Dianne Feinstein: “I rise to speak about charges that the ongoing filibuster against Miguel Estrada is somehow unconstitutional, as some…”

“I rise to speak about charges that the ongoing filibuster against Miguel Estrada is somehow unconstitutional, as some have claimed. I take this job very seriously, and it is not often that I support preventing an up or down vote on any issue. In fact, this is the only time I have ever supported a filibuster against a judicial nominee, and I do so for very specific reasons, as do so many of my Democratic colleagues. Contrary to the charges we have been hearing over the last few days, I believe this filibuster is precisely what the Founders of this Nation had in mind when they created a three-branched system of government with checks, balances, advice and consent. This filibuster is not about preventing a conservative nominee from getting onto the court. Rather, this filibuster is about a failure of this administration to adequately seek the advice and participation of the U.S. Senate in the judicial nominations process, particularly with regard to this nominee. I have spoken several times about Mr. Estrada specifically, and each time I have been clear, as have my colleagues--this is a nominee about whom we know very, very little, and he and this administration have simply not done enough to give us the kind of information we need to properly perform our constitutional duty of advice and consent.”