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Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY. Thank you.

Mr. President, in a few minutes, we are going to vote on the nomination of Mr. Kyle Duncan for a position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Mr. Duncan was nominated by President Trump. He has been vetted-- examined, if you will--extensively by the White House. He has been vetted--examined, if you will--extensively the Department of Justice. He has been vetted by the FBI. He has been vetted by the American Bar Association, and he has been vetted by the Senate's Judiciary Committee. All of those entities have found that he is qualified-- indeed, more than qualified--to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

If you look at his resume and his experience, you will understand why. Mr. Duncan clerked for the Honorable John Duhe on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. As you know, Federal clerkships are highly coveted, but judges generally pick the top students and the top members of their class. Mr. Duncan was picked.

He has an LL.M. from the Columbia University School of Law, one of the finest law schools in the world. Mr. Duncan is an honors graduate of LSU Law School and an honors graduate with a B.A. degree from Louisiana State University as well.

He has argued over 30 cases in Federal and State appellate courts. Some lawyers never argue a single one. He has briefed, prepared, and argued some 30 cases.

He served in the office of the attorney general in the State of Louisiana as appellate chief. He has represented my State in many high- profile cases, and he also has experience as an assistant solicitor general in the attorney general's office in Texas.

Those who know Kyle and who have participated in the vetting process know that he is articulate, a careful thinker, and has a deep understanding of the importance of the separation of powers, and for that reason, he has been supported by a bipartisan group of both current and former lawyers.

I do not recognize the Kyle Duncan being described by some of my colleagues. I say this with all due respect. I think some of my colleagues, in criticizing Mr. Duncan, are confusing the role of the lawyer and the client.

I used to practice law. When a client came to me and said ``Kennedy, I need you to represent me,'' I did what they asked in that particular lawsuit. If his position was lawful, I would say: OK, tell me what your problem is and what your arguments are, and I will look at it from my standpoint and maybe supply some additional arguments under the law. But when my client described to me his problem and his analysis of it, I can't remember a single time when I said: Oh, jeez, I don't agree with you. I don't like your politics. I just don't agree with your position. I could have, but that was not my role as a lawyer. So long as what my client was proposing was legal, my role as their lawyer was that they were entitled to legal representation. My role was not to substitute my judgment for theirs.

I have listened to my colleagues' criticism of Mr. Duncan. They don't know what his beliefs are, with all due respect. They have said: Well, in this case, he said that, and in this case he said that, and in this case over here, he said that, as though it was his point of view. They were his clients' points of view.

Mr. Duncan has developed an expertise in constitutional law. He is a senior partner in a boutique firm. That means, of course, as you know, a smaller firm that has a specialty here in Washington, DC. Clients from all over the country and from all over the world come to him with constitutional law problems, and they ask him to litigate. They ask him to espouse their point of view--not Mr. Duncan's point of view, but the client's point of view. It is just not fair, it seems to me, to criticize a lawyer for doing what he is bound by our code of ethics and, indeed, the law to do.

If I didn't think Kyle Duncan would call the balls and the strikes based on the rule of law that we cherish in America, I wouldn't be standing here today, but he will. I would respectfully suggest that all of my colleagues put aside the politics, put aside whether they like President Trump, and look at this man for himself. What they will see is a very qualified, very successful lawyer who worships the rule of law and who will apply the law as this Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have dictated.

Thank you, Mr. President.
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