Senator Cornyn: (11:39 a.m.)

• Spoke in tribute to Sen. John McCain.
  • "He was a man who loved his country and was beloved in return. One of the things I appreciate the most about our friend Senator McCain is he truly believed in all his heart, in all his being, in all his soul in American exceptionalism and that America had to lead in the world. Because in the absence of American leadership, that void would be destabilizing and even dangerous. We know that John cast a long shadow in Congress over the last four decades of American politics, and we will continue to honor and remember him this week and into the future. But tears and sentimentality are not what he would want from us. Today instead we should try to remain a little more grateful than we otherwise would be."
• Spoke on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
  • "When approaching his mind-set, he said this a good judge has to keep learning, that they should constantly challenge themselves to study legal problems in greater depth, even when doing so force them to reconsider their instincts and prior inclinations. That is exactly the kind of justice the Supreme Court needs, one that's never content to rest on his laurels, one that's constantly educating and improving himself when it comes to the history of our country or the nuance and difficult technical aspects of the law. The truth is, since his nomination, Judge Kavanaugh has demonstrated that he is eminently qualified and well respected by all that know him and those that are familiar with his work."

 

Senator Nelson: (11:51 a.m.)

• Spoke in tribute to Sen. John McCain.
  • "Mr. President, when you walk by Senator McCain's desk and you see the black drape in the bowl of - and the bowl of white roses, it really underscores the loss. We lost a colleague, we lost a friend, the country lost a true public servant. After the stories that you've heard of him being shot down of spending all of those years in the Hanoi Hilton, beaten nearly to death when he was fished out of the lake in downtown Hanoi, he continued to serve his country in the Navy, in Congress, in this Senate, and, of course, as the party's nominee for president. His call to serve, his sense of duty and honor is the legacy of John McCain. He's an example for all of us. He was a fighter and he was funny too."

 

Senator Coons: (12:09 p.m.)

• Spoke in tribute to Sen. John McCain.
  • "John was convinced that what makes America great, what has always made America great is its values, its principles, that we stand for something in the world, not the example of our power but the power of our example. That only when we fight for those values, when we fight for the values that define us apart from other powerful nations, for human rights, for freedom of speech and religious expression, for the foundations of democracy as guarantors of liberty, only when we do that do we best use our power in the world. What impact did John McCain have on those of us here in the Senate and on our country? John commanded this chamber when he spoke like few others I have ever known, and he commanded it precisely because he called us to our better selves."