Chuck Grassley: “I am opposed to what Commander Stumpf and his attorney are doing for three reasons. First, they want us to believe that…”

“I am opposed to what Commander Stumpf and his attorney are doing for three reasons. First, they want us to believe that this is a legal issue. Commander Stumpf seems to have the mistaken notion that a promotion to captain in the Navy is an inalienable right. He sees the committee erecting a barrier between himself and that right. So he has hired a fancy lawyer to reclaim that right under the law. Well, sadly, I am afraid that Commander Stumpf may be in for a big disappointment. As Senator Nunn put it, "It is well known that nomination proceedings are not criminal trials. They are not formal evidentiary proceedings." A promotion is not guaranteed under the law. In fact, as we all know, it must be earned, and not only earned, but confirmed by the Senate. This, Mr. President, brings me to my second point. Each Senator must make a subjective judgment about a candidate's character. We have to examine the entire record, and then we have to pick and choose. Sadly, Commander Stumpf and his lawyer somehow believe that the Senate should not sit in judgment of a nominee's character. Two Navy captain selection boards and Secretary of the Navy Dalton decided that Commander Stumpf should be promoted. End of the story for them. The Senate should somehow butt out. Again, Senators Nunn and Coats have laid this misguided idea to rest. They put it this way: "The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to give advice and consent on military promotions." That is our constitutional duty.”