On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
Mr. President, pursuing Senator Merkley's hypothetical, if it came before the Senate that a Member of the Senate who was a nominee seeking the advice and consent of the Senate to the position was, for example, in fact, a horse thief, and we found the fact that he was a horse thief to be relevant to whether or not he should be confirmed, say, to the Department of Interior, which has authority over lands, does the ruling of the Chair mean that it would not be in order for the Senate or for Senators to consider what in my hypothetical is the established fact that the Senator was a horse thief as we debate his nomination here on the floor? The PRESIDING OFFICER. Once again, the answer is the same, that each of these decisions will be made at the time and in the context in which they occur, and the decision of the Chair is subject to a vote of the Senate and an appeal.
