Orrin Hatch: “All we want to do is what the Senate has always done. Once a nominee comes to the calendar, that nominee deserves a vote…”

“All we want to do is what the Senate has always done. Once a nominee comes to the calendar, that nominee deserves a vote up or down under the advise and consent clause which is clearly a majority vote. Never in the history of this Congress have we had what has been happening over the last number of years caused by the Democrats on the other side. We should be voting on judges tonight, not debating judges. Frankly, there is a vocal minority of Senators preventing us from doing our constitutional duty to vote on judicial nominees. The American people need to know this, and although some of these folks have been moaning and groaning on the other side that we are taking this time, I suggest to them that there is hardly anything more important in a President's life, whoever that President may be, than getting his or her judicial nominations through. Frankly, it is extremely important because this involves one-third of the coequal branches of Government. We found a continual filibuster on a number of these nominees.”