Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Confirming Critical Public Safety Officials And The Need To Confirm Other Critical Biden Nominees Including Federal Reserve Nominee Lisa Cook

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on Senate action last night to confirm U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals whose nominations had previously been blocked by Republicans. He also emphasized the need to get Federal Reserve nominee Lisa Cook and other well-qualified nominees confirmed as soon as possible, despite Senate Republicans’ efforts to block the confirmation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

We got more good news yesterday after the Senate confirmed every single U.S. Attorney that had been blocked by a handful of Republican obstructionists.

It was about time that Republicans finally relented on their dangerous and indefensible blockade on federal prosecutors.

These U.S. Attorneys are vital to keeping Americans safe. They are not political positions, they are entirely dedicated to preserving public safety and protecting our communities. 

It was totally reckless for a very small band of Republicans, who claim to care about public safety, to have halted these federal prosecutors for so long, just to score political points. Still, after months of unnecessary delay Americans in Georgia and Michigan and Ohio and Nevada and Minnesota and New Hampshire and other states can breathe a sigh of relief that the Republican blockade on federal prosecutors has been broken.

Now, there are other very important and uncontroversial nominees that are still being blocked by a handful of Senate Republicans. Many of them deal with national security. Many of them would help our country find ways to lower costs.

Republicans should drop their holds on these uncontroversial nominees at once, or else we will have to keep members here in the chamber for late night and weekend sessions to get them through. 

And finally, I also want to say it was egregious for Republicans to similarly prevent the nomination of Lisa Cook to go through this week. Make no mistake we are going to get her confirmed through the Senate as soon as we can.

Lisa Cook is a historic and highly qualified nominee: she will be the first Black Woman ever to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Her family literally fought segregation growing up in rural Georgia, and despite personally facing immense discrimination she is now a professor of economics at Michigan State, a former adviser to President Obama’s Counsel of Economic Advisers, and is on the Chicago Fed Board’s Academic advisory board.

A historic Federal Reserve nominee who accomplished as much as Lisa Cook deserves far, far better treatment than what Republicans have shown. But never the less, the Senate will vote to confirm her as soon as we can. 

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