Orrin Hatch: “What we are seeing is a slowdown in the confirmation of Federal judges--a systematic and calculated effort to block the…”

“What we are seeing is a slowdown in the confirmation of Federal judges--a systematic and calculated effort to block the nominees of the President of this country from the Federal bench. It is time to stop it. It is time to reform the system, to de-escalate. The first step, of course, is to vote on Mr. Estrada's confirmation. But there is much more that we can do to ensure that no other judicial nominee repeats this experience. I urge my colleagues to join me in my efforts to put an end to partisan politics in the confirmation process. I have to say, both sides have not been right in this process in the past years. I am not trying to just find fault there, but one fault I can find: Never in the history of this country has there been a filibuster succeed against a circuit court of appeals nominee.”