Thomas Daschle: “our Constitution has vested the Senate with the responsibility of advising and consenting on the President's…”

“our Constitution has vested the Senate with the responsibility of advising and consenting on the President's nominations. Throughout the full range of administration appointments--from top Cabinet officials, to Federal judges, to boards and commissions--the Senate's role is to speak for the American people and ensure the highest standards of public service are maintained throughout our Government. We have exercised this oversight authority with extraordinary restraint. Democrats have sought to participate in the nomination process and work together with the administration and the majority in a bipartisan fashion to confirm public servants in the highest traditions of our Nation. Regrettably, the administration has chosen to reject the course of bipartisanship, even though Democrats have tried to accommodate the President's goal of filling judicial vacancies. The Senate has confirmed a record 173 Federal judges, rejecting only 3. These three judges were far outside the mainstream and had troubling records of judicial activism in service to extreme ideology. They were rejected for that reason. In spite of the Senate's judgment, the President has chosen to take the unprecedented step of using recess appointments to bypass the Senate on two occasions.”