Political Quotes

“I rise today in opposition to the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. VanDyke fits neatly into this administration's pattern of picking Federal judges for our circuit courts of appeal without meaningful input from home State Senators. The President continues to select ideologically extreme nominees like Mr. VanDyke, and the White House is putting forward people without enough experience for the momentous roles they have been chosen to serve. Mr. VanDyke has been nominated to fill a Nevada seat on the Ninth Circuit even though he is not a Nevadan. He didn't grow up in my State. He doesn't appear to own property there. He doesn't seem to have family ties. And he was an active member of the Nevada State bar for only 2 years. Senator Rosen and I engaged with the White House to put forward highly respected Nevadans with bipartisan support, but our suggestions were summarily ignored because the White House was laser-focused on Mr. VanDyke. I want to be clear. The administration did not meaningfully consult about this nomination with Nevada Senators, and the result is a poor nominee. First and foremost, I am extremely concerned about the effect that Lawrence VanDyke's lifetime appointment would have on women's reproductive rights in America. As Montana's solicitor general, Mr. VanDyke supported an Arizona abortion ban. In an amicus brief in Horne v.…”