Christopher A. Coons
Senator for Delaware · Democratic · United States
“And we locked arms and said, after lots of calls for support and help, that we were determined to get this passed and sent to the President's desk for his signature before we left for the next month, before it expired tomorrow, because at the end of the day, the urgency, the necessity of hope in the face of this dread disease, is the sing…”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“And it is a wonderful reminder that, even in the midst of struggle and tragedy, life goes on; that the blessing of birth and creation continues.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, thank you to my dear friend the Senator from Alaska, Senator Murkowski, and to all the ALS advocates out there who have reached out to both of us--to us, to our families, to our staff, to our friends. ALS is the cruelest disease I know.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“I think all of us remember the Ice Bucket Challenge--one of the first YouTube or TikTok sensations that seemed to me to be purely good in that it challenged people to douse themselves with ice water in order to raise the visibility of the urgency of investing in ALS research.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“And as senior appropriators, I suspect we can commit that we will do everything in our power to ensure those funds are actually delivered. This is a small but real bipartisan miracle of partnership, of effort, and of investment in hope.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
“We, frankly, get a lot of good done here, and often that good goes unremarked. But I cannot thank enough my friend and colleague Senator Murkowski for her tireless dedication to moving ACT for ALS for its reauthorization, as she just detailed.”
Senate29 September 2026Source ↗
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“Looking at how hard it was to get the nation of Colombia, which was nearly collapsing in internal conflict with Marxist guerrillas and drug cartels, we looked at something called Plan Colombia that over several administrations with a determined and broad engagement by the United States and hard work by the Colombian people and their government helped stabilize a country otherwise descending into chaos. And over years of working together, we crafted something called the Global Fragility Act, which was designed to take that same view, having our State Department and, yes, USAID, and our Department of Defense and have a common strategy for identifying countries that were teetering on the edge and where thoughtful, engaged, long-term American involvement could make the difference. He and I were working right now on its reauthorization.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“And as we were walking back to the hotel, he put his arm around me and he said: I hope you are going to stick with this because we have got a lot more good to do. I had no idea that would be the last time we would speak. Born in the town of Central, SC, raised by a couple who owned a bar and a restaurant. He was the first in his family to go to college. Orphaned at a young age. He was dedicated to caring for his younger sister Darline, who we will soon have join us here in the U.S. Senate. And when he found here in the Senate his friend and mentor and role model John McCain, in many ways he found his life's purpose. He and I did our best work together on Appropriations and Foreign Relations.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“Trump had pledged to let Zelenskyy and the Ukraine license our critical PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, and Trump had told him he would at long last let us take up and pass in the Senate a bill to impose greater costs and sanctions on the buyers of Russian oil and gas. He was on cloud nine. And we celebrated his birthday, which was the next day, together. One of the things we talked about, as we often did, was how neither one of us could believe we were here. I was in a tough car accident a few days earlier in Lewes, DE, where a pickup truck came across the center line and totaled the car I was in. And I and everybody else involved in what was a five-car pileup walked away unscratched.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“We wrote and shaped and passed some of the most important bills I have had the honor of working on while here. And when I woke up Saturday morning, shocked to hear that he had died abruptly the night before, I thought back to the dinner we had just had together in Ankara, Turkiye at the NATO summit. Providentially, it was our first really good, warm dinner together in a while. And it was a chance for me to see the Lindsey I knew best from years gone by. He was a fierce and tireless advocate for the Ukrainian cause for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and for the fight for freedom currently unfolding in Eastern Europe, and he had had a fabulous day. Zelenskyy's meeting with President Trump had gone well.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“We served on Foreign Relations together. We served on Appropriations together. He could make up his mind like that. He would commit to doing something, and he would stick with it. He had some core commitments and passions that were a through line for the entire time we served together. I first got to know Lindsey best through our mutual friend John McCain. Senator McCain kept trying and trying to get me to travel with him to the Munich Security Conference, and on that very first trip, Lindsey was, of course, also along. And in meeting after meeting with leaders from around the world, hearing his insights, his humor, and his powerful commitment to the fight for freedom inspired me. He and I also traveled all over Africa and the Middle East, and over many years, we did a lot of good together.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“There was a moment during the Kavanaugh hearings that was one of the most tense and ugly and difficult we had together on Judiciary. And it was also the time when we were working together on the bill that funds the State Department and foreign aid. And he and I had worked together to create an outside organization to support U.S. foreign aid. And he arrived first and spoke, and I had waited for him to leave for me to come and speak because we were having one of our moments. And I could see as I stood up to speak that he was waiting. He was born the same day as my older brother, July 9. And I said to that room: It may surprise a room full of people in Washington that I can love Lindsey Graham and want to throttle Lindsey Graham in the same minute in the same day, but that is Lindsey. We served on Judiciary together.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I rise today to speak about my friend and colleague Lindsey Olin Graham. Now, some watching might be surprised that I would describe T5Lindsey Graham as my friend, but those who know me and know the 16 years I have spent here know that Lindsey and I traveled the world together, legislated together, served together, fought for our Nation together. We had our ups and downs. We certainly had our disagreements, and I will tell a few quick stories, if I might, in his memory.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate13 July 2026Source ↗
“I have to say that 100 days is more than enough time for my Republican colleagues to have seen enough, to stand up to this President, and to restore the role of this Senate and return our position of strength to the world.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“Yet now, through the actions of President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE, and the silence and the collaboration of Republicans in this Chamber, even our closest, most trusted allies, like Canada, question whether they can count on us. Back to the Reagan days, Republicans have talked about ``peace through strength.'' What we have seen from Donald Trump in 100 days is weakness through chaos. One hundred days in, he is not stopping Putin; he is preparing to sell out Ukraine and Europe to Putin. One hundred days in, he is not deterring Xi Jinping; he is backing down every time he says he is going to stand up to him. At the end the day, these first 100 days have shown that we are weaker, the world is less stable, and Americans are less safe.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“For decades, they have relied on the United States and the help of USAID, volunteers, nonprofits coordinated through our government to respond to these disasters. It has built a long and close partnership of trust. Gone. I was recently in Taiwan, a country looking to decide whether they can rely on us should China make real their threats to reunite Taiwan with the mainland by force. Can they trust us? Well, what I am going to say is that in 100 days, President Trump has shown weakness in Europe and created openings for China. We have long relied on a global network of allies and partners to keep us safe and strong, to make us prosperous, and to build our role in the world. China doesn't have that. They have nervous neighbors, client states, countries that can't count on them and view them as predatory.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“Well, lots of our partners and allies have looked at what he has done by imposing tariffs on trusted allies and partners and recoiled. An election in Canada last night where Trump was the issue elected a new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who ran on a platform of standing up to America, of standing up to Donald Trump. Look, folks, the actions he has taken in slashing foreign aid, in abandoning decades-old, bipartisan programs around the world that save lives and that help other countries to trust us and rely on us, have weakened us abroad and created openings for our pacing threat, the People's Republic of China. I was recently in the Philippines, a nation that faces more natural disasters every year than any other country on Earth--more typhoons, more earthquakes, more volcanos.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“I am going to speak for a few minutes about foreign policy because so many of my colleagues in my caucus have stood to talk about the disastrous cuts led by Elon Musk and DOGE and the ways they have impacted Americans all over the country. But if you think about our reputation globally, statement after statement and tweet after tweet by President Trump has puzzled, concerned, even alarmed our allies. He is going to invade Greenland, a NATO ally. He is going to take back the Panama Canal. He is going to take over the Gaza Strip and make it ``Mara-Gaza.'' He is going to turn Canada into the 51st State. One of my Republican colleagues has said: Don't pay so much attention to what he says; look at what he does.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“Madam President, in 100 days, in 100 days, what can a President accomplish? In the last 100 days, President Trump has made Americans less safe, less prosperous, and less free. He has chosen to move us in a direction at home and abroad that is the opposite of what those who voted for him expected and that is aligned with what those of us who worked against him feared. What I have heard my whole life, whether in business or in foreign policy, as a lawyer or in my community as a local elected official: Folks need trust, and they need predictability. Businesses say they need predictability in order to decide what to invest in, who to hire, where to grow. Other countries around the world say that they need to know they can trust us, that they can rely on us. And in the last 100 days, President Trump has shattered both of them.”
Senate29 April 2025Source ↗
“Major General Berry also made it a priority to ensure that DENG facilities remain current and professional, facilitating over $172 million in increased funding for property acquisition, as well as major and minor construction. These funds were utilized to procure land and build new armories, alongside other major military construction improvement projects. Major General Berry's service as TAG will have a lasting positive impact on the DENG, Delaware, and our Nation. Despite serving during a tumultuous time, Major General Berry executed his tenure with poise and decisiveness, bringing professionalism and security to the citizens of Delaware. Thanks to Major General Berry's leadership, the DENG has never been better positioned to serve the State and Nation in times of crises.”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“Major General Berry's leadership was also crucial as demands for the National Guard reached unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest, both in the Delaware and our Nation's Capital. Under Major General Berry's leadership, the DENG was heavily relied upon to administer vaccinations and COVID-19 tests and to manage test sites for hundreds of thousands of panic-stricken citizens. Major General Berry also led the DENG as it supported several food distribution sites, conducted a contact tracing mission, and supported a nursing assistant program to fill the crucial void of nurses needed to combat the pandemic. Major General Berry also provided guidance and direction to support our Nation's Capital during the attempted insurrection on January 6, 2021, as well as support for the 59th and 60th Presidential inaugurations.”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“Madam President, today I would like to talk about MG Michael R. Berry of the Delaware National Guard. Major General Berry is recommended for the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his exemplary meritorious service as the Adjutant General (TAG) for the Delaware National Guard (DENG).”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“To sum it up, when my colleagues and I meet constituents who suffered at the hands of criminal elements which crossed illegally into the United States or from smuggled fentanyl, we do not consider them to be any more or less a victim depending on which border their harm illegally crossed. We say the most important thing is that this crisis must stop. Under President Trump, it is stopping. Accordingly, I encourage my colleagues to vote no on the resolution.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“When President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau met last year, the Biden administration's top priorities included encouraging both countries to increase climate spending and advance diversity and inclusion. But when it came to common priorities that Americans actually wanted to see progress on, like combatting illegal immigration, President Biden's view was that we should both--Canada and the United States--expand pathways to allow more migrants into the country and to promote Canada accepting 15,000 migrants. President Trump is right to change this trajectory, precisely because Canadians also are victims of illegal immigration and fentanyl. We must both prioritize these threats to our citizens.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“Illegal migrant crossings skyrocket 50-fold under the Biden-Harris [administration] at the northern border . . . that includes New York. Indeed, we have a crisis at the northern border. It is a fentanyl crisis and a migration crisis. In considering these figures, I want to emphasize, I don't blame Canada. I blame President Biden. President Biden repeatedly refused to prioritize border security. Indeed, when President Biden's nominee for the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection came through the Finance Committee, I asked him if he would at least admit that there was a border emergency, including on the southern border as well as the northern border. He, like President Biden himself, refused to take it seriously, with dire consequences for our communities in America.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“President, I rise today to speak in opposition to the resolution. Senator Kaine and his fellow cosponsors want a strong trade relationship with Canada. So do I. I consider, like President Reagan, Canadians to be not just ``friends and neighbors and allies . . . [but] kin, who together [with us] have built the most productive relationship between any two countries in the world today.'' By the way, I would note that the tariffs that President Trump announced today did not get applied to Canada. What we are talking about here today, however, in Senator Kaine's resolution is not about our trading relationship. It is about the emergency stemming from fentanyl and illegal immigration.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“And I hope some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join Senator Kaine and many of us in recognizing it is ludicrous to use the special emergency powers that Congress gave to the President assuming he would only do so in a case of war or active open hostility, not in the case of one of our trusted and loyal partners and allies, the great and kind people of Canada. In recent meetings with Canadian leaders, they have said: Don't make us do it. Don't make us impose tariffs on you. But, tonight, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on dozens and dozens of our trading partners. To my friends and colleagues, let's vote to undo this phony crisis and vote to undo the tariffs on U.S.-Canada trade. I yield the floor.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“So to my colleagues, if you have heard, as I have, from your constituents, calling with concern and alarm about how much prices have not gone down but have gone up, I recommend you think about one country, one of our most trusted and loyal allies--some of the nicest people on the planet. Who doesn't like Canadians? Canadians have served alongside us in virtually every war we have ever fought. They are a NATO ally and partner, and for my small-but- mighty State of Delaware, our major export destination and the nation from which we import the most. And yet, because of an emergency at our border, which I think is wholly unjustified by the data of how little fentanyl actually comes into our country across the northern border, President Trump is moving ahead with slapping tariffs on Canada.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I rise to bring the attention of this body to a broken promise by our President. Our President promised, in the campaign and recently in an address to all of us here in Congress, to make America affordable again; to deal with the high prices of groceries, of fruits and vegetables, of housing, of housing supplies, of energy--to deal with high prices. Millions of Americans who voted for President Trump said they did so out of frustration about high prices. Well, today, President Trump has announced he is going to impose tariffs on virtually every trading partner we have, and I rise in support of a piece of legislation we are about to vote on here in the Senate that gives us the chance to do something.”
Senate2 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, today, Tuesday March 4, is the 100th anniversary of the Probation Act of 1925. The act created our Nation's Federal probation system and, for the first time, authorized Federal judges to impose a sentence of probation as an alternative to incarceration. Alternatives to incarceration like probation facilitate the fair administration of justice, enhance public safety, and positively impact the lives of individuals who become involved with the Federal courts.”
Senate4 March 2025Source ↗
“But imposing reciprocal tariffs on trusted friends and allies and sparking tariff wars in our region and around the world is not the way to do that. Two-thirds of Americans already think that President Trump isn't doing enough to lower costs. Blocking this bill will only accelerate that if President Trump continues to act unwisely and bully and threaten our closest and most trusted partners. We must find a better way forward together. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate27 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate27 February 2025Source ↗
“I will accept the voice vote.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“Voters are worried. They are worried that if they say the wrong thing or speak up against Trump or DOGE, their bank account information will end up on Twitter, their tax return won't come, or their family member won't get their Social Security check. I urge a ``yes'' vote on amendment No. 1223.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 1223 and ask that it be reported by number.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“Our Nation faces massive threats that are growing day by day. Our Nation is facing threats around the world--from North Korea and Iran, from China and from Russia--and we need an intelligence service equipped to respond to these challenges. Can we trust Tulsi Gabbard to lead our intelligence services and to respond to these threats? I cannot. We cannot, and we should not. This body should not vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as the next Director of National Intelligence.”
Senate11 February 2025Source ↗
“On behalf of foreign aid, which keeps us safe and saves lives, I vote no.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“I wouldn't trust this man to run a Wawa or a sports league or to run a 5K, and we are voting to empower him to run the most important and powerful Federal Agency you have never heard of but that will impact your life. I will vote no, and so should all my colleagues. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“The messages I read from home from a veteran who served 21 years, a civil servant in the Department of Defense who served 5, who is alarmed, who is embarrassed, who is offended by the communications he is getting, trying to push him out of Federal service; the messages I have gotten from leaders of our universities, of our hospitals, of our daycares, of our community nonprofits, have elevated my sense of concern to alarm that Russell Vought, the nominee to be the next Director of OMB has a plan; that that plan will face no meaningful opposition from the other party; that he will be confirmed and that he will do lasting damage.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“Nomination of Russell Vought So, Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to join my colleagues in speaking against Russell Vought to be the next Director of OMB. And as I have laid out, in calls and letters and emails from Delawareans, I have heard about the terrible impact on veterans, on career civil servants, on nonprofits and organizations across my State and our country--the uncertainty, the instability, the chaos of these first 2 weeks of the Trump administration. And I am speaking against Russell Vought because I know his plan. It is called Project 2025.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“USAID Mr. President, I have just been updated on the latest plans for the future of USAID, and I have to say I am heartbroken. Founded by President Kennedy decades ago, this dedicated cadre of U.S. citizens live and serve around the world.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate5 February 2025Source ↗
“I pray that we can work together to ensure that the critical work of dozens of household-name nonprofits is not abandoned and that what is left of AID is not allowed to bleed out while we here in the Senate debate it. I yield the floor.”
Senate3 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 51, which was submitted earlier today; further, that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.”
Senate3 February 2025Source ↗
“Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard Mr. President, I rise today to warn my colleagues about the risks posed by the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence. As ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I have a substantial role with our Nation's intelligence community. And what we have seen already from former Congresswoman Gabbard in her hearing is alarming.”
Senate30 January 2025Source ↗
“I ask for the yeas and nays.”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment and the consideration of additional amendments in the future that will improve this bill. Vote on Amendment No. 23”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute to this amendment.”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 23, as provided under the previous order.”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“I believe it is possible for this act to be improved, for it to advance public safety, and for it to make a contribution to the country, and it is my hope that the amendments being offered will be taken up and passed. I will urge a ``yes'' vote on my amendment for all of my colleagues because I think an improved bill should be the ultimate objective of this amendment process. I yield the floor. Vote on Amendment No. 14”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to finish my brief remarks before we proceed to the vote.”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate15 January 2025Source ↗