Orrin Hatch: “I rise to speak about two of President Trump's nominees. I will first address Nominee Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Then…”

“I rise to speak about two of President Trump's nominees. I will first address Nominee Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Then I will discuss the nomination of Tom Price to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, which is currently pending before the Senate. Last week, President Trump nominated U.S. Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy left by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. I want to address both the process and the substance of what lies ahead for the Senate. The Constitution gives to the President the power to nominate and, subject to the Senate's advice and consent, the power to appoint judges. The first step in the Senate exercising its power of advice and consent is to decide the best way to handle a nomination made by the President. The Constitution does not mandate a one-size-fits-all process. In fact, the Senate has handled the Supreme Court nominations in at least a dozen different ways. Nearly 1 year ago, shortly after Justice Scalia's death, I explained on the Senate floor the two reasons the next President should choose his replacement. First, the circumstances and timing of the Scalia vacancy supported separating the confirmation process from the Presidential election season, which was a hard-fought Presidential election. When he chaired the Judiciary Committee in 1992, then-Senator Joe Biden urged the Senate not to consider a Supreme Court nomination in that Presidential election year.…”