Political Quotes

“I wish to take this time to respond to Senator Reid's juvenile attacks on my Judiciary Committee's investigations and to Senator Reid's frequent crying about my previous State Department holds. Over the past several months, Senator Reid has been obsessed with mentioning holds on nominees--holds which I no longer have. Holds are often necessary to force the executive branch to comply with congressional investigations. If you want proof of that, just ask the Obama administration. In a Federal court filing during the Fast and Furious litigation, the Obama administration argued that the court should not even consider that particular case. The Justice Department's brief said courts should not enforce subpoenas at all. Instead, the Justice Department reasoned that Congress should use other powers to get documents. Here is exactly what the government brief said: ``Among other powers, Congress can withhold funds from the Executive Branch, override vetoes, decline to enact legislation, refuse to act on nominations, and adjourn.'' Later in the brief, the Obama administration specifically suggested that Congress can ``tie up nominations'' in order to get documents. If the administration can say that, why would Senator Reid think that is a wrong act for Congress to take?…”