Harry Reid: “the Presiding Officer knows that I don't always agree with him or he with me, but in response to the Senator from New…”

“the Presiding Officer knows that I don't always agree with him or he with me, but in response to the Senator from New Mexico about the process here, the Presiding Officer was exemplary in how Justice Breyer and Justice Ginsburg were chosen to be members of the Supreme Court. There have been books written about it and chapters of books written about it. The Presiding Officer, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in communication with President Clinton, said: I don't like this person, this person, this person. And so there was a process set up, nonpublic in nature, where the chairman of the Judiciary Committee conferred with the President and his people and waded through lots of names that, in the judgment of the distinguished Senator from Utah, were not appropriate. Now we have two Members on the Supreme Court whom I think have distinguished themselves. I wish we could have a procedure like that in the future. I think, I repeat, it was exemplary. That is the way things used to be done. I would hope in the future that the President's men and women would be willing to meet with their counterparts in the Senate and come up with a procedure that is somewhat along the lines of the distinguished Senator from Utah. I would hope that would be the case. The hearings of Ginsburg and Breyer were short and directly to the point. I hope in the future we can do more of that. I extend my applause and congratulations to the Senator from Utah.…”