Trent Lott: “Let me take this opportunity, first, to express my appreciation and the appreciation of the Senate for the outstanding…”

“Let me take this opportunity, first, to express my appreciation and the appreciation of the Senate for the outstanding work that is being done by Senator Hatch as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. That is a tough job. It always has been. It seems to be getting tougher with every passing Congress. I know from personal experience during my tenure as the Republican Leader, both in the majority and the minority, of the diligent work and good work that has been done by Senator Hatch to move judicial nominations through the process. Quite often, it was very difficult in the committee and on the floor. There have been accusations that, perhaps, he had unfairly delayed judges in the past. But I can tell you this: My knowledge was, and memory is, that he worked very hard to move a lot of judges, several of whom were highly controversial but were eventually confirmed anyway. Yes, at the end of the last term some judicial nominees of the Clinton administration were not completed, but if you compare the number that were left over to similar situations in the past, it was a smaller number. When you look at the number of judges that have been confirmed under the stewardship and leadership of Senator Hatch, it has to be a record in terms of overall numbers compared with previous chairmen and previous administrations.”