On the recordJuly 24, 2018
Mr. President, I want to bring my fellow Senators up to date on a subject that was sparked by the remarks made this morning by the minority leader. I also want to add some additional context that the minority leader left out. He spoke on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, he didn't come to the floor to talk about the judge's excellent qualifications, the judge's well-regarded temperament, or the judge's judicial philosophy. He didn't come to the floor to announce that he would finally extend to the judge the courtesy of a meeting, which is customary in this body. He came to speak about what he thinks will satisfy leftwing outside groups. He demanded that I sign a letter that will put the American taxpayers on the hook for a Democratic fishing expedition, and I am not going to do that. I agree that we should have a thorough vetting process for the nominee--and we will--and that we should review materials that will reveal Judge Kavanaugh's legal thinking. That is our job. We are not going to be a rubberstamp. Fortunately for us, we have immediate access to the most valuable documents that are out there that will reveal Judge Kavanaugh's legal thinking. We have access to the more than 300 opinions Judge Kavanaugh authored in his 12 years on the DC Circuit, as well as to the hundreds more opinions he joined.…





