S. Senate. I now look forward to watching John apply his many considerable talents and experiences outside of Congress. I know he will continue to impress, continue to hold himself and others to the highest standards, and continue to win in whatever arena he competes. So, John, thank you for your service to this office, to Hoosiers, to our country. On behalf of your many friends, colleagues, and admirers on Capitol Hill, I wish you fair winds and following seas. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The Senator from Michigan. ____________________