Nomination of Denis Richard McDonough

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, today I rise in support of my friend and fellow Minnesotan, Denis McDonough, as President Biden's nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. And no one knows but you, the Senator from Illinois, Madam President, about how important this job is for our veterans.

Denis grew up in Stillwater, MN, which is right near the Wisconsin border. He is a grandson of Irish immigrants, the son of devout Catholic parents, and brother to 10 siblings. He attended St. John's College in Collegeville, MN, and in addition to graduating summa cum laude, he played safety on the very proud championship St. John's football team.

I have been privileged to call Denis a friend for years, and I know he will serve our country well as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. As he has done his whole life, he will honor the promises our country has made to our veterans and their families.

Denis's commitment to our Nation's veterans was clear during his time as President Obama's Chief of Staff, where he made sure that every decision impacting our servicemembers, veterans, and their families was befitting of their sacrifices. Showing respect and gratitude for our Nation's veterans is not something Denis just prioritizes; it is a value for him.

As we know from his time as President Obama's Chief of Staff, he is an adept manager who understands how to tackle complex challenges throughout our government, which will be vital for the next Secretary.

As we also know, the VA is facing a number of challenges, from helping veterans to stay safe during the pandemic to improving the quality of care for veterans around the country. These are not simple problems, and these are not simple challenges, and they will require, as you have shown, Madam President, true leadership and vision, whic has been, again, the hallmark of Denis's time in public service.

I also know that he will work tirelessly to find bipartisan solutions, and I think you see that from the support that he has gotten throughout the country as well as on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, where I was honored to introduce him when he started on this journey of Senate approval, and it has never been more important than ever to unite our country and get that kind of support. So much of our work with our veterans is about keeping our promises and showing respect, not just in words but in actions.

What other Senators who don't know Denis as well or are new to Washington--what they may see as time goes on, they will see the qualities of honor and loyalty in Denis's commitment to his family, which also includes his family in Minnesota. I know this firsthand. He has so many relatives that you can't go anywhere without running into some McDonough. You see it in how he has treated everyone he has worked with, when he worked in the Senate, when he worked as President Obama's Chief of Staff. I also will assure my fellow Senators that he will listen to Senators. He will have respect for the people who work here. You see it every day in how he always puts his country first.

During his distinguished career, Denis has approached each and every job with the spirit of respect, honesty, collaboration, and a willingness to make himself accessible to his colleagues and his team. He is deeply committed to supporting the workforce at the VA.

I want our veterans to know he will do two things so well: He will listen, and he will get things done for you.

One of my favorite stories about Denis involves this--listening and then getting things done. We were having a lot of trouble up in northern Minnesota with the iron ore mines closing down, as you all remember, kind of coming out of the downturn. It never really bounced back. Then we had the steel dumping going on from China and other countries, the illegal steel dumping, and that really spread through the country and led to the closure of many of our mines.

We tried to introduce legislation, and finally I asked Denis to come up to northern Minnesota, since he was from our State, as President Obama's Chief of Staff and sit down with a bunch of mayors from northern Minnesota, from Minnesota's Iron Range, with workers and with mine owners.

There was this long, long table, and nearly everyone had spoken. Near the end, a miner named Dan Hill was the last to go, and he said: Well, everything has been said, so I will just tell this story. He said that he was out of work, and he said that his son had just graduated from preschool. The teacher asked them at the graduation: What do you want to do when you grow up? The kids were saying all kinds of things--that they wanted to play basketball or they were going to fly an airplane and all kinds of cool things--and Denis's son looked at the teacher and said: I want to be a miner like my daddy.

At that moment, Dan Hill took this steelworker T-shirt that he had in his hand and he threw it across the whole long table. And I remember sitting next to Denis thinking, you were a football player; catch the T-shirt. And he caught the T-shirt.

Dan Hill said:

Mr. McDonough, make it come true. Make it come true.

Denis listened, but then he acted. He went back to Washington and he didn't just ignite a fire under the Commerce Department to get them to do even more work than they were already doing on enforcing tariffs and going after this illegal dumping and bringing things to the International Trade Commission, he also looked at other agencies, and he helped us, along with Sherrod Brown and so many others, to pass legislation that made a difference.

All of this happened, and Dan Hill got his job back. Then I invited Dan Hill to come to one of the last State of the Unions for President Obama, and Denis invited Dan Hill to the White House, and Dan Hill got to meet practically everyone surrounding the President.

That is Denis McDonough. He listened, but he didn't just say ``Oh, I got there. I went. We will try our best''; he actually followed through the minutia of government to get things done.

I am going to end with the words of a poet whom President Biden happens to love. Given Denis's Irish roots, I can't think of a better person to quote from today, and it is Mr. Heaney, who once wrote: ``Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.''

So Denis will not just say words to the veterans of this country; as your Secretary, he will get things done.

With that, I ask my colleagues to support the nomination of Denis McDonough as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

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