Jack Kingston: “What is the deal with the Democrats and Miguel Estrada? Is it racism or is it that they just do not like the guy?…”

“What is the deal with the Democrats and Miguel Estrada? Is it racism or is it that they just do not like the guy? Because he is definitely qualified to sit on the D.C. Court. He would be the first Hispanic on that court. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia College. He has argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court and was unanimously rated 'well qualified' by the American Bar Association and called an extraordinary legal talent by the Clinton Solicitor General. So what seems to be the problem, Democrats? Let us go on further. He is 41 years old. He has been in private practice 7 years. He was a U.S. attorney for 2 years. He worked for the U.S. Justice Department. But do the Members know what? He is Hispanic, and what the Democrats are saying is because he has no prior judicial experience. That is interesting because out of the seven judges on the D.C. judicial court circuit, five of the seven did not have judicial experience. Is it not interesting that two of the Supreme Court justices did not have judicial bench experience? And yet this Hispanic guy comes along, and suddenly the Democrats are really concerned about judicial experience. Mr. Speaker, I urge the Democrats to let this nominee go and put him on the D.C. Court. We need people like this. He is an American success story, and I applaud President Bush for nominating him.”