William H. Frist: “I will take a moment now to speak briefly about the confirmation process, the upcoming confirmation process of the new…”

“I will take a moment now to speak briefly about the confirmation process, the upcoming confirmation process of the new Supreme Court Justice. This morning, the Democrat leader and I and the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee had a discussion with the President of the United States which continues the consulting process which I would say, at least as we get started, is being conducted in an unprecedented way. Over the last few months, this Senate has made considerable progress with judicial nominations. We have confirmed six of the President's appellate court nominees and four district court nominees. I am very pleased with this progress. Indeed, this is real progress, especially when you consider each of the appeals court nominees were blocked. Those same people were blocked in the last Congress. That is real progress, working in a bipartisan way for the American people. Now we will be able to continue that progress. To do so, we must place principle before partisan politics, and we must place results before rhetoric. That is the challenge to the Senate. Above all, we need to fulfill our constitutional duty as Senators. Since Justice O'Connor announced her retirement now 11 days ago, the Supreme Court nomination has garnered a lot of attention in Washington, in the press, among our colleagues, and indeed all across America. As the President considers her replacement, many Senators have been talking about the issue of consultation.…”