Political Quotes

“today the Senate will vote on two nominations: those of Norman Eisen to serve as Ambassador to the Czech Republic and Maria Carmen Aponte to serve as Ambassador to El Salvador. These two Ambassadors are in their positions as we speak, having been given recess appointments. These nominees are accomplished, qualified public servants who will continue to represent their Nation with distinction. For my Republican colleagues, however, being qualified and dedicated doesn't seem to be enough anymore. Last week, they blocked the nomination of a brilliant legal mind, Caitlin Halligan, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Obviously, they don't mind there are these vacancies because Republicans were in the majority in that court. So they wanted to defeat this competent woman, and that is what they did with these vacancies still there in that court. They blocked the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite his obviously deep qualifications for the job. He has a long history of protecting the middle class against unfair practices by financial predators and he would have been a great asset in our fight to protect Main Street from the kind of Wall Street greed that caused the 2008 financial crisis. Yet Republicans denied Mr. Cordray's nomination--I should say confirmation--and all it does is weaken the agency he was nominated to lead.…”