Political Quotes

“I have been surprised before both pleasantly and unpleasantly. I have been surprised at some I thought might pass and failed to pass, and other times have had a very pleasant surprise to find something did pass when I didn't expect it to. I think it is safe to say--and I believe there will be bipartisan consensus on this--that these judges' nominations will pass overwhelmingly, which is usually what happens with a judgeship. Starting this year we have proceeded on more judicial nominations in the first couple of weeks this session than we did over the course of the first months last year. I hope that we have strong bipartisan votes on these judgeships today. It will signal that the Senate is moving forward and that we will make progress to help fill the vacancies that plague the Federal judiciary. Today, there are 86 vacancies on the Federal courts. After these favorable votes, we will have 54 nominees pending before the Senate in need of our prompt attention.”