29 July 2019, Cornyn discusses election security Paraphrased title quote: “if we can just repeat the successes of 2018 during the Trump administration in 2020, Americans can be confident their vote will be cast and be counted as it should be.”
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"Mr. President, yesterday President Trump announced that after nearly 2\1/2\ years of dedicated service, our former Senate colleague Dan Coats would be stepping down from his post as Director of National Intelligence.
Director Coats has led the intelligence community during a turbulent time for our country, and with our country continuing to face persistent threats from rogue and hostile states, as well as the ongoing war against terror, he has done a magnificent job and one that deserves all the accolades we can possibly bestow upon him. We know he entered the job on the tail of a blatant attempt by the Russian Government to interfere with our Nation's elections, and he made it a top priority to ensure that the American people could cast a vote with confidence in 2018 and beyond.
I just happened to come in the Chamber, when the Senator from Ohio was continuing to question the majority leader's commitment to election integrity, and I must say that it is ironic to me that the Russian interference with the 2016 election was, by and large, met with inaction, really nothing that the Obama administration did, even though they knew it was ongoing as early as the summer of 2016.
The truth is, as a result of this administration's and this Congress's efforts, the 2018 election was essentially interference free, and that is because of tremendous actions being taken by the Department of Homeland Security to work with our partners in the State election systems to provide sensors that can identify attempts to hack into their system as well as the movement of State election officials to move to paper ballots and the like.
We also know we have been much more aggressive attacking the cyber threats at their source, and while much of that is classified and can't be discussed in a public forum, suffice it to say that if we can just repeat the successes of 2018 during the Trump administration in 2020, Americans can be confident their vote will be cast and be counted as it should be.
That is not to suggest for a moment that we shouldn't remain vigilant because we know the Russian Federation is going to continue to try to sow discord and cause us to question our own institutions. They are very good at it. They have been doing it a long time, but now they have additional tools like social media and propaganda as well as the complicity sometimes of the mainstream media in writing unverified and unsourced stories that create more and more and contribute more and more to this atmosphere in which we currently live.
Let me talk again about Director Coats because his remarkable career as a public servant included, at times, a Congressman, an ambassador to Germany, a U.S. Senator twice, and Director of National Intelligence.
I know I speak for others in this Chamber in saying that we are grateful for Dan Coats' dedicated service to our country, and I am honored to be one of those who can call him a friend. I wish him and Marsha the best in whatever the next chapter brings, hopefully starting with a well-deserved vacation.
I was also glad to see that the President has chosen a worthy successor to that position, my friend John Ratcliffe. For 4\1/2\ years, John has faithfully and diligently served Texas's Fourth District in Congress for the people of Texas.
Prior to that, he served with distinction as U.S. attorney, prosecuting cases that spanned a wide spectrum of issues, including counterterrorism and national security.
Mr. Ratcliffe is a Member of the House Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Judiciary Committees, a pretty good portfolio for somebody who would be the next Director of National Intelligence. So he already has an understanding of the threats facing our country and the challenges that lie ahead. I am confident he will continue Dan Coats' strong leadership as a nonpartisan strong leader for the intelligence community.
Sadly, though, we can already begin to see our Democratic colleagues beginning to play their partisan games, threatening to defeat this nomination at the expense of the American people. This position is simply too important to the security of our Nation to be bogged down in partisan politics. Since this job was created, every single Director has been confirmed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote. In fact, none of these men received the support of fewer than 85 Senators. This one should be no different.
I look forward to the President formally nominating John Ratcliffe to be the next Director of National Intelligence."
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