Barbara Boxer: “It took 4 years, I say to my colleague, to get the Republicans to bring the nomination of Richard Paez to the floor of…”

“It took 4 years, I say to my colleague, to get the Republicans to bring the nomination of Richard Paez to the floor of this Senate. How do I know? Because I had recommended Judge Paez first for the district court, where he got immediate approval. It took 4 long years to get the Republicans to relent. This is Republicans, the Senator's party, who voted to seat him on the district court unanimously. When he was nominated for the circuit court, it took 4 years. There was extensive questioning back and forth, written questions, oral questions. Then there was a filibuster. My friend says it only lasted 2 days. It was 4 years and 2 days. The only reason in the world that filibuster was ended is because we had the votes to stop it. The Senator does not have the votes to stop this filibuster. The reason there are not the votes is because this man will not answer questions, despite the fact that my friend read some answers. This was a clear filibuster.”