April 8, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 60 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Dismissal of Secret Service Director Randolph Alles

  Madam President, on the Secret Service Director's dismissal, this 
brings me to my final point.
  Just a few hours ago, the White House confirmed that it has now also 
asked that Secret Service Director Randolph Alles step aside. His 
departure comes in the midst of recent reports about potentially 
serious security vulnerabilities surrounding President Trump, 
particularly at Mar-a-Lago. That is why the outgoing Secret Service 
Director must testify before Congress as soon as possible about the 
potential security vulnerabilities at Mar-a-Lago, vulnerabilities that 
involve a Chinese national arrested with malware on her person and 
other threats.

  The public and Congress need to know the extent to which adversarial 
governments like China are attempting to infiltrate and conduct 
electronic surveillance on classified conversations or other 
information regarding national security at President Trump's 
properties. The President and the White House staff may like to treat 
hiring and firing in the administration as some kind of reality TV show 
or parlor game, but to the American people, this has real-life 
consequences.
  This is about national security, security at our airports, responding 
to national disasters, including our efforts to fight international 
cargo carrying drugs like fentanyl. That is why it is urgent to get to 
the bottom of this and why the outgoing Secret Service Director must 
testify as soon as possible.
  Now, all three of these comments--what is happening in Puerto Rico, 
what is happening with the Department of Homeland Security, and now the 
Secret Service--indicate just the chaos that seems to be overwhelming 
this administration.
  President Trump's policies, if he has them, switch from day to day. 
He is erratic. He seems to get emotional. He pushes out whatever is on 
his mind that day no matter its consequences, and this country is 
floundering. There is a lot of rhetoric and not much else.
  All these people leaving in very important positions--the President 
undercutting them, not calling them into the office and having a 
discussion, but tweeting and ranting. I have never seen America 
governed like this--never.
  And I don't care what your political affiliation is. I don't care if 
you are a liberal, moderate, or conservative. What is happening in this 
White House--as it fails to lead this country and does seem something 
like a TV reality show--is hurting us. It is hurting us and hurting us 
badly, and I hope we can get some bipartisan efforts to do things about 
this and to speak up about it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). The senior Senator from Iowa.