Political Quotes

“I am very disappointed the Republicans are blocking dozens of qualified nominees--nominees who have been reported to the Senate floor on a bipartisan basis. This is certainly, in my view, not about whether the President is being treated fairly, but it is about the Senate doing its job. The Senate is on track to confirm the lowest number of judicial nominees in our history. Let me mention a nominee from Hawaii: Clare Connors. She was confirmed or voted on unanimously by the Judiciary Committee last month, a statement to her qualifications. Her wide-ranging experience includes district and appellate venues, criminal and civil arenas, and litigation on issues ranging from tax law to tough cases such as crimes against children. Clare and the other nominees before us today will be kept from serving on the Federal bench because of Republican inaction. My Republican colleagues intend to stop all judicial nominations in July, although there are 79 vacancies pending, 28 of which are considered emergencies. If Ms. Connors is not confirmed, the Hawaii district court seat will be left vacant for over a year. Our judiciary should be composed of the full complement of judges accorded to each district court. One of the fundamental jobs of the Senate to engage in is its advice and consent function with regard to these judicial nominees, and we are not doing that.…”