Honoring Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist

HONORING CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it is my privilege to join others in discussing the life and career of the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Chief Justice Rehnquist was only the 16th Chief Justice in American history. John Jay was the first, sworn in in October of 1789. Many of us had an opportunity to go over and pay our respects, over in the Supreme Court a few moments ago, and had a chance to look at the busts of those Chief Justices.

Chief Justice Rehnquist filled the role defined for him by our Founding Fathers with wisdom and with dignity. Millions of Americans honor him for his legacy of achievement. When I went home last night, I noticed a long line of people waiting to file past the casket and pay their respects to this wonderful man.

I first met the Chief Justice in 1969 here in Washington. At the time, he was Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. I was a young legislative aide to a Senator named Marlow Cook, who represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Senator Cook was on the Judiciary Committee and this was a period in which there were a couple of highly contentious Supreme Court nominations. Judge Clement Haynsworth of the Fourth Circuit, who was subsequently defeated, and District Judge Harold Carlswell from Florida, who was also defeated. So President Nixon had not only one but two nominations at the Supreme Court defeated.

Bill Rehnquist, which is what I called him in those days, was the guy who sort of crafted the speeches and helped us, helped the Republicans and as many Democrats who were interested in supporting those two nominees--helped us craft the speeches and did the important work of helping us express ourselves. My boss ended up supporting Haynsworth and opposing Carlswell, so I was not working with Bill Rehnquist on the second nomination.

He was an extraordinary person: Dedicated, hard-working, the smartest lawyer I had ever been around at that point, and even after all these years I would still say he was the smartest lawyer I had ever been around; a keen intellect with a very sharp mind. He was also, as others have pointed out and will point out this morning, a kind and personable man, which he remained even while rising to the foremost position in American jurisprudence.

After working for Senator Cook, I returned to Kentucky in January of 1971, thinking I was sort of through with Washington. Toward the end of the year, to my surprise and pleasure, President Nixon nominated Bill Rehnquist to be on the Supreme Court. So, on my own nickel, I came back to Washington for a month and worked on his confirmation--just as a volunteer, and did odd jobs and helped do whatever was thought to be appropriate by those who were officially in charge of his confirmation. But it was a thrill to see him confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Later, in 1986, when President Reagan elevated Justice Rehnquist to the Chief Justice position, by then I was a Member of this body and, in fact, a member of the Judiciary Committee. So that was my second opportunity to work on a William Rehnquist nomination to the Supreme Court. Of course, I was proud to be involved in that and very proud to vote to confirm him.

The Chief Justice served our country with his characteristic wisdom and grace. After leading the Court for 19 years, he was the longest-serving Chief Justice since 1910. He was only the fifth Chief Justice in our Nation's history to have previously served as an Associate Justice. He exemplified the highest virtue for a Justice: He entered each case with an open mind, free of bias, never prejudging the case before the decision was made. In fact, some of his decisions over the years surprised observers and proved that he was willing to rethink opinions he may have once held. Actually, that is a good thing.

He reminded us that judges should be like umpires--never taking sides, just fairly applying the rules.

He leaves behind him a legacy that will be studied for generations. I would submit that a chief component of that legacy will be his steering the Supreme Court back toward the principle of federalism, which, alongside separation of powers, stands as one of the two structural principles undergirding our Constitution. Chief Justice Rehnquist expressed that view in dissent after dissent in the early years when he was on the Court until, with time, his dissenting views became majority ones. Because of his clear understanding of the underlying purpose of federalism, he worked to establish a jurisprudence that guards against untrammeled Federal power and helps ensure that decisions that are purely local in nature will remain in the hands of the citizens who must, of course, abide by them.

The Chief Justice earned a reputation for being a fair and even-handed leader of the High Court. Former Justice William Brennan, who was frequently on the opposite side in cases, said Chief Justice Rehnquist was ``meticulously fair in assigning opinions.'' He went on to say that since Rehnquist's ascension to the Chief Justice position, ``I can't begin to tell you how much better all of us feel ..... and how fond all of us are of him personally.'' That was Justice Brennan, with whom Justice Rehnquist rarely agreed.

In this recent age of many 5-to-4 decisions, it is all the more extraordinary that the Chief Justice created such a harmonious court. The late Justice Thurgood Marshall, who served with the Chief Justice from 1972 to 1991, said simply that William Rehnquist is ``a great Chief Justice.''

As Chief Justice, William Rehnquist was the same honest and upright man I had observed when I first met him back in 1969. In his final months as Chief, he reminded us all once again what it means to serve with dignity and honor, as he persevered through his fight with cancer. Who was not moved to see the concept of ``duty'' personified on January 20, 2005, when, under extraordinary physical duress, he administered the oath of office to the President of the United States?

This Nation owes Chief Justice Rehnquist a debt that can never be fully repaid. He served his country in combat with the Army Air Corps during World War II, as a law clerk to Associate Justice Robert Jackson, as an Assistant Attorney General, as Associate Justice, and finally as Chief Justice of the United States. Throughout it all he stood for the rule of law and the upholding of the principles that this Republic holds dear. In my opinion, he was the most consequential Chief Justice since John Marshall. I repeat: the most consequential Chief Justice since John Marshall.

Elaine and I extend our sympathies to his family, his daughters Janet and Nancy, his son James, his sister Jean, and his nine grandchildren.

As miraculous a document as it is, the Constitution is only words on paper. It requires men and women of principle to see its meaning and spirit made real. William Rehnquist was one of those persons. Our grateful Nation will always remember his heroic service and his devotion to duty until the very end.

I yield the floor.

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