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Earlier this month, I joined my Senate colleagues in a tradition that has marked the beginning of each new congressional term since our nation’s founding: reciting the oath of office.

In many ways, the swearing-in represents a new start and a moment to think about everything the new Congress can accomplish – especially with a Republican majority in both chambers and President Trump returning to the White House.

But for me, it was also an opportunity to reflect on the immense honor I have to represent the people of the great State of Tennessee. Over the last six years, I have fought to represent Tennesseans’ values in Washington and defend faith, family, freedom, hope, and opportunity for all.

To be certain, we accomplished so much over the last six years.

To support our nation’s veterans, I led the TEAM Caregivers Act, which strengthens transparency and communication for veterans and their caregivers, and the Strengthening VA Cybersecurity Act, which bolsters protections for veterans’ personal information.

To stand up for our brave service members, I successfully fought to end President Biden’s disastrous COVID vaccine mandate and secured wins for Tennessee’s military communities, from Fort Campbell to Arnold Air Force Base, every year in the National Defense Authorization Act.

To stand up to the New Axis of Evil – China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – I shepherded new laws to block crowd-control equipment from being exported to China-controlled Hong Kong, to protect internet freedom, and to bar the Federal Aviation Administration from buying drones from U.S. adversaries.

We also worked to end the modern-day slavery of human trafficking, including with the bipartisan REPORT Act and Project Safe Childhood Act, which were signed into law and combat online child exploitation. And to stand up for women, I led the Speak Out Act, which empowers sexual assault survivors who wish to break their silence, as well as legislation to commemorate the brave American women who fought for the right to vote.

On the Senate Judiciary Committee, I worked to confirm judges to the federal bench who will apply the law as it’s written – including Justice Amy Coney Barrett – leading to the overturning of disastrous rulings like Roe v. Wade. To protect life, I worked with the Trump administration to bar taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. And in recent weeks, I helped secure essential disaster relief for communities in Tennessee and across the Southeast that are recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Now, as I start my second term, I am looking forward to getting more wins for Tennesseans and carrying out President Trump’s agenda – and at the top of our list will be securing our southern border.

We can’t have national security without border security, which is why Congress must work closely with the Trump administration to ensure that happens. My CLEAR Act, for example, would ensure state and local law enforcement officials can help the federal government deport criminal illegal aliens. With all the harm caused by sanctuary cities, this legislation should be a top priority for the new Congress.

We also need to lower costs for hardworking families and make government accountable to We the People. By cutting taxes on Social Security and making the Trump tax cuts permanent, we can ensure Tennesseans have more money in their pocketbooks. And by slashing out-of-control spending, we can tackle the crippling inflation and government waste that makes life worse for so many across our state and country.

On that last point, President Trump is tackling the problem head on with the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. With my DOGE Acts – which will cut spending, drain the swamp, and ensure federal bureaucrats are actually working for the American people – Congress can play a crucial role in ensuring their reforms last well beyond the Trump administration.

Another goal at the top of the agenda will be finally holding Big Tech accountable with the Kids Online Safety Act and ensuring that parents have the tools they need to protect their children in the virtual space.

This is just a sample of the work ahead of us, but the list of things we can do to empower American workers, taxpayers, businesses, and families goes on: expanding access to quality health care, especially for vets and those in rural areas; defending female athletes in women’s sports from the radical left’s agenda; ending the surge of violent crime in cities across our country; supporting Tennessee’s creative community, and much more.

But before we can get to any of this, our focus will be confirming each of President Trump’s nominees for his cabinet as quickly as possible. That way, we can begin to carry out the mandate the American people have given us to make this country stronger than ever before.

(Marsha Blackburn represents Tennessee in the U.S. Senate)