ghost of christmas future in charles dickens's a christmas story. i hope that as we examine our future and what today's action portends about the future of the united states and of the united states senate i hope we can choose to depart from this course. while i fear our past will prove to be our prologue, i sure hope we won't solidify and more deeply entrench this unwise indefensible move that we took today. but i'm glad we had the chance today to set the record

straight, to make an adequate record of what really happened. and that while a majority, a bear, slim majority chose to excuse the inexcusable today, some of us, nearly half of us tried to stand in front of that train and stop it. i hope that this will prove to be an aberration. let's all pray that it does. thank you, i yield the floor. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon, everybody. as suspected, the republicans proved this afternoon that this whole impeachment was nothing more than a political show. the problem was they weren't prepared. we had offered to have an open and public debate and vote on multiple resolutions by republicans. rather than taking that time to hold a debate that republicans claimed was imperative they denied our fair and reasonable offer and didn't seem to know

what to do. we saw today, what we saw today was a microcosm of this impeachment since day one. frivolous, political. and we felt very strongly that we had to set a precedent that impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. i felt that very strongly. the first impeachment i can recall when you look at history, none were done because they were policy disagreements. if we allowed that to happen it would set a disastrous precedent for congress. to throw our system of checks and balances into cycles of chaos. any time the house would want to shut the senate down they could send over another impeachment resolution. and could create frivolous impeachment trial after impeachment trial. so i felt it really important,

the dangerous precedent was not the one the republicans are talking about but the one of letting impeachment take the place of policy disagreements. cabinet person after cabinet person would be subject to this. we cannot have that happen and i felt that is what the senate had to do to step up to its responsibilities. we are supposed to have debates on the issues, not impeachment on the issues. we are not supposed to say that when you disagree with someone on policy, suddenly that's a high crime and misdemeanor. that would degrade government. it is clear that republicans aren't interested in working with democrats to fix the problems at the border. if they wanted to pass the

bipartisan proposal we put together and have a debate on it, fine. republicans instead of spending so much time and energy on this meritless impeachment, work with democrats on border reform, we might have actually gotten something done. if house republicans wants to have a serious debate on border security, we welcome it but everyone knows what is happening at the border is terrible and needs fixing. that's not a secret. the president knows it, secretary mayorkas knows it, both parties in congress know it. that's exactly why we had a bipartisan bill to fix it. democrats worked hand-in-hand with republicans for four months to draft the strongest border security billion 40 years. a bill with dramatic updates to asylum and reform parole, a bill that provided new tools for addressing the fentanyl crisis, a bill that provided new resources to border patrol

agents. of our republican colleagues would have allowed her to come to the floor in the senate and down the hall over in the house i am certain it would have passed and gone to the president's desk. but we all know what happened. donald trump told his republican allies in congress to kill the border bill before we could debate it. the former president explicitly took credit for that bill going down, please blame it on me. he said. 's words. so let me say it just one more time. if republicans, instead of spending so much time and energy on this meritless impeachment worked with democrats on border reform, we might have actually gotten something done on this very serious issue. questions on this subject first. >> communication with senator cornyn, the republican-led

senate used the precedent you should to dismiss impeachment trial? >> the parliament tearing and rule the precedent set was the precedent that was done here, don't use impeachment for policy disagreements whether it is with the president, cabinet, secretary or anyone else. >> are not worried the republicans will do that -- >> we've made it clear that you don't use policy disagreements for impeachment, don't care who it is. if we didn't make that clear, it would have been much worse for what you are talking about. anyone else on this subject? yes. >> your point of order was the article 2 allegation did not allege a high crime and misdemeanor. the allegation was the secretary lied to congress. under oath, you may disagree

with that but just on that allegation -- >> everyone knows these were policy disagreement never rising to what the founding fathers intended with impeachment with high crimes and misdemeanors. that is why the parliamentarian ruled in our favor. on impeachment. >> mike lee is very upset and says he will retaliate with a motion table motion to proceed. what is your response? >> we have so many things we have to get done for the future of this country that i don't think that is an appropriate reaction. >> when will the senate kick off the house foreign aid bill? >> you mean the supplemental? >> yes.

>> let me say three things, first, it seems that what they are sending to us is very similar to the supplemental that the senate passed with strong bipartisan majority, 70-twenty two. but i haven't seen the language, i want to see the language, i've been in impeachment all day before making any final judgments and i would like to get it done as quickly as possible. next question. >> what is the status of negotiations and will you pass it? >> i'm filing cloture to move forward on fifa. we don't know the amendments on either side so we can specifically lay out what's going to happen until we see what those amendments are. now that the impeachment trial has been concluded each side is going to look at what amendments different members want.

>> you worried the house could shut the senate down? >> if the precedent were anytime there's a policy disagreement, the house impeached to the senate you had to have a long and consuming trial that would have been a bad precedent. >> what the issue was doing the trial committee instead? >> a trial committee then relates to having a trial on the floor. makes it even longer and more stretched out. if it's a real high crime and misdemeanor in their arguable claims that it is obviously that is what the founding fathers intended in impeachment. if it's a policy disagreement, that's never what they intended. >> were said to be on recess next week, are you going to stay in and do this? >> we don't know when the house is sending sending it to us and once they do we will be able to plot out what we do and as expeditiously as possible. >> do you want members to be on

standby? >> your friends from nbc last time. >> the discussions on the house side of the supplemental would that be a problem? >> the house put it in. i haven't seen the language. thank you, everybody. [inaudible conversations] >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers and we are just getting started. building 100,000 miles of new

infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications support c-span as a public service along with these other televion providers giving were front row seat to democracy. today on c-span, the house is back for legislative buses at 9:00 am eastern to consider a resolution condemning iran's rsikes on israel. also on c-span 2 at a the acng secretary of housing and urban development and director of t federal housing finance agency testified at an erght hearing held t senate banking committee. at noon the senate returns to su work on house passed legislation treauthorize section 702 of the forgn intelligence surveillance act which allows for warrantless surveillance of people outside the us and on c-span 3 at0 am homeland security secretary alejandra mayorkas tties on the president's 2025 budget request today after the senate

dismissed impeachment articles against them. you can watch our live coverage on the c-span now video apps or online, c-span.org. >> don lemon would say that -- >> watch c-span's coverage of the annual white house correspondents dinner live saturday, april 27th with saturday night live weekend update cohost as featured entertainer as well as president biden who is expected to give remarks. our coverage begins at 6:00 pm eastern on c-span.org and c-span now is journalist and celebrity's walk the red carpet into the event and 8:00 pm eastern on c-span, sights and sounds from inside the ballroom before step festivities begin. watch the white house correspondents dinner live saturday, april 27th on the c-span networks.