Eric Schmitt
Senator for Missouri · Republican · United States
“Recently Kedrick Green, a football player at Howard, shared his story about having the right guardrails around earning NIL compensation and how stability helps an athlete compete and grow.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“The student-athlete was made a promise, then was left high and dry. That athlete's experience is the human cost of a system without any guardrails. Real empowerment means more than telling a teenager he is free to sign a contract.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Meanwhile, schools are being asked to do more to preserve the Olympic and nonrevenue sports that create opportunities for thousands of young men and women--500,000 student-athletes in this country. Our first answer cannot always be higher ticket prices, another donor check, or cutting another sport.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I rise today to speak about the future of college sports and the legislation before us to protect it. The Protect College Sports Act is built around a simple idea: athletes should be able to benefit from their talent, they should be protected from people who want to take advantage of them, and every school and every athle…”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“We are simply giving schools another tool to capture the full value of the product millions of Americans already love. Instead of always finding new ways to spend more, let's give schools a way to grow the pie. Before I close, I want to address a few claims about the bill. Some say it gives the NCAA a blank check. It does not.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“These are things that if you would have talked about back when I was playing or even 10 years ago, would have been sort of unthinkable, and we are protecting them. And some say Congress should simply stay out of college sports. Well, I understand that instinct.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
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“Mr. President, this is something we have worked with together to ensure that those cases aren't affected by what we are trying to do. That was never the intent of this bill. So I support it. I know Senator Cruz supports it, and others do as well. Vote on Amendment No. 6828”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“We have really worked hard to address the concerns of many--almost everyone--for the issues they have identified here. That is part of legislating. And what we have here is a bill to protect and save a cherished American institution. If Congress does nothing, if we abdicate our responsibility on this issue, as we have on so many, the college athletes will not be the ones who come out on top. It will be the lawyers, the agents, consultants, the middlemen profiting from disorder. And all of us fans will pay the price too. The status quo no longer works. The Protect College Sports Act creates one national standard. It protects an athlete's right to earn. It protects athletes from exploitation. It restores clear rules.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Congress should not call plays--as much as some of my colleagues might like to call an offensive coordinator from time to time--or run an athletic department, but only Congress can establish that national framework that applies across State lines and survives the constant cycle of litigation. You will hear complaints about this legislation, how it doesn't do this or that. Well, welcome to Congress. It is not a perfect bill. I have filed perfect bills. I have a lot of perfect bills that I have filed. Rarely do you vote on a perfect bill because what you are trying to do is discover the art of the possible, which is what we are doing here and what is before this Chamber now. They say that if you have opposition from both sides, you probably have a good bill. I don't know.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“They might have some different data point that they see, but they know this thing is screwed up, and they would like to know that Republicans and Democrats could actually agree on something here to fix a problem that is so obvious. Or do we play the safe political games. Look, we can do the ``Thunderdome'' thing. We do it all the time on other stuff. But this is a chance, with a huge bipartisan margin in the U.S. Senate, to send a bill out of this Chamber, over to the House-- that the President supports--that can become law. That would be a significant accomplishment for a uniquely American institution, as I said--college sports.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“By the way, they just tell the kid: Transfer every year. They may end up in a worse situation. They most certainly probably don't end up with a college degree. But, hey, you churned it; you got your cut. But the way it has played out, the only entity literally on planet Earth that can grant the limited antitrust protection status for the NCAA to enforce rules is Congress. It is time for this place to meet a moment. One of the biggest criticisms that we have here is that we don't really do anything that addresses the concerns that people have. And if you don't think people talk about this back home, I don't know who you are talking to because the people I talk to, they care.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“These are things that if you would have talked about back when I was playing or even 10 years ago, would have been sort of unthinkable, and we are protecting them. And some say Congress should simply stay out of college sports. Well, I understand that instinct. You would not have seen me giving this speech on the Senate floor 3 years ago when I got here. I would have been very, very skeptical of that. But the way this has played out, with, like I said, 27-year-olds competing with 17-year-olds, unlimited transfers, the agents--who are, by the way, the most vocal opponents of this bill, the ones wearing Gucci suits and alligator shoes. Not all of them, but some of them take advantage of these student-athletes. They don't like it because right now, they get 30 to 40 percent on a contract.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Every athlete receives the ability to transfer without losing eligibility, plus additional protections for coaching change, graduate study, a discontinued sport, or athlete safety. That is a reasonable balance between player freedom and the stability every team sport needs. Those who want the broken system to continue claim this hinders college sports growth. The bill preserves title IX and protects scholarship and roster opportunities in nonrevenue sports. Doing nothing is not protecting these student-athletes. I would also point out that for the first time in Federal law, healthcare is guaranteed to athletes not only when they are in school, but when they are out of school. Players who are injured cannot lose their scholarship because of an injury.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“We are simply giving schools another tool to capture the full value of the product millions of Americans already love. Instead of always finding new ways to spend more, let's give schools a way to grow the pie. Before I close, I want to address a few claims about the bill. Some say it gives the NCAA a blank check. It does not. Congress sets the guardrails and provides targeted legal protection only in the areas where national rules are necessary. The NCAA does not receive unlimited immunity. Some say the bill takes NIL rights away from athletes. The opposite is true. It protects the right to earn NIL compensation in Federal law, while stopping pay-for-play disguised as NIL and recruiting inducements dressed up as marketing. Some say the transfer provisions trap athletes at a school. They do not.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Meanwhile, schools are being asked to do more to preserve the Olympic and nonrevenue sports that create opportunities for thousands of young men and women--500,000 student-athletes in this country. Our first answer cannot always be higher ticket prices, another donor check, or cutting another sport. The Sports Broadcasting Act in title II of this gives schools another option. It allows conferences and schools to voluntarily--only if they choose to do so--to voluntarily pool their media rights and negotiate a larger package. Nobody is forced to participate in this. We will see. If we get this thing done, we will see how this plays out, but at least the option exists. Congress does not decide what the games are worth, the NCAA does not take control of anyone's media rights, and existing contracts are protected in this bill.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“College sports needs to be able to sustain itself or else future athletes like her younger siblings will not be afforded the same opportunities that she has received. That is what this bill does. That is the purpose of all of this, is to establish rules. It also gives schools an opportunity to generate more revenue. This is a provision that actually isn't talked about a lot, but if we are interested in growing the pie to save women's sports and Olympic sports, there ought to be an opportunity to maximize the value when the conferences go to rights holders and negotiate TV deals. Today, college media rights are fragmented. Conferences negotiate separately at different times and under different agreements.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“And the opportunities created by college sports extend far beyond the stars that we see on Saturday afternoon or during March Madness or during the college baseball World Series. They reach swimmers, wrestlers, gymnasts, track athletes, softball, and volleyball players, first-generation students, and future Olympians. If the current arms race continues without limits and without new revenue, those opportunities will be the first to go. Clemson track and field athlete Ella Brooks said it best: It has afforded her opportunities she never would have imagined--including the ability to come to DC and help advocate for this bill that directly affects her and her younger brother and sister, who dreamed of playing at the collegiate level.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“The student-athlete was made a promise, then was left high and dry. That athlete's experience is the human cost of a system without any guardrails. Real empowerment means more than telling a teenager he is free to sign a contract. It means the contract is in writing, the agent is registered, the athlete knows what the agent can charge, and there is somewhere to turn when someone lies. Tradition is interwoven into the DNA of college sports. It is a uniquely American thing. This thing that we get to enjoy right now on a Saturday afternoon when the Florida Gators come to Missouri this Saturday--and I will be there--is unlike anything that exists anywhere. In Columbia, Mizzou football games, you can hear ``Mr. Brightside'' playing, bringing all 70,000 Tiger fans to their feet and singing the infamous chorus in a nod to those over in Kansas.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“It also establishes a clear 5-year eligibility clock with reasonable exceptions. College sports should be played by college athletes. Madam President, 27-year olds who go pro and come back to compete against 17- year-olds is a joke, and that is completely acceptable right now under the current nonframework that we have. This should not be controversial. The bill also draws a clear line between legitimate NIL and buying a roster under the table. Real endorsement deals remain protected, but schools, boosters, and associated entities cannot disguise recruiting payments as marketing deals or use side arrangements to blow through the revenue-sharing cap.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“If a head coach leaves or if a sport is eliminated, that athlete can transfer again without sitting out. But unlimited free agency every semester is not sustainable. An athlete can suit up for your favorite team in the fall and be playing for a rival in the spring. And don't get me wrong, players deserve the freedom. If you are a backup somewhere, you should have a chance to go somewhere else. But they deserve stability also to build relationships, earn a degree, develop as athletes, and become part of a team. Lance Holtzclaw, a football player at Utah said it best. He said: I believe strongly in preserving these opportunities for future generations while continuing to improve a system that serves the student-athletes at its center. Our bill strikes that balance.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Recently Kedrick Green, a football player at Howard, shared his story about having the right guardrails around earning NIL compensation and how stability helps an athlete compete and grow. Our bill fixes that by requiring agents to register, caps endorsement commissions, requires written contracts, and gives athletes redress for grievances against bad actors. There are instances right now where some of these shady agents will charge 30 or 40 percent of a deal--maybe even earnings for the lifetime of the student-athlete, even if they never go pro. That is not taking power away from athletes. That is giving them protections they simply do not have right now. The bill also restores basic structure to transfers and eligibility. Every athlete is guaranteed one transfer without losing eligibility. And the bill also recognizes that life happens.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, I rise today to speak about the future of college sports and the legislation before us to protect it. The Protect College Sports Act is built around a simple idea: athletes should be able to benefit from their talent, they should be protected from people who want to take advantage of them, and every school and every athlete should play by the same set of rules. NIL revenue sharing and the transfer portal are here to stay. We are not turning back the clock; and whether you loved or hated the old system, we shouldn't try. The problem is that college sports entered this new era without a stable framework to govern it. One court issues an order, one State passes a law, one conference adopts a rule, another court blocks it. Before athletes, coaches, and schools can adjust, the rules change all over again.”
Senate28 September 2026Source ↗
“Nobody in here is. I don't know that we ever will again any time soon. I don't know what is going to happen whenever. I don't know if we are going to move on to other things, but we have got a moment here, like I said, that we can meet and actually do something. You know, if you want to put it--let me take a step back. I think this vote, this bill will define the trajectory of college athletics for decades, and that doesn't happen every day that we are confronted with those kinds of issues with a solution in front of us that has been worked on in a bipartisan way to try to solve these issues to protect an American institution--college sports. I yield the floor.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“I think at the heart of it, the restoring faith that this body can act in a way that takes a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different groups and individuals and gets you to a place where a piece of legislation like this can get across the finish line. I want to thank--look, the bill is before you, but Senator Cantwell from the State of Washington has done a ton of great work on this; Senator Cruz from Texas. The three of us have spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people, getting input, making changes, trying to make the bill better. And I just don't think we can pretend inaction is a satisfying answer here. So we are all going to have an opportunity to vote on this, to proceed to this bill, and I hope that we do it. We are going to get one shot at this. We are going to get one shot. And I don't know--I am not Nostradamus.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“And so I think that college athletes are protected; our sports that fans love are protected. It has become--college sports have become, in some ways, a professional league. I don't think it has been stripped of loyalty, continuity, the meaningful relationships of fans and their teams. This bill reestablishes that while still giving student-athletes a lot of options. I also wanted to say something about what sports mean to our constituents. I would say culturally, we do a lot of things up here that back home people wonder what are you talking about, what are you doing. This is a cultural issue. This is something that our folks back home do care about, and I think they want to know, they want to know when we see it, when everybody sees the challenges and the chaos that we can work together to get something done.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“They all recognize that there is a choice now, a binary choice, which is to do something to correct the major issues and provide stability so that we can continue to enjoy college athletics, which like I said, what we get to enjoy on Saturday afternoon or whenever a game is being played--I have two daughters, I think it is great what is happening with women's sports--that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world. It is a uniquely American institution. We can do that, or we can find some reason to not support it. We can grandstand and try to pretend that you are advocating for somebody that is being left out of this, but the truth is this bill will solve a ton of problems that are so obvious you would have to be not paying attention or not want to notice.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“This is not a perfect bill. I probably have never voted for a perfect bill. I have filed perfect bills. I have filed a lot of perfect bills, but voting on perfect bills is a different matter. So there are going to be things--there are some things in this bill that I don't like actually. But, on balance, the time has come for the U.S. Senate to do something that it actually rarely does, which is to meet the moment. We are in a moment. This has the endorsement of every conference, all the schools, the NFL Players Association, student-athletes that have come here, legendary coaches who have seen the changes, HBCUs, the SWAC conference, the SEC, the Big Ten, all of them.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“I think the thing that probably most people see--I have learned a lot of what is going on behind the scenes. But what people see, front and center, is probably the transfers where an entire defense is gone or an entire offense is gone. I am talking a lot about football just because it is football season and that is what most people see. It is the second most popular sport in this country. And while I am talking about that, it is worth mentioning that the bill, for the first time, provides the option--the option for conferences to pool their media rights. It is totally voluntarily. The SEC and the Big Ten don't want to do it. It is never going to happen. But college football is about $4 billion all in. The NBA has half the audience. It is $8 billion all in. Part of the reason for that is they are negotiating one unified rights deal.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“So this bill establishes rules for agents to get rid of scammers and the fraudsters from taking advantage of our student-athletes. And as I mentioned, you can still get your own NIL deal outside of the rev share and number, but it has to be for legitimate business purpose. There are examples after examples, but that is not actually the case right now, which is why you have this influx. And if you think for a moment Western Kentucky can compete with Ohio State in the long term, you are fooling yourself. Even, honestly, schools within the Power Four--within those particular conferences, it creates a great disparity. What fans really want is parity. This helps establish that. It helps create a structure by which teams can compete. It restores structure to that transfer portal.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“Now, I will tell you that maybe the one group that doesn't like this is the sports agents--the rich sports agents who wear Gucci suits and alligator shoes. They may not like this because there are no rules for agents right now. An agent can charge 30 percent on an 18-year-old, and, in some instances that I have heard of, they are lifetime earnings. That is nuts. The percentage an agent gets in the NFL is in the single digits-- the low single digits. People are being taken advantage of. A buddy in the classroom might get you a better deal if you go to Wisconsin. Well, guess what. It wasn't a better situation. Maybe you didn't end up there. Maybe you ended up with less money. That agent or your friend or the ``hanger-oner,'' he doesn't care; he got his cut.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“And what we are doing here is something that this body--this Congress--is the only entity on the planet could do--nobody else. The conferences can try to enforce their own rules. They did it with some success recently with the pro situation in the SEC, in the Big Ten. But if this stuff is challenged, they have no legal ability, because of our antitrust laws, to actually enforce these rules. So we are giving that limited antitrust protection to enforce eligibility in 5 years, to enforce the one-time transfer. I think that is important, that ability to enforce those rules. The athletes--let's talk about the student-athletes for a second. Not only has that market been established--that is where it is right now.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“At the end of the day, if you are losing money on your football program or all of your money is going to your football program, you are not going to subsidize women's tennis anymore or even baseball. Men's baseball doesn't generate revenue for 99 percent of the programs that are out there. So the menu will shrink. The opportunities for those 500,000 student- athletes--whatever their color is--that will shrink. That number will shrink if we don't do something. If you would have asked me a few years ago about whether Congress should get involved in this, I would have been very, very skeptical. I am a fan, first and foremost, as I come to this. And I have tried to look at this as a lawyer, look at this as a lawmaker, look at this as a fan: What are the solutions that are necessary?”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“They are working around the cap. So what this bill would do is set in statute that cap plus a retention pool number of $22.5 million and a $5 million number that doesn't count against the cap if it goes to women's sports. So if anybody tells you we are taking money out of the system, we are not. Actually, we are ensuring that this marketplace still exists but with guardrails, with some stability, with some certainty. The idea that somebody could, you know--this is a semester-by- semester thing. The roster turnover that we have seen, for fans, is a challenging thing. For players, they should have the ability to move but not every year. If you ask somebody what is their honest opinion about this, it is ridiculous.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“Arch Manning or whoever, Austin Simmons, the great quarterback at the University of Missouri--they can still get their deal from Nike. Nothing in this bill prohibits that. And while we are talking about it--because I am sure you are going to hear some criticisms from some people who are going to use some pretty--well, I will let them speak for themselves the language they are going to use about this. The reality is, through the course of litigation, there is something called the House settlement. The House settlement established a revenue-sharing system with a cap of what is essentially $21.5 million right now. OK, there are some football teams right now, which shall remain nameless, that have a football roster valued at over $40 million. How is this happening? Because that cap doesn't mean anything. Nobody can enforce anything.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“I think we are in a rare moment here in this Chamber where we are at a time for choosing--no more roundtables, no more hypotheticals. This is what we get paid to do: to try to solve hard problems. What is unique about this is it doesn't fall into traditional partisan categories. There is no real ``red jersey, blue jersey'' on this thing. This is identifying what the problem is and working together to find a solution. There are a lot of components of this bill. I want to go through some of them. There are going to be a few other speakers. But this would provide one national standard for NIL. You have kind of a patchwork right now, State by State. Let me be clear, when this bill--or, hopefully, this bill passes, and a student-athlete will still be able to go get an NIL deal.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“Well, guess what. Graduation rates are plummeting. I personally think that if you are the second-string quarterback at the University of Arkansas or somewhere else and you get an opportunity to play at Louisville or wherever, that you should be able to move one time. But the chaos--if you talk to people, any coaches, and even players, by the way, who testified, this is not a good situation. It is completely unstable. People are making decisions based on tweets and injunctions that may come down on a Friday afternoon. You have seen it over the last couple of weeks: people who went professional coming back to compete on a team where somebody had spent--you know, they are 18 years old and spent the fall camp getting ready for the season and may be displaced. None of those problems--none of those problems--are going to go away.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“For me, I didn't care where they came from, what their race was, what their religion was. We were a team. There are a lot of really, really important leadership lessons that come from that. And that is a risk. Now, some might say: The stands are full; you know, revenues are robust. All those things are true, but the reality is we have entered into this new phase with something missing: a governing body that can establish and enforce rules. That is at the heart of what the Protect College Sports Act is all about. It is to grant limited antitrust exemption status for a governing body, the NCAA, to enforce rules; meaning, 5 years of eligibility. I think most people think it is nuts that you have 27-year-olds right now competing with 17-year-olds. I think most people think it is nuts that you might have somebody transfer four times.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, well, game time--we are about ready to take up a bill, potentially, that deals with a situation that I think should be and is near and dear to the hearts of all our constituents. And this is not a partisan issue. This is about a uniquely American institution: college sports. College sports are at a tipping point, in a place that they have never been before, because over the last decade or so, and in the course of litigation, no rules can be enforced. Now, I would freely admit that the old system had its challenges, too--the idea that athletes couldn't be compensated for their name, image, and likeness. I think that was wrong. That has been rectified. But what we have now is a system that is unstable and threatens, in particular, women's sports and Olympic sports in the long-term.”
Senate15 September 2026Source ↗
“Protect every person in Federal custody, of course, but we must enforce the law. For those reasons, I object.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“Then, when the system shows any pressure, they point to that pressure as proof that enforcement itself must end. The sequence never changes: defund, obstruct, investigate, abolish. The goal for many Democrats is very clear. It is not better detention facilities; it is no detention at all. The bill does not make one detention facility safer; it shuts down a facility and pushes the problem somewhere else. A serious Senate would let the current investigation run its course, correct failures, and strengthen the system. An unserious Senate shuts down the building and pretends the law no longer needs enforcement. I object to using a pending investigation as a ploy to dismantle law enforcement. I object to defunding ICE and then blaming ICE for lacking resources. Fix what is broken. Hold wrongdoers accountable.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“What Democrats demand is for illegal aliens to remain in America and be above the law. Now, I am willing to take my colleague's concerns seriously. If Delaney Hall needs more doctors, let us fund more doctors. If it needs more nurses, better medication tracking, stronger inspections, faster emergency response, or better communication with families, let us write those regulations into law and pay for them. I would gladly work with my friend the Senator from New Jersey on additional resources for safe and secure ICE detention facilities. But there is one problem. My colleague and others on his side have vowed to not give ICE one more penny. We have just lived through this with a shutdown. We heard these words on the floor from many Members of the other side.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“The bill provides no replacement capacity, no transfer plan, no continuity of care requirement, no additional medical funding. It removes a thousand-bed facility from the system and calls the resulting chaos compassion. And let us be clear about why immigration detention exists. It is used to ensure appearances at immigration proceedings, facilitate lawful removals, and to protect the public from criminals. My colleague and my friend from New Jersey says many detainees have not been convicted of crimes. That is beside the point. A person doesn't need a criminal conviction to lack a lawful right to be in the United States of America. That is our immigration laws. That is how we have operated for decades. And anyone detained can leave detention whenever they want. They must simply agree to return to their home country.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“Madam President, reserving the right to object. I have been advised to address this so-called Delaney Hall Closure Act. My colleague's bill, though, really doesn't do anything to address the issues that he has raised. He doesn't hire a single doctor. He doesn't ask a single nurse. It doesn't require a single inspection. It simply orders the Department of Homeland Security to close Delaney Hall, cancel its contract, and permanently prevent ICE from using the facility again. Two pages, three commands: Close it, cancel it, never open it again. That is abolition with a short title. The diagnosis is ideological, and the prescription was written before the patient entered the room. If something goes wrong at a hospital, you investigate what happened. You identify the failure. You discipline the people responsible.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“The men of that team brought home a Big Eight championship and the Orange Bowl championship game in a perfect season, but their greatest legacy was the example they left behind: Stand firm, do the work, keep your word, run the ball, and never surrender what was rightfully yours. Today, I am proud to honor Coach Dan Devine, Norris Stevenson, and every member of the undefeated 1960 Missouri Tigers. Their promise was kept, their championship was earned, their record remains perfect, and Kansas still lost. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 833, which is before the desk.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“His players were descendants of those who fought in Europe and the Pacific. His players were hardened by parents who had weathered the Great Depression. They accepted their coach's promise as their word when they spent 2 years earning the right to fulfill it. They did not complain about the humiliation they had experienced in Norman; they prepared for a return. They didn't allow the Kansas dishonesty to define their season; they trusted that the truth would prevail. When adversity followed them to Miami, they answered it with discipline, toughness, and ultimately victory. More than six decades later, the 1960 Tigers still embody the character of Missouri. We are a people who work. We are a people who endure. We are a people who keep our promises.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of the greatest teams to ever wear the black and gold, the 1960 Missouri Tigers. They finished 11 and 0. They conquered the Big Eight. They defeated the Navy Midshipmen 21 to 14 in the Orange Bowl in Florida. But their greatness can't be measured by their record alone; their story is about something deeper--perseverance after humiliation, accountability in the face of injustice, and the integrity of men who kept their word. To understand what they accomplished, we must go back 2 years. Dan Devine arrived at Missouri in 1958 and inherited a program searching for its footing. His first team brought one terrible afternoon in Norman, OK. The Sooners beat Missouri 39 to nothing. It was a humiliating, dismantling, and devastating loss.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate6 August 2026Source ↗
“We had an election on this issue. The Democrats have not gotten the message. They want the United States of America to be a global refugee camp cloaked behind their compassion. There is no compassion for the American people--the guy that swings the hammer, who is working 7 days a week so he can pay for the benefits of an illegal alien who they don't ever want to leave this country. The American people are a sovereign people who have the right to decide who enters this country, who remains, and who has to leave. This bill reverses that principle. This Democrat bill tells the American people that their elections cannot end a temporary program, that the President cannot enforce the law, that their officers cannot use information in front of them, that their country belongs to everyone but them. Only the migrant's claim matters.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“Let me speak clearly to my Democrat colleagues: There is nothing compassionate about betraying your own citizens--the very citizens who put you in office. There is nothing compassionate about flooding the labor market with more foreign workers while Americans struggle for a decent wage. There is nothing compassionate about flooding the housing market and putting young families behind the eight ball. There is nothing compassionate about diluting American citizenship. America is a nation, not a global waiting room, not a refugee camp, not a lifetime stay at a taxpayer-funded hotel. Our immigration laws exist to serve the American people. Foreign nationals do not have a right to permanent settlement here. Today, I speak on behalf of the American people who have been ripped off by this scam for far too long. No more.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“To today's Democrat Party, immigration policy is written for foreign governments, immigration lawyers, activist groups, and leftwing organizations waiting to file the next lawsuit. The American people are treated as a logistical obstacle. Their votes--our votes--are an inconvenience. Their communities--our communities--are an afterthought. Their country is treated as common property for the rest of the world. Democrats are becoming more and more radical by the day on this issue. Yesterday, they insisted that temporary programs must never end. Today, they demand permanent residency for all--permanent residency for people who already left, legal shields against law enforcement, and more ammunition for activist lawsuits. And they will turn around and call us cruel. You will hear it shortly. It will be said about me blocking this bill.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“They are not hiding the choice anymore. They will punish the officer before they punish the illegal alien. Why are illegal aliens more important to them now than protecting American citizens? Oh, but it doesn't stop there. This bill ensures that any President-- any future President--can't end TPS. So what is missing from the bill? Americans; American citizens and the impact mass migration is having on our people. This bill has no consideration for American wages; no consideration for American housing; no consideration of schools, hospitals, or communities; no consideration of whether mass migration serves the national interest of the American people. Every question is about what the foreign country needs; no question about what America needs or what American families need. That tells you everything that you need to know.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“Under the radical, new Democratic immigration platform, deportation isn't deportation; it is merely an inconvenience before a green card arrives. This bill does not merely reward those who broke our laws and remained in our country; it reaches around the entire globe to reverse deportations and to restart mass migration. But even that is not enough. This bill also creates an ICE blackout. Information provided in these applications can't be used for immigration enforcement. The bill even threatens penalties against law enforcement who properly use the information. So Democrats want the information we have about foreigners to be placed behind a legal shield so it cannot be used to enforce immigration law. Republicans want to handcuff illegal criminals; Democrats want to handcuff law enforcement officers so they can't do their jobs.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“When the American people finally elect a President to end this chaos, to end this abuse, Democrats demand mass amnesty. And when the American people finally elect a President who enforces the law, Democrats change the law and hand out green cards. That is what this bill does. It turns a program created for temporary emergencies into a pipeline for green cards and citizenship not only for people who have temporary status--not only for people who once had TPS; this bill reaches beyond our borders and allows people who were already removed from this country to apply for permanent residency from abroad. Think about how crazy that is. The law was enforced. The alien was removed. The case was closed. Yet Democrats want to erase the removal, reopen the border, and bring that person back with a green card.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I object to this mass amnesty bill. Last week, Democrats asked the Senate to extend Haitian temporary protected status. Today, they have dropped the quotation marks. Instead of extending temporary status, this legislation would convert temporary status into permanent status--green cards, permanent settlement. At least the bill last week continued the same old Washington lie. Today, Democrats finally admit what this scheme was always designed to be. Temporary was always meant to be permanent. It is the final stage of the scam. But that is how Democrats do mass amnesty. First, they declare an emergency. Then, they import hundreds of thousands of people. They then extend the program over and over and over. Then, they unleash activist lawyers against anyone who tries to enforce the deadline.”
Senate29 July 2026Source ↗
“And when houseguests become squatters, you don't delay enforcement; you call the sheriff and you send them home. That is exactly what we must do here today. If Democrats want 350,000 Haitians to stay permanently, they should say it plainly. Introduce a bill. Put your name on it. Vote for the permanent status. Then explain that vote to the American people. Quit with the games. But stop calling permanent immigration temporary. The voters are not stupid, and they already made their choice. The voters demanded enforcement. President Trump is delivering on that, but Democrats are fighting to keep the same old scam alive. I have the power to stop this nonsense bill, and I am going to use it. That is why I am here today. So I object to the bill, which would keep 350,000 Haitians here permanently. I object to changing temporary to permanent.”
Senate22 July 2026Source ↗