Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Senate Voting This Week To Confirm President Biden’s Judicial And Executive Nominations

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding Senate Democrats’ votes this week to confirm President Biden’s well-qualified and diverse nominees, including the historic confirmation of Shalanda Young to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.  Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The Senate this week will continue fulfilling its constitutional duty to confirm more of the President’s judicial and administrative nominees. 

Yesterday, I filed cloture on twelve additional nominees, setting up a busy rest of the week here on the floor.

Absent an agreement to expedite the process—and unfortunately we have seen all too few of those coming from our Republican colleagues— members can expect to begin voting tomorrow morning, and we will work through all twelve nominees until we have a path to getting them confirmed.

Due to the months of obstructive holds by a few, just a handful, of Republicans, in addition to judicial nominees we also must also use up floor time to confirm U.S. Attorneys—something practically unheard of in the Senate. These Republicans who have delayed our U.S. Attorneys are actively making our communities less safe, and it’s regrettable they’ve chosen to obstruct the Senate for their own personal political interests.

So my colleagues ought to be prepared for a busy few days here on the floor.

Now, among the nominees we will consider are two great nominees from New York, I'm proud to say.

One we’ll consider is Judge Ali Nathan nominated to serve as Judge for the Second Circuit. She’s a brilliant jurist with a decade of experience as a district judge, and I was proud to recommend her to sit on one of the most important courts in the nation.

I am also pleased that the Senate will also vote on Hector Gonzalez to serve as District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Born in Cuba, raised in Queens, a Fulbright scholar, who became one of New York’s top attorneys, Mr. Gonzalez is the very embodiment of the American Dream, and like Judge Nathan I am glad to have recommended him to President Biden.   

I am also glad to note, under Senator Durbin’s leadership, that both Judge Nathan and Mr. Gonzalez received bipartisan support in committee, so I look forward to the Senate confirming them in short order.

But first, the Senate will look to make history once again later today by confirming Shalanda Young to serve as President Biden’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, a Cabinet-level position. She would be the first Black Woman ever confirmed by the Senate to lead the OMB.

It shouldn’t have taken this long to confirm someone as obviously qualified as Shalanda Young: she’s been leading the OMB for nearly a year, she knows the budget and appropriations process like the back of her hand. She’s proven capable of working with Republicans and Democrats alike, and it was through her guidance the Administration notched some of its biggest victories, including the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Shalanda Young is one of the most effective Cabinet leaders to have the label of “acting” in a very long time, but it’s long past time for that word to drop from her job title. I look forward to the Senate officially confirming Ms. Young as OMB Director later today.

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