Orrin Hatch: “in the U.S. Senate, seniority is the typical route to influence. As Senators serve longer, they typically acquire more…”

“in the U.S. Senate, seniority is the typical route to influence. As Senators serve longer, they typically acquire more powerful positions, more knowledge of how to work the levers of power, and more sway over their colleagues. Over the course of my time in the Senate, I have had the privilege to serve with 352 other Senators. While in my experience the longest serving ones on average do indeed tend to make the greatest impact, I have always been most impressed by the rare colleague that leaves an indelible mark after only a relatively short time in this body. Kelly Ayotte is such a standout. Kelly came to this body well prepared to make a difference. As New Hampshire's first--and, so far, only--female attorney general, she left her mark across a wide swath of law and policy, from prosecuting the infamous Dartmouth College murderers to successfully defending New Hampshire's parental consent law before the U.S. Supreme Court. As soon as she arrived here in 2011, the Senator from New Hampshire began to make her mark. Within a short period of time, publications like the New York Times and Politico began consistently referring to her as a rising star, and in 2012, her name perennially surfaced as a contender for the Republican Vice Presidential nomination. How did Kelly gain such recognition so quickly? The answer is simple: through good old-fashioned hard work. From her first day in the Senate, she hit the ground running.…”