On the recordNovember 1, 2023
Madam President, I rise to discuss the Senate's urgent need to confirm nominations of Rebecca Lutzko to be U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and April Perry to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. On five previous occasions, I have come to the floor of the Senate to request unanimous consent to move these nominees forward. Each time, the junior Senator from Ohio has objected. He campaigned for the Senate, claiming he would be tough on crime, but now that he is here, he proudly brags that he wants to ``grind the Department of Justice to a halt.'' These communities desperately need these nominees in place. There are 85 U.S. attorneys across the United States. Under President Donald Trump, we approved all 85 without a record rollcall--voice vote. It was the understanding that we would voice--we would debate the issue of an attorney general. When it came to the U.S. attorneys in individual cities and States, it was too important for us to slow these down with additional procedural requirements on the floor. And so we do background checks on these U.S. attorney nominees on a bipartisan basis. And once they clear, we add them to the calendar. That is when the junior Senator from Ohio stepped in and decided he would try to stop the process. How important is the U.S Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio that he is holding up? The entire Nation has been impacted by the opioid epidemic, but Ohio has been especially hard-hit.…
Source
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