On the recordJuly 27, 2021
I always consider it a privilege to open the U.S. Senate, be here for the pledge of allegiance, be here for the Chaplain's prayer. But I must admit this morning that I felt such a sense of sorrow that we were praying for my good friend Mike Enzi, whom I had the privilege to serve with during all the time he was in the U.S. Senate. We used to spend time together. We would talk to each other on votes coming up. He was the old ``old school.'' He always kept his word; he knew I would mine. We worked on many things. I did remember, through the tears this morning as I heard the news, of one day when I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator Enzi came to me and he said: You know, I know you are Italian American--which I am on my mother's side--and I am Italian American. And I have this nominee. He is one of us. He is Italian American. Please push him through. Well, the nominee backed by Senator Enzi was, of course, well qualified anyway. We put him on the agenda and passed him. A few weeks later, he came up to me, and he said: I have got another nominee. I said: How many Italian Americans do you have in Wyoming? He said: Oh, this is one of us. He is Irish. I said: Mike, what do you mean ``he is Irish''? You are Italian. He said: No, I am just like you, except in reverse. He had an Italian father and an Irish mother. I had an Irish father and Italian mother.…
