{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-doug-jones-statement-on-confirmation-of-secretary-of-defense-mark-esper", "Senator Doug Jones Statement on Confirmation of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper", "2019-07-23", "2019", "2019-07", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Doug Jones", "J000300", "www.jones.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.) today released the following statement on his support for Mark Esper's confirmation to serve as the next Secretary of Defense:\r\nDr. Esper is well qualified to serve as Secretary of Defense by virtue of his experience serving in the Army, his numerous positions as a Congressional staffer in both the House and Senate, his experience working in private industry, and his service in various roles at the Pentagon, including most recently as Secretary of the Army. As Secretary of the Army, Dr. Esper has demonstrated a strong commitment to the well-being and preparedness of our troops and has also shown himself to be a man of character, integrity, and intelligence.\r\nAfter months without a confirmed Secretary, Dr. Esper will bring much-needed stability to the Department as it works to fulfill its national security mission and maintain a strong presence in various strategic locations around the world. I believe that he will also uphold the commitment that he made to me to keep the Department of Defense apolitical and to always stand up and give his candid, honest advice to the President and other members of the administration. I'm grateful for all of the assistance that he provided me as Secretary of the Army, and I'm proud to have voted for Dr. Esper's nomination. I believe he will be an excellent Secretary of Defense.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-doug-jones-statement-on-confirmation-of-secretary-of-defense-mark-esper"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.949513167142868, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}