Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak on two different subjects. The most important one is the first one: to thank a lot of people who helped me to chair and oversee the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I should have given this speech 72 hours ago, but I was in a hurry to get to the airport. So I am making up for lost time now. As everyone knows, on Saturday the Senate confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh as our newest Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. I come to the floor to thank the Senate staff who helped to make that confirmation possible. Senators don't always recognize their staff as much as we probably should, but I am proud of the work my staff accomplished over the last 3 months as we considered the nomination of Kavanaugh. They have worked very diligently on this confirmation process of our new Justice, and most of it was behind the scenes. They put in the long, long work hours required, and they did it 7 days a week, if needed. The chairman's team tackled the heavy workload before them, and I am tremendously grateful for all they did to make this nomination a success. First, on my staff, I would like to recognize my Judiciary counsel staff director, Kolan Davis. Kolan's experience and sound judgment keeps me out of a lot of trouble. I value his counsel today, just as I have for the last 33 years that he has been on my staff. By my side right here today is Mike Davis, the Judiciary Committee's chief counsel for nominations and also an Iowan.…
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