Don Nickles: “I compliment my friend. He has assisted this Senator, and he has assisted other Senators, particularly on district court…”

“I compliment my friend. He has assisted this Senator, and he has assisted other Senators, particularly on district court judges. If my numbers are correct, I believe we are now at 27 judges confirmed, which equals the number of judges that were confirmed in President Clinton's first year. President Clinton, nominated 47 individuals for judicial positions, and the Senate confirmed 27 of those in his first year. President Bush has made 64 judicial nominations at a time when there are a great number of vacancies. We have now confirmed 27, and I hope we will confirm some more. However, we are way behind on circuit judges. President Bush nominated eleven circuit court judges in May. Of those eleven, eight have not even had a hearing. One of these nominees is Miguel Estrada, who is a Honduras immigrant who graduated with honors from Columbia and graduated at the top of his law school class from Harvard. Another is John Roberts, again a Harvard Law School grad. Both nominees are eminently qualified.”