Grassley, Chuck: good morning on today's agenda seven nominations are listed we'll vote today on all seven including three district judges Nicholas Genji Southern District Texas David folks Western District Arkansas Aaron Christian Peterson District Alaska will also vote on Darren Smith Andrew Benson William Boyle Richard price to be u.s. attorneys I look forward to supporting each of these nominees and I urge my colleagues to do likewise the legislation that we call the clear path act is on our agenda for the first time today and we'll hold her over for further consideration as we enter this holiday season it's important that we remember someone who isn't with us specialist Sarah Beckman specialist Beckman joined the National Guard to protect our country and she volunteered to serve on Thanksgiving so other service members could be home with their families while working to keep us safe she was killed in a horrific ambush staff sergeant Andrew Wolfe was also seriously injured during the attack and he remains in recovery these two service members were part of an effort to keep our cities and our capital safe our prayers and gratitude for their service are with them and their families as we approach the end of 2025 I want to recognize what this committee has achieved this year so far we've conducted more than 50 committee and subcommittee hearings we've held dozens of markups and we favorably reported 23 bills the committee has also been quickly and efficiently processing nominations after this morning's meeting we will have voted for 84 nominees including the Attorney General FBI director six circuit judges 24 district judges and 36 US attorneys we've advanced judicial nominees as fast as our committee receives them and we've confirmed more federal judges at this point than President Trump did in his first administration the Heritage Foundation recently reported that our committee has held hearings for 96% of the judicial nominations it has received which is higher than any president since 1980 I'd like to process even more judicial nominations but I'm waiting on the president to get those nominations up here likewise our committee has processed you US attorneys quickly and efficiently despite relentless and unprecedented obstruction by members of the Senate we've reported more US attorneys out of committee than the Biden administration did at this point and we're confirming them at roughly the same rate as with judicial nominees I'd like to process even more US attorneys but I'm hamstrung waiting for background investigations and other paperwork from the administration that the committee needs to advance the nominees that we've moved already so I'm asking people that are involved in this process and the executive branch of government to get on the ball in short the Judicial Committee has been hard at work advancing quality nominees and getting them to work for the American people as I have noted before a recent nonpartisan study found that judges nominated by President Trump have outperformed those of other recent administrations in terms of productivity quality and independence I look forward to that continued trend to advancing more excellent nominees to the committee on another matter I'd like to discuss the committee's invitation to Secretary Noem to appear for an oversight hearing I invited Secretary Noem to testify on December the 2nd and then again on December the 10th she declined both invitations her department has failed to provide any alternative dates but I see on Fox News this morning that she's be appearing before the House Homeland Security Committee when she go and pay attention to the Senate during her confirmation process Secretary Noem committed to appearing before this committee when invited I expect better cooperation from the secretary very early next year next I want to provide an update on a classified DHS inspector general report that report was on covert testing of the TSA's checkpoint security screening at the airports originally DHS restricted access to this report to me as President Pro Tem Chairman Rand Paul of Homeland Security and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives I demanded that committees of jurisdiction in both houses of Congress have access to this report I've been told that that's been done that included my Democratic colleague ranking member Durbin and this entire committee the inspector general report raises serious very serious issues because of that I've asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of the TSA security screening process to date DHS proper has not granted GAO permission of the inspector general's report I expect Secretary Noem to iron this out lastly bringing up Arctic Frost once again this week I announced that I've activated and authorized four subcommittees as part of my and Senator Johnson's investigation starting in January will begin oversight hearings in those subcommittees that will also include at least one full committee hearing on that matter now Senator Durbin.

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