Political Quotes

“I rise to discuss the nomination of John Owens to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Owens, who currently works as a lawyer in California, has been nominated to fill the seat that has been held for the last 25 years by Judge Stephen Trott of Idaho. Judge Trott took senior status on December 31, 2004, making the Trott seat the longest current vacancy of any seat on the Federal circuit courts. That doesn't mean that there haven't been previous attempts to fill this seat. In a letter to the Idaho Senate delegation in 2003, then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales stated: I also want to make clear the President's commitment to nominate an Idahoan for a second Ninth Circuit seat if Judge Trott retires or assumes senior status while President Bush is still in office. Idaho has had two Ninth Circuit seats for more than a decade, and that allotment is appropriate. As such, when Judge Trott did take senior status the following year, President Bush nominated Judge Randy Smith of Idaho to the Trott seat. At the same time another nominee was pending in the Senate to fill another Idaho vacancy on the Ninth Circuit. Regrettably, Senate Democrats used the longstanding Senate rules that were available at that time to block the confirmation of both Idaho nominees.…”