Daniel Inouye: “I had every intention to once again, as I have done in the past, support the President's choice of Cabinet members. The…”

“I had every intention to once again, as I have done in the past, support the President's choice of Cabinet members. The President was elected, he selected his team, and his choices should be respected. In the case of former Senator John Ashcroft's nomination as the U.S. Attorney General, the President's choice will be respected by a majority vote of the Senate. However, if I supported the nomination of Senator Ashcroft, my vote may be misunderstood not only by my supporters and constituents, but by many others. It should also be noted that the Constitution reserves to the Senate the power of advice and consent as to the President's nominations. I hope that my opposition, together with the opposition of several of my colleagues, will advise the President of our concerns as to his nomination of Senator Ashcroft. As a person, my experience in serving with Senator Ashcroft has been a positive one, but I have found myself on most occasions casting my vote in disagreement with Senator Ashcroft. For example, he is for the death penalty; I am against the death penalty. He supports doing away with abortion; I am for freedom of choice. I have also examined Senator Ashcroft's record away from Capitol Hill, and I have found that his actions have been consistent with the views he held when we were colleagues on the floor of the Senate.”