Orrin Hatch: “over the last several days we have debated some of the most important issues that most of the Members will ever face.…”

“over the last several days we have debated some of the most important issues that most of the Members will ever face. Should the same powerful tool, such as the filibuster, that we have long used in the legislative process be part of the confirmation process to defeat a President's judicial nominees? That is a big question. Can the Senate's role of advice and consent regarding judicial nominations be exercised equally by either the majority or minority of Senators? The answer to each of these questions is no. America's Founders designed the Senate without the ability to filibuster anything at all. The filibuster became available later but was restricted to the legislative process which we control. It was not part of the appointment process which the President controls. Allowing a minority of Senators to capture this body's role of advice and consent will allow that minority to hijack the President's power to appoint judges. I admit that we have control of the Executive Calendar, but the President has rights in that calendar, too. We cannot hijack the President's power to appoint judges. Doing so distorts the balance the Constitution establishes and mandates. That situation should not stand. I urge my friends, Senators from the minority, to abandon their destructive course and return to the tradition we followed for more than two centuries.…”