On the recordJuly 23, 2018
Today I rise to join my colleagues in unequivocally condemning the President's gross assault on the independence of the federal judiciary by stacking the federal courts with unqualified nominees. Since his inauguration a year and six months ago, the President and his supporters in the Senate have proceeded at breakneck speed to nominate ideological, often-unqualified candidates. In his first 330 days in office, the President had won confirmation for 12 of his appeals court nominees--the most in an administration's first year since creation of the circuit court system in 1891. The President's appellate nominees were approved by the Senate in an average of just 20 days after being voted out of the committee--which is eight times faster than President Obama's nominees. As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I am concerned by the pervasive lack of oversight and partisanship that has poisoned our judiciary far more than the collection of highly publicized incidents would have us believe. We must remember that the judiciary abuses of this Administration are the continuation of the shameless partisanship of Senate Republicans first began with the theft of the seat of Judge Merrick Garland. Judge Garland had long been considered a prime prospect for the high court, serving as chief judge on the U.S.…
