U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) spoke on the Senate floor criticizing Democratic lawmakers for what she described as ongoing efforts to block President Trump’s agenda. In her remarks, Blackburn addressed issues related to the confirmation of presidential nominees, immigration enforcement, border security, and recent developments concerning investigations into Russian interference.
“While Republicans Work to Deliver Wins for the American People, Democrats Are Obstructing President Trump’s Agenda,” Blackburn said in her prepared statement. She referenced the results of the last election, saying that President Trump and Republicans had received a mandate from voters to secure the border, strengthen the economy, reduce government spending, and implement other priorities.
Blackburn highlighted legislative achievements such as “the largest tax cut in U.S. history—including reduced taxes on tips and overtime, a $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors, and the permanent extension of President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.” She added that these measures “reduce[] the burden of the death tax for millions,” increase military spending by $150 billion, provide significant investments in border security including funding for new Border Patrol agents and wall construction, and address waste in Medicaid.
“These are huge wins for the American people. But our work is far from finished,” she said.
The senator focused much of her criticism on delays in confirming presidential nominees. “At the top of the list: confirming President Trump’s nominees. The President deserves to have his team in place to enact his America First agenda,” Blackburn stated. She cited a backlog of 135 pending nominations before the Senate at that time. These included ambassadorships to several countries and organizations—such as the Vatican and European Union—as well as judicial appointments and key positions within federal agencies.
“There is absolutely zero reason we should have this backlog—especially with such important nominations,” Blackburn argued. She claimed that Democratic senators were intentionally slowing down votes on qualified nominees: “They’re losing at the ballot box, in the halls of Congress, and in the courts—so stalling is all they have left to spite the President.”
Blackburn also discussed what she called longstanding patterns of obstruction by Democrats. She referenced disclosures from Director of National Intelligence Gabbard about efforts during President Obama’s administration regarding Russia-related investigations: “With the recent disclosures from Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, we are learning even more about how President Obama and Democrats manufactured the Russia Hoax to try to derail President Trump’s first term.”
She criticized judicial decisions blocking executive orders from President Trump: “For months, far-left activist judges undermined our Constitution by blocking lawful orders from the Trump administration in a brazen effort to decide nationwide policy.” According to Blackburn, this practice ended only after Supreme Court intervention limiting nationwide injunctions.
On immigration enforcement issues, Blackburn accused Democrats of attempting to hinder law enforcement agencies like ICE and Border Patrol. “Americans want our border to be secure. And they want criminal illegal aliens removed from their communities,” she said. The senator described incidents where members of Congress confronted ICE personnel or criticized their actions: “We’ve seen congressional Democrats try to storm ICE facilities—including a House member who faces federal charges for assaulting an ICE officer.” She further noted legislation proposals affecting officer safety and reported an increase in assaults against ICE officers.
