Orrin Hatch: “again, the Senator from Vermont and I are friends, but I totally disagree with what he has been saying. It is a smoke…”

“again, the Senator from Vermont and I are friends, but I totally disagree with what he has been saying. It is a smoke screen. Allow me to address the fate of nominees first sent up by the first President Bush. In fact, some pending today without a hearing who were nominated by the first President Bush nearly 10 years ago. These are nominees still on the list after 10 years that the Democrats have not allowed to come up: Terrence Boyle for the Fourth Circuit and John Roberts for the DC Circuit, considered one of the two or three greatest appellate lawyers in the country before the Supreme Court; Henry Saad for the Sixth Circuit; Ronald Leighton for the Western District of Washington; and Richard Dorr for the Western District of Missouri. All five of these nominees were nominated by the first President Bush, better than 10 years ago, but never received committee action at that time. I hope they, too, will soon receive their long-awaited hearings and confirmation votes.”