00:00Good morning, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, and the other members of the committee.
00:07Thank you for having me.
00:12As Senator Durbin said a minute ago, I would like to offer each of you my condolences for the loss
00:18of your colleague, Senator Graham.
00:21He was a patriot and a friend to so many of us.
00:25It's a loss for the American people, and I think honoring him today and as he's been honored for the
00:31past several days is the right thing to do.
00:3517 months ago, I sat at this table as the nominee to be the Deputy Attorney General, and I told
00:41you that serving in the Department of Justice was my American dream.
00:48Since then, I have helped lead it, first as Deputy and now as Acting Attorney General, and I'm here today
00:54to earn your trust.
00:55Once more, I've lived the American dream.
01:01I waited tables to get through college, moved to New York with my wife and two young kids, went to
01:08law school at night, read textbooks on the late train home while I worked days as a paralegal at the
01:16U.S. Attorney's Office.
01:18From that start, I became a prosecutor and spent nine years prosecuting violent gangs and drug dealers.
01:25I rose through the ranks of the Department of Justice as a line prosecutor, then a division chief, then as
01:32of last year, Deputy Attorney General and now Acting Attorney General.
01:35But I did not take that path for a title.
01:40I took it to make a difference for American families and the towns they call home.
01:47I am exceedingly grateful to President Trump for his trust and to my family who have carried me through every
01:54long day and late night.
01:57My wife, Christine, our wonderful children, Sydney and Justin, my granddaughter, Blaine, who's here today, all of them are here
02:04today.
02:04My wonderful friends, many of whom are here today, are really what make this worth it and what gets me
02:12through my days.
02:12And so I want to thank them for not only being here today and supporting me, but also being being
02:19with me every step of the way of the journey that we're on together.
02:23My family's blessings should be available to all Americans.
02:28When a family can send their kids to school, walk their neighborhood after dark and build a life without fear,
02:35every promise of the American dream is within reach.
02:39When they cannot, none of it is.
02:42That's my job, securing safety for every American.
02:47I'm pleased to testify again today to tell everybody here that we are doing just that.
02:54We are keeping America safe.
02:57Since President Trump took office, it's been said a few times this morning already, but it bears repeating,
03:03murders are down roughly 20% nationwide.
03:06We have the lowest murder rate since 1900.
03:11Violent crime arrests are up nearly 114%.
03:15We've taken almost 5,000 child predators and human traffickers off the streets.
03:23And the Department of Justice has filed nearly 100,000 indictments and informations since January 20th, 2025.
03:34Additionally, in just the last four weeks, in just the last month, we've paid $96 million in claims through the
03:43Public Safety Officers Benefits Program to eligible surviving families of fallen public safety officers.
03:50Even while fewer law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty than the prior years.
04:05If you look at Washington and Memphis as examples, where we have worked with federal, state, and local partners pulling
04:16thousands of criminals off the streets in those two cities.
04:22Homicides in D.C. are down about 60%, and overall crime in Memphis declined by more than 40%.
04:28We've seized thousands of illegal guns, brought more than 150 missing children home in those two cities, and cleaned up
04:37parks and spaces family once avoided.
04:40So you can take your kids and loved ones there once again.
04:45We are enforcing our borders.
04:48We are prosecuting the smugglers who profited from an open border, removing criminal aliens and dismantling gangs like MS-13
04:56and TDA.
04:57We're smashing the cartels and ending the scourge of drugs in our communities.
05:02We designated the major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, because that's exactly what they are.
05:12And we're using every tool that unlocked, narco-terrorism charges, forfeiture, and extraditions.
05:19Dozens of cartel leaders are now in American custody.
05:23Drug seizures are skyrocketing.
05:25And overdose deaths are finally falling.
05:29We are protecting taxpayers.
05:32Last year, the department brought the largest health care fraud takedown in American history, more than $14 billion, and another
05:41$11 billion in total fraud in just the last three months.
05:47That's money stolen from the FISC, stolen from Medicare, from seniors, working families, and we're clawing it back.
05:54We're doing all of this, I will add, through partnership.
05:59Federal agents, state troopers, county sheriffs, local officers, and state attorneys general.
06:05In your home states, all pulling in the same direction.
06:10That is what happens when we fight crime together.
06:13And I want to bring that model that we've done in a few towns to more communities in every state.
06:20Above all, we are restoring American trust.
06:24In recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former president.
06:32And it damaged the public's faith in justice.
06:36We are fixing that.
06:38Members of this committee on both sides have fair questions about the hard debates of the past year, and I
06:45welcome them.
06:46I'm proud of what we've done to help American families see safer streets and to have a fair shot at
06:52the life they're working to build.
06:55None of this is a Republican or Democrat issue.
06:58Every senator here has constituents who just want to be safe.
07:02The men and women of this department are the finest people I have ever worked with, and leading them is
07:11the honor of my professional life.
07:14We are keeping America safe, and we are just getting started.
07:20I love this country.
07:22I love the Department of Justice.
07:24Thank you very much, Chairman, for the opportunity to appear before this committee today, and I look forward to answering
07:30your questions.
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