Trump appointees win again. Eight of the ten least partisan judges were nominated by President Trump.

On 2025-11-20, Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA) delivered a floor speech titled "Trump Appointees Win Again. Eight Of The Ten Least Partisan Judges Were Nominated By President Trump." in the Senate.

Trump appointees win again. Eight of the ten least partisan judges were nominated by President Trump.

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 196 (Thursday, November 20, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 196 (Thursday, November 20, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S8250-S8259] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] [[Page S8250]] Trump appointees win again. Eight of the ten least partisan judges were nominated by President Trump. In short, President Trump has a history of nominating highly qualified jurists to the bench. Today, the Judiciary Committee voted for a few more out here for us to consider on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I am proud to say that under my chairmanship, the Judiciary Committee has and will continue to advance highly qualified nominees to serve the American people. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip. Operation Midway Blitz Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, you heard the speeches. We all did. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, speaking to cheering crowds at rallies, he would say, inevitably: Murderers, rapists, terrorists, the criminally insane, sexual predators that came into this country illegally, we are going to remove them. He made that promise over and over again. Well, in Chicago, IL, we have seen what those words have led to. For almost 3 months, Chicago, in my home State of Illinois, has been under attack by President Trump since he launched what he calls Operation Midway Blitz. During that time, chaos and terror have reigned supreme. This operation isn't just targeting the ``worst of the worst''--the rapists, the murderers, the terrorists, the criminally insane. That is what he promised. But American citizens--legal residents of the United States-- and immigrants who have built their lives and raised their families here and pose no threat to public safety have been the actual targets. A court forced the administration to come clean on this: Just how many of these dangerous, worst-of-the-worst criminals are you arresting, deporting in the process of Operation Midway Blitz? The administration finally released their numbers. Six hundred people have been arrested under Operation Midway Blitz: 600 terrorists, rapists, murderers, criminally insane--except that is not the truth at all. During Operation Midway Blitz, 16 people out of the 600 actually had a criminal history that poses a high risk to public safety--3 percent, less than 3 percent of all of those arrested. What about the rest? These violent raids by ICE agents aren't just targeting adults; they are targeting families. I want to tell you the story. Two weeks ago, Raphael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter Arianna-- both citizens of the United States--were enjoying a shopping day at Sam's Club. The little girl is barely 1 year old. Who would have thought that a simple father-daughter trip to Sam's would turn into a trauma that these two people will never ever forget? But the Verazas became a target for ICE for obvious reasons: He was shopping while being Hispanic. Enough said. Listen to what happened to this dad and his daughter because of Operation Midway Blitz of this administration. Mr. Veraza and his family said they were in their car when they heard a helicopter and cars honking. With the uptick in raids in the Chicago area, Mr. Veraza knew those sounds signaled that ICE agents were nearby. To keep his family safe, he decided to leave. Unfortunately, before this American citizen and his 1-year-old daughter could drive away, a masked agent--masked agent--pointed a pepper spray gun through the family's open car window and fired the weapon at close range. The pepper spray hit Mr. Veraza in the face, and his daughter also breathed it in. Because of this violent, unprovoked action from ICE agents, both Arianna and Raphael were briefly hospitalized. He told reporters after the incidents happened: My daughter was trying to open her eyes . . . She was struggling to breathe. Does this incident seem like a Federal immigration agent setting out to make America safer? Does this man look like a rapist, a murderer, a terrorist, criminally insane, worst of the worst? What was his crime? Being an American citizen shopping at a local Sam's Club? His only crime was he appeared to be Hispanic. Pepper-spraying a 1-year-old little girl and her father during a shopping trip is shameful and outrageous. If it happened to any of us on my side of the aisle or the other side of the aisle and you heard about this family, your heart would go out to them. This man was doing nothing wrong. Yet he was treated like a common criminal because he is Hispanic. President Trump is turning Federal immigration officers into his own secret, masked police force. I see it every day in the city of Chicago as reported. He is violating the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution to all of us, including the right to due process and the rule of law. Let me be clear. The President and his administration's actions are not about politics, nor about public safety. It is time for all of us in Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to put politics aside, speak up, and condemn this growing threat to our democracy. If it happened in your hometown, you would be outraged, and you should be. It is happening in Chicago almost every day. Healthcare Mr. President, on a separate topic, America is facing a healthcare crisis that is unnecessary, and it is happening under this President's watch. Congressional Republicans spent the summer slashing more than $1 trillion from the Medicaid Program. This will threaten healthcare for 11 million people and jeopardize rural hospitals all across America. Smalltown hospitals--many of them will not survive. Despite the President's promises, prescription drugs are still unaffordable, and Big Pharma continues to rip off American patients. And now, in just 6 short weeks, more than 20 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums double or even triple. Imagine, if you will, when you take a look at what you paid last month for health insurance, that it is going to double on January 1 or worse. Tens of millions of Americans are terrified to look at their premium notices because Republicans have refused to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that made insurance affordable. In red States and blue States, for families, small business owners, farmers, and Americans nearing retirement, the peace of mind that health coverage brings will soon be out of reach. With these tax credits set to expire, 4 million people will lose their insurance because their premiums will become unaffordable. They will be one sickness, one accident, one diagnosis away from absolute financial ruin or worse. Housing, utility, and grocery prices have gone through the roof already. Who can also afford to see their healthcare costs for their family double or triple? But President Trump and his billionaire buddies are out of touch. They don't have a clue what it is like to live paycheck to check and what the loss of health insurance means to a family. As U.S. Senators, we can change that. We have the power to prevent these dramatic premium increases and avoid a healthcare catastrophe, but to use that power requires both courage and compromise. As part of the agreement to reopen the government, which I voted for, the Republican leader promised to put a bill on the floor--one chosen by the Senate Democratic side--to extend the enhanced premium tax credits. So shortly after Thanksgiving, after we have enjoyed the holiday with our families, Senators will come back to Washington and make a fateful choice for American families across the Nation: Will we sit idly by while millions of Americans lose their healthcare coverage, or do we sit down, Republicans and Democrats, and solve this problem? Why were you sent here to the Senate? Each Senator has their own explanation. I believe I was sent here to make life better for the people who live in my State and this Nation. Can we find common ground? Can we reach an agreement? Can we do something that really makes a difference in the lives of our constituents? If we do it, they will be absolutely mystified that what they believe to be an incompetent Congress could rise to the occasion. The answer to this question is going to be closely watched by millions of Americans. With each monthly premium payment or skipped doctor's visit, patients will be reminded of what we here decided to do. [[Page S8251]] Wouldn't it be amazing to end this year and start a new one by doing the right thing for these people who are victims of legislative decisions? I was on the floor of this Senate 15 years ago--it was one of the most important votes I cast, to create the Affordable Care Act. Do you remember what life was like before the Affordable Care Act? I can tell you a few highlights. If you had a preexisting condition or even a hint of such a condition, you either couldn't get insurance or it was limited in its coverage to a ridiculous level. You also had a situation where most health insurance policies never covered mental health or addiction. I remember what happened on the floor of the Senate when we debated this issue. Why wouldn't it be covered? Why wouldn't we take mental illness as an illness and not a curse and something that could be treatable? Well, two Senators stood up and argued to do that. One of them was Paul Wellstone--he used to sit right back there--from Minnesota. He was a character. I loved him. We all did. He was a college professor who took a beat-up, old schoolbus and got elected to the Senate from Minnesota. A member of his family had a mental illness, and Paul Wellstone argued that we ought to do everything we can to help them and, first and foremost, make sure basic health insurance policies must cover mental health and addiction. He had an unlikely ally who used to sit in that seat there to my right--Pete Domenici from New Mexico. He had been in the Senate for quite a few years, a Republican Senator, highly respected. H

Referenced legislation: HJRES130, HJRES130, S935