Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 14, 2017
Mr. President, I have come to the floor several times over the past 8 years to discuss the constitutional principle of separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches. President Obama promised that he would act independently of Congress where he had to; his quote: ``Where they won't act, I will.'' I have come to the floor to discuss the many examples of Executive overreach that we have witnessed, from unilateral pursuit of climate change regulations to unconstitutional recess appointments. As I have said before, the structure of our Constitution is a critical safeguard of our liberty. As Justice Scalia famously said: Every banana republic in the world has a bill of rights. Every President for life has a bill of rights. The real key to the distinctiveness of America is the structure of our government. Now, I have served in the Senate for 36 years, so I have a deep appreciation of the different roles of the coordinate branches and for the fact that the people govern themselves through their elected representatives, and my accountability to them is the defining characteristic of my role as one of their representatives in the U.S. Senate. That is not true of judges in our Federal system who are not elected, and it is certainly not true of the executive agencies that administer the laws we write here in the Congress. Judge Gorsuch is the President's nominee to serve as the next Justice of the Supreme Court.…

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