Nomination of Mike Pompeo

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, today the Senate is considering a divisive nominee to sit on the Fifth Circuit Court. It completely baffles me that this administration continues to put forth nominees who are either clearly unqualified or intensely partisan and controversial. This body has historically worked together to confirm consensus nominees to serve on the appellate bench. Unfortunately, that has not been the case over this past year. We have seen contentious nominee after contentious nominee. Unfortunately, the Republican majority has abdicated its responsibility to instead choose a judicial person of integrity who is willing to find common ground.

This afternoon's vote to confirm Stuart Kyle Duncan to the Fifth Circuit Court is a perfect example of a divisive candidate. Mr. Duncan is an extreme nominee. His nomination is a senseless attack on access to healthcare for women, especially women in rural and underserved areas. His nomination is an attack on LGBT civil rights and an attack on free and open access to the ballot for all Americans.

One only needs to look at his record. Mr. Duncan served as lead counsel in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, in which the Supreme Court ruled that a for-profit corporation can have religious beliefs and, therefore, can deny contraceptive coverage as part of their employer- sponsored health insurance plans.

I have said this before, and I will say it again, I have never sat next to a corporation in church. Corporations do not have religious beliefs, and a woman should have access to reproductive health services and the freedom to make her own decisions about her own healthcare.

In addition to his record of hostility to the self-determination of women, Mr. Duncan has an abysmal civil rights record. Mr. Duncan coauthored an amicus brief in opposition to marriage equality when this important issue was before the Supreme Court. In that same vein of discrimination, Mr. Duncan has repeatedly engaged in efforts to suppress the votes of minority voters. He has defended North Carolina voter suppression measures that were ultimately struck down by the Fourth Circuit. The court determined the discriminatory measures ``targeted African-Americans with almost surgical precision.''

Mr. Duncan's nomination is, frankly, unconscionable. Our court system should be a level playing field, where no matter who you are or where you live, you will receive fair and equal treatment. In contrast to that spirit, this nominee has spent a significant part of the past decade advocating for the denial of rights for women, minorities, and the LGBT community.

I have absolutely no confidence that this nominee will stay true not only to the letter of the law but to the spirit of the law as well. Our constituents sent us to Washington to look out for the best interests of all Americans. That is why we need to move away from divisive nominees and instead focus on the confirmation of qualified consensus nominees. It is clear Mr. Duncan is out of step with mainstream American values, and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing his nomination.
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