Chuck Grassley: “today, I am announcing my intention to object to any unanimous consent request to call up and confirm the nomination of…”

“today, I am announcing my intention to object to any unanimous consent request to call up and confirm the nomination of Mr. Jeh Johnson to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I, along with other Senators on the committee, wrote a letter to Mr. Johnson last Friday and asked his views on a number of important matters, including our Nation's immigration policies and the fair treatment of whistleblowers. We asked if he would cooperate with us on oversight matters and work with us to improve immigration policies going forward. We have not yet received a response from Mr. Johnson. Because the Judiciary Committee has primary responsibility over immigration matters, it is necessary to know any nominee's position on immigration policies before we can consent to the confirmation of a Secretary to head this very critical department. So, until we receive responses from Mr. Johnson to our letter, I will object to any unanimous consent agreement to move his confirmation. I ask that a copy of the letter be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, November 15, 2013. Mr. Jeh Johnson, 2001 K Street NW., Washington, DC. Dear Mr.…”