Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we are witnessing the end of an era. After nearly five decades of principled service to his beloved State of Vermont, to our Nation, and to the cause of peace and justice throughout the world, Patrick J. Leahy is leaving the U.S. Senate. His departure feels like a bit of a personal loss for me. As long as I have served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy has been there. He joined that committee in January 1979. And for more than two decades of his tenure on the committee, he served as the chair or ranking member. He has been a champion of the right to vote, of civil liberties, of freedom of information, of intellectual property, and of upholding and defending the Constitution. He chaired the historic confirmation hearings of the first Black Attorney General, Eric Holder, as well as the confirmation hearings of Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Justice. He also presided over the historic markup of bipartisan comprehensive immigration legislation in 2013, and I want to assure Senator Leahy that I will continue pushing to reform our broken immigration system. During his service on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy has been a voice of calm and reason when tempers have flared. And he has been a mentor to Members, including me, and to the many staffers who have served him over the years.…”