Prepared Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Before we begin, I want to take a moment to mention the outrageous attack that took place yesterday outside of the Capital Jewish Museum, here in Washington, D.C. The shooter killed two Israeli embassy staff members who were leaving an event for young Jewish professionals who work in foreign policy, in a display of senseless and cowardly violence. Once in custody, the shooter allegedly yelled, “Free Palestine!” and that he did it for Gaza.
My heart goes out to the young victims of this tragedy, their families and the Israeli people. This sort of hate is unacceptable in our society. I commend Attorney General Bondi for quickly responding to the scene, and I trust her department and law enforcement will do their job and find justice for these victims.
On today’s agenda, we have the nominations of Terrance Cole to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Gadyaces Serralta to be Director of the Marshals Service and David Waterman to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Mr. Waterman is listed for the first time, so he’ll be held over and we’ll plan to vote on him at our next meeting. We’ll vote on the other two nominees today, and I’ll be supporting both.
Mr. Cole is a career DEA officer who worked in some of its most challenging posts. He knows the challenges facing agents in the field, and he’s prepared to face them. He told us that his number one priority, if confirmed, would be to combat the drug crisis “with urgency and resolve.”
Mr. Cole knows the role that the cartels play in pumping poison into our country, and he knows that this isn’t a fight that the DEA wages alone. His experience in Governor Youngkin’s cabinet shows that he knows the importance of working with state and local governments, and that he’ll build strong partnerships to save American lives.
Mr. Serralta, too, is very familiar with the job he’s about to assume. He’s been the Marshal for the Southern District of Florida for the past two administrations. He’s led highly successful projects there, including some that resulted in over 100 arrests and the seizure of narcotics and firearms. He’s also overseen an investigation into threats against federal judges and multiple members of the Marshal’s staff, which resulted in an arrest. What’s most clear is that Mr. Serralta is deeply committed to the Marshal Service’s values of justice, integrity and service.
Mr. Cole and Mr. Serralta will be assets to the agencies they’re set to lead. I look forward to getting them to work.
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