Nominations

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today the Senate will complete the confirmation of two key nominees: Linda Thomas-Greenfield to serve as U.N. Ambassador and Tom Vilsack to serve as Agriculture Secretary.

As I said yesterday, the Senate will also confirm Jennifer Granholm this week to serve as the next Energy Secretary and begin the confirmation of Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as the next Education Secretary. We also hope to do Gina Raimondo, nominee for Secretary of Commerce, early next week.

Each of these nominees has received bipartisan support in committee. Each of these nominees is undoubtedly qualified for their positions, a stark departure from the caliber of nominees the Senate was made to consider during the previous administration.

Make no mistake, the Senate will move quickly to approve key officials in the Biden administration this work period. These Cabinet positions and Agencies have an immense influence over the policies of the United States, impacting hundreds of millions of American lives. At a time of acute national challenge, we need qualified leaders atop our Federal Agencies--and fast. and that is what we intend to do.

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