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Congressional Record—Senate S6886 S6886 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 31, 2017 that—exactly the opposite. She wrote EXECUTIVE SESSION preme court justices who were not ap- that if a judge’s personal views were to proved by Republican Senators to move impede that judge’s ability to impar- to the Federal bench: Lisabeth Tabor tially apply the law, then the judge EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Hughes from Kentucky, Myra Selby should recuse herself from the case. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under from Indiana, Don Beatty from South As the coauthor of that article and the previous order, the Senate will pro- Carolina, Louis Butler from Wisconsin, current president of Catholic Univer- ceed to executive session and resume Patricia Timmons-Goodson from North sity recently put it, ‘‘The case against consideration of the Barrett nomina- Carolina. Prof. Barrett is so flimsy, that you tion, which the clerk will report. Senate Republicans turned obstruc- have to wonder whether there isn’t The senior assistant legislative clerk tion of judicial nominees into an art some other, unspoken, cause for their read the nomination of Amy Coney form under President Obama. Yet Sen- objection.’’ Barrett, of Indiana, to be United States ator MCCONNELL, day after day, has It does make you wonder. Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit. said: ‘‘I think President Obama has To those using this matter as cover The PRESIDING OFFICER. The as- been treated very fairly by any objec- to oppose Professor Barrett because of sistant Democratic leader. tive standard.’’ her personally held religious beliefs, Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Senator He comes to the floor now regularly let me remind you, there are no reli- MCCONNELL has come to the floor to to complain about ‘‘obstruction’’ of gious tests—none—for public office in complain about what he calls obstruc- Trump nominees. Senator MCCONNELL this country. That is not how we do tion of President Trump’s judicial and the Senate Republicans set the things here. Our government and our nominees. The majority leader must standard for obstruction. If Leader Nation are made better through the feel that many of us suffer from amne- MCCONNELL thinks President Obama service of qualified people of faith. sia. was treated fairly with these facts, it is That will surely be true of Professor It was just last year Senate Repub- hard to understand why he is com- Amy Barrett. licans, under the leadership of the plaining about the treatment of Presi- I look forward to voting to confirm same Senator MCCONNELL, set a new dent Trump’s judicial nominees. this accomplished law professor and de- standard of obstruction. The most So far this year, the Senate has con- voted mother of seven later today, and prominent victim of Republican ob- firmed four of President Trump’s cir- I would urge our colleagues to join me. struction, Chief Judge Merrick Gar- cuit court nominees and four of his dis- Once we do, the Senate will advance land, was President Obama’s nominee trict court nominees. At the same another of President Trump’s well- for the Supreme Court. Never, never in point in his first year, President qualified circuit court nominees, the history of the U.S. Senate has the Obama had one circuit court nominee Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Senate denied a Supreme Court nomi- and three district court nominees con- Larsen, to serve on the U.S. Court of nee a hearing and a vote. Senator firmed. Twice the number have been Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. MCCONNELL led the Republicans last confirmed under President Trump as Justice Larsen is the second of three year in doing that. were confirmed under President Obama accomplished women whom the Senate Then, Senator MCCONNELL refused to in each of their first years. President will consider this week for appoint- even meet with Judge Garland, refused Trump’s nominees are moving twice as ment to our circuit courts. I assume to give him the courtesy of a meeting, fast as President Obama’s. that all three of these impressive even though the judge’s qualifications Senator MCCONNELL controls the women will receive strong support were unquestioned and even though he floor schedule. If he wants to schedule from our Democratic colleagues who had been confirmed to the DC Circuit more votes on judges, I suppose he has never seem to miss an opportunity to with broad bipartisan support. the power to do so. He is exercising talk about the war on women. The way Senate Republicans treated that power by doing something that Here is what nominees such as Lar- Merrick Garland was disgraceful, but has never happened in the history of sen and Barrett and the others we will Judge Garland was far from the only the Senate. Four circuit court judge consider this week represent for our victim of Republican systematic ob- nominees will be considered this week Federal judiciary: equal justice under struction during the Obama Presi- in the Senate. the law for all and a fair shake for dency. In 2016, there were 30 non- Since the Republicans in the Senate every litigant. What a refreshing de- controversial judicial nominees—17 are dedicating this week to judicial parture from President Obama and his women and 13 men—who were denied a nominations, it gives us a good oppor- so-called empathy standard for select- floor vote by Senate Republicans. All tunity to look at the nominees Presi- ing judicial nominees—really just an- but two of these nominees were re- dent Trump has put forward for life- other of the left’s ideological purity ported out of the Judiciary Committee time appointments to the second high- tests and one that was anything but with a unanimous vote of Democrats est courts in the Federal system. empathetic for individuals on the other and Republicans. Some of these nomi- Time and again, we have seen Presi- side of the case. If you are the litigant nees—like Edward Stanton of Ten- dent Trump nominate people who are for whom the judge does not have em- nessee and Julien Neals of New Jer- far outside of the judicial mainstream. pathy, you are in a tough position be- sey—sat on the Senate calendar for For example, there is John Bush, now a fore such a judge. more than a year, waiting for a vote judge on the Sixth Circuit, who blogged Finally, I would like to express my which the Republican majority leader about the false claim that President gratitude, once again, to Chairman and his Members refused to give them. Obama wasn’t born in the United During the last 2 years of President CHUCK GRASSLEY for his continued States, compared abortion to slavery, work to bring these outstanding nomi- Obama’s administration, the Repub- and said in his hearing that he thinks nees to the Senate floor. lican-controlled Senate confirmed only impartiality is an aspiration for a 22 judges in 2 years. That is the lowest judge, not an expectation. f number of confirmations in a Congress There is Damien Schiff, nominee for since 1952. By comparison, in the last 2 the Court of Federal Claims under RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME years of George W. Bush’s Presidency, President Trump, who called Supreme The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the Democratic-controlled Senate con- Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ‘‘a ju- the previous order, the leadership time firmed 68 judicial nominees—22 under dicial prostitute.’’ is reserved. Republicans and Obama and 68 under There is Jeff Mateer, a Trump nomi- Democrats for President Bush. nee for the district court in Texas, who f That is not all. Republicans also ob- described transgender children as part structed 18 Obama nominees by deny- of ‘‘Satan’s plan’’ and who lamented CONCLUSION OF MORNING ing them blue slips. That is the permis- that States were banning so-called BUSINESS sion slip from a Senator from the State ‘‘conversion therapy,’’ the pseudo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning of the judicial nominee. That included science of attempting to ‘‘convert’’ business is closed. five nominees who had been State su- LGBT Americans into heterosexuals. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Nov 01, 2017 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G31OC6.002 S31OCPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with SENATE October 31, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6887 There is Thomas Farr, Trump nomi- Given her lack of judicial record and should have any impact on the dis- nee for the district court in North her minimal record as a practicing law- charge of judicial duties of a Catholic Carolina, whom the Congressional yer, the Judiciary Committee looked judge. Black Caucus describes as ‘‘the pre- at Professor Barrett’s academic So was it any surprise that at least eminent attorney for North Carolina writings to try to understand who she five different Senators—three Repub- Republicans seeking to curtail the vot- is and what she believes. Basically, licans and two Democrats—asked her ing rights of people of color.’’ that is all we had to go on. about the article that she coauthored? There is Greg Katsas, nominee for Much of Professor Barrett’s writings It is no surprise that the gravity of this the DC Circuit, who refused to say at deal with when she believes it is ac- publication and the issue it raised led his hearing whether the torture tech- ceptable for judges to deviate from committee members on both sides of nique known as waterboarding is ille- precedent. For example, in a 2003 law the aisle to ask questions about the gal. journal article, she called for ‘‘federal nominee’s religious beliefs, the con- There is Brett Talley, a nominee by courts to restore flexibility to stare de- tents of her writings, and how it would President Trump to be Federal trial cisis doctrine.’’ In a 2013 article, she impact the discharge of her duties if judge in Alabama, who has never tried said that it is ‘‘more legitimate for [a she was approved by the Senate.
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