Press Conference RE: Judicial Nominations
November 6, 2003 Thursday
HEADLINE: PRESS CONFERENCE RE: JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS
PARTICIPANTS: SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BILL FRIST (R-TN); SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA); SENATOR ORRIN HATCH (R-UT); SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY); SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA); SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX); SENATOR NORM COLEMAN (R-MN); AND SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC)
LOCATION: THE SENATE RADIO/TV GALLERY, THE CAPITOL BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C.
BODY:
SEN. MCCONNELL: Yeah, I mean, the arguments you're already familiar with. I might mention that we're going to have food and cots -- (light laughter) -- not enough cots for you all, regretfully, and not enough food for you all. But I hope you'll be here with us. Senator McCain has even suggested that we divide up into a snoring and non-snoring section. (Light laughter.) So we all intend to be here for the duration and to make every effort we can to drive the point home.
SEN. HUTCHISON: Yeah. Let me just say that these nominees that have already gotten 52, 53, 54, 55 votes but are not sitting on the federal bench just prove that there is a new bar that has been raised in the federal judicial selection process that our Founding Fathers did not intend. This is amending the Constitution without going through the process. So I hope very much that by focusing on this, by trying to get votes for people like my friend Priscilla Owen, our Texas Supreme Court justice, that we would take these people who have been sitting there and showing great judicial demeanor, I might add, by never showing any rancor about the way they've been treated, that they would get their day in court by getting a vote in the United States Senate. I'm very proud of our caucus for standing absolutely 100 percent for let's go forward and lay down exactly what is going on here and give the president his right of appointment and make sure that these nominees have the 51-vote margin that is required by the Constitution and not some higher bar that is being put in the place of the 51 votes.
Thank you.
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