On the recordJune 24, 2014
I inform the Senate that the three judges from Florida we are about to vote on have the support of Senator Rubio and I. It is as a result of a bipartisan process. It is actually a nonpartisan process as to how we select our judges in Florida. Senator Rubio and I appoint a judicial nominating commission in the three judicial districts in Florida. They then, when there is a vacancy of a judge or U.S. attorney or U.S. marshal, receive the applications, do the interviews, and make--for one vacancy--three recommendations. Senator Rubio and I then take these three recommendations, the two of us together interview the applicants. The arrangement we have with the White House--and of course we know the President could select whomever he wants, but the White House has graciously agreed, and this has been a longstanding practice with the Federal judge selections from Florida, the White House has agreed they will pick from among the three we send. Senator Rubio and I send comments to the White House about the three, even though what we primarily do is tell the White House if we have an objection to any one of the three who come through the judicial nominating commission process. Therefore, what we do is we take politics out of the selection of judges. I highly recommend to the Senate Paul Byron and Carlos Eduardo Mendoza, both of the Middle District, and Beth Bloom of the Southern District. Mr. President, I yield the floor. ____________________
