Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to the nomination of Noel Francisco to be the Solicitor General of the United States. The Solicitor General--often called the ``tenth Justice''--argues on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court. It is a critical position in our government, and it is critical that we have a Solicitor General with the independence to tell the President when the position he wants the United States to take before the Court is indefensible. Mr. Francisco already had a troubling tenure as Acting Solicitor General earlier this year. He led the effort to defend the original version of the President's controversial travel ban. That Executive order was blocked repeatedly in Federal courts and was then withdrawn. In defending this unconscionable order, Mr. Francisco argued that there should be no judicial review when a President makes decisions on immigration policy on the basis of his national security assessment. The Ninth Circuit stated that ``there is no precedent to support this claimed unreviewability, which runs contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy.'' If he is confirmed, Mr. Francisco would likely be called upon again to defend President Trump's latest iteration of the travel ban when it is considered by the Supreme Court in October. When he was under consideration by the Judiciary Committee, I asked Mr. Francisco many questions to give him the opportunity to show his independence from President Trump.…”