Nomination of Whitney D. Hermandorfer

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on judicial confirmation, the first judge confirmation, later today, Senate Republicans will confirm Donald Trump's first judicial nominee of his second term, Whitney Hermandorfer, to be a circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit.

We all know when it comes to judges Donald Trump cares only about one thing: total unyielding fealty to Donald Trump--not experience, not judicial independence, not knowledge or desire to pursue the law, but brazen, uncomplicated fealty to Donald Trump. That is how he chooses judges. That is how the people under him choose judges.

We have never seen this in America. You could have been a conservative like Ronald Reagan, someone like George Bush or H.W. Bush or Clinton or Obama. They all looked. You know, they wanted someone to have some philosophical kinship with them. But they said: Will they follow the law? Do they know this law?

Not this administration. It is so different than all the others in a very bad way. Donald Trump doesn't care about the law or what the Constitution says. He says that himself. He only wants his foot soldiers in black robes defending him when he tries to do whatever he wants.

Ms. Hermandorfer has failed to show that she can be an independent jurist committed to upholding the law. She has less than 10 years of legal experience. She has never served as the sole or chief counsel on a single case. She has made a career out of going after people's reproductive rights, transgender rights, and antidiscrimination policies.

When nominees like Ms. Hermandorfer are the standard, our courts are weakened; the judiciary runs amok; the American people are worse off.

I strongly--strongly--oppose her nomination.

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