Scott Fitzgerald: “I rise in support of John Ashcroft in his nomination as our Nation's Attorney General. This nomination debate and the…”

“I rise in support of John Ashcroft in his nomination as our Nation's Attorney General. This nomination debate and the consideration of John Ashcroft's nomination is much different for me than my consideration of all the other nominees to President Bush's Cabinet. It is different for the reason that in the case of most other nominees, I do not know those individuals personally. Of course, I did know Senator Abraham who served well with us and has now been confirmed as our Nation's Energy Secretary. But with the exception of Senators Abraham and Ashcroft, most of the nominees come to me just from what I have heard, what I have seen in the newspapers, what others have written about those people. I do not have the personal experience that I have had in the case of John Ashcroft. I knew John Ashcroft before I joined the Senate over 2 years ago. I got to know him a little bit during the time I was running for Senator from Illinois. Then, of course, once I was sworn into office, I had the privilege of working with John Ashcroft on a regular basis. I worked with him for 2 years side by side, sometimes day in and day out.”