Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is interesting, as the distinguished Presiding Officer reported, that we are going to have these nominees. I say it is interesting because the Senate is being allowed to confirm only 3 of 19 judicial nominations that have been reported unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee over the past several months, but they have been stalled by the Republican leadership. The distinguished Presiding Officer is one of the most valued members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has seen time and time again, we vote a nominee out, with every single Republican voting for the person and every single Democrat voting for the person. Then the nominee spends months waiting because they are being stalled by the Republican side of the aisle. Of course, it is far more than just an annoyance to the nominees who are being stalled. Say, for instance, that someone receives a nomination from the President of the United States to become a judge. Perhaps they are in a law firm. The partners all come in, congratulate the nominee, and say: This is absolutely wonderful. When are you leaving? Now, as a practical matter this person cannot take on new cases, and the law firm has to be hesitant about what they take on so they do not have a conflict of interest later on before the Court. One can see how almost childish it becomes now to hold up a nominee who, eventually, when they are finally allowed to have a vote, will be confirmed unanimously or close to unanimously.…”