Key Takeaways
- •The committee passed the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act (S. 545) in a 19-3 vote, alongside bipartisan measures to inventory federal crimes and protect U.S. companies from Russian litigation.
- •Sen. Grassley (R-IA) stated S. 545 is necessary to regulate xylazine while protecting veterinary use, though Sen. Booker (D-NJ) argued the committee proceeded without seeing required scientific evaluations.
- •Sen. Durbin (D-IL) condemned President Trump’s attacks on Robert Mueller, while Sen. Grassley (R-IA) accused Democrats of ignoring the "weaponization" of the DOJ and FBI against Republicans.
- •Members achieved bipartisan consensus on the Count the Crimes to Cut Act and Russian litigation protections, but split along party lines regarding Brian Gootkin’s U.S. Marshal nomination.
- •These bills move to the Senate floor, where the xylazine legislation will eventually require HHS and the DEA to release a combined public report on drug scheduling.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
This business meeting focused on the markup and reporting of several bipartisan legislative measures addressing drug scheduling, criminal code transparency, and international legal protections for American businesses. While the committee successfully advanced three bills and two U.S. Marshal nominations, the proceedings were underscored by sharp partisan disagreements regarding the leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the legacy of the late Robert Mueller, and ongoing investigations into the conduct of Special Counsel Jack Smith. The session highlighted a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation on technical legal reforms contrasted against deep divisions over the perceived "weaponization" of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Key Testimony & Policy
The committee primarily considered S. 545, the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. Led by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), the bill seeks to classify xylazine—a potent veterinary sedative increasingly found in the illicit drug supply—as a Schedule III controlled substance. A critical component of the debate centered on a manager’s amendment designed to increase transparency in the drug scheduling process. The amendment requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to submit a combined public report to Congress containing their scientific, medical, and law enforcement evaluations of the drug. This measure was intended to address concerns that the DEA was bypassing traditional administrative processes by seeking legislative scheduling without fully disclosing HHS’s underlying scientific findings.
The committee also advanced H.R. 2159, the Count the Crimes to Cut Act. Introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), this legislation addresses "over-federalization" by requiring the DOJ and various regulatory agencies to produce a comprehensive inventory of all federal criminal offenses. Sen. Lee noted that the Congressional Research Service (CRS) previously found the total number of federal crimes to be "unknowable," though estimated at over 300,000. The bill mandates a report detailing the elements of each offense, prosecution data from the last 15 years, and specific mens rea (intent) requirements, aimed at creating a publicly accessible index to facilitate future criminal code reform.
Finally, the committee approved S. 2934, the Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025. Sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), the bill protects U.S. companies from "lawfare" in the Russian Federation. It specifically prevents Russian litigants from using Russian court judgments as a basis for lawsuits in U.S. courts or international arbitration when those judgments penalize American firms for complying with U.S. sanctions or export controls related to the invasion of Ukraine.
Notable Exchanges & Partisan Dynamics
The meeting opened with a contentious exchange regarding the FBI and the DOJ. Chairman Grassley criticized the "Arctic Frost" hearing strategy and defended his investigation into the "weaponization" of government, alleging that the previous administration retaliated against whistleblowers. In response, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) delivered a lengthy eulogy for former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who recently passed away. Sen. Durbin sharply criticized President Trump’s disparaging remarks about Mueller and condemned current FBI Director Kash Patel for allegedly "weaponizing" the agency by firing career agents involved in investigations of the President and imposing loyalty tests.
A significant policy-driven exchange occurred regarding S. 545. Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) expressed frustration that the committee was voting to schedule xylazine as Schedule III despite reports that HHS had recommended the less-restrictive Schedule V based on scientific evidence. While Sen. Booker ultimately voted against the bill, he praised the bipartisan effort to include the reporting requirement, though he argued the process was "backwards" because the scientific data would only be released 30 days after the bill's passage.
Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA) also raised concerns regarding Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. He requested that the committee intervene with a Florida court to secure the release of "Volume 2" of Smith’s report, arguing that the committee cannot effectively question Smith without access to the full details of the investigation into the President’s motivations.
Organizations Mentioned
* **Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA):** Discussed regarding its role in scheduling xylazine and the new requirement to provide a combined report with HHS on drug evaluations. * **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):** The subject of intense debate regarding the leadership of Kash Patel and the legacy of former Director Robert Mueller. * **Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):** Mentioned in the context of its scientific and medical evaluations for drug scheduling, which are binding on the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act. * **National District Attorneys Association (NDAA):** Cited as a major supporter of the Count the Crimes to Cut Act for its potential to streamline the federal criminal code. * **National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL):** Noted as a supporting organization for H.R. 2159, representing the defense perspective on criminal code transparency. * **Congressional Research Service (CRS):** Mentioned by Sen. Lee for its inability to provide a definitive count of existing federal crimes, highlighting the need for H.R. 2159. * **Minnesota Sheriffs' Association:** Identified as the current employer of U.S. Marshal nominee James Stuart, who serves as its executive director.
What's Next
Following the favorable votes, S. 545, H.R. 2159, and S. 2934 will be reported to the full Senate for consideration. Chairman Grassley indicated that his staff would follow up with Sen. Schiff’s staff regarding the request to intervene in the Florida court case to obtain Volume 2 of the Jack Smith report. The nominations of Brian Gootkin and James Stuart also move to the floor, with Stuart notably receiving much broader bipartisan support than Gootkin.
Transcript
Good morning. Welcome everybody. Before I get to the agenda, I'd like to address this week's Arctic Frost hearing. First, this committee is not going to give in to the Democrats' ill-advised strategy to bring Jack Smith in before the our investigative record is entirely ready. Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal had this to say about my recent document production: the facts to roll out about Jack Smith, quote, those facts are getting uglier, end of quote. Second, my Democrat colleagues and the partisan media continue to sing a sob story about fired partisan DOJ, DOJ and FBI personnel. So I want to take this opportunity to remind my colleagues that many of the fired personnel retaliated against my whistleblowers during the Biden administration. And then I didn't hear a single peep from my Democrat colleagues then about these whistleblowers' lives being upended and destroyed. And I believe part of the 16 people that I helped get justice in the last year were some of these personnel. Not all of those people wanted their jobs back, but they wanted their national security clearance, they wanted back pay, and some of them wanted their jobs back and got their jobs back. But when their lives were being upended, I never heard anything from the other side. Third and lastly, this committee today is investigating government weaponization because my Democrat colleagues didn't lift a finger during the Biden administration. These were four years of uninterrupted, consistent, and sustained political attacks on Republicans by the previous administration. This committee's work exposing that political corruption will continue. Now to today's agenda, we have three bills and two nominations. Brian Gootkin, Marshal, Montana; James Stuart, Marshal, Minnesota. We'll also vote on three bills today, continuing our debate on Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, H.R. 2159, Count the Crimes to Cut Act, and Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2025. And I think that we have things worked out so we'll be able to get those bills out. I want to take a moment to talk about the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which I led with Senator Cortez Masto, and I want to thank her for taking the lead on that. We began considering this important bill last week, and I hope to complete the committee's work on that bill today. Our bill simply classifies this highly toxic drug as Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act while protecting its legitimate use for agriculture by veterinarians serving farmers and ranchers. I explained last week that this critical and emphasized bipartisan legislation has a wide range of support from law enforcement, the agriculture community, and from the victims. It's been a priority of both the Biden and the Trump administrations, and it's cosponsored by 14 Democrats and 18 Republicans. We heard the tragic stories of families devastated by this poison last week. We're here today for those same families. Last week, it became clear that the committee needed a few additional works to clarify language. We want to ensure that our bill solves an important problem while also promoting transparency. We've taken the last seven days to work with members on both sides of the aisle to reach an agreement on some clarifying language. This new language is explicit about what documents we expect to be produced by HHS and by DEA. My staff and I engaged multiple offices on both sides of the aisle, and we did it in good faith, and I think we had the same good faith from the people we were talking to. And I was glad to work with Senators Whitehouse, Coons, and now Senator Booker on a revised manager's amendment that I think achieves the right balance. I want to be crystal clear, however, about the intent of this manager's amendment. This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit their scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendations for xylazine. They will submit this along with the DEA's law enforcement, DEA's regulatory, and DEA's abuse evaluation in a combined, public, and prompt report to Congress. This way, the information available to the public will closely mimic the data that would have been published in the Federal Register if xylazine was administratively scheduled. And I told you last week why legislation was necessary because by regulation they couldn't protect the legal use by veterinarians of this product. It's important for the American people to see drug scheduling information from both the DEA and HHS because that is how Congress intended that process to work. Congress granted DEA the authority to schedule drugs in consultation with the Secretary of HHS. Now the important point, if the HHS scientific and medical evaluation was released alone, it would not provide the public with a complete picture because it is just one part of the administrative process. So the manager's amendment will release this information because it's in its proper context with the combined views of the two relevant agencies. The committee wants to see the analysis from HHS. I want to see it, but I also want to see the analysis of the Drug Enforcement Agency, which is the other half of the equation. That's what the manager's amendment does that I called up last week, and that's what the new language now spells out with absolute clarity. Senator Durbin.
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