A resolution calling the whistleblower complaint against President Trump regarding u. S. Aid to ukraine be given to the appropriate senate committee. He made the announcement this morning. Ct we continue to read reports containing Additional Information about the nature of President Trumps phone calls with ukrainian president. He and his ministrations conduct weeks or months before the communications. We know someone inside the Intelligence Community found the president s conduct alarming enough to warrant an official is a blower complaint. Rme complaint was so alarming that the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community appointed by President Trump said that it was credible and urgent and a complaint that, by law, must be submitted to congress but this is not a discretionary moment. The law says this must be transmitted to congress. Well, we still have not received whistleblower complaint in congress has been advised in writing by the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community that the Trump Administration is preventing us from getting this report. Later today i will request a unanimous consent of the senate to pass a resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to the senate and house intelligence committees as prescribed by law. Let me repeat that. Later today, i will request the unanimous consent of the senate to pass a resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to the senate and house intelligence committeeslis prescribed by law. It is our job in congress to provide the necessary oversight of the executive branch and to take these matters, matters of foreign policy, National Security and constitutional integrity with the utmost gravity. To seek the facts and grapple with them. I made several requests of the majority leader yesterday in an effort to collect the facts to which i have received no response. Today i will seek approval for simple resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be transmitted to the relevant committees in congress and i hope the majority leader and Senate Republicans will not block it. I hope they will rise to the occasion and realize this is their constitutional duty and realize that this involves the security of the United States. I have more to say on the matter before requesting my colleagues consent to pass this resolution later today. Now, onto the national tmergency. Another issue that involves rule of water and the president s overreach. This week as early as tomorrow the senate will vote on whether or not to terminate the president s National Emergency declaration which he has used to steal funds from our military to build a border wall. Of all the President Trump promised over and over again mexico would pay for, not american taxpayers, not american troops, not their families but mexico. That was the president s promise to the American People and its a promise he broke. But that is what it has come to. If my republican friends stand choose to stand with President Trump on this vote they will be supporting the president taking money from our militaryak and their families to fund a border wall. I imagine that even many of those who support the wall and thats not a majority or close to majority of americans would not want the money to come from military. Later this morning democrats will have a press conference where we will talk about this. He will remind people that the consequences of the president s Emergency Declaration is farreaching and hes taking money away from military readiness and families and the children of servicemembers and taking money from military medical facilities in North Carolina and hurricane Recovery Project in florida. Money from programs we use to combat russian fiber aggression the money to upgrade Storage Facilities that are decrepit and pose a risk because of the munitions that are stored there. What the heck are we doing here . Congress appropriated the funds for the specific purpose. In our constitution the president does not get to decide where the money goes. We do. He gets the veto power and he tried to shut down the government and failed. If he can get around the constitutionally sanctioned balance of power that is what a dictator does, not someone believes in democracy and rule of law. What he has done here far exceeds any overreach that might public and colleagues complain about that president obama did. Remarkably, too many are silent. Too many are willing to go along and the fear of this president who many of my colleagues know privately does not have the honor, morality, honesty, and confidence to do this job. They know that but they go along with just about everything he does. On a policy basisyt they can shg their shoulders and as the differences between the parties but when it comes to defending the constitutionom and rule of w and not letting the executive overreach the number one fear of the Founding Fathers we are above that. Where our art republican colleagues . Am sure if democratic president declared an executive order to appropriate funds they would be up in arms. When president obama did much less they were screaming letting murder but now they are remarkably silent. Its about time oe our Senate Republicans stood up to the rule of law and stood up for the constitutionth and stood up to e president when he was wrong. Time to research the powers of the alleged data l branch, Peoples Branch of government. Senate begins will have that opportunity this week likely tomorrow and the American People will clearly be able to see whos inside each room again is on. The people sideeo, the constitution side or the president s side. Finally, on the door johnny nomination. Later today the senate will vote on the confirmation of daniel door johnny to serve as solicitor by all rights leader mcconnell should withdraw this vote from the floor. His career is at a out of step with agencys mission and it is come to light that he likely lied to congress about his role in the departments adherence to etransparency laws. Under President Trump the interior department has been mired in several investigationss about the ethical conduct of his political appointees including former secretary zinke. Its obvious the interior departments sorely needs transparency and public accountability. Especially, when the stewardship of our public lands is at stake. At the department of interior political appointees have instituted policies to stonewall and squash transparency. Sp it is likely that he played a key role in shaping these policies and it is at this moment one of the subjects of an interior interior inspector investigation. Despite the sworn testimony claiming no role in reviewing public records request public documentation has shown that he was regularly made aware of requests involving highlevel political appointees. It confirmed he would play an even larger role in overseeing the interior apartments public releases. The president said he would clean the swamp. Nomination after nomination he makes made the swamp even filthier interesting here. He seems to have no morality and seems to have no honor this is a man who is loaded with conflicts of interest, ethical concerns and is likely an ideologue opposed to the very mission of the agency to which he was nominated and he is another bright red example of the lack of honor and decency and morality of honesty in the trump appointees. I urge Senate Republicans to join democrats to vote to reject this nomination. I yield the floor. Madam president. Senator from illinois. Madam president , there are certain elements of this responsibility of serving the United States senate which are tested from time to time in our history and each of us as i members of the United StatesSenate Stands in that corner raises our right hand and swears to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States and those words are almost a cliche because they are used so often and yet here today we are being called on to reflect on that responsibility and we are called on to reflect on it because of things that happened which have come to light in the last several days. They have raised serious r and great constitutional questions. I must say in the two and half and three years donald trump has been president of the United Statesit i think our nation has been rocked by this president s approach to the highest office in the land. S he has set things and done things with no other president has ever done members of his own clinical party have been uncharacteristically silent when it comes to criticizing this president for his wrong doing. Its a litany of things hes done is long and troubling. There is one thinge, that both Political Parties need to maintain is the bedrock of this democracy and the bedrock of our commitment to this constitution and that is in this nation of the United States the people governed. Ultimately, the people of the United States have the last worv in our elections and in the selections they make their choices, whether you like them or not and i wasnt particularly enamored with the president ial choice of 2016 but i accepted it as the constitutional verdict of the American People. It really is the bedrock of who we are and what we are and thats why the notion that some other nation would interfere in our election is so repugnant. The thought. People would not have the last word in there would be and other people in other countries engaged in our election is as reprehensible under our constitution is any concept i can think of. We are sworn to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Another group of words weve heard over and over again but reflecting on those for a moment sworn to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, is a nation which tries to interfere in our pluto process an enemy of the United States . Of course. Thats obvious on its face. Those who would encourage a nation to be engaged in our sspolitical process and try to p the scales one way or another are they enemies of the United States . Well, theyre not acting consistent with that constitutional principle. Emis seems like pretty straightforward traditional interpretation could you dont need a phd or a law degree to understand that if a foreign country tries to interfere in the United States election process that Foreign Countries nand enemy and those who would encourage a foreign country or foreign agents the senate has been in their weekly Party Meetings are gaveling back into session to vote on confirming the drums nominees. Colleagues, something that a lot of these senators are talking about more recently and not too soon the mexicocanada agreement with the United States, a very important trade agreement. President trump and the leaders of mexico and canada signed the usmca on november 30, 2018, which was 43 weeks ago. More than three months have passed since mexico ratified the