Motion to Adjourn

Floor Speech

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Mr. PHILLIPS. Madam Clerk, I rise to say wow.

Madam Clerk, I rise to place into nomination for election to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives the esteemed and wonderful leader of House Democrats, Mr. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Our Nation's first President, unanimously elected by the electoral college in 1789, keeps watch over us every single day right here in this Chamber. In his inaugural address to our new Nation, he spoke of ``a form of government for the security of [our] Union and the advancement of [our] happiness.''

But 234 years later, and after 14 rounds of balloting and a ridiculous war for personal power across the aisle, we the people still find ourselves without a constituted government, our security neglected and the advancement of anything impossible.

And happiness? Suffice to say, Americans are unhappy by the nonsense and the dysfunction playing out on this floor, particularly those who need us the most, who rely on our offices--and I mean every single one of our offices--for services and support, not to mention the unhappy GOP and Democratic ranking members and chairs of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Intel Committee who say that the risk to our safety and security grows with each passing hour. This is not just unhappiness; this is dangerous.

However, the 212 unified members of the House Democratic Caucus have a very effective solution for this problem. We call him Hakeem Jeffries.

In the spirit of friendliness and hopefulness, we extend a warm invitation to at least six of you across the aisle to join us. Let's end this nonsense, constitute this Congress, and elect him Speaker of the House.

He is a man who is ready to work with everyone in this Congress and throughout our country to place people over politics and solve our country's problems; a man of competency, decency, and integrity; a man of courage, honor, and resolve; a man who listens better than anyone I have ever known in my life; and a man of innovation, cooperation, and, yes, indeed, alliteration.

Madam Clerk, 14,421 Americans have served in the United States Congress since George Washington's inaugural address 234 years ago. One of the very finest of those Americans is Hakeem Jeffries of the great State of New York, and it is the honor of a lifetime to place his name into nomination for Speaker of the House.

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