Chuck Grassley: “Thank you. Mr. President, I support the nomination of Samuel Alito. President Bush has made a very excellent choice in…”

“Thank you. Mr. President, I support the nomination of Samuel Alito. President Bush has made a very excellent choice in picking Alito. He has the intellect, judicial temperament, and integrity to be an excellent Justice. He seems to have a very clear understanding of the proper role of the judiciary in our government. That came out very clearly in the hearings. He commands the respect of his colleagues on the Third Circuit, as their testimony before our committee demonstrated. He also has the respect of the lawyers who practice before him and the employees who have worked with him. That was demonstrated in testimony before our committee as well. But we can't always accurately predict how an individual ultimately will make decisions once he or she gets on the bench. But we do have a constitutional process in place, and we have to use our judgment within that process and trust the confirmation process. I would say the 225-year history of our country succeeding as it has is an affirmation that the process has worked well. We have confirmed many outstanding individuals to the Supreme Court, and the process has worked well thus far and will continue to work well with Judge Alito. Judge Alito was very impressive in the hearings. He did an excellent job under a great deal of fire. He was thorough, he was candid, and he was forthright with all 18 of us on the committee, and demonstrated a deep understanding of the law and a deep understanding of the law and our Constitution.…”